|
On Friday 14th March, I was pleased to announce that Richard Armitage has been cast in Urban and the Shed Crew, a Blenheim Films production, which has just started filming in Leeds in the UK. The filming will take place between 10 March and 2 May and the director is Candida Brady.
The film is adapted from the best-selling novel Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew, written by Bernard Hare. Richard will play 'Chop', an ex-social worker who befriends the eponymous character 'Urban'. Synopsis from Blenheim Film's website:
Bernard Hare’s book has been described as a tale of heroin and cement set in Britain’s underclass in the 90’s.
Eleven-year-old Urban Grimshaw is Britains’ most runaway child, he’s even been the subject of a hard news programme. His mother is a junkie and his father might as well be dead. He can’t read or write, and he doesn’t go to school. His average day is spent sitting round a bonfire with his mates smoking drugs and stealing cars. When he meets his mother’s new friend ‘Chop’, a disillusioned, ex-social worker also living on society’s margins, on one of Leeds’ roughest estates, the two become firm friends. But even ‘Chop’ with his own penchant for drink, drugs and hard living is shocked by the state of Urban’s life.
And from the Urban and the Shed Crew website:
It’s been described as a tale of heroin and cement, set in Britain’s underclass in the 90’s.
Twelve-year old Urban Grimshaw is Britains’ most runaway child, he’s even been on TV’s Crimewatch. His mother is a junkie and his father might as well be dead. He can’t read or write, and he doesn’t go to school. His average day is spent sitting round a bonfire with his mates smoking drugs and stealing cars. When he meets his mother’s new friend Chop’, a 37 year old, disillusioned, ex-social worker also living on society’s margins, on one of Leeds’ roughest estates the two become firm friends.
But even ‘Chop’ with his own penchant for drink, drugs and hard living is shocked by the state of Urban’s life. After much soul searching, he resolves to clean up his own act and do his utmost to save the kid. But as their friendship deepens, Urban introduces him to the Shed Crew – the anarchic gang of kids between the ages of ten and fourteen; joy-riding, thieving runaways, no strangers to drugs or sex and it’s only then that we see exactly how long the road to civilization really is.
When ex-social worker Bernard Hare turned his startling experiences with a group of young delinquents into a novel it was described as one of the year’s most compelling and best selling books. “Urban and the Shed Crew” is a stunning piece of ethnography described by ‘The Guardian’ as “moving but never sanctimonious, another City of God, this time for Britain rather than Brazil.”
Review of the novel on the Guardian site. Facebook page. Twitter account. Urban and the Shed Crew website. Blenheim Film's website. IMDB page.
News of the production
25 April 2014
Hysteria Productions confirmed that Urban and the Shed Crew wraps on 2nd May as reported on the Urban and the Shed Crew page.
22 April 2014
Richard has been photographed on location in Leeds today. Click here to view: The Urban and the Shed Crew Instagram or via twitter. This picture has been added to the gallery.
14 April 2014
Greendragon from TheOneRing.net has interviewed Richard. He talks about the appeal of working on Urban and the Shed Crew and learning from his young and talented co-star.
8 April 2014
The @UrbanAtShedCrew twitter account has posted a new picture of Richard on set, playing the ex-social worker Chop, in a photograph that was taken last week (click the Instagram link). Today, Assistant Director @MikeyJGall has tweeted that Richard is rehearsing a stunt on location somewhere in Yorkshire. Two pictures means I can finally add a gallery for this production - more pictures soon hopefully!
24 March 2014
Another picture of Richard has appeared on twitter from the set of Urban and the Shed Crew taken today. You'll have to look closely to spot him in the background. This picture courtesy of Olivia Mee, production assistant for the film.
21 March 2014
A picture of Richard as 'Chop' filming in Leeds yesterday has been posted on the production's Twitter, Facebook page and Instagram site. This is the first 'official' confirmation that Richard will star in this film after the announcement on this site last Friday.
15 March 2014
For more information about Bernard Hare and his novel, watch this video by Andy Robbins on Vimeo. Well worth a watch, especially for the message it conveys about the circumstances in which people are still living in the UK.
14 March 2014
Further confirmation of this news from the Sainou Talent Agency in London, announcing the casting of Nadine Mulkerrin, Anna Friel and Richard. Thanks @RCNY13.
Useful Links
Urban and the Shed Crew Facebook page
Urban and the Shed Crew Twitter account
Official website
Blenheim Film
Urban and the Shed Crew on IMDB
last updated 25 April 2014
|
