Misfits star Antonia Thomas revealed in an interview this week with the Next Now Next blog that she'll be co-starring in an upcoming feature film on the Northern Soul dance music and dance movement that emerged, initially in Northern England in the late 1960s.
To be titled Northern Soul, the film will be set in 1974, and will tell the tale of two white British friends whose horizons are opened up by the discovery of black American soul music. They travel to the USA to bring back rare soul records, in the hopes of becoming hit DJs.
Of course!
Here's a longer description from the film's website:
This is a story of a youth culture that changed a generation and influenced songwriters, producers, DJs and designers for decades to come. This is the story of Northern Soul. Award-winning director Elaine Constantine will begin shooting her first feature-length film Northern Soul in Summer 2012 under Stubborn Heart Productions and in association with Baby Cow Films. The film will tell the tale of two Northern boys whose worlds are changed forever when they discover black American soul music. Northern Soul was phenomenally popular with British youths in the 1970s, taking the North of the country by storm. Northern Soul the film intends to appeal to those generations of fans while attracting a modern audience who can relate to youth culture from another era. If you were there, you’ll know. If you weren’t there, you’ll wish you had been.
Expect lots of sex, drugs and violence, all combining to test relationships.
Starring in the film will be British actor and comedian Steve Coogan, along with the two leads Elliot James Langridge and Josh Whitehouse.
Also Lisa Stansfield will play the mother to Langridge’s character.
As for Antonia Thomas, she says in the interview that she's in the midst of dance training for the film, and that she plays a character named Angela, the love interest of the main character, who's a nurse and all into the Soul music scene of the period, and is supposed to be a great dancer.
The project was shopped to buyers at Cannes in May, and is currently in pre-production, with Elaine Constantine directing and Debbie Gray producing.
Henry Normal serves as executive producer.
The UK’s Enterprise Investment Scheme is providing funding.
I found the below teaser trailer on the film's website, which was actually shot last year, likely as a fundraising tool, so I won't necessarily look at it as a sample of what the final film will look like:
