Film

Director Magnus Wake brings his Edinburgh-set paranormal feature film Dark Sense to screens, while reflecting on the city’s need to attract films like Fast And Furious

JUST as all eyes in the Capital are currently focused on the high-octane chases and death-defying stunts being filmed around the city as Fast And Furious 9 makes Edinburgh its home, so too they were on the Old Town in 2017 when the Avengers came calling.

James Robinson as Mal in Dark Sense

Down in Leith, meanwhile, director Magnus Wake was quietly filming his debut feature, Dark Sense, with little or no public attention… even when a stuntman on a motorcycle smashed through the doors of St James’s Episcopal Church on Constitution Street.

Article in the The Scotsman – Full text here

DARK SENSE selected for opening night at Boston SciFi 2019

DARK SENSE, a new intense Scottish thriller film is receiving its world premiere at the Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival in the US on 8thof February 2019 The film was crowdfunded in Edinburgh by Scottish director Magnus Wake and tells the story of Simon, a young man who has premonitions of a serial killer’s dark deeds.

The film was shot at various locations throughout Edinburgh in 2017 and stars Shane O’Meara (Waterloo Road), Jim Sturgeon (Justice League), Maggie Bain (Cold Kill) and James Robinson (Braveheart), whose first screen appearance was aged 10 as the young William Wallace in Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. It also includes cameos from Scottish acting greats, Siobhan Redmond, Gordon Kennedy and Sanjeev Kohli.

The film tells the story of Simon, a psychic, who has foreseen his own death at the hands of a serial killer and must enlist the help of an ex-special forces soldier to track down the psychopath and evade the government agents out to exploit his special powers.

Dunkeld based Producer Simone Bett said: “Our team set out to do justice to Peter’s tense, book; we feel we have succeeded and are now eager for it to be seen around the world and of course in our own home country.”

Director Magnus Wake said: “It’s amazing to get this indie film into this festival. Boston Sci-Fi is the longest running genre film festival in the US and for Dark Sense to be recognised is really exciting!   Boston is seen as a trailblazer for up and coming films and emerging talent.”

The project is based on the bestselling novel ‘First and Only’ by borders based author Peter A. Flannery.  The film raised over £53k in 2016 by crowd funding, beating the previous record set for a Scottish film.

Magnus added: “The whole film wouldn’t have been possible without the huge help and support from the people of Edinburgh. Our backers got to take part in the creation of the film, and some are even in the credits with their selfies and also in the background of scenes as extras. We’ve had a lot to overcome, an industry not used to doing things differently, a Scottish referendum, an EU referendum, both of which has created a level of uncertainty which has been challenging. We also were filming in Edinburgh at the same time as the Avengers Infinity War, which added to the fun!”

DARK SENSE selected by EIFF for Work In Progress Section

EIFF Work In Progress DARK SENSE

We’ve been selected to be part of the Edinburgh International Film Festivals  Work In Progress for DARK SENSE.

DARK SENSE is a gripping thriller based on Peter Flannery’s best selling novel, First and Only. Now just completing post production before heading off to festivals.

DARK SENSE at Edinburgh International Film Festival Work in Progress Showcase

This opportunity will see director Magnus Wake and producer Simone Bett present to film industry leaders to assist as the film moves into its distribution phase.

Selected by the Scottish Film Talent Network to go to TIFF

Time to take @firstonlymovie to a film festival (not for screening yet! Still in post!) delighted to be selected by @sftnetwork to go to @tiff_net #indiefilm #filmnews #filmmaking #thriller #director #producer #mw #tiff2017 #featurefilm #film #independentfilm #independentcinema

via Instagram http://ift.tt/2w60uJA

The Deep for Glenmorangie

Fantastic weather up at Tain for the successful reintroduction of oysters to the Dornoch Firth. Just finished the second film for Glenmorangie and their partners, Heriot-Watt University and Marine Conservation Scotland. A stunning few days filming on land and firth with drones, underwater cameras etc.

Congratulations to everyone for such a successful project.

Below is the two films produced by Greenroom for Glenmorangie.

Principle Photography Complete

Completion of Principle Photography for First and Only. We’ve had an amazing six weeks of film. We only got rained on once and the crew were as tight as a pair of Robin Hood’s stockings. Seriously, a great crew, a great cast and some amazing fights and stunts. Can’t wait to get it out there for people to see. Just a small edit to go.

Scottish Thriller ‘First and Only’ cast announcement

 

http://www.film-news.co.uk/news/Underground/45124/Scottish-psychic-thriller-First-and-Only-full-cast-announcement

We are delighted to announce the cast for new psychic thriller First and Only. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by author Peter Flannery and directed by award-winning director Magnus Wake the film sees a welcome return to the big screen for James Robinson who first made his acting debut as young William Wallace in Braveheart. In First and Only James will play the ominous figure of serial killer Mal whose religious killing spree can only be stopped by Simon, a mysteriously gifted young man who has been haunted by Mal since witnessing his first murder as a boy. Simon is played by Waterloo Road star Shane O’Meara who seeks assistance in his mission from hardened ex-SAS man Steve Brennus, played by well-known Scottish actor Jim Sturgeon.

In addition the cast will include; Maggie Bain, Graeme McKnight, Sandy Welch, Ian Hanmore, Shonagh Price, Kim Allan, Kenny Blyth, Kern Falconer, Pauline Turner, Sharon Young, Alisdair Hankinson, Mya Green.

Filming begins in Edinburgh in late March ahead of an expected Autumn 2017 release. The script is adapted by Geoff Holder and Alistair Rutherford from the Amazon best-selling novel First and Only by Peter Flannery.

This strong cast announcement is the latest success for a feature film that became Scotland’s most crowdfunded movie in pounds raising over £50,000 ($75,000) in November 2014. A short film made from the crowdfunding included cast from Outlander and Game of Thrones and was accepted into the Cannes Film Festival- Short Film Corner. It has proved very successful internationally, selected for festivals in LA, London, Amsterdam and Berlin.

James Robinson
James had his first success on screen when he was 10-years-old. He garnered much acclaim for his performance as the young William Wallace in Mel Gibson’s 5 Oscar® winning blockbuster, Braveheart (1995). On the screen, Robinson was seen in Danny Boyles highly acclaimed police dramady, “Babylon” and Neil Jordan’s epic series “The Borgias” with Jeremy Irons and Gina McKee. Also on television, Robinson had guest starring roles on the BBC dramas “Doctors” and “Casualty”. He is currently playing Greg Edgars in Golden Globe® Nominated “Outlander” produced by Sony Pictures Television for Starz. Robinson remains active in the theatre and is involved with the National Theatre of Scotland where he performed the play “In Time O’ Strife” for the company as part of a UK tour in 2014. His other theatre credits include “Brassed Off” at the York Theatre Royal and National Tour; J. B. Priestley’s “They Came To A City” at the Southwark Playhouse, London; William Shakespeare’s “King John” at The Union Theatre, London; “I Didn’t Always Live Here” written by Stewart Conn and directed by Lisa Blair at The Finborough Theatre in London.

Shane O’ Meara
Shane O’Meara came to prominence playing troubled Scots schoolboy Connor Mulgrew, at odds with his alcoholic mother, in the long-running television series ‘Waterloo Road’. Having been born in Ireland when Shane was seven the family moved to Livingston, Scotland where he went to school and from there he went on to study High Drama and Acting at Edinburgh Telford College and Dundee College, graduating in 2011. Other than a role in the short film ‘Weaverfish’, made in Fife, ‘Waterloo Road’ was his first significant part and in 2015 he joined the cast of Midlands-based soap ‘Doctors’.

Jim Sturgeon
Jim can be seen in feature films such as Justice League, ’71 and the Edge of Tomorrow’. On television, Jim has had roles in Shetland, Katie Morag, Hope Springs and more. As well as his film and television work Jim has also worked extensively on stage in theatres throughout his native Scotland and as well as in London’s West End. He has also played in theatres in America and Australia while touring with Kneehigh Theatre’s acclaimed production of ‘Brief Encounter’ where he played the role of Dr Alec Harvey alongside Hannah Yelland who played Laura. He recently shared the west end stage with Kenneth Cranham and Claire Skinner in the critically acclaimed and award-winning play ‘The Father’.

Cast List:
Shane O’Meara as Simon Eildon
Jim Sturgeon as Steve Brennus
James Robinson as Mal
Maggie Bain as Chatham
Graeme McKnight as Stokes
Sandy Welch as Johns
Ian Hanmore as Father Kavanagh
Shonagh Price as Judy Eildon
Pauline Turner as Else Scire
Kern Falconer as Professor Richet
Sharon Young as Christine Brennus
Kenny Blyth as PC Cearns
Kim Allan as Alison
Alisdair Hankinson as Gerald Gifford
Mya Green as Sally Brennus

For the latest information on the film visit: www.firstandonlymovie.com
Instagram: http://instagram.com/firstonlymovie/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firstonlymovie/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/firstonlymovie