Shirley Valentine (film) Shirley Valentine (film) Shirley Valentine is an award-winning 1989 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay by Willy Russell is based on his 1986 one-character play of the same title, which follows middle aged Shirley Valentine in an unexpected discovery of herself, and rekindling of her childhood dreams and youthful love of life. Pauline Collins reprises the titular lead role as middle-aged housewife Shirley, which she had previously played in the stage production in London's West End and on Broadway, and Tom Conti plays Costas Dimitriades, the owner of a Greek tavern with whom she has a
Cindy Valentine and "Laverne & Shirley"), and her hit single "Pickup The Pieces (To My Heart)" appears in the film "" (1991). For much of the 1990s into 2003, Valentine worked behind the scenes in film and television, as a composer and musician. Composer Dominic Messinger and Valentine teamed in 1997, with credited works for the sequel to Mickey Rourke's "Another 9 1/2 Weeks", and the television series "As the World Turns" and "Sirens". Since 2000, Valentine has involved herself with horror, documentary and art genre films, such as the critically acclaimed "" (2008) and is credited as Producer on "Ruth" (2000)