Thirty Century Man

Thirty Century Man

Antony Crook Shoots Record-Breaking Cyclist James Bowthorpe On the Road in Norway

James Bowthorpe is the round-the-world champion cyclist who beat the previous record by an epic 20 days. This summer he found himself in the isolated Norwegian countryside in the middle of a “white” night with director Antony Crook and stylist Glenn Kitson for Crook's film 30 Century Man. "We were so far north the sun never set. I wanted the film to somehow give a sense of what James had achieved and the idea of him being alone, somewhere wild and isolated,” says Crook, who was carrying new demos by Scottish alt-rockers Mogwai at the time of filming. Listening to “How to Be a Werewolf” on repeat while driving around looking for shoot locations, he says, seemed to fit perfectly with the landscape. When Mogwai saw the footage, the group decided to remix the song, tailor-making a version exclusively for the film. The result spectacularly captures the notion of circumnavigating the earth. “We found the perfect backdrop to tell this story of somebody who points his bike at the horizon and then doesn't stop pedaling. It's a film about never giving up,” says Crook.

Antony Crook is the photographer whose work appears on the cover of Mogwai's forthcoming 'Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will' album.