Calamity James is a slapstick comedy about a young man, James, who is cursed with ‘acute misfortune syndrome’. James tries to reconnect with his dad after being thrown out by his mum for setting fire to their house at a family barbeque. In this world, chronic bad luck exists and the unbelievable is the everyday. Starring Mark Bonnar and Dylan Blore.

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Louis Paxton says: “Calamity James has been a wonderful opportunity for me. Together with some of Scotland’s best cast and crew, we’ve made an ambitious, heartfelt, and befittingly disastrous short film of which I am immensely proud.”

 

Calamity James is based on the Beano comic strip of the same name. Written and created by Louis Paxton. The producer is Laura Taylor. The executive producers are Mark Talbot and Charlie Coombes. Calamity James is a Emanata Studios production for BBC iPlayer, BBC Scotland and BBC Three. Commissioned for the BBC by Gavin Smith and Navi Lamba.

 

Calamity James was cast by Rosalie Clayton and shot in Portobello near Edinburgh, Eyemouth, and Livingston. Post production took place at Blazing Griffin in Glasgow and line producer was Jess O’Shaughnessy. 

 

Commissioned by the BBC for its Comedy Shorts strand, the film streams on iPlayer from this Friday (May 26) and will screen on BBC Three in coming months.