Edinburgh. Friday, 15 August
Rock On
Richard Jobson was rocking the night away last night to celebrate the successful launch of his debut, 16 Years of Alcohol, in an exclusive soirée at the Caley Brewery in Fountainbridge. Jobson and the film’s star Kevin McKidd, let their hair down with a little help from Jobson’s friends – his former band mates from The Skids (well 2 of them as well as 2 stand-ins), to be precise. Guests got a a bit of a blast from Jobson’s rock n’ roll past and a taste of punk-rock Skids-style as the band’s classics were played.
A Great Dane
This morning there was more press-conferencing – this time for Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself), a quirky comedy from Danish director Lone Scherfig. God only knows what the lovely Lone had had for breakfast but she was bursting into laughter every 5 minutes as she talked about making the film. The cast were on form too, and when they gave it the usual ‘it was fantastic working with such a great team’ line, you got the feeling they actually really meant it.
Shirley Henderson (Bridget Jones’ Diary, 24 Hour Party People, Trainspotting) who plays Alice in the film said "Lone was great – she organised a week off before filming so we could get to know each other and muck about a bit. We actors like to muck about on set."
Jamie Sives
Edinburgh actor Jamie Sives, who plays the title role with bags of cheeky boy charm – added, "We laughed a lot during filming. It’s a funny script – not a belly-laugh type of thing, more left-field and a bit off the wall." Fair comment I think for a comedy focusing on one boy’s repeated (and bungled) suicide attempts. Still, I did find myself laughing out loud several times when I watched it.
I caught up with Jamie afterwards and he told me how weird an experience it is to be part of all the Edinburgh festival madness for the first time.
He said with a grin, "I’m from Edinburgh and I normally find the festival time of year a real nightmare. I try and just stay at home but this year obviously I’m involved in it. I’m actually going to try and get organised and go and do stuff this year!"
Wilbur Force
The cast of Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself) also turned out in force. Jamie Sives (Wilbur), Adrian Rawlins (Wilbur’s brother Harbour), Shirley Henderson (Alice), Lisa McKinlay (Alice’s daughter) were there with Lone Scherfig (director), Anders Thomas Jensen (screenplay writer) and Sisse Graum Olsen (producer).
Lone was projected live onto big screens outside the cinema as she spoke to an EIFF TV crew before heading inside for the screening of the movie.
And judging by the people I spoke to today who’d seen the film, I think Lone (Wants To Be Very Proud of Herself).
Until tomorrow, Claire x
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