For a brief, golden moment at the turn of the millennium, Californian hip-hop duo Silibil N’ Brains seemed to have it all: fame, fortune, a record deal, and even an opening slot for D-12. And here’s the rub: Silibil N’ Brains were actually Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd (no, not that Billy Boyd), two Scottish pals who, tired of being dismissed as “rapping Proclaimers”, reinvented themselves to take the scene by storm. One bestselling Bain autobiography and a Jeanie Findlay doc later, James McAvoy is making his directorial debut with California Schemin’, a raucous biopic based on one of music’s maddest true stories. And you can check out the trailer below;
Samuel Bottomley (How To Have Sex) and Seamus McLean Ross (Outlander) lead a primarily Scottish cast as Boyd and Bain respectively, who we meet in this first trailer for California Schemin’ just as they’re being laughed out of an audition despite their skills on the mic. “It wasn’t the music they were laughing at,” says Gavin Bain in the bog stalls as he and his pal decompress, “it was us.” But before you can say “well isn’t this a cool tonal mix of 8 Mile and Kneecap but about a million times more improbable,” Silibil N’ Brains have been born, suddenly James McAvoy himself’s rocking up with a record deal, and the duo are recording MTV bits by day, gigging by night, and trying to keep their secret as their relationships with their nearest and dearest grow ever strained. All in a day’s work, eh?
The movie — which elsewhere co-stars James Corden, Amber Anderson, Rebekah Murrell, Sonny Poon Tip, John Scougall, and Lucy Halliday — is a real passion project for McAvoy. When California Schemin’ was first announced, he said, “What these two young men from Dundee attempted beggars belief and I can’t wait to bring this absolutely incredible, and also very Scottish/Californian story to the cinema. Using Scottish talent behind and in front of the camera is something I’m passionate about and I’m over the moon to be making my directorial debut in my homeland. The film will first and foremost be a celebration of the Scottish spirit, but the ‘Silibil N’ Brains’ duo’s audacious fakery can’t help but appeal to audiences worldwide.”
California Schemin’ is set to bring its barminess and bars to Boyd and Bain’s homeland when it makes its UK premiere as the Closing Gala movie at the Glasgow Film Festival on 8 March. We can all look forward to seeing what McAvoy’s directorial debut has in store when the film hits UK cinemas on 10 April. Wicked!
