KENT NEWS: A comedy film about a group of travelling Gillingham FC supporters hits cinema screens across the country next month.
The Shouting Men, which was shot mostly at locations throughout Kent and features a cameo by Gills chairman Paul Scally, will premiere in London just days before its nationwide release on March 5.
Producer Warren Llambias – son of Newcastle United managing director Derek – told KOS Media he was confident the film would be a success.
He said: “It’s funny and I promise you it’ll make people laugh a lot. It’s proven popular with test audiences and I think it’ll go down well, I really do.
“I don’t imagine we’ll be up for any Baftas, but I think it’s a great little popcorn film that people will come out from saying they had a really good time. Comedy films don’t receive cinema releases if they’re not funny.
“To get to where we have with our first film, and on a budget of only £500,000, is a real achievement and we’re delighted.”
The Shouting Men, which also features cameos by England football legends John Barnes and Peter Beardsley, is about a group of Gillingham fans who travel to watch their team play Newcastle United in the FA Cup.
However, their trip north goes pear-shaped when they abandon a wheelchair-bound accomplice – or a closet football hooligan – who then complains about his treatment to the national press. Mr Llambias, who plays one of the Gills fans, said he wanted the film to encapsulate the types of supporters found at lower-league football grounds.
He said: “We needed to pick a club that has to fight. When you walk around Medway you see more people wearing Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United colours than you do Gillingham shirts.
“A small club like that has to fight to get its supporters, and that’s something we really wanted to dip into. There’s also a special type of camaraderie between the supporters of teams like Gillingham, and any lower league fan should be able to recognise that in the film.
“I wasn’t a Gills supporter before we began shooting but I’ve become quite attached to the club over the months. I’m sure some supporters will remember a couple of years ago when we first came down here to pick their brains about what it was like to be a Gills fan.”
Filming for the comedy, which also stars former Lovejoy actor Dudley Sutton and ex-EastEnder Craig Fairbrass, was completed at Newcastle’s St James’ Park stadium in late 2008. Other locations included Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium, the University of Greenwich at Chatham, and the Inn on the Lake hotel at Gravesend.
Mr Llambias admits a spanner was thrown into the works when Gillingham were promoted from League Two last season and Newcastle were relegated from the Premiership, thus making the David versus Goliath element less prominent.
He said: “It was really frustrating and we did talk about maybe going back and changing some of the dialogue.
“But we decided that Newcastle are still a huge club and will probably be back in the Premiership next season anyway.”
POSTED: 07/02/2010 11:00:00
Bookmark with:
Email to a friend: