Colin Firth 'a little overwhelmed' by story of Eric Lomax (video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PSn3s4HQz-4

Dinner with Colin Firth helped Jeremy Irvine land Railway Man role by Birmingham Post, Birmingham Post

Jeremy Irvine is having the year of his life. No sooner had he made his film debut as the lead in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse in January than he found himself being asked by director Mike Newell to play Pip in his adaptation of Great Expectations – then Colin Firth wanted him to play his younger self in upcoming war drama The Railway Man.

“Sometimes you read a script and spend a long time saying, ‘Oh well, maybe it could work this way’, but this was just such as ‘I’ve got to do this movie’ moment,” the 22-year-old says earnestly.

“I met Colin Firth and had dinner with him and he was the one that actually got me the role, which was nice.”

Irvine plays the young Eric Lomax, a British army officer who was sent to a Japanese prisoner of war camp during the Second World War and forced to work on the infamous ‘Death Railway’ from Thailand to Burma. The film is based on his memoir of the same title, and Firth plays the older Lomax.


“We kind of share the movie and he was so generous,” says Irvine. “We’d rehearse in his living room and I was thinking, ‘My God, this is the kind of acting masterclass you can only dream of when you’re at drama school’.

“At the time, you’re just working with someone who’s really good at what they do and really interesting, and of course afterwards you go, ‘Wow, that was really kind of him’.”



Read More http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/birmingham-culture/film-news/2012/11/29/dinner-with-colin-firth-helped-jeremy-irvine-land-railway-man-role-65233-32326505/#ixzz2DeME4Bt1

Colin Firth:Town’s teenage film fans track down The Railway Man (SCOTSMAN.COM)

Published on Saturday 19 May 2012 02:21

HOLLYWOOD A-listers Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman have posed for pictures with fans while filming in North Berwick.

The stars were in the East Lothian town to shoot scenes for their The Railway Man, based on Eric Lomax’s book about his experiences during the Second World War, when he was a Japanese prisoner of war, and his reconciliation with one of his captors afterwards. .

Scenes were shot in a house in Tantallon Terrace and on the nearby beach yesterday.

Sylvia Beaumont, who was among those star-spotting, photographed Kidman and Firth chatting with local children.

She said: “I was down walking my dogs and just stopped because I’ve always got my little camera in my pocket. I spoke to both of them and asked if I could take their pictures. They both said: ‘Of course’.

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/film/town-s-teenage-film-fans-track-down-the-railway-man-1-2305271

Colin Firth: Top film stars swap Hollywood for Holy Island (NORTHUMBERLAND GAZETTE)

Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman amongst film crew and extras take a strole along Berwicks walls while filming an adaptation of Eric Lomax's The Railway Man

Published on Friday 18 May 2012 06:00

HOLY Island Causeway is in the news again this week, but rather than stranded motorists, the focus was a pair of Hollywood superstars.

Oscar-winners Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth were in north Northumberland last week filming for The Railway Man.

The film is based on the book by 92-year-old Berwick resident Eric Lomax, who was captured during the Second World War at the fall of Singapore and was forced to work on the infamous Thai-Burma ‘death railway’ as a prisoner-of-war.

Firth has already visited Mr Lomax twice and took the opportunity to meet him again after filming wrapped on Friday.

The filming on Holy Island took place last Thursday, before the famous pair spent the night at Tillmouth Park Hotel, near Cornhill.

They were joined by Kidman’s two young daughters Sunday and Faith, along with their nanny.


READ MORE:  http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/local-news/top-film-stars-swap-hollywood-for-holy-island-1-4555162

Colin Firth is seen beside Forth at North Berwick (EAST LOTHIAN NEWS)

Published on Thursday 17 May 2012 18:00

Hollywood actor Colin Firth was near the Firth of Forth this week to film his new movie.

He was shooting scenes for The Railway Man, in which he stars with Nicole Kidman, at a house in Tantallon Terrace on the seafront at North Berwick.

Mr Firth, famed for his roles in blockbusters such as The King’s Speech and Pride and Prejudice, plays Edinburgh-born prisoner-of-war Eric Lomax and Ms Kidman, his wife Patti.


READ MORE:  http://www.eastlothiannews.co.uk/news/local-headlines/firth-is-seen-beside-forth-at-north-berwick-1-2297989

Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth filming in Berwick and Holy Island (THE BERWICK ADVERTISER)

Published on Saturday 12 May 2012 21:17

Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth brought Hollywood to Berwick, posing for pictures with fans and signing autographs as they spent the day in town filming their forthcoming blockbuster. Local residents were cast as extras in scenes shot on the town walls and on the New Road under the Royal Border Bridge.

The Australian and Englishman are in the area to shoot part of the The Railway Man in Berwick-upon-Tweed and Holy Island.

The film adaptation of the best-selling book written by Berwick’s former prisoner of war Eric Lomax, has a budget of around £12 million and is due for release in 2013.

It tells the story of Lomax, now 92, who survived the Burma “death railway” after being tortured by his Japanese captors. Years later, he set out to find those responsible for his torture, travelling back to the bridge over the River Kwai. The mission was set up by wife Patti, whom he met on a train, with the help of a wartime colleague.

Firth is playing Lomax, and Kidman is playing the part of his wife, Patti. The stars were planning to meet Eric and Patti in Berwick.


Production bosses have been keen to keep details of filming times and locations a closely guarded secret, however it is understood the cast and crew were moving on to Bamburgh on Saturday, May 12. Filming began on April 30 and scenes are also being shot over a ten-week period in Edinburgh, Fife, Perth and East Lothian before the Hollywood production moves on to Thailand and Australia.

News of the filming on Holy Island and Berwick brought a buzz to both locations as camera crews, engineers, producers and actors occupied local hotels and inns.

Firth, Kidman and her children spent Thursday night at Tillmouth Park Hotel, near Cornhill. They are understood to have visited the Barn at Beal on Thursday after attempts to shoot scenes at Holy Island earlier that day had proved difficult due to rain.

Elaine Lang, whose runs the front office at Tillmouth Park Hotel, said: “They had booked months in advance. Colin Firth had spoken to a friend who is a regular guest with us and he had said it was the ‘best hotel on the planet’. How good is that? Nicole Kidman had her children with her and they had the best rooms, of course.”


Members of the production crew stayed at various locations, including Marshall Meadows and the granary youth hostel in Berwick. Others stayed on Holy Island.

Filming took place on Holy Island again first thing the next morning before the shoot moved on to Berwick. Heavy rain and low temperatures on Holy Island on Friday morning didn’t help. Janice Hnat from The Ship Inn said: “We had three cameramen staying and they got up at 4.30am for a sunrise picture. But all they had was clouds and rain – and they came back with no sunrise!”

Lindisfarne Hotel manager Sean Atkinson added: “They were all wrapped up like Nanook of the North – raincoats, hoods up, umbrellas, the lot. “They couldn’t have picked a worse day to come here, but the filming still went ahead.”

Firth and Kidman spent about an hour on the causeway while a handful of curious onlookers watched in very wet conditions.


READ MORE:  http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/news/local-headlines/nicole-kidman-and-colin-firth-filming-in-berwick-and-holy-island-1-2287024

Colin Firth: Nicole Kidman married Colin Firth yesterday…(MR. PAPARAZZI)

…not in real life of course, silly.  Nicole and Colin were filming scenes for their upcoming movie The Railway Man in Scotland.

Nicole’s real-life husband Keith Urban chose the right day to turn up on set with their daughter Sunday Rose.

In between filming, the actress made sure she spent plenty of time with her little girl, who must have been slightly confused by her mother pretending to marry someone else.


read more:  http://www.mrpaparazzi.com/post/19018/Nicole-Kidman-married-Colin-Firth-yesterday

Colin Firth: Here comes the bride: Nicole Kidman wears a peach dress to wed Colin Firth as they film The Railway Man in front of fans in Scotland By KIRSTY MCCORMACK and KIMBERLEY DADDS PUBLISHED: 19:35 EST, 5 May 2012 | UPDATED: 09:14 EST, 6 May 2012 (DAILY MAIL)

She's already married to country singer Keith Urban but yesterday Nicole Kidman walked down the aisle again.

The 44-year-old was filming scenes for upcoming movie The Railway Man which saw her say 'I do' to British actor Colin Firth.

The famous pair managed to remain composed as they filmed outside the Scottish church despite crowds of fans watching nearby.

On the first day of filming the movie earlier this week Nicole couldn't hide her unhappiness as she already appeared fed up, but it seems that all it took was a wedding scene and some familiar faces to get her back on track.

The set became a family day out as Nicole's husband Keith turned up with their three-year-old daughter Sunday Rose.

The Australian star couldn't hide her delight as she cuddled and carried the youngster while still dressed in character in the Scottish setting.


Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2140231/Nicole-Kidman-wears-peach-dress-wed-Colin-Firth-film-The-Railway-Man-fans-Scotland.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Colin Firth: Lomax tale staggering, admits Firth (THE BERWICK ADVISER)

Published on Wednesday 2 May 2012 14:59

actor Colin Firth has revealed how he was “overwhelmed” after meeting Eric Lomax, the Berwick man who has inspired Firth’s latest film ‘The Railway Man’.

Firth and Nicole Kidman, who is playing Lomax’s wife Patti, gave a press conference in Edinburgh to herald the start of a month-long shoot in locations including Berwick, Edinburgh, North Berwick and Holy Island on ‘The Railway Man’, which explores the impact of years of brutality and torture as Lomax worked on the ‘Death Railway’ in the Far East.

Firth has twice travelled to Lomax’s home in Berwick to meet the couple as part of his research on the film, which will chart more than 70 years of his life.

Jeremy Irvine, who shot to fame in the Oscar-winning ‘War Horse’, will play the young Lomax, who was brutally treated after being found with a clandestine radio.

Lomax, who was originally from Edinburgh, was an army signals officer captured in the 1941 fall of Singapore and later sent to the Burmese border jungle prison.


He famously won the UK’s premier award for non-fiction in 1996 – three years after his wife helped organise a meeting at the River Kwai with Nagase Takashi, the Japanese soldier who became his main tormentor, dramatic scenes which will be re-enacted in the film.

It was several decades after the war that Lomax met his wife-to-be on a train journey. Firth said: “They [Eric and Patti] are both incredibly engaging and made me feel very welcome. I found them both a delight, although I did feel at times a little overwhelmed by the enormity of the story.

“He is 92 and not really demonstrating that at all. He is mentally far more agile than I am. I have to keep up with him really. He has a tremendous sense of humour that can be a little dark at times.


READ MORE:  http://www.berwick-advertiser.co.uk/news/local-headlines/lomax-tale-staggering-admits-firth-1-2269625

Colin Firth & Nicole Kidman begin filming 'The Railway Man' (ITV)

Colin Firth on the set of the film The Railway Man, at B'oness railway station in Falkirk. Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire 

Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman have started shooting their new film, The Railway Man, in Falkirk in Scotland. The film, based on the book of the same name, tells the true story of Scottish soldier Eric Lomax, who was captured by the Japanese during the Second World War and sent to a Burmese jungle prison.

His book records the years of torture he endured when he was sent to work on the 'Death Railway' across Burma, and how he eventually tracked down one of his captors after the war was over and forgave him.


READ MORE:  http://www.itv.com/news/2012-05-02/colin-firth-and-nicole-kidman-star-in-new-film-the-railway-man/

Nicole Kidman & Colin Firth: “Railway Man” Mates Posted Tuesday May 1, 2012 11:20 AM GMT (CELEBRITY GOSSIP)

Getting down to business on their new film, Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth were spotted shooting scenes for “The Railway Man” in Perth, Scotland today (May 1).

The “Moulin Rouge” babe and the “Love Actually” hunk looked intense as they played their parts at the Perth Train Station while fans and shutterbugs looked on.

During her recent shoot in Scotland, Nicole reportedly flew her handsome husband Keith Urban in to keep her company. A local shop manager told press, “Nicole and Keith were very unassuming and friendly and nobody recognized them until they were leaving. Our butcher served them some local produce like smoked salmon and freshly squeezed juice and they left unaccompanied in their car.”

READ MORE:  http://celebrity-gossip.net/railway-man/photo/nicole-kidman-colin-firth-1

Colin Firth: Mr Darcy becomes Mr Dowdy! Colin Firth starts filming The Railway Man... as Nicole Kidman makes a glamorous arrival on set By SARAH BRUCE (MAIL ON LINE)

He earned his heart-throb status in breeches and that white shirt as the moody Mr Darcy. But it seems Colin Firth has swapped dashing and dangerous for comfortable corduroy in his latest film outing. Oscar-winning Firth’s latest 'period costume' seemed to date from about the 1950s, if his beige slacks, cardigan and sports jacket ensemble were anything to go by.

However, things got a little more glamorous today, with the arrival on set of Australian actress Nicole Kidman, who plays Lomax’s wife in the biopic. Yesterday, former Pride and Prejudice star Firth was spotted on the Edinburgh set of The Railway Man, the story of Scots soldier Eric Lomax, who survived Japan’s infamous Burma Railway during the Second World War.

Cast and crew are due to head to North Berwick, East Lothian, next month to film further scenes.

Mr Lomax, now 92, served as a British Army signals officer during the Second World War and was held in the notorious Changi PoW camp after the fall of Singapore in 1942. He was one of thousands of prisoners who were forced to work on the Death Railway between Thailand and Burma. During his imprisonment, he and a group of fellow soldiers were savagely beaten when they were discovered in possession of a radio.

The incident fuelled an intense hatred in Mr Lomax for Nagase Takashi, the interpreter who had interrogated him. But the two men are now friends after they met and were reconciled in 1993

READ MORE:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2136113/Colin-Firth-starts-filming-The-Railway-Man--Nicole-Kidman-makes-glamorous-arrival-set.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Colin Firth shows he’s still got specs appeal (SCOTSMAN.COM)

published on Friday 27 April 2012 12:11

 Hollywood superstar Colin Firth has been spotted in the Capital as he prepares to film his latest movie in Scotland. Oscar-winner Firth’s costume for The Railway Man – in which he stars as Edinburgh-born prisoner of war Eric Lomax – included a natty moustache and pair of glasses.

Pride and Prejudice star Firth was seen walking in and out of a make-up trailer in the Craigmillar area yesterday. One onlooker said: “We couldn’t get close to the building because it was fenced off. But we saw Colin Firth come out of the building and he went into a trailer for about two hours.

“He was in costume and we gave him a wave, but he looked a bit grumpy. Maybe it was the weather.” The film also stars Nicole Kidman, who is expected to arrive on set today. The Australian plays Lomax’s wife. And film crews are due to head to North Berwick next month to shoot scenes for the movie.


READ MORE:  http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/colin-shows-he-s-still-got-specs-appeal-1-2260163

Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman & Jeremy Irvine to film WW2 film The Railway Man in Edinburgh (DAILY RECORD)

Mar 22 2012

OSCAR winners Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth are heading to Edinburgh to film a World War II movie.

They will shoot scenes for The Railway Man in the city’s suburbs, alongside War Horse star Jeremy Irvine. The movie is based on the true story of Scot Eric Lomax, who lives in Berwick. He was captured by the Japanese and forced to work on Burma’s Death Railway.

The film follows him as he tries to find those responsible for his torture.


READ MORE:  http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/television-news/2012/03/22/colin-firth-nicole-kidman-jeremy-irvine-to-film-ww2-film-the-railway-man-in-edinburgh-86908-23797218/