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Barton's 'Malice' leaves Sunderland for Southend


http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/a92428/bartons-malice-leaves-sunder land.html

Mischa Barton's Malice in Sunderland, a reinvention of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland from director Simon Fellows, has switched locations due to a £250,000 shortfall in funds, reports the BBC.

The film will now shoot in Southend, with producer Albert Martinez-Martin revealing: "There is no problem with Sunderland at all, the reasons being we have been looking at locations which are offering help in terms of funding.

"There is about £250,000 which we have lined up from Screen East in Southend and we are looking at locations there right now."

Producer Martinez-Martin added that the film has changed its name to Malice in Wonderland to appeal to a worldwide audience.

"Everyone in the UK would know Sunderland but outside the UK they wouldn't. I also thought two puns in one title were one too many."

Barton, known for playing Marissa Cooper in The OC, will star as a student who wakes up in a strange city after being hit by a taxi.

Tom Harvey, chief executive of Northern Film and Media, said he was "very sad" that the movie wouldn't film on Wearside.

"We have over £1 million to spend but that goes on local people. In this region talent that lives and works here is more important than production companies coming in," Harvey said.

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LMAO!!



Britain: Lions Led By Donkeys

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I live in Southend, it's nothing like Sunderland. They can't have Malice in Southend, it just doesn't work. I doubt Miss Barton would want to come to Southend.

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I can't think for the life of me how Southend resembles a 'Wonderland' of any kind. But, yay! It'll be fun to see a familiar location that isn't London on film. And interesting to see whereabouts exactly they'll film it. I wouldn't have thought Southend would be the most ideal choice for a filming location, which I suppose is reflected in the fact they would've preferred to shoot it in Sunderland.

Also, I think Malice in Wonderland is a much cooler title.

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Southend has a better football team.

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"Tom Harvey, chief executive of Northern Film and Media, said he was "very sad" that the movie wouldn't film on Wearside.

"We have over £1 million to spend but that goes on local people. In this region talent that lives and works here is more important than production companies coming in," Harvey said."

So have any of these local projects produced anything that would take the name of Sunderland and the Wearside region around the world?

Surely the graphic novel it is based on was written by someone local?

Very stupid and short-sighted decision. A film going out around the world called Malice In Sunderland would have shone a spotlight on the city - and for what cost £250k? How many local kids would have been inspired to get into film by seeing that a major production had come to their region?

As I say, I'd love to hear what happened to the projects by local people that got the cash instead - if any did at all. Probably paid for a nice big piss up and bonus for Northern Film and Media.

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Seeing as it wound up in Great Yarmouth and without Mischa Barton it looks as if the funding went down the rabbit hole.

What graphic novel? Have you never heard of Alice in Wonderland? I know it was written in 1865 so that really should have given everyone a chance to know about it.

Finally, have you ever been to Sunderland? It's best left as a generic location, trust me.

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I believe he's referring to the following graphic novel.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alice-Sunderland-Entertainment-Bryan-Talbot/dp /0224080768

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Good find. Thanks for that, I'd never heard of it. And apologies to sdwilson for doubting you.

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I've been to Sunderland many times and caught in the right way it could provide a very gritty backdrop.

And as for AIW, Lewis Carroll was a regular resident of the NE so the source material should have been considered a 'local' project.

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Yarmouth, thank you very much.

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