DYER LOVE

Danny D has a reputation as a hard man. Not everyone believes it, but there we are.

Could he actually be better at playing a softy? Can he deliver love lines? Indie producer Tiffany Whittome was certain he could. Even if his most convincing passion was saved for footie.

Her test for him was a script called The Other Half. Cute title. A romcom featuring an excited English football fan (DD himself) who takes his new American bride to Portugal for a romantic honeymoon without telling her that the Euro Cup is on - and he has a ticket to each of the England games!

Tiffany Whittome, Producer:

I met up with an old director friend who had co-written half a dozen drafts of The Other Half, in February, 2004. I loved the script and decided to do it even though it involved filming at the Euros, starting in Portugal in just a few months time.

The money was raised quickly, privately, partly because we got Vinnie Jones attached early on.

We started shooting on June 9th with a full crew, who had to constantly battle their way down the narrow, cobbled streets of Lisbon which were crammed with 80,000 fans.

Due to the Euros, accommodation was sparse and expensive so the crew lived in a yoga retreat outside of Lisbon.

But there were benefits - the police were sometimes flexible about permits to film and the backdrops for our locations were amazing ... English flags and fans were everywhere, and the streets were stunningly decorated for the festival of Saint Antonio.

Post production was tough. I expected it to be done within four months but at that point we were only beginning to get beneath the surface of our 80 hours of DV footage.

At least now we have the premiere scheduled for the Cannes Film Festival.