It's Huge Barry

[Dazza]

Hey Barry, hope ur good and the bikes good. Just read some reports of the movie. Quote "the best comedy i've seen " it's gonna be huge" and I havn't bloody seen it. It was shown at a preview. See you at Talgarth;) ps sorry 'bout gettin your birthday wrong

[bazereid]

Got a call from David Reid the Producer (not related to me)recently. He said the release date has been put back till September. This means the movie premier will be in the UK instead of at the Cannes film festival. That means if you were in it you should get an invite. the object of his call was to ask me to provide him with the names of all the clubs who provided extras,so this means that the Riders Club will be in the credits.

[Rod Bod]

I've not been about on site as much as I'd have liked. So tell me more, what's the movie and should I be autograph hunting at Talgarth?

Rod Bod

[bazereid]

Hi Rod Bod
Have a look at this. They were originally asking for extras to pay for appearing in the movie, but later realised that Bikers need a more positive incentive, `fame` but no pay.
News: Movie Stars Required
A new British feature film is looking for classic bike riders to join its cast. The only snag is that they want you to pay for the pleasure...
If you were a reader of Steve Wilson's Down The Road column a few years ago, then you may remember when Steve reviewed and went behind the scenes of a well-received stage play called Freebird, which had more than a hint of classic biking about it. Freebird played at the Old Vic in Bristol to critical acclaim and is now being made into an all-new British feature film.
Freebird is the story of three London motorcycle couriers looking for an elusive hippy and his cannabis farm in Wales. It's primarily a comedy - think of a mixture between 'Easyrider' and 'Withnail and I' and you'll be part of the way there (except we can't see Peter Fonda's or Richard E Grant's names on the cast list...). A major part of the story involves two group of bike riders; one set are a bunch of traditionalists who ride cafe racers and customs and wear mean-and-moody black leather, while the other lot are bang up to date race-reptiles kitted out in one-piece leathers who ride sleek modern monsters.
The movie is being filmed this summer in Wales. Freebird's writer, Jon Ivay, has contacted RealClassic as part of his search for both motorcycle extras and anyone who might be interested in investing in the movie. The producers intend to sell investments at £300 per unit - a unit being one person, one motorcycle - which will buy the purchaser a legally recognised shareholding in the venture and, of course, the opportunity to be immortalised as one of the biking extras. (Presumably, they got in touch with us because we know the kind of people who are likely to spend that sort of money on a pile on non-functioning mechanical miscellanea, and so therefore seem to be the sort of game fellows who might go for a punt on an unusual proposition).
The producers of Freebird say that each investment will be honoured in the form of a contract or share investment certificate, in line with the standard practice of the British film industry. No money will be requested until the final casting has been completed and filming dates have been set. The producers aim to shoot the biking scenes over a long weekend so that investors can take part without completely disrupting their normal schedule.
So, you could buy yourself the opportunity to ride your old bike to Wales, get soaked, be put up in a campsite, stand around for hours (and hours) (and even more hours), do a bit riding, do it again, get shouted at for a while, do it again, stand around a lot, get soaked again, feel vaguely baffled about what it is you're actually supposed to be doing, glimpse someone you might recognise a bit from that rom-com last year, ride around a bit again and then crawl back to a tent, exhausted - before doing it all over again the next day. And the day after. (Add as many mechanical mishaps to this schedule as you feel appropriate to your own classic).
Did you think that making a movie was glamorous? Ah. Think again!
The Freebird team are aiming to launch the movie at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 (which means they are really working to a tight schedule), but promise a private screening for all involved in London (no, your £300 does not buy you a ticket to Cannes. Sorry).
Obviously, investing in a feature film is a high risk proposition. It's probably better to think of the £300 as a participation fee for an unusual weekend away. Then if you ever see a return on your money it'll come as a nice surprise. (It's probably no more mad than riding an Indian Enfield around the Himalayas, come to think of it). There may be a few opportunities for non-investing extras but, obviously, the people who pay will get first dibs at being in the film.
If all goes well then you could end up with a DVD of Freebird which features you and your classic. The bike and riders appear in twelve of the film's scenes and, presumably, you'd get a namecheck on the end credits which will whizz past at 200mph in print so small you'd need a microscope to read them. If it all does come off then we recommend that you buy the DVD version and not a VHS video tape, because you'll be forever pausing the film at the moment where a blurry bloke rides behind the lead actor and you tell your grandchildren 'that's me! That's my bike!'
If we haven't managed to put you off entirely, then you should contact info@dewynters.com about Freebird and ask for the info pack. And if you do decide to participate then take a camera, take notes, and tell us all about it. We promise not to laugh.*

*That's not true.

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