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Local filmmakers shooting movie in rural Beeton location

November 8, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Local filmmakers Greg Johnston and Neil Mackay have teamed up for their latest movie. Johnston, who’s a producer and Mackay, who’s a director, have been filming at a location on the 6th Line of New Tecumseth in Beeton.

The scene set is a garage filled with all sorts of interesting items that add to the atmosphere of the set and rural property.

The working title for the film is ‘Simon’s Reach.’ It stars Bryan Larkin, an established and well-known Scottish actor who has an impressive list of credits and has appeared in movies shot around the world.

A friend of Neil’s, Mr. Larkin, flew over from Scotland to appear in this independent film.

The local set is on the property of local resident, Joe Feiner, who also had a part in the movie with his character ending up on the wrong side of a gun.

“The story takes place in Michigan, and I always wanted to use a mechanics garage to shoot in,” Neil explained. “The premise of the movie is Simon is working for the DEA and has been working under cover with these drug dealers. He ends up at this location but they know who he is. They end up interrogating him and leaving him for dead. But he has a partner here and a shoot-out happens, and he is left alone with drugs, money, and dead bodies. The film revolves around him doing what he can to try to get out. It’s a survival film, sort of.”

Several of the supporting actors have been in their films before. On top of being a producer and president of Rapid City Entertainment, Greg also has a role in the film of a rather corrupt deputy sheriff.

In the film, the money and drugs are located in the garage, however, when the local sheriff and deputy discover the stash, they get greedy, which leads to more trouble.

Greg and Neil have worked on several collaborations together.

“We shot ‘Armed’, which isn’t out yet, it gets released this year,” Neil explained. “It’s about a cold-war era robot that goes on a killing spree after these guys pull it out of a military truck. Before that, we shot ‘Death Hunt.’ It’s about an international ring of scumbags who hunt people on an island for sport. That was actually mentioned in the New York Times. It listed the top 10 movies to watch for American Thanksgiving, and Death Hunt was on it.”

The set at the Beeton location also moved outdoors for some scenes. A water truck was brought in to create rain for the exterior shots.

The film’s star, Bryan Larkin, has a long list of film credits dating back to 2002. The Glasgow-born actor has made a career of playing tough-guy type characters who have a vulnerable side.

His breakthrough in the Hollywood movie industry came in the film ‘London Has Fallen,’ playing an SAS Lieutenant.

Larkin has worked all over the world and said he enjoys learning about different cultures and the differences in acting styles and movie-making in different countries.

Neil and Bryan met several years ago in another movie and stayed in touch. Bryan agreed to fly across the Atlantic to appear in this movie.

Rapid City Entertainment has also released the movie Armed, in 2024, and Death Hunt, in 2022.

Simon’s Reach is nearing the end of its shooting schedule, which has taken just over 30 days to complete.

The anticipated release date for Simon’s Reach is early 2026.

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