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Music/News: 14 Oct 2013
The Hot Press Newsdesk

Philomena Lynott Reveals Confusion Over New Film

The movie Philomena tells a different story entirely...

Philomena Lynott has revealed that she has been receiving numerous messages from fans all over the world, who believe her life story is about to hit the big screen. The remarkable truth is that there is an entirely unconnected film on the way, titled Philomena, which does, however, tell a remarkably similar story.

The film recounts the tale of Philomena Lee, an Irish woman who, as a teenager, in 1952 gave birth to a baby boy, who was taken from her and sent to the US for adoption. The story has obvious parallels to Philomena Lynott’s own life. As revealed in her best-selling My Boy, she had three children, the eldest of whom was Philip Lynott, the lead singer and songwriter with the hugely successful Irish band Thin Lizzy. Philomena's other two children, Philomena and Lesley, were given up for adoption.

“I have been receiving letters and calls from fans all around the world who believe the new film is my story,” says Philomena. “Some of them are quite upset as they wonder why I didn’t let them know or invite them to a launch. So it has been quite distressing.”

The film stars Judi Dench as Philomena Lee, who tracks down her son after 50 years, with the help of a journalist played by Steve Coogan. As told in My Boy, both the younger Philomena and Lesley eventually found their mother Philomena – in Lesley's case, remarkably, after reading the first edition of My Boy.

“Judi Dench is a wonderful actress,” she says. “The two stories are so similar in certain ways that I just want to make sure people know that this new film is not based on my life. But I wish everyone involved in the film great success with it.”