Blockbuster directed by Bob Hoskins and Richard Attenborough to shoot in city

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Saturday, September 26, 2009
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This is SouthWales

A BIG-BUDGET blockbuster is due to be filmed in Swansea.

Mediaeval action thriller Ironclad, due for release next year, will see a host of Hollywood stars visit the city for filming.

Screen legend Bob Hoskins is set to direct the £20 million flick alongside Jurassic Park actor Richard Attenborough.

And Paul Giamatti, who had an Oscar nomination for his role in Cinderella Man, has been lined-up for a leading role.

Filming is set to start on October 14, with Oystermouth Castle in Mumbles chosen as one of the prime locations by bosses.

The popular tourist hotspot will be used to shoot a number of battle scenes before filming ends in December.

Sites across South Wales are also set to feature, including Caerphilly Castle. And the Dragon Studios in Bridgend are being used to film indoor scenes for what will be the venue's first-ever film shoot.

An inside source said: "To have a full-on mediaeval blockbuster shooting in Swansea is amazing news for the city.

"Lots of local actors are hoping to land fairly big parts in this, so it's likely to be a massive boost for the city and very exciting for movie fans.

"Everyone involved is really excited that Bob Hoskins and Richard Attenborough are directing."

William Mosely, who played Peter in the recent Narnia films, is on the cast list alongside Rome actor James Purefoy.

Purefoy is playing a member of the Knights Templar in the flick, which is set in the 13th Century.

His character defends Rochester Castle in the story against an army led by the ruthless King John, played by Giamatti.

Auditions for secondary roles were held in Cardiff last weekend and around 25 actors have this week been waiting for call backs.

Read more stories like this in Saturday's Celebrity Scoop column.

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9 Comments

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by eddie, uplands

    Tuesday, September 29 2009, 12:54PM

    “Jim and anon.

    My attitude towards RADICAL muslims is not anti-muslim or racist (Islam is not a race) or chauvinistic, bigoted or parochial - I just predicted the protests that may come from the usual Islamist suspects. I do not care what anyone's race or religion is, so long at they accept our values - i.e. freedom of expression, tolerance, freedom of speech etc.

    Also - Stereotypes are based on truth after all, and did not come from nowhere - you may have noticed that most terrorists are muslim these days - and most violence against muslims around the world is done by other muslims too. The inability to face that is dishonest and cowardly - so it's a shame the media is silent on it.

    Please learn to read Jim - then you'll see that nowhere did I say all violence in the world is done by muslims - they are your words, not mine. Also, perhaps you could comment on the subject of the article instead of just ranting against me...Or don't bother. Same to me matey.”

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by Tony Love, Mumbles

    Monday, September 28 2009, 9:10PM

    “You can see my house from Oystermouth Castle.”

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by Jim, Gorseinon

    Monday, September 28 2009, 7:59PM

    “Eddie gets up on his high horse re. so called "Welsh parochialism" and then promptly trips over his own stereotyped, chauvanistic attitude towards muslims. I think you'll find that violence is committed by all sorts of people all over the world, and is not the sole domain of muslims.

    I would suggest Eddie that if you have a radio in the house you try turning it on and listening to it! It's a mind-expanding experience!”

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by anon, anon

    Monday, September 28 2009, 11:45AM

    “Wow, what seemed quite an interesting post descending into an anti muslim rant there Eddie.”

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by robert, swansea

    Monday, September 28 2009, 7:46AM

    “he dies in the end so its piontless watching it”

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by eddie, uplands

    Sunday, September 27 2009, 10:46AM

    “I agree Lewis. What kind of ignoramus refers to Bob Hoskins as a ' screen legend' and Richard Attenborough as 'Jurassic Park actor' - even though perhaps that is the only way 12 year olds know him (that seems the average age of journalists these days). Forget about his acting career from the 1940s, superceded by his oscar-winning directing career - the man is the old man of the British film industry, and the Post seems to think playing a bit part in a monster movie is all he did. Truly pathetic hackery of mindblowing ignorance. Probably this information was just downloaded from a Hollywood gossip website anyway, like most articles in UK papers.

    Jim - stop being a parochial paranoid Welsh stereotype - Wales was not a united country anyway in the middle ages and is a very small place, with 5% of the UK population - half of London's. Deal with it and grow up - plenty of the more educated people in Wales are comfortable with their mised heritage that has been shared with England for centuries. If you only watch movies that deal with Welsh history I would advise investing in a radio...or reading a book, though I know many Post readers would struggle with that.

    Still, let's look on the bright side - radical muslims may well stage noisy protests at islamophobic crusader history being celebrated in the city, so much fun is expected... Shame they're not protesting about all the violence done by muslims around the word now really, innit...”

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by Lewis, Pontardawe

    Saturday, September 26 2009, 10:09PM

    “"Jurassic Park actor Richard Attenborough" Not Oscar winning film director, veteran actor and doyen of the British film industry Richard Attenborough? Strewth, the Evening Post is employing some pretty strange journalists.”

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by Jim Dunckley, Gorseinon

    Saturday, September 26 2009, 9:19PM

    “Why is it that Medieval films that get shot here are always about English history?

    We get all this rubbish from Rhodri Morgan and co. about how Wales' profile in America is being raised, yet when Hollywood comes here, they come to shoot films about English history. This isn't England, it's Wales, yet Hollywood remains as ignorant, clueless and uneducated as ever.

    There are Welsh people high up in the film industry in America - what are these people doing? Have they no pride? What do we get? People like Ioan Gruffydd playing Captain Horatio Hornblower.

    What are these people doing to promote Welsh identity in Hollywood?

    Isn't it about time that these people, WAG and the Welsh tourist board did their job properly and got Hollywood interested in a film about Welsh history - what about Owain Glyndwr or the Chartist Rising of 1839?”

  • Profile image for This is SouthWales

    by Jim Dunckley, Gorseinon

    Saturday, September 26 2009, 9:18PM

    “Why is it that Medieval films that get shot here are always about English history?

    We get all this rubbish from Rhodri Morgan and co. about how Wales' profile in America is being raised, yet when Hollywood comes here, they come to shoot films about English history. This isn't England, it's Wales, yet Hollywood remains as ignorant, clueless and uneducated as ever.

    There are Welsh people high up in the film industry in America - what are these people doing? Have they no pride? What do we get? People like Ioan Gruffydd playing Captain Horatio Hornblower.

    What are these people doing to promote Welsh identity in Hollywood?

    Isn't it about time that these people, WAG and the Welsh tourist board did their job properly and got Hollywood interested in a film about Welsh history - what about Owain Glyndwr or the Chartist Rising of 1839?”

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