07 September 2007

Kung fu fighting comes to Glasgow via the BBC

FERGUS SHEPPARD MEDIA CORRESPONDENT

ENTER the McDragon - Scotland is to be the setting for the first kung fu drama to be filmed by the BBC.

Filming for Phoo Action starts next Monday in Glasgow. Some scenes will be shot inside the main studio at BBC Scotland's Pacific Quay HQ but other parts of Glasgow will be dressed to look like a future dystopian London for action scenes.

The one-hour production stars Eddie Shin, an American actor who has appeared in US series like Love Inc and NYPD Blue. The girl lead is Jaime Winstone, daughter of Ray, who plays a teenage tearaway.

The one-off film, being made in Scotland for BBC3, is the brainchild of animator Jamie Hewlett, the creator of cartoon band Gorillaz. The storyline first appeared in a cartoon strip called Get The Freebies, published in the Face magazine.

BBC Scotland has hired martial arts experts to advise on choreography. An official said: "It's the first time the BBC has shot a kung fu drama and it is tremendously exciting.

"One of the villains has a basketball for a head so it's all quite odd."

Scots self-defence expert Simon Leila said: "Ever since the 1970s when the first kung fu films came out, people have found the idea of martial arts fascinating.

"A BBC drama is going to reach more people than a Hollywood movie and anything which helps promote interest in self-defence has got to be welcomed."