Film buffs flock into Greenock

Film buffs flock into Greenock


Greenock Telegraph (Scotland)



July 25, 2007


by Lorna Campbell



FILM nuts mad about the movie Dear Frankie are set to descend on Greenock and Gourock next week.

American members of Scottish actor Gerard Butler’s fan club will visit on Tuesday to see where he shot scenes for the movie.

Dear Frankie was filmed in Inverclyde in 2003 and was released in cinemas in 2004 before becoming a huge hit with audiences across the pond.

Alister McAleese, of Inverclyde Tourist Group, said: “I think it is fabulous they are coming. They are not the first people who have flown from the States to see where Dear Frankie was made.

“It is a marvellous thing and we say the more the merrier. It is a pity people didn’t understand the language in Sweet Sixteen better because it was a great film too.

“The more people that come to make films here, the more exposure this area gets and that has to be good for us.”

Paisley actor Gerard Butler played a character called The Stranger in the movie. His fan club are holding their annual convention in Glasgow and will spend a day touring Inverclyde by coach.

The film was written by Gourock woman Andrea Gibb and featured Cardwell Bay, Whinhill. the waterfront in Greenock and the Esplanade.

Pat Baughman, organiser of the US movie buffs’ tour, said: “This was a specialised tour organised a year ago in January, when 200 of Gerard Butler’s fans first met for a convention in Glasgow. I am organising the same tour for the second convention.”

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