Scarlett Johannson is rumoured to be getting ready to film new sci-fi movie Under the Skin and Port Glasgow has been revealed as a possible filming location.
But the location may come as somewhat of a surprise as the Inverclyde town has been nominated as one of the most “dismal” towns in Scotland in the Carbuncle Awards.
The competition is run by architectural magazine Urban Realm in search of bad buildings, towns and ‘planning disasters’ in Scotland.
And Port Glasgow has been shortlisted for the ‘Plook on the Plinth’ gong.
The magazine’s website carries a picture and a brief description of Port Glasgow beside its nomination.
It reads: “Of all the seaside towns along the Clyde coast to fall from greatness Port Glasgow has perhaps fallen furthest.
“Circumvented by vacationers seeking brighter surrounds the town languishes in decline.”
But this does not seem to have put director Jonathan Glazer off as film crews for Under the Skin could be coming to Port Glasgow before the end of the year.
Kahleen Crawford, of Kahleen Crawford casting, said that the director does not have a “conventional” eye.
She said: “The location department has looked all over Scotland for places and there is something in Port Glasgow which has captured their imagination.
“The director did some scouting down here and he was very impressed. Sometimes people see things as classically beautiful but he has a different eye.”
The movie tells the story of an alien seductress who uses her sexuality to harvest human body parts.
Filming is due to begin in October with Glasgow already set to be a main location.
The city has played host to Brad Pitt and Halle Berry in recent weeks as the city is fast becoming a popular filming location.
And now Scarlett Johansson could be arriving as she is rumoured to be taking on the lead role in Under the Skin.
The actress has recently been at the centre of a phone hacking scandal as naked pictures her were leaked onto the internet.
The 26-year-old Lost In Translation star, who has never appeared fully nude in her movies, has admitted that she took naked pictures of herself which were leaked online.
The FBI has been called in to investigate how the private photographs were hacked from her mobile phone.
Miss Crawford added: “We are also looking for people to get in touch and apply to be in the film.
“There will possibly be quite a lot of filming in Glasgow but we are looking for people all over Scotland. We have been looking down the west coast because the director was down there and he liked the people and thought there was a lot of interesting faces.”
But she said that they have also been looking in the Highlands and have had interest from the east coast as well.
Port Glasgow has been nominated for the Plook on the Plinth award this year along with Ardrossan, Cambuslang, Denny, Dumbarton, Fort William, Irvine, Linwood and Nairn.
The award went to John O’ Groats last year but unamused locals sent organisers packing – meaning the trophy was instead passed to runners-up Denny, in Stirlingshire.
Despite being a negative award, the organisers claim The Carbuncles have had considerable success not just in raising awareness of urban design but in improving the fortunes of some forgotten areas.
