A £180 MILLION movie blockbuster is to be made in Scotland this summer.
Mary Queen of Scots has been written by the creator of America’s hit television series House of Cards, with Brooklyn actress Saoirse Ronan in the lead role.
Ronan, 23, who has been nominated for an Academy Award, landed the part in 2012 after Scarlett Johansson, who had been attached since 2006, pulled out.
The film, which is being made by Working Title and Focus Features, will be shot in Edinburgh, having being stuck in development for more than a decade.
It finally got the green light after the producers fell in love with a screenplay written by Beau Willimon, the man behind House of Cards, the Emmy-winning US television programme starring Kevin Spaceyas a Machiavellian US politician.
Margot Robbie, who is best known for her roles in hit movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street, The Big Short and Suicide Squad, in which she played Harley Queen, will play Mary’s cousin, England’s Queen Elizabeth. Last night, an insider revealed that dozens of Scots will be given the chance to play extras in the historical epic.
They said: “This is going to be one of the greatest historical films ever made about Scotland and will not be a straight remake of the 1971 film Mary, Queen of Scots, starring Vanessa Redgrave.
“It’s a fascinating 16th century tale, not least because Mary was only 19 when she was imprisoned and it was 23 years later before she was finally executed. The script also takes into account many historical facts that have only come to light in recent years.”
Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart and Mary I of Scotland, was the only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland. She was just six days old when she ascended the throne and reigned from 1542 until 1567.
The adaptation of John Guy’s The True Life of Mary Stuart will cover her failed attempt to overthrow Elizabeth, Queen of England, which finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.
Locations throughout the UK and Ireland were considered before film- makers agreed to shoot key scenes in the capital.
The acclaimed theatre producer Josie Rourke will direct the movie, which adds to what is promising to be a bumper year for film production in Scotland.
The movie coincides with a two-day festival in September commemorating Mary’s imprisonment in, and escape from, Lochleven Castle.
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