the HOT 100
S c r e e n t i m e
The Central Belt’s enjoying a bit of a boom as a i lm and TV location right now, as Henry Northmore explains
There was an explosion in i lming across Edinburgh and Glasgow in 2017. Trainspotting 2 hit the cinemas in January and unsurprisingly the vast majority was shot in Edinburgh and Leith, capturing the reality of Renton (Ewan McGregor), Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Begbie’s (Robert Carlyle) lives. In spring, the capital was taken over by the Avengers folk for big budget sequel Ini nity War. All the key players – including Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo – swooped into town, with the Royal Mile, Cockburn Street and Waverley Station the key locations in the superhero blockbuster. This was the biggest ever shoot to take place in Edinburgh, with a crew of over 400 in tow, and it’s estimated the Marvel movie boosted the Scottish economy by £10m. Further ai eld the latest Mary, Queen of Scots biopic (starring Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie and David Tennant) i lmed around Inverness and Aviemore.
In TV a number of high-proi le
dramas have been set in Scotland. The BBC’s student drama Clique and medical thriller Trust Me both took place in Edinburgh. And alongside River City, Robot Wars and Mrs Brown’s Boys, The Replacement (starring Morven Christie and Vicky McClure) was also i lmed in Glasgow. ITV’s Liar featured Edinburgh in one episode and murder mystery The Loch was based on and around Loch Ness. Closer to home, series three of historical romance / action adventure Outlander (Amazon Prime) i lmed right outside The List ofi ces, transforming the courtyard into a bustling Jacobean marketplace. Meanwhile, plans for the £250m
Pentland Studio complex, comprising six sound stages on the outskirts of Edinburgh, have been greenlit by the Scottish Government and should be open for business in late 2018.
30 THE LIST 1 Nov 2017–31 Jan 201
P H O T O
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S T E V E U L L A T H O R N E
54 GREEN DOOR STUDIOS SWAP SHOP
Founded in 2006, Green Door is a vital hub for the Glasgow music scene. Their youth courses have been game-changing, while their collaboration with the Tai Cultural Institute in Ghana has brought about genuine cultural exchange. (SS)
53 TRNSMT T IN THE PAST
Fronted by Radiohead, Kasabian, Belle & Sebastian, Stormzy and Rag‘n’Bone Man, the inaugural ‘replacement’ for T in the Park on Glasgow Green was an unqualii ed organisational success. We’re thrilled it’s coming back in 2018, hopefully with more female artists this time. (DP)
52 KELLY MACDONALD LADY DI
Kelly Macdonald popped up for a brief but crucial cameo in T2. However it was in the second half of the year that she really stretched her acting wings as a grieving mother in the TV adaptation of Ian McEwan’s The Child in Time and as a nanny in biopic Goodbye Christopher Robin. (HN)
51 YOUNG FATHERS DAD EDUCATION
They may have received a ridiculous amount of backlash for it but Young Fathers’ short i lm, Random White Dudes, made in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, was a terrii c and bold interrogation of white privilege. The Edinburgh trio also contributed heavily to the T2 soundtrack, getting the seal of approval from Danny Boyle and Irvine Welsh himself. (AQ)
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59 SUSAN CALMAN DANCING QUEEN
In a past Fringe show, Susan Calman recalled the days when she just wanted to dance in Swan Lake. This year, she’s been strutting her stuff on Strictly. Thankfully, she found time to do that live comedy thing that she’s also good at, stopping off for an emotional gig at the Traverse on The Calman Before the Storm national tour. (BD)
58 CATRIONA MORISON HOPE OPERA
Winner of not one but two prizes at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World event (including being the i rst ever British victor of the main award), Edinburgh- born mezzo-soprano Catriona Morison is an ensemble member of Wuppertal Opera, featuring recently in their stagings of Rigoletto and Les contes d’Hoffmann. (BD)
57 PEGGY HUGHES ANGLIA FOR A MOVE
Taking up a new post as programme director at the Writers’ Centre Norwich in November, Peggy Hughes leaves a large footprint behind on the Scottish literary scene, most recently as director of the Dundee Literary Festival and the (now sadly ended) Dundee International Book Prize. Her i nal event welcomed Jacqueline Wilson, Andrew O’Hagan and Denise Mina. (DP)
56 NICO SIMEONE JOY OF SIX
Glasgow-based Six by Nico serves a brand new six-course tasting menu every six weeks, each one based on a different theme. Nico’s other restaurant, 111 by Nico, also continues to impress the city’s diners, with affordable i ne dining and a training academy for disadvantaged young people. (LS)
55 RACHEL MCCRUM CANADA DRY
Though she now calls Montreal home, Rachel McCrum remains a mainstay on the Scottish poetry and spoken-word scene. This was emphasised by her wonderful debut poetry collection, The First Blast to Awaken Women Degenerate, a lyrically beautiful and tender piece of work that draws attention to the strong and vulnerable voices of women. (AQ)