IRELAND HAS won a tightly-contested battle to play Scotland on screen in the movie Mary, Queen of Scots, writes Michael Dwyer, Film Correspondent
The feature film will be shot here for six to seven weeks, followed by three weeks on Scottish locations.
This is the second time a historical drama set in Scotland has been attracted to Ireland, following Mel Gibson's Braveheart,which received five Oscars, including best picture, in 1996.
All the battle scenes in Mary, Queen of Scotswill be filmed in Ireland, with the Defence Forces enlisted for these sequences.
They were previously employed in large numbers for the battles in Braveheartbecause, Mel Gibson said at the time, the average film extra would not have the stamina for so much action.
Production on Mary, Queen of Scots is planned for late summer this year, but it will have to be delayed if a threatened Screen Actors Guild strike goes ahead.
"This is a film we've been working hard to bring to Ireland," Andrew Lowe, a director of Irish production company Element Pictures, told The Irish Timesyesterday. "We have had significant support from the Irish Film Board.
"The decision in principle has been taken to make the film substantially in Ireland. We can't confirm when production begins until we know if the actors' strike is going ahead."
The Irish Film Board is investing in the film, which will also benefit from the Section 481 tax incentive.
"We have fought hard to entice this film to Ireland, working closely with the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Seamus Brennan, the Department of Defence and the Irish Army in putting together a strong pitch," the board's film commissioner, Naoise Barry, said last night.
"We are delighted to see that it looks likely that Mary, Queen of Scotswill be shot in Ireland this year.
"The film industry is an incredibly competitive business, and, if confirmed, it will be a major accomplishment to again have a film of the calibre of Braveheartand Saving Private Ryanshooting in Ireland."
Scarlett Johansson has been confirmed to play the title role in the film. Now 23, she has been acting since she was 10 in films that have included The Horse Whisperer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Other Boleyn Girland three Woody Allen films.