The narrative largely follows his career, while also covering the careers of the major Factory artists, especially Joy Division and New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column and Happy Mondays.
The main character is Tony Wilson (played by Steve Coogan), a news reporter for Granada Television and the head of Factory Records. It begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s and moves through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture and the ' Madchester' scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The film was entered into the 2002 Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom. 24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British biographical comedy drama film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records.
