Neeson and Brosnan to Make A Christmas Star

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes announced last week that Hollywood stars Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan will star in a new Christmas feature film titled A Christmas Star, set to begin filming later this year.

Gareth Ellis Unwin, the Oscar-winning producer of The King’s Speech; acclaimed Rise of the Planet of the Apes composer Patrick Doyle; music supervisor Maggie Rodford; Belfast actress Paula Malcolmson and Enemy at the Gates casting director Ros Hubbard are attached to the project.

The film will be made by the Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People, to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary. Fellowes announced the news at a question and answer session for 500 young people at Belfas’s Grand Opera House on Friday, before also unveiling the high-profile names joining the actors for the production.

Hundreds of young people from Northern Ireland will be involved with A Christmas Star, due to be filmed in Belfast. Film and television professionals will mentor them throughout the process to teach them more about filmmaking from script-editing to costume and directing.

“Young people, from every type of background and culture, are being encouraged to explore the world of film for themselves, first hand” said Fellowes. “We want them to break through the glass ceilings and walls that surround them and see for themselves what it’s really like.”