James Cosmo

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‘The Kindred’ Sold To International Markets

Screenbound International Pictures has struck several deals for British horror The Kindred.

The 2021 British horror film starring Samantha Bond, James Cosmo and Patrick Bergin, is about a young woman suffering from amnesia trying to solve why her father committed suicide. Thereafter, she is haunted by the ghosts of children that she begins to suspect were murdered by him.

Lighthouse Home Entertainment has acquired for German-speaking territories and Star Entertainment has taken Latin America rights in Cannes for the pic, which follows a woman suffering from amnesia as she pieces together the events that led to her father’s suicide. The Kindred was produced by Parkhouse Pictures.

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James Cosmo Launches VisitScotland’s New-Look Film Guide Set in Scotland 

Scottish acting legend, James Cosmo, has spoken of the “magical quality” of films shot in Scotland as VisitScotland launches its new-look guide to big screen locations. 

 The star of iconic Scottish films, Highlander, Braveheart and Trainspotting, and TV fantasy series, Game of Thrones, pens the foreword to the national tourism organisation’s revamped guidebook, Set in Scotland.

VisitScotland Set in Scotland Launch 3 (Credit VisitScotland Julie Howden)
Scottish acting legend, James Cosmo, has spoken of the “magical quality’ of films shot in Scotland as VisitScotland launches its new-look guide to big screen locations at Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, near Falkirk. L-R Amanda Kilburn of Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, Neil Christison VisitScotland Regional Director, Cllr Paul Paul Garner of Falkirk Council, actor James Cosmo, Film and Creative Industries Manager at VisitScotland Jenni Steele.

 The 52-page guide features more than 150 films which have been shot entirely or partially in Scotland – 46 more than the previous version first published in 2015 – and details more than 100 film locations. It is available in VisitScotland iCentres across the country and can be downloaded from visitscotland.com.

Set in Scotland was launched by James Cosmo at Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, which runs steam and heritage diesel train journeys along its tracks, and has appeared in several film and TV productions including Outlander, Cloud Atlas and The Railway Man. The heritage railway is operated by volunteers of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, along with the Museum of Scottish Railways, Scotland’s largest railway museum which is also on the site.

Screen tourism – or set-jetting – is a global trend in which film or TV fans are inspired to visit a location after seeing it on screen. It comes in the form of visiting the exact filming location or providing the general motivation to book a holiday to the destination.

The trend is long-term, with many visitors citing film titles released long before their trip as motivation, and so can provide ongoing financial support to the regions and businesses linked to popular locations. 

VisitScotland hopes the new-look guide will offer further inspiration for visitors to explore across the regions, while providing a resource for the industry to create new experiences as part of Scotland’s national strategy to rebuild the visitor economy and ensure sustainable tourism thrives.

Previous research has shown that 17% of visitors from Scotland’s top international markets (USA, France and Germany) visit a film or TV location while on holiday in Scotland, while a recent Screen Scotland report valued screen tourism at £55 million to the national economy, based on those visiting film and TV locations, creating 1220 full-time jobs.

To date, Scotland has appeared in five of the top 30 highest grossing films of all time, which have brought in a total of $10.6 billion* at the box office worldwide. Among them are Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which showed off Edinburgh’s gothic architecture and the quaint fishing village of St Abbs, respectively. 

  • Nature reserve, St Abb’s Head in the Scottish Borders, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland and accessed by the village of St Abbs, saw a 25% increase in visitors, to 63,721, following the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019. In the two years prior to its release, the attraction had on average 49,000 visitors. Last year’s visitor numbers remained above pre-Avengers levels at 58,862, despite the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • After the release of medieval epic Braveheart (1995) about Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace, the National Wallace Monument in Stirling reported visitor numbers leapt from 80,000 a year to nearly 200,000 in 1996. For the 10-year period from 1996 to 2005 the average annual number of visitors to the National Wallace Monument was 135,000, and it has remained above 100,000 over subsequent years.
  •  Dan Brown’s 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code, had a huge effect on Rosslyn Chapel. Visitor numbers increased by 72 per cent, from 68,603 in 2004 to 118,151 in 2005. In 2006, following the release of the film directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, visitor numbers reached 175,053, providing a major cash injection for conservation work at the site.

Actor James Cosmo, whose film career has spanned six decades, writes in the foreword:“Throughout my career I have been privileged enough to be involved in many [films] that have made a real connection with audiences worldwide. People still come up to me while in Scotland and tell me they are here because they watched Scottish films such as Braveheart or Highlander. And what is wonderful, is that the films are only the starting point. They then form a strong connection with the real country – it may be because of their ancestors or the feeling they get while they’re here. That stays with them.”

Jenni Steele, Film and Creative Industries Manager at VisitScotland, said:“James Cosmo has been a major presence in some of Scotland’s most iconic films and it is a pleasure to have him introduce the guide and encourage film fans to make a real connection with Scotland.

 Some of the world’s biggest film franchises have chosen to come to our shores in recent years, from Batman to Avengers. This not only boosts the local economy in the short-term, which is particularly important for the recovery of tourism, but can provide an ongoing presence in popular culture – and streaming services – that can continue to reach new audiences and lead to visits long after a film’s release.

“As we celebrate Scotland’s Year of Stories, our new-look Set in Scotland will hopefully inspire visitors to explore far beyond the film sets, and experience the people, the places, the history and culture, that have inspired many big screen storytellers.”

Amanda Kilburn, Business Development Director at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, said: “Being a location for many TV and film productions is a real privilege for us. We are fortunate to have such a photogenic site located within easy reach of Edinburgh and Glasgow with the added attraction of being able to give sole use of our line and site to production companies. Our fantastic collection of railway items including steam locomotives, historic carriages and much of the infrastructure required by these companies, has been recognised through the Scottish Government Recognition Scheme as being of national significance. It’s a real thrill for our volunteers and staff to see the place they have been passionately building from a brownfield site on the edge of the Firth of Forth since 1979 on the big screen. 

“Another great aspect of being a film location is that it brings us visitors that may not have come ‘just to see the trains’. Our Station Master has shown many visitors the exact spot that Claire and Frank bid farewell to each other in Outlander or talked about the footbridge and how it was used in The Railway Man. It is a great morale booster for our volunteers too, whom we rely on for survival, to say their railway has been in so many films and TV programmes.

“We work hard to plan these projects with Location Managers and have a great relationship with film crews, many of which have worked with us numerous times and given us the ‘Film Crew Friendly’ badge. Our Railway and Museum are run almost entirely by volunteers of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) which is a Scottish charity, and all income helps fund the restoration and preservation of Scotland’s railway heritage, so we are extra grateful to be able to receive the financial support the TV and film productions bring.”

Councillor Paul Garner, Economic Development Portfolio Holder at Falkirk Council, said: “The launch of this revamped film locations guide, Set in Scotland, is to be applauded.

“The Falkirk area’s starring role in movie and TV film hits such as Outlaw King, World War Z, and Outlander, using the area’s unique and fantastic heritage locations, continues to inspire visitor interest from throughout the UK and aboard from those keen to chase the movie and television production magic.

 It is fitting the launch is at Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway which has been used many times in productions with Bo’ness also the home to Scotland’s oldest purpose-built cinema, the Hippodome. Set in Scotland will continue to highlight incredible places within Scotland which the Falkirk area is pleased to play its important part and reach out to a different market bringing in more visitors to Scotland.”

Set in Scotland covers the last 90 years, from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 version of The 39 Steps, in which UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Forth Bridge, appears, to The Road Dance, which was filmed on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides during the pandemic and released in May this year. Alien, Avengers, Batman, Fast & Furious, and James Bond, are among the global film franchises to have come to Scotland.

As part of the redesign, the guide labels each film by genre, features QR codes with links to film themed content on visitscotland.com, and contains a new section, Monarchs of the Glens, which focuses on those films linked to Scotland’s kings and queens, from Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the Oscar-winning The Queen.

For more on screen tourism and to download Set in Scotland:www.visitscotland.com/film

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Global Screen strikes UK & Ireland deal for TIFF entry ‘My Sailor, My Love’ with Signature

Germany’s Global Screen has reported a strong response in Toronto to Klaus Haro’s TIFF Contemporary World Cinema selection My Sailor, My Love and has struck a deal with Signature for UK & Ireland.

Härö’s English-language debut premiered last Friday (September 9) and stars James Cosmo and Bríd Brennan as a retired sea captain and the home help he falls for, much to the chagrin of his grown-up daughter who feels she has never truly known her father. Catherine Walker also stars.

Jimmy Karlsson and Kirsi Wikman wrote the screenplay. Haro’s 2015 Finnish drama The Fencer made it on to the Oscar shortlist of international films and earned a Golden Globe foreign language feature nomination.

Kai Nordberg and Kaarle Aho produced for Making Movies Oy of Finland alongside David Collins for Samson Films of Ireland. The film received support from the WRAP Fund West-Ireland, Finnish Film Foundation, and Fís Éireann Screen Ireland. Executive producers are Cloé Garbay and Bastien Sirodot of Belgium’s Umedia.

Signature plans an early 2023 theatrical release. Katie Wilkinson, the company’s acquisitions and development executive, said: “Signature were instantly charmed by My Sailor, My Love and it’s always a pleasure to support and champion Irish content. We were all won over by the heartfelt story, amazing performances and the breathtaking scenery of the Emerald Isle featured in the film. We are planning a theatrical release in early 2023 and really look forward to bringing this deeply moving and layered story to audiences.”

Klaus Rasmussen, SVP international theatrical sales & acquisitions at Global Screen, added: “We are very excited to have Signature on board for director Klaus Härös first English-speaking feature. Signature is a strong partner with great enthusiasm for the film. We believe they will do a good job bringing the film to theatres in both UK and Ireland.”

Cosmo’s credits include Game Of Thrones, Braveheart, and The Chronicles Of Narnia. Brennan has starred in Dancing At Lughnasa and Brooklyn. Walker recently worked with Ridley Scott on House Of Gucci and starred in A Dark Song.

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James Cosmo To Voice Character In Netflix’s ‘Scrooge: A Christmas Carol’ Cast

James will be joining the voice cast including Olivia Colman, Luke Evans and Jessie Buckley for Netflix’s animated adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol from Stephen Donnelly (Lost in Oz).

Evans will play Scrooge in Scrooge: A Christmas Carol while Colman and Buckley are the Ghost of Christmas Past and Isabel Fezziwig respectively, while James Cosmo will voice Mr. Fezziwig.

Also boarding are Jonathan Pryce, who will play Jacob Marley, Johnny Flynn, who will play Bob Cratchit.

The animated adaptation was one of eight shows unveiled on a mega European Netflix animation slate at Annecy International Film Festival last month, which also included a follow-up to Academy Award-nominee Klaus and an adaptation of Richard Curtis’ That Christmas.

Produced by Timeless Films in association with Axis Studios and directed by Donnelly, Dickens’ timeless classic, which has been adapted multiple times including famously by the Muppets, follows Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey from grumpy tyrant to forgiving philanthropist.

Academy Award-winner Colman is also starring in the BBC/FX’s adaptation of Great Expectations and the same two networks adapted A Christmas Carol in 2019.

“It’s been a fascinating challenge to adapt such a beloved and often-told story and I think this version will give those who know A Christmas Carol all the things they expect but not as they’ve experienced them before,” said Donnelly. “There are more than enough psychedelic, time-traveling and musical surprises to keep those familiar with the story on the edge of their seats.”

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James Cast in ITV Adaptation of Bestseller ‘Six Four’

U.K. broadcaster ITV has commissioned “Six Four,” a four-part crime thriller inspired by the bestselling novel by Hideo Yokoyama.

Set primarily in Glasgow, the drama follows the O’Neills, police detective Chris and his wife, former undercover officer Michelle, whose teenage daughter goes missing. Chris is finds out that fatal mistakes were covered-up in the disappearance of another local girl and revisiting the case, he uncovers a series of errors, corruption and unbridled ambition. Michelle takes matters into her own hands using her skills. Meanwhile, the daughter of the justice minister is suddenly kidnapped, just as the minister is on the cusp of achieving an election victory.

It is created by BAFTA Scotland-winning screenwriter Gregory Burke (“’71”) and Clare McQuillan (“Impulse”) will also write on the series.

Burke said: “At its heart, ‘Six Four’ is a human story about two people under incredible amounts of pressure, who both choose to try and address their pasts. It is a story about how chance can define a lifetime, exploring the corruption that runs through institutions, and examining the secrets and monsters that lurk in every family.”

The cast is led by Kevin McKidd (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Vinette Robinson (BIFA winner for “Boiling Point”) and also includes Richard Coyle (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”), James Cosmo (“The Bay”), Alex Ferns (“The Irregulars”), Iona Anderson (“The Long Call”), Andrew O’Neill and Nilani Chetty.

McKidd said: “I never take for granted the privilege of being an actor and the chance to become characters like Chris O’Neill, a hard-working serving police officer, whose teenage daughter has gone missing in ‘Six Four.’ Greg Burke’s scripts are real page-turners, as he keeps you guessing with every plot twist and turn. I’m delighted to be returning to my native Scotland and to be partnering Vinette Robinson as my on-screen wife, Michelle, and to be working with House Productions and ITV on what promises to be a compelling thriller.”

The drama was commissioned by ITV’s head of drama Polly Hill and produced by BBC Studios’ House Productions, who are enjoying tremendous acclaim for series “Life After Life.” The director is Ben A. Williams (“Baghdad Central”) and the producer is Clare Kerr (“The Nest”). Burke will be an executive producer and Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross and Molly Bolt are executive Producers for House Productions.

Hill said: “Greg Burke’s scripts are brilliant – a compelling police investigation and the heart-breaking personal story of a runaway child. I’m delighted that ITVX and ITV is the home for this drama and to be working with Greg, Tessa and Juliette to bring this to screen.”

Filming has commenced on location in Scotland.

BBC Studios will distribute the series internationally. In the U.K., it will premiere on ITV’s new, free streaming service ITVX in 2023, before transferring to a linear transmission.