Stars club together at Brum film premiere

Jan 14 2009 by Andy Richards, Birmingham Mail

A £2 MILLION feature film shot mostly on location in Birmingham had its national premiere in the city.

And it proved to be a knockout for Olympic gold medallist boxer James DeGale who had travelled up from London just to watch it.

“I hadn’t seen any trailers and didn’t know much about the film in advance,” said James.

“But, although I thought it started slowly I’d give it nine-and-a-half out of ten,” added the boxer who will fight at the NIA on February 28 on a bill topped by Matt Skelton – the Commonwealth heavyweight champion who also attended the premiere.

Clubbed is the semi-autobiographical story of Coventry-based screenwriter Geoff Thompson, a former factory worker turned doorman.

Mel Raido plays Danny, a troubled factory worker who decides to fight back in life after becoming the victim of a random attack.

Consumed by a fear of confrontation, he’s unable to repair his relationship with the mother of his two young daughters.

But Danny befriends some local doormen whose power on the door and in the boxing gym impresses him.

Drawn into their dark world, he finally sees a light at the end of the tunnel for himself.

The film’s premiere was held in two screens at once at Broad Street’s Cineworld multiplex. Star guests included leading actors Mel Raido and Maxine Peake (Shameless / Dinnerladies) who plays Danny’s long-suffering partner, Angela. 

They were joined by colleagues including Aicha McKenzie, Shaun Parkes and Tomorrow Never Dies star Colin Salmon (pictured left) who said: “It’s crucial that films like this have their premieres in the regions which have a massive audience waiting.”

Celebrity guests on the night included Midlands Today newsreader Suzanne Virdee and Gary Smith, the Birmingham-based producer of hits like How To Lose Friends & Alienate People. The makers of Clubbed hosted a glitzy after-show party across the road at Gatecrasher – and said they wanted to do it all over again. Neil Thompson and Geoff Thompson – who are not related – are already working together again on a new Birmingham film called Twenty8k, which is also set to be backed by Screen West Midlands.