Watch: Trailer for film shot in Grimsby starring Layer Cake’s Colm Meaney

Actors who have appeared in Star Trek, Snatch, Layer Cake, and The Damned United, as well as BBC’s Robin Hood, star in a film shot in Grimsby which will be released in cinemas and digital platforms next month.

Three Day Millionaire is a ‘raucous black comedy about a gang of Grimsby Trawler-men who carry out the heist of a lifetime’ directed by 26-year-old London-born director Jack Spring. He spent most of his childhood in Grimsby and still visits family there regularly, as well as being an avid fan of the local football club.

The trailer for the movie, which is Jack’s second feature film, was released on October 13. The film will be out in cinemas across Greater Lincolnshire, and elsewhere in the country, on November 25 as well as being on various digital platforms from that date which are still being confirmed.

Irish actor Colm Meaney plays the main ‘bad guy’ of the film Mr Barr, who decides to shut down his company for his own financial gain. Colm has appeared in a plethora of films including Layer Cake and Damned United, as well as in Star Trek and as himself in The Simpsons.

Mr Barr’s right-hand man, Mr G, is played by Jonas Armstrong who starred as Robin Hood in the BBC series, as well as The Bay and Floodlights.

He signs up the three main men involved in carrying out the heist – Curly Dean (James Burrows), Codge (Michael Kinsey), and Budgie (Sam Glen).

Robbie Gee, who featured in Snatch and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, plays the part of taxi driver Wheezy.

Director Jack Spring told The Lincolnite when writer Paul Stephenson sent him the script he “absolutely loved it” and wanted to make it his second feature film after his debut which was entitled ‘Destination Dewsbury’.

The film was shot mainly in Grimsby in September and October 2021, including at Grimsby Docks, behind Blundell Park football ground, a music venue called Casablanca Club, local pubs, and various people’s houses. Nearby towns and villages, Cleethorpes and New Waltham also feature in the film.

The £1 million budget for the film was raised from private investors and local businesses, including myenergi, Semco Maritime, Bacon Engineering and Pattesons Glass.

Jack said: “It was fantastic. I had the time of my life and cried my eyes out on wrap day, it was genuinely moving how helpful the people of Grimsby were.

“I’d always seen Grimsby as an extremely cinematic place, it has a very consistent look. You can stick the camera anywhere in Grimsby and it looks like cinema.

“The town knew we were coming and, with me being a vocal Grimsby Town fan on Twitter, it wasn’t a surprise for locals that we were there.

“I’ve shot lots of stuff in London and had more trouble from people and councils, but we didn’t have a single incident in our five-week shoot in Grimsby, the people were great.

Jack started filming when at the age of 13 his “ambitious Christmas wish for a digital camera” was granted and he’s never looked back.

He went to the University of York to study film and TV production, but dropped out after a year in 2016 before deciding he wanted to try and raise £150,000 for his first feature film ‘Destination Dewsbury’.

Jack went away and gave himself 12 months to start a company so he could go back to investors with a good business record. He started what he described as the “world’s largest inflatable hot tub rental company” called Hello Hot Tubs which had 180 hot tubs in nine different cities.

He sold the company after a year and took his business record back to investors who trusted him and helped finance the film. He now owns a production company called Shush Films alongside producer Giles Alderson and co-owner of Grimsby Town Football Club co-owner Andrew Pettit.

Reacting to the release of the trailer and looking ahead to the film being in cinemas, Jack said: “It’s like I’ve been in labour for four years and suddenly now I can release a bit of it, and when the full film comes out, and people have conservations about it, it will be pretty special.

“Its very exciting and the response to the trailer has been nuts. It had around 200,000 views from the cast and crew’s social media alone. I’m working my way up the ladder, but feel like I’m already living the dream.”

So what’s next for Jack? He is starting work on his next feature film, a Christmas movie with a bigger budget which will be shot in York in March 2023, but he is unable to reveal any more at this stage due to confidentiality.”