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Hollywood-style opening night for film made in Leeds pub
IT was the most ‘star-studded’ night of the year and everybody wanted a seat at the premiere of the much-awaited blockbuster Rags to Riches.
But it was the West End of Pudsey, and not London, where hundreds queued outside The Royal pub aka Hobson Studios to get a glimpse of the glamorous stars arriving.
It was probably one of the lowest budget films made for years.
But no-one would have known it as the cast stepped from a Rolls Royce and a white stretch limousine. The cameras flashed and voices of the curious and excited crowd almost gasped as the actors and production team of the 50-minute locally-filmed short cruised the red carpet to the pub entrance.
Despite there being no dress code applied, many wore dicky bows and suits and the ladies gowns.
The film, written and directed by local part-time professional actor Adam Hobson and the late Dave Nicholls, has a cast of Adam’s drinking buddies who have never graced the silver screen before.
It tells the story of ill-fated scrapman Tin-Can Tommy Walsh, played by Adam, who when spotted riding in a limo is wrongly assumed to have won the lottery and finds himself maintaining the facade.
Intended as a gritty northern comedy, Adam decided to make the film when he got fed-up with his real life pals from the nearby White Cross pub ribbing him about the part-time acting he does alongside his timber-stripping business.
Billy “The Fish” Chapman, real-life landlord of the Royal, offered the pub’s function room as a studio and Dave Archibold of Camera Kit UK, Stanningley, provided the filming gear.
The cast includes Paul Glover, a former landlord who plays publican “Big Frankie” who dreams of the big time and hires what he believes is a Searchers tribute band but in fact gets a performance by the real-life classic Punk tribute band Tiger Bay.
Other cast members include builder Phil Normington who plays Nobby, Tommy Walsh’s limo driver, Andrew Senior who is Andy the local children’s footie team manager, and Michael Waterhouse who is Tommy’s father-in-law.
Adam, who appeared in Yorkshire Ripper drama This is Personal, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Heartbeat, was staggered by the turn-out. The film had to be screened a second time later in the evening.
“The public response has been absolutely brilliant. Some said it was just like watching a real film and they want us to do a sequel. We have left that possibility open as in the storyline after the troublesome £4.2m winning lottery ticket is thrown into the river the pub landlord fishes it out,” revealed Adam.
Ironically the lottery ticket bought as a film prop actually won, but sadly only a tenner.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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