“You’ve Been Trumped”

Few people would believe that a “multi-award-winning Scottish film” would bring humiliation to Scotland, but that’s what’s been suggested by Brian Wilson in an article on the “The Scotsman” newspaper website.

The documentary film in question, which has been named “You’ve Been Trumped”, is about American tycoon Donald Trump and his determination to create his multi-million pound golf course. Recently Trump boasted about building “The greatest golf course in the world.” This was despite protests by conservationists in Aberdeen trying to protect the environment and the angry locals who Trump was trying to force out of their homes with compulsory purchase orders.

The writer of the article says that the Scottish Government and Grampian Police should be ashamed of themselves. This also includes regular Scottish people who were aware of the issues but took little interest and didn’t take action against the golf course extravaganza. 

The director, Anthony Baxter, saw an opportunity to make the movie when he heard about the troubles, and had an inkling that the news wasn’t reporting the full story. Therefore Baxter took it upon himself to investigate, and speak to those involved: discovering that the local residents who campaigned against Trump’s golf plans were hounded by him.

Trailer:

Something to celebrate:

On a more positive note, the film, which was released in 2011, has been a massive success for the director, despite the Trump Organisation branding it as “a failure.” “You’ve Been Trumped” has won a magnitude of awards including “Best Documentary Award” at one of America’s largest film festivals and a “Social Justice Award” at Hamptons International Film Festival.

There is the possibility that a number of Scots are wondering why they were unaware of this achievement, and it is probably due to the fact that the “Scottish outlets [screening the film] to date have been minuscule.” Meaning that, ironically, very few people know about the documentary in Scotland.

Scottish Actor Shoots with Brad Pitt!

Raised in Edinburgh Ruari Cannon is a rising star and after appearing in Brad Pitt’s “World War Z” his future acting career looks promising. The movie, which was directed by Marc Forester, is about a U.N. employee racing around the world to save the population from a potentially deadly Zombie pandemic. The 20-year-old plays a zombie named Meth and has said this about the role:

“It was tough because my character is a zombie and is dead behind the eyes. He is supposed to have given up on life itself but he turns a corner.”

Shooting face-to-face with Brad Pitt himself the young actor learned a lot and received some specialist advice on his first ever film role. At just 17 it seems his talent was clear and Ruari won a Scholarship to study at the American Academy for Dramatic Arts in New York. Previously Cannon was heavily involved in stage productions such as “Oliver!”, “The Merchant of Venice” and “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

The city of Glasgow was lucky enough to play host to the film set of “World War Z” and last August part of the town was transformed into Philadelphia. Glasgow was home to around 1200 cast and crew and as a result of this the city has been said to have made around 2 million pounds in profit. Unfortunately the eagerly anticipated apocalyptic movie isn’t to be released in the UK until January 2013.

Here is a link to a newspaper article about the “World War Z” filming in Glasgow last year.

The Wee Yin?

Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, affectionately known by fans as The Big Yin, is set to play a dwarf in Peter Jackson’s movie adaption of the hit novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.

“The Hobbit”, which was first published in 1937, is a prelude to Tolkien’s popular “The Lord of the Rings” series and will be split into two films. The first movie: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is scheduled to be released in December of this year (2012) with the second movie: “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” to come out late the following year. 

Trailer:

Jackson, the director, was quoted saying:

"We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of the dwarves, than Billy Connolly, the Big Yin himself," 

Filming has already begun in New Zealand where The Shire, home to the hobbits, and other sets have been built.

Recently, after being voted the “most influential comedian of all time” by the public in a poll organised by TV channel Dave, Connolly has suffered heckles from some of his UK audience members. This has resulted in two of his shows being prematurely ended, leaving both the 69-year-old funny man and his fans unimpressed.

Here is a link to Connolly’s official website including his blog and information on other projects.

Our Favourite Scottish Time Lord becomes a Groom.

Scottish born actor David Tennant, best known for his five year stint on “Doctor Who” as the Tenth Doctor, is starring in soon-to-be released “The Decoy Bride.” Set on a Scottish Island the comedy is about the marriage of a famous actress (Alice Eve) and James, her fiancé, (Tennant) trying to escape the paparazzi on their special day. When the photographers turn up, however, they are forced to hire Katie, a local girl, (Kelly MacDonald) to be the decoy for the press. But when Katie meets James sparks fly. The film is planned to be released the 9^th of March and available on DVD from the 12^th.


Trailer:

CinemaBlend.com has described “The Decoy Bride” by saying:

“The trailer is actually funny, though the story looks like it could tread into familiar waters, with a woman falling for a spoken-for man, who may just full for her back, and the odd-man(bride)-out possibly being unlikeable enough to root firmly against. That aside, it looks like a fun comedy, and I can easily see being charmed by the cast (particularly Tennant and MacDonald).”

So if your up for a laugh and don’t mind a bit of cliché then this movie might be the one for you! Here is a link to the full article!

“The Decoy Bride” was filmed on the Isle of Man but set in Scotland! Here are some other Scottish location doubles.

If you want to check out any more of Tennant’s work then here are a few of the other projects he’s been involved in:

•       A remake of the 1985 cult film “Fright Night” (2011).
•       The 2009 TV film “Hamlet” for the BBC with David Tennant in the title role.
•       Barty Crouch Junior in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005).
•       And of course the Tenth Doctor in the long running TV series “Doctor Who”.

 

Silver Tongues

Up and coming Scottish filmmaker, Simon Arthur had his debut at the Glasgow Film Festival, which returned to the city once again last week. The feature film “Silver Tongues” is about a couple travelling through America. The pair devise different identities to play pranks on everyone they meet, gradually growing darker as the movie progresses. Starring Lee Tergesen and Enid Graham, the deceit filled movie was screened over the weekend of the 18^th and 19^th of February, and appears to be a success for the young director. 

Interview with the Director:

Glasgow Film Festival 2012:

This year’s annual festival, like the ones before it, aimed at bringing a film festival to people not involved in the industry with attractions such as “European Cinema”, “Best of British” and also some free events. Don’t worry if you’ve missed out though! Glasgow film festival continues to run until Sunday the 26^th of February with the closing gala of “Le Harve”, by Finnish director and screenwriter Aki Kaurismäki.

Tickets are still available at the Glasgow Film Festival website.