Editing Alex Cox (section)

===Liverpool period (1997–2006)===
In 1996, producer Stephen Nemeth employed Alex Cox to write and direct an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's ''[[Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas]]''. After creative disagreements with the producer and Thompson, he was sacked from the project, and his script rewritten when [[Terry Gilliam]] took over the film. (Cox later sued successfully for a writing credit, as it was ruled that there were enough similarities between the drafts to suggest that Gilliam's was derivative of Cox's. Gilliam countered that the screenplays were based on the source book and similarities between them were a consequence of this.)

In 1997, Alex Cox made a deal with Dutch producer Wim Kayzer to produce another dual TV/feature production. ''[[Three Businessmen]]''. Initially, Cox had hoped to shoot in Mexico but later decided to set his story in [[Liverpool]], [[Rotterdam]], Tokyo and [[Almería]]. The story follows businessmen in Liverpool who leave their hotel in search of food and slowly drift further from their starting point, all the while believing they are still in Liverpool. The film was completed for a small budget of $250,000. Following this, Cox moved back to Liverpool and became interested in creating films there.

Cox had long been interested in the [[Literature in English#Jacobean literature|Jacobean]] play, ''[[The Revenger's Tragedy]]'', and upon moving back to [[UK|Britain]], decided to pursue adapting it to a film. Collaborating with fellow Liverpudlian screenwriter [[Frank Cottrell Boyce]], the story was recast in the near future, following an unseen war. This adaptation, titled ''[[Revengers Tragedy]]'', consisted primarily of the original play's dialogue, with some additional bits written in a more modern tone. The film is also notable for its soundtrack, composed by [[Chumbawamba]].

Following this, Cox directed a short film set in Liverpool for the BBC titled ''[[I'm a Juvenile Delinquent – Jail Me!]]'' (2004). The 30-minute film satirised reality television as well as the high volume of petty crime in Liverpool which, according to Cox, is largely recreational.