US Edition Sacha Baron Cohen has named his new film Grimsby, and the town’s residents aren’t happy about it. Ahead of the film’s release next year, here’s what you need to know.
Grimsby is upset with how it has been portrayed
North East Lincolnshire councillor Matthew Brown is “disappointed” with the litter-strewn lawns, rundown shops and urinating residents that populate Baron Cohen’s on-screen Grimsby. In fact, filming isn't even taking place there; instead, Tilbury in Essex is standing in for the northern town.
Tilbury’s residents seem less bothered. Bethany Casey, a 19-year-old local told the Thurrock Gazette: “I’d been away for two weeks and came back last night so confused because all the shops had changed and said Grimsby on them – I thought I was drunk.”
It wasn’t always going to be set in Grimsby
All of this angst could, however, have been avoided. Baron Cohen also scouted Scunthorpe, Hull and Newcastle as potential locations for the film.
It’s a spy-cum-hooliganism caper
A little Austin Powers, a little Football Factory. Not much is known about the plot so far, but it is likely to follow in the absurd comedy footsteps of Baron Cohen’s 2006 film, Borat. According to Deadline, Baron Cohen will play the idiotic football-fan brother of a government spy, who ends up taking them both on the run. It's also all set in the Eighties.
It’s got a starry cast
Zero Dark Thirty’s Mark Strong has been cast as the spy, while Baron Cohen’s wife, actress Isla Fisher, has made the cast list too. Peaky Blinders’ Annabelle Wallis has reportedly been cast as the hooligan’s girlfriend, and is joined by Australian comedy actress Rebel Wilson, Precious star Gabourey Sidibe, comedian Johnny Vegas and, most recently, Penelope Cruz, who will be playing “a philanthropic corporate leader”.
It could be quite funny
Baron Cohen is being joined by Peter Baynham, who collaborated with him on Bruno collaborator, and has also written for Alan Partridge and Brass Eye and Wreck-It Ralph scribe Phil Johnston.
Baron Cohen has done his research
Before he implied that they lived in a tip, Baron Cohen was quite popular with some Grimsby Town football fans. In October 2013 he was spotted watching the local football team dressed as a fan and, according to barwoman Rosetta Stiles, “was a really nice, down-to-earth guy and was chatting away to all the supporters”. A few months earlier he visited Grimsby’s fish market, where a fish merchant similarly commented on Baron Cohen’s politeness.
It may boost tourism
Grimsby’s residents are understandably wary now, but the film could bring new visitors to the seaside town. The government of Kazakhstan initially threatened to sue Baron Cohen after Borat, for his crude presentation of the country, but later thanked him: the film actually boosted tourism.
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