James McAvoy's feature directorial debut 'California Schemin’', in which he stars, will open in theaters on October 2 in New York City and Los Angeles before expanding nationwide on October 9. Bob Yari’s Magenta Light Studios is handling distribution. The film adapts Gavin Bain’s autobiography about two Scottish musicians who reinvent themselves as American rappers.
James McAvoy makes his feature directorial bow with 'California Schemin’', a film set in the late 1990s and adapted by Archie Thomson and Elaine Grace from Bain’s autobiography, later reissued as Straight Outta Scotland. The story follows Bain and Billy Boyd, aspiring musicians overlooked due to their Scottish accents. They re-record tracks with American accents, fabricate a backstory linking them to Eminem, and head to London, securing a record deal and an MTV appearance before the ruse strains under scrutiny. Séamus McLean Ross, Samuel Bottomley and Lucy Halliday co-star alongside McAvoy. The film world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall and opened in the UK and Ireland on April 10. It draws from Bain’s book, which inspired the 2013 SXSW documentary The Great Hip Hop Hoax. Producers include Danny Page of Homefront Productions and Michael Mendelsohn of Patriot Pictures, with Paul Aniello and Simon Kay. Funding comes from The National Lottery via Screen Scotland, and Mendelsohn’s Union Patriot Capital. The project involves Zertex Media, Pont Neuf Productions, Blazing Griffin and Tartan Bridge Films. McAvoy said: “There’s something brilliantly fitting about bringing this true story to America... We’re thrilled American audiences will be getting the chance to see it on the big screen.” Bob Yari, CEO of Magenta Light Studios, added: “We are thrilled to bring James McAvoy’s feature directorial debut to the big screen... We’re excited for moviegoers to experience it in theaters nationwide on October 2.”
