Light, camera, action... HOLLYWOOD COMES TO REDCAR!!!

[gazzawazza]

Hi! Just thought I'd tell you where I've been this morning... down to the set of Hollywood blockbuster Atonement!
I can't believe that our little town could be picked as the setting for a major film!
Part of the seafront and beach area has been transformed into a bombed-out replica of Dunkirk, and it looks absolutely amazing. There's bombed out buildings, anti-aircraft guns on the prom, jeeps sunk in the sand and dead bodies on the beach!
Some of my mates are extras (I was offered a part but had to turn it down... honest! Am I the only person to turn down a part in a Hollywood movie!?) the whole town is buzzing and everyone's dead excited about it.
This is deffo the biggest thing to ever happen to Redcar.
I suppose I have to ask a question, so, what's the most exciting thing to happen to your town?

[dot.hawkes]

Kiera Knightley is in that,

We had a double murder here in the early 90s a man and a woman from Liverpool, it was drugs related I think. It was nearly as exciting as the several robberies, where the police helicopter has circled over head and told everyone to stay i ndoors .

Oh Phil Cool came to a funeral at the Church at the bottom of my road.

[ali_alic]

Dot - what town are you in??

[loulou32]

Airforce 1 flew over my house when Bush came to visit Blair in Sedgefield. We live in Billigham and thats about exciting as it gets lol

[gazzawazza]

Yes Dot, I saw Kiera in the pub last night, she was gutted I couldn't be in the film. :0)

[gazzawazza]

Hey Loulou, I was building an extension in Boro (Gypsy Lane Nunthorpe) on that day and he flew RIGHT over our heads (he'd just taken off as well so it was really low.
Just think, if I'd had a RPG I could have done the world a big favour!

[dot.hawkes]

I am in a village between Wigan and Preston ali

[ali_alic]

A northern lass - good to hear it!!

[Gef]

Gazza wrote "There's bombed out buildings, anti-aircraft guns on the prom, jeeps sunk in the sand and dead bodies on the beach!"

Sounds just like the Redcar I remember from the late 60s.

Only joking. I have many fond memories of Redcar Jazz Club on Sunday nights.

[Ed Strong]

Nice picture of the Dunkirk (Redcar) beach showing the L'Hirondelle in our free London Metro newspaper this morning. In fact it shows the before and after pictures of the beach with the headline and text:

Just look what Keira did to our seafront

"Life's a beach for the people of Redcar in Cleveland after their promenade was turned into war-torn Dunkirk yesterday. Makers of Keira Knightley's new film Atonement, based on Ian McEwan's novel, had debris and World War II 'bomb' craters strewn across the sands to recreate the French port. Neither Keira nor co-star James McAvoy are expected to make an appearance in the town."

[gary baldy]

Redcar has already (indirectly) starred in another major film.

The director Ridley Scott grew up near there and it is said that he was inspired by the steel and chemical works, all lit up at night, when deciding on the look of Blade Runner.