UNITED KINGDOM: LOCATION FILMING FOR "THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE" STARTS ON THE SET IN THE SEASIDE TOWN OF SCARBOROUGH

Record ID: 688692

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: LOCATION FILMING FOR "THE RISE AND FALL OF LITTLE VOICE" STARTS ON THE SET IN THE SEASIDE TOWN OF SCARBOROUGH
  • Date: 4th November 1997
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF SCENE BEING SHOT INSIDE NIGHTCLUB WITH ACTOR JIM BROADBENT REHEARSING HIS SCENE
  • Embargoed: 19th November 1997 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: SCARBOROUGH, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8G8QTRZMGEY028D39JZDD8RI
  • Story Text: Location filming for "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice" has started with big-name British actors Michael Caine, Jane Horrocks, Brenda Blethyn and Ewan McGregor on set in the northern seaside town of Scarborough.
    Based on the West End play by Jim Cartwright, the film is directed and scripted by Mark Herman, who's latest release, "Brassed Off" stars Ewan McGregor.
    "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice" is a showbiz fairytale centred around Little Voice (played by Horrocks) - a young woman who lives with her mother Mari (Blethyn) and never leaves her house - that is until talent agent Ray Say (Caine) hears her singing and believes he's found his ticket to talent agent stardom.
    Years of staying in her bedroom listening to vintage records, has left Little Voice with the ability to give near perfect vocal imitations of Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey and Marlene Dietrich.
    Horrocks took on the role in its stage form first -winning rave reviews for her performance. The play was in fact written for her by Cartwright.
    One of her most famous screen roles - be it the television screen - was as "Bubbles" in "Absolutely Fabulous". She also won acclaim for her role in Mike Leigh's "Life Is Sweet", in which she played a neurotic teenager.
    Herman said he would not have taken on the project if Horrocks hadn't been involved. "I wouldn't be doing it if Jane wasn't here...otherwise there's no point...it's her baby really," he said.
    The director added he was pleased to be working with such a wealth of talent in the film.
    "Michael Caine is just such a movie actor, brilliant. You go up to him and say something at the end of a take and he's already got it because he already knows." Ewan McGregor has a difficult role, Herman added, "He plays a lad who hasn't got a girlfriend, and when you cast Ewan McGregor as that it's strange because he's so sexy. So he has to have something wrong with him. So he's playing a bit of an obsessive lad." The Miramax Films/ Scala Productions project involves nine weeks of principal filming which began on October 20 in locations in Scarborough and at Twickenham studios.
    The film crew have been working on scenes set in Scarborough's Haven holiday village - where Little Voice first performs in a talent show. A derelict building was converted into "Mr Boo's" - the nightclub featured in the film.
    Little Voice's love interest - in the form of Billy, a British Telecom engineer - is actor Ewan McGregor.
    Ewan's part is an unusually small one for the upcoming actor who is more used to playing the leading man these days following leading roles in "Trainspotting", "Shallow Grave" and "A Life Less Ordinary." Veteran actor Michael Caine said he was attracted to the film as soon as he read the script.
    "This is the best script I've seen since "Educating Rita". From a dramatic point of view. It's a wonderful script and there's not a bad part in it", Caine said.
    The film has been something of a pet project for producer Elizabeth Karlsen of Scala Productions. Karlsen saw the stage play in 1992 and ever since then has been trying her best to produce it as a film.
    "It'll look massive", Karlson enthused.
    The film is due for release in the UK sometime next summer.
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