My family flew to the Isle of Man, left the airport, explored a castle, and promptly stumbled across a film crew. Here is one thing about travel: sometimes life stops seeming real. It becomes surreal, or hyperreal, and I love it. I mean, I’m a film student who goes to a small island and happens to almost immediately discover a crew in the throes of production.
My sister and I spotted strange lights and trailers over near a carousel. Our film senses tingled with the close proximity of an impending shoot. We jumped out of the car, hearts beating wildly, and walked purposefully right onto the set, feeling like we were stealing into the occult ritual of some secret storytelling society. We sat by the harbor and chatted with a few wonderfully kind and informative crew members. One of the actors waved to me from a boat. We learned that the film is Take Down – a thriller about rich kids at an island boarding school who are taken hostage by some criminals. I was hanging out at the criminal carousel. The film is being produced by Pinewood Studios and stars Jeremy Sumpter (he of the Peter Pan/that kinda jerky kid from Friday Night Lights fame), who apparently deals well with the adoration of Welsh fangirls (ahh the hard knock life). One man complained that shoot days involve a lot of sitting around; I confided that film sets still held an inexplicable magic for me – the butterfly-wing-jittery-anticipation of being steeped in a visual storytelling organism, and in the presence of people who have already achieved some of my dreams.
Speaking of film, the Isle of Man also happens to host the film locations of Waking Ned (or Waking Ned Devine in the US). Having fallen in love with the scenery of the fictional Tullymore, exploring the Isle of Man felt like stepping into a beautiful tale. We found Ned’s beachside house and explored the old village of Cregneash that stands in for Tullymore (where some cottages can be rented and that is where my future lieth).
Ned’s house.
Hello Mr. FOUR-HORNED SHEEP SIR
Lady riding this chair, DO NOT go into a telephone booth or you will be engaging in some unwanted cliff-jumping
And we feasted at a restaurant at the tip of the Isle before reenacting a little Waking Ned scene because why not?
I don’t know them.
Best fish = fish shaped like a foot.
The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown Dependency located in the Irish Sea. It is known for its cool flag and for the TT (Tourist Trophy) motorcycle racing event. We stayed in the main town of Douglas and then drove around (very much not pretending that we were part of races that make regular sacrifices to the grim reaper). During the drive, we noticed that many houses have names instead of numbers… Tempest Point and Stony Row and Brown House…. Which I think would basically be an all-around interesting situation for both the postal service and people driving ambulances.
Always say “yes” to castles. Especially always say yes to Peel Castle. The ground is heathery, the view is delicious, the skies are cloudy, and I feel so alive.
Film Rogues. Irish Escapades. 