The idea of Crust is somewhat less bonkers when you know there’s actually a crustacean that can box – a mantis shrimp, which has claws instead of clubs. It’s six inches long though, not seven foot, so Mark just made it bigger and put it in a transit van with some Brummies. He did not invent a boxing shrimp, as that would be crazy. Crust stars Kevin McNally, Madhav Sharma, newcomers Louise Mardenborough and Perry Fitzpatrick, and Ulrika Johnsson in a cameo as herself. Mark: “The Ulrika thing was a bit awkward cos she didn’t know about the kiss of life/Frenchie and I had to go to her trailer and smooth it out.” Crust also features Naomie Harris, now Miss Moneypenny in the Bond films. To promote the Cannes Film Festival screenings of Crust, huge posters were made that avoided mention of a big shrimp altogether and instead featured Kevin McNally coming out of a huge scallop shell, based on Botticelli’s Venus. The tagline ran ‘it takes a big man to come out of his shell’ and made Crust seem like a film about a guy overcoming psoriasis. The Japanese poster didn’t feature a shrimp either, it was a Photoshopped lobster. At the UK regional premiere for the film, Mark formed a covers band called Prawn To Be Wild, featuring five men dressed as seafood (Mark on vocals) and two Cockles & Mussels Men go-go dancers. The band weren’t good enough to pull off ‘Shrimply The Best’, and also had no sax player, so it was dropped from the set.

‘made me cry real tears’ The Times – ‘all the makings of a cult hit’ Evening Standard – ‘the Citizen Kane of boxing shrimp movies’ Film Threat (is that a good review?)