Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender and director Justin Kurzel will be among those on the red carpet in Edinburgh for the UK premiere of Macbeth. The screening will take place at Festival Theatre Edinburgh on Sunday 27 September 2015.
News of the premiere comes as VisitScotland announces it has joined forces with STUDIOCANAL, the film’s distributors, to promote the country around the new big-screen version of Macbeth, which will be in cinemas nationwide from October 2.
Starring Michael Fassbender and Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard and directed by Justin Kurzel, the film is being hailed as an outstanding opportunity for Scottish tourism.
Filmed partly on location on Skye – including the Quairaing, the Fairy Pools and the Old Man of Storr – the release of the movie is also expected to lead to a surge of interest in other areas associated with both the real Scottish king (who reigned from 1040 to 1057) and the character made famous by William Shakespeare’s play.
Locations associated with the real Macbeth include: Dingwall, where he is thought to have been born;Moray, where he was mormaer (Earl) of Moray, with boundaries stretching much further than what we know as present day Moray; Pitgaveney near Elgin, where he defeated and killed Duncan; Scone, where he was crowned; and Iona, where he is buried.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth, meanwhile, references Cawdor Castle in the Highlands and Glamis Castle in Angus.
As well as teaming up with STUDIOCANAL, VisitScotland will also be working with a number of tourism industry partners to deliver a campaign that will include PR and partnership promotions, dedicated Macbeth web pages on visitscotland.com and an online map of Macbeth locations around Scotland.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, said, “Macbeth is the latest in a long line of major productions to be filmed in Scotland. The much-anticipated movie will showcase our stunning scenery and our rich heritage to audiences around the world, encouraging new and return visitors to come and see all Scotland has to offer.
“I was delighted when, with locations service and production funding support from Creative Scotland, we enticed this major production to film in Scotland, and it is excellent that the finished product will now have its UK premiere in our capital city next month.”
Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said:“We are delighted to be working with STUDIOCANALon the promotion of Macbeth’s Scotland. The new film adaptation will generate renewed excitement and interest in one of Scotland’s most intriguing figures. As well as Skye serving as a stunning filming location, historic locations with a strong connection to Macbeth, including Glamis Castle, Scone Palace and Cawdor Castle, could also experience a surge in visitor numbers as film fans around the world seek to learn more about the man being portrayed by Michael Fassbender.”
Natalie Usher, Director of Screen at Creative Scotland, which supported the film through production and location recce funding, said:“We are delighted that Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth will receive its UK premiere in Scotland. Filmed on location in Skye, our locations teams worked hard to guide the production and our actors and crews played a huge part in the interpretation of Justin’s vision for Macbeth. We are really proud to have supported this remarkable adaptation of such a well-known work. We wish the film every success.”
Hugh Spearing, Head of UK Marketing at STUDIOCANAL, said:“We at STUDIOCANAL are thrilled to be partnering with VisitScotland and their partners to bring MACBETH’s rich historical legacy back to his home country while also celebrating Justin Kurzel’s incredible vision of the classic story on the big screen.”
John Cowe, Chairman of the Moray Economic Partnership said:“We have been working for some time now to promote the real story of Macbeth, who came from Moray.
“This partnership between VisitScotland and STUDIOCANALwill give us in Moray a useful opportunity to raise awareness of the real man behind the legend. We look forward to working together and welcoming visitors to our beautiful region, home of the real Macbeth.”
Macbeth will be released in cinemas across the UK on October 2.
