Beautiful Thing (film) Beautiful Thing (film) Beautiful Thing is a 1996 British film directed by Hettie MacDonald and released by Channel 4 Films. The screenplay was written by Jonathan Harvey based on his own original play of the same name. The film was originally intended for television broadcast only, but it was so well-received that it was subsequently released in cinemas. The atmosphere of the film is heavily influenced by a soundtrack consisting almost entirely of the music of The Mamas & the Papas and "Mama" Cass Elliot. The story is set and filmed on Thamesmead, a working class area of South East
The Mamas & the Papas cartoon". In 1998 the lineup was Phillips, Scott McKenzie, Chrissy Faith, David Baker and Janelle Sadler. After Phillips and McKenzie retired permanently from touring, another singer, Mark Williamson, was brought in. Phillips wanted the New Mamas and the Papas to make an album, "but I just couldn't bring myself to commit to it". Varèse Sarabande released the 1981 demos with other material as "Many Mamas, Many Papas" in 2010. Beyond that, the band is represented on record only by live albums of uncertain provenance, including "The Mamas and the Papas Reunion Live" (1987) featuring the Phillips-Doherty-Phillips-McFarlane line-up and released by