HIS statue stands in the heart of his beloved Timperley Village - and now Frank Sidebottom has inspired a movie.

The film Frank is to be released on May 2 and has been co-written by Jon Ronson, who played keyboards in the band once fronted by the much-loved comedy character.

Speaking on the social networking website Twitter, the journalist and broadcaster described the project as 'a fictional story inspired by great outsider musicians like Frank Sidebottom and Captain Beefheart'.

Michael Fassbender will be slipping on the famous papier-mache head to play Frank, and he can currently be seen as slave master Edwin Epps in the film 12 Years A Slave.

Cllr Neil Taylor, a leading member of the fundraising campaign to build a state in memory of Frank Sidebottom, said he welcomed news of the film’s release.

Neil said “It’s great news that the film Frank has been finished, and I am very much looking forward to seeing it very soon. The Film is based on the character Frank Sidebottom, and has been filmed in Mexico, and Dublin.

“When people look in to who Frank Sidebottom was, Timperley will come onto the global map. I know that the bronze statue in Timperley Village is already bringing in visitors from near and wide.”

Frank Sidebottom was a character created by Chris Sievey, who died of cancer in 2010 at the age of 54.