Malcolm McDowell has been forced to cancel plans to promote his new movie at the Edinburgh film festival following protests from angry film workers, reports The Scotsman.
McDowell, 72, had been expected to make a personal appearance this week to unveil a new drama, Bereave, in which he stars opposite Jane Seymour as an elderly man with a fatal illness whose wife goes missing just as he has decided to end his life. But following interventions from the Bectu trade union, the Clockwork Orange actor said he would be staying away.
“I truly regret all that has happened, and in the best interest of our film, Bereave, I think it’s best for all those involved that I do not attend the Edinburgh international film festival at this time,” he said. “This has been a very difficult decision, but the emphasis should be on Bereave, and nothing else but this film. I thank the festival for their understanding.”
Seymour, who plays the missing wife, is still expected to make a personal appearance on 27 June. Anger towards McDowell reportedly stems from the failure of the serial killer thriller Monster Butler, which was due to feature the English actor as real-life Glaswegian mass-murderer Archibald Hall, due to lack of funds.
There is no suggestion that McDowell was legally responsible for paying crew members on the ill-fated movie, despite being one of its producers. However, film workers were reportedly upset that the actor personally assured them they would be paid once funding issues were overcome. That eventuality not having come to pass, Bectu has taken the lead in targeting McDowell’s festival appearance.
Paul McManus, the union’s Scottish organiser, said: “Naturally we are very grateful that Malcolm McDowell has acquiesced to our invitation to withdraw from the festival. It was the appropriate thing for him to do. I will now be writing to him to give him an open invitation to meet with us and some of the affected crew members to try and build bridges. I think it is important to deal with the ill-feeling that is still there over what happened.”
McDowell’s Monster Butler co-star Dominic Monaghan revealed in July 2012 that the film had been cancelled due to lack of funding. The thriller had been shot earlier that year at Gosford House in East Lothian, Scotland, according to the Glasgow Herald. McDowell denies any impropriety, and has described himself as “shocked and disappointed” that he is being blamed for the film’s financial failure.
