Junction Films

Wedding Belles

• March 2007
• Channel 4
• 1 x Feature Length
• Credits

Set in modern day Leith, Wedding Belles tells the story of four late twenty-something lassies. Rhona (Shauna Macdonald -The descent) is an ex-fashion model, mourning the death of her fiancé, spending the insurance pay out, planning revenge on her fiancé’s killer and falling into drug dependency. Kelly (Shirley Henderson - A Cock and Bull Story, Frozen, Dirty Filthy Love) is battling demons from her past and managing to piss off everyone around her. Kelly’s got foot in mouth disease and her outbursts are the stuff of legend. Shaz (Kathleen McDermott – Morvern Caller) works in an old people’s home and take’s her job very seriously. She cares deeply for the elderly, to the point of trying to revive their libidos with black-market Viagra. Amanda (Michelle Gomez – Green Wing, The Book Group) is a successful business woman with her own beauty salon. Very much the matriarch of the gang, she’s about to be married to her airline pilot fiancé, Joshua, what she doesn’t know is that Joshua is not the knight in white satin she believes him to be.

We follow the gang over five days. Amanda’s agenda is simple; she wants her wedding to be the best Leith has ever seen. The gang have been together since childhood; they have partied, loved, and caroused, HARD. They look back on their raving days with fondness, but now its time to grow up.

As the wedding day draws nearer, the gang of girls are thrown into turmoil with a series of hilarious, shocking and heartbreaking revelations.

PRODUCERS NOTES / HISTORY OF THE PROJECT

Weddings Belles (a 120’ one off film for television) goes into production September 2006, a Junction Films production for Channel4, produced be Jemma Rodgers (The League of Gentleman, Murphy’s Law) and directed by Philip John (Sugar Rush, Murphy’s Law).

Wedding Belles will be shot with a dynamic and extremely stylish, cutting edge contemporary vision. The production design and shooting style will be high end filmic with the highest possible production values.

Wedding Belles is the first of several projects that Welsh, Cavanagh and Rodgers are working on together. They met some 18 months ago in one of the many dark bars of Soho and discovered that they shared a mutual love of the darkest comedy and a passion for making great entertainment.

THE WRITERS

Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh began working together in 1998, after years of managing to avoid each other on the London Club scene.

Dean adapted Irvine’s novel FILTH which is currently in development by Rob Schneider’s production company, having been originally commissioned by Miramax. Irvine and Dean then went onto write DOSE, a half hour one-off black comedy for BBC Wales. It starred Jonathan Owen, Julia Davis and Kate Jarman and was nominated for a BAFTA.

The pair has since co-written various screenplays; Hotel California, The Meat Trade and The Man Who Talks, the latter adapted from Alan Warner’s novel of the same name. Their play Babylon Heights was premiered in San Francisco in June 2006, where it caused quite a stir, it makes its European debut in Dublin in August 2006 before touring.

Wedding Belles is Dean and Irvine’s first full length screenplay to go into production and they are currently putting the finishing touches to the next called The Choir, also being produced by Junction Films.

Wedding Belles The Soundtrack

for a full track listing of the excellent soundtrack as chosed by Irvine Welsh please follow the following link:

www.junction films/soundtrack

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Credits

THE DIRECTOR

Philip John was born in Newport, South Wales. Philip played bass with a DIY Punk band called Reptile Ranch but dumped the music business following an ill-fated busking trip to Paris with nine-piece kazoo band performing Motown numbers. John later went to film school where his first 35mm short, the award winning Suckerfish, was chosen for the first Film foundation’s Y2K New Director’s showcase in New York and Los Angeles. His short film Sister Lulu has also won awards around the world and has just been on Small Gauge Trauma, a DVD compilation of the best of the last ten years of The Fantasia Film Festival.

Recent network dramas include Murphy’s Law, Cutting It, Distant Shoes, Spinechillers, Sugar Rush and Synchronicity as well as comedies written by and starring Chris Langham including Bradford in My Dreams and the pilot Seven Second Delay.

Philip has previously worked with Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh on their scabrous black comedy DOSE.


THE CAST

Shirley Henderson

Shirley Henderson grew up in Fife, Scotland. She began performing young and at the age of 13 found herself singing in a boxing ring between bouts after winning a local singing competition. She went on to sing in the local working men’s clubs on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. After deciding upon acting as a career, she uprooted to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

After graduating in 1986 she embarked upon a stage career that included spells at the National Theatre under the direction of Peter Hall, the Royal Court, the Traverse, Hampstead, the Citizens, Shared Experience and most recently in ANNA WEISS at the Whitehall Theatre under the direction of Michael Attenborough. Her first on-screen break saw her playing opposite Robert Carlyle in the popular TV series HAMISH MACBETH which led to small roles in ROB ROY (1995) and TRAINSPOTTING (1996).

In 1999 Michael Winterbottom cast Shirley in his film WONDERLAND (1999). This sparked an ongoing relationship which continued with her performances in THE CLAIM (2000) and 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (2002). While playing Debbie in WONDERLAND she was also working with Mike Leigh, as Leonora Braham, in TOPSY TURVY (1999). Critical acclaim followed both films, with Topsy Turvy attracting the first of many award nominations.

2002 was a bumper year for Shirley. She was embraced by Cannes where she had 4 films in the Festival. In Official Competition was Michael Winterbottom’s 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE in which she played Lindsey Wilson, the wife of Factory Records maverick Tony Wilson, played by Steve Coogan. As with every role she embarks upon, she did extensive research for the character, and met up with the real Lindsey Wilson to gain some insight into her time spent with Tony during the history-making ‘Madchester’ years. Winterbottom uses extensive improvisation techniques in his films and Shirley is particularly fond of this way of working, so she was thrilled when acclaimed director Shane Meadows asked her to join Robert Carlyle, Kathy Burke, Ricky Tomlinson and Rhys Ifans in his ode to the spaghetti western, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS (2002), which was screened in the Director’s Fortnight section of Cannes. Director’s Fortnight also hosted a short film in which she starred, called THE GIRL IN THE RED DRESS (2002). Director Aletta Collins was so convinced that Shirley was the right person to play the lovelorn Gaynor in the film that she was prepared to wait 18 months for Shirley to become available. Her patience paid off when Shirley was awarded the Best Actress Award for the film at the Angers Film Festival in 2003. Her 4th offering at Cannes that year was Dr. SLEEP (aka HYPNOTIC), which was screened in the Market. She was successfully cast against type in this film, directed by Nick Willing, playing a police detective, Losey, against Goran Visnjic of ER fame.

Shirley received a British Independent Film Award nomination for her portrayal of the feisty cook, Ella, in Frank van Passel’s VILLA DES ROSES, which teamed her up with French star Julie Delpy. Her appearance in Lone Scherfig’s follow-up to her successful Italian for Beginners, quirky black comedy WILBUR (WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF), won her Best Actress Award at the Bordeaux Film Festival in 2003.

2003 saw the release of InterMission which was the highest grossing film in Ireland in 2003, and reunited Shirley with her Trainspotting co-star Kelly MacDonald. Although an ensemble piece, also starring Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy and Colm Meaney, Shirley was singled out by the London Film Critics Circle for her portrayal of emotionally traumatised Sally and nominated for Best Actress in 2004.

Shirley played Queen Catherine of Braganza to Rufus Sewell’s Charles II. In the BBC production CHARLES II: THE POWER AND THE PASSION. She also found time to play in Sally Potter’s YES (2004) and as Kevin McKidd’s gallery-owner girlfriend in Alison Peebles’ Award Winner, AFTERLIFE (2003).

Later that year Shirley won her first major lead in FROZEN the first feature by award-winning director Juliet McKoen. She went on to play Charlotte in Granada Television film called DIRTY FILTHY LOVE and also filmed again for Michael Winterbottom A COCK AND BULL STORY (Susannah).

In May 2003 Shirley was voted Best Actress in the Bowmore/Scottish Screen/Sunday Times film awards. These awards, now in their eighth year, are considered the Scottish ‘Oscars’ and are voted for by the people of Scotland, rather than by any special interest group.


Michelle Gomez

Michelle trained at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Theatre. Her early work started in Scotland, where she appeared at The Citizens Theatre in Glasgow and several productions at The Edinburgh Festival. She toured in "Trainspotting", and had a leading role in "Sleep with Me" at The National Theatre. She was able to show her extraordinary comedy skills in "The Vagina Monolgues".

Television credits include: "The Book Group" (for which she was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA); "Manchild"; "Green Wing" (2 series); "Feel the Force". She is currently filming "Good Housekeeping" a one-off comedy drama for BBC1.

Film credits include: "The Acid House Trilogy"; "My West"; and "Chromophobia", which is will be out later this year (2006).


Kathleen McDermott

So this guy goes up to this beautiful girl in the street and says “Do you want to be in a movie?” Not a scene from “King Kong” but the cliché came true when Des Hamilton was casting MORVERN CALLAR for award winning director Lynne Ramsay in 2001. The stunning red head who turned his head said “Yes”…

In 2005 she had roles in two notable films. As Jennifer, opposite Brenda Fricker, in MILK (recipient of the Golden Bear, Berlin Film Festival 2005) for which Kathleen won Best Actress at Prix d’Angers short film festival, and then as Janice in NINA’S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS (due for release in 2006).

And for her performance Kathleen won the Best Actress award for BAFTA (Scotland) 2002 and Best Newcomer, Edinburgh Film Festival, Herald Angel, 2002 and was a nominee for Best Newcomer, British Independent Film Awards 2002. She was also awarded Best Actress, Bowmore Scottish Screen Award, in 2003 and the “Burns An’ That” Film Festival Best Actress award. Since her debut, Kathleen has made several shorts (BALDY MCBAIN – premiered EIFF 2005 / SQUADDIE – premiered Galway Film Fleadh 2005) and appeared in primetime TV drama TAGGART (STV).


Shauna Macdonald

Shauna Macdonald was born in Malaysia where her father was teaching English, but her family moved back to Edinburgh when she was a baby and she was raised there. She studied drama at RSAMD in Glasgow.

Shauna’s career spans across film, television, theatre and radio.

Her feature film credits include THE MUTANT CHRONICLES, NICELAND, THE ROCKET POST, LATE NIGHT SHOPPING, DAYBREAK and THE DEBT COLLECTOR. However, she is perhaps best known for THE DESCENT in which she played the part of Sarah.

Her television credits include SEA OF SOULS, STATE OF PLAY, TAGGART and MURDER ROOMS. She also played the part of Sam in the second and third series of the popular drama SPOOKS.

Shauna is currently working with the director Anthony Neilson on a theatre piece called REALISM for the Edinburgh International Festival. They first worked together on THE DEBT COLLECTOR. She has also appeared in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Birmingham Rep/ West Yorkshire Playhouse, VICTORY at The Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh and PAL JOEY at The Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.

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