Lights, camera but no action for thriller
A feature-length gangster movie shot in the Wishaw area has been consigned to the cutting room floor for the time being.
The filming of Extortion, an independent production conceived and performed by local actors with help from industry professionals, was brought to a halt by the Covid pandemic.
The plot centres on an ex-army veteran with PTSD who finds himself homeless and, while sleeping rough, intervenes in an organised hit on a local gangster, saving his bacon.
Among those playing roles were Wishaw man, Davie McAdam, and Newmains man,
Wullie North, who initially came up with the idea of making a film.
Both have experience working as film extras and Davie – who plays the lead role – has also worked in a number of security roles, lending that experience to the part.
Wullie, a painter and decorator by day, has worked on television programmes including Still Game and Outlander.
The first 22 minutes of the gritty movie have already been filmed and edited, but cameras stopped rolling the day before the first lockdown.
Sadly, the pair now feel they have no option but to shelve the production for the time being.
Davie, a personal trainer who also works as a bodyguard, told the Wishaw Press:
“The project was only feasible through sponsorship, in the form of generous donations from local businesses in Wishaw and the Lanarkshire area.
“The sponsors have been brilliant, but they haven’t really seen anything we have done. I’ve been stopped in the street and asked when it will be finished.
“Covid has affected a lot of businesses, so we can’t keep asking them for financial backing.
“It’s cost thousands of pounds to get this far. I thought we should put out the 20 minutes on YouTube that we have finished, and let the sponsors and everyone that has helped us see where their money has gone.
“We’ve put a lot of hard work in to it and it will take more than one sponsor to complete it.
“We just wanted to let everyone know what has been happening.”
A host of businesses in Wishaw and Motherwell agreed to help fund the film project in exchange for their businesses being used as shooting locations.
Among the instantly recognisable venues are the Shire Boxing Club in Wishaw and St Brigid’s Church in Newmains.
A fundraising night was also held at the Cambusnethan Club.
The project may now be on a back burner, but Davie is hopeful that it’s not the end of the road for Extortion.
He told us: “We’ve had great feedback since putting it out on YouTube and a few people have contacted asking what they think it would take to finish it, and telling us to hang in there.
“But this coronavirus isn’t going away for a long time and a lot of businesses are struggling, we can’t go and approach these people for money.
“I get a few acting jobs but I really want to finish my own film but it doesn’t look, right now anyway, as if we’re going to be able to.
“We are going to try and revisit it in the future. It would be great if someone could get onboard further down the line.”