By Rory Reynolds
SCOTTISH rock star Fish is to feature in a new movie in his first role since having major surgery on his throat.
The former Marillion front man, who has previously starred alongside Daniel Craig and Adrian Brody, is to part fund comic book caper Electric Man.
The 52-year-old, who has also appeared in Taggart and Rebus, is to star in the low-budget feature length flick, which is to be filmed in Edinburgh.
Despite having a budget of just £25,000, the production team have set their sights high after Paranormal Activity – which cost just £10,000 to make – grossed £125million at the box office.
He said: “I’ve had to rest since getting a cyst on my vocal chords, but I’ve now been given the green light and this seems like a good project to get involved in.
“I got a letter a couple of weeks ago from the writers asking if I wanted to play the role of Jimmy and I thought ‘why not’? My recovery was good timing, and the script was very good.
“As I’ve got my own independent record label and it’s going to be filmed locally, it’s definitely appealing to me.
“I’m looking forward to working with such a decent production team. I’ve done a lot of music over the years but not a lot of films.”
The film is looking to raise a further £25,000 in donations and filming is set to begin in September.
The story features comic book owners Jazz and Wolf who find a rare comic worth £100,000, but have to run for their lives from mad Glaswegian psychopath Jimmy, who is trying to get his hands on the book.
Fish is currently raising cash with writers David Barras and Scott Mackay and have raised £6000 from a fundraiser.
David said: “We’d seen Fish in other acting roles and thought he’d really suit the part of Jimmy, who is a Glaswegian heavy.
“We’re currently trawling through footage from a further 77 auditionees, including videos from New York and London.
“We’ll be inviting ten to 15 people back for a second round of auditions, to make sure we find characters with the right chemistry, and we’ll be announcing the rest of the cast in forthcoming weeks.
“We’re hoping Electric Man will be as successful as other low-budget films, such as Paranormal Activity. It only took £10,000 to make and made over £100 million at the box office. It would be great if a local film could have the same success.”
The movie is the first work Fish – real name Derek Dick – has undertaken since undergoing an operation to remove a cyst in his throat.
It was originally thought that the East Lothian-based musician may have had throat cancer, and he is now preparing to go on a gruelling 96-mile trek for cancer research.
He is now to take a group of volunteers along the West Highland Way for the charity Another Way Around, and he and his band have promised to play a special gig to those who complete the trek at the end.
Fish added: “It sounds like a lot but I’m not nervous. I’m all better now and I’ve always been a busy man. I’m looking forward to getting back on the horse after all this rest.”
