Moves to create a Scottish Hollywood on the back of films such as Trainspotting and The Full Monty have come under attack.

Despite the international acclaim of Mrs Brown and most recently, My Name is Joe, critics believe attempts to expand the industry with National Lottery money could end in disaster.

They claim that rather than improve Scotland's standing, the huge increase in public funding for film-making through the Lottery has led to a glut of low quality loss-making productions.

Yet the body set up to promote film-making, Scottish Screen, is adamant the country is perfectly placed to expand production.

James Wilson, a former production executive with Fox Searchlight, which backed The Full Monty, believes the increase in film funding could end in disaster.

''There was already a glut of films before the Lottery and that makes the present situation even more scary,'' he told BBC's Frontline Scotland programme Reaching for the Stars, to be broadcast tonight.

''Whenever you have public money initiatives there is always going to be the criticism that a film is being made that would have been weeded out by the market place and that is a danger for the Lottery.

''If everyone makes all the rotten scripts that have been sitting around for the past five years and then nobody goes to see them, it will be a disaster.''

Since the advent of Lottery funding to the film industry in 1995, 18 feature-length films have been made in Scotland at a cost of #13m of Lottery money.

Of these, only one, The Winter Guest, starring Emma Thompson, has paid back any money to the Lottery.

The film received half a million pounds towards its #4m budget and has returned #150,000.

Other films have fared even worse with The Slab Boys, which received #500,000, and Stella Does Tricks, which was given #137,000.

Both movies gained only a limited release and returned no money to the Lottery.

The Life of Stuff received #1m of Lottery cash, but has not yet found a distributor and has never been seen in cinemas.

Mr Wilson, now department head of production at Film Four, also attacked plans to build a #5m film studio in Glasgow.

He said: ''I don't know that a studio in the sense of real estate is that crucial these days.

''Film production has gone beyond that and is now much more mobile than it used to be. It's much less production facilities-centred.''

However, Scottish Screen chief executive John Archer said the time was right for more investment. ''There is a mood in Scotland now for seeing investment in Scottish culture,'' he said.

''I think people want to see films coming out of Scotland that they can be proud of and that they made money out of and we want to see this industry grow.

''You can't be impatient about films and making money back. You have to wait. It's part of the nature of the business that some of what you do is going to be rubbish and nobody knows the answer to what is going to be great.''

Mr Archer is calling for more Lottery help to build a #5m film studio in Glasgow.

''I don't think five million pounds for something which is going to be of economic and cultural significance is too much money,'' he said.