HOLLYWOOD, HERE WE BRUM

It’s 11am and it’s minus 2 degrees on a soggy farm in Alvechurch, a mere stone’s throw from Hopwood Park services. The latest storm, whose name we’ve lost track of, is battering the barn roof while the gang of men inside tool up with shotguns, glocks and rifles. You could be forgiven for thinking this is a herd of farmers gearing up to protest Keir Starmer’s inheritance tax. Instead it’s the cast and crew of Birmingham’s first action film, Lotus, setting up for a full-on fight scene.

One voice cuts through the animated chatter; “So, you come at me first, then I’ll get you in a headlock and I’ll break your neck. If that’s ok with you?”

This is the kind of jarring exchange you hear a lot on the location of Lotus, and it perfectly sums up Phillip Ray Tommy (below), the actor, writer and director from just up the road in Shirley. He’s a genial, gentle giant with a shed-load of charisma, coupled with an ever-present underlying sense that he could properly eff you up if needs be.

Now, let’s not be hyperbolic and suggest that he’s our city’s best kept secret, but he’s also appeared in Thor: The Dark World, Tom Cruise’s sci-fi actioner Edge of Tomorrow and *checks notes* Ridley Scott’s epic Gladiator II which shot in Morocco. So why shoot in Brum?

“Birmingham’s really untapped in terms of its resources,” says Phillip. “It has this perception of being a grey, grim, smoke-ridden city. But there’s a lot of beauty here. Look at the museum. Look at Lickey Hills. Take a walk around Wythall. I’ve never understood why more hasn’t been filmed here, especially in terms of action.”

True to form, Brum is often overlooked when it comes to film productions shooting on location. Remember when it felt like a back-handed compliment that Steven Spielberg chose Digbeth for his dystopian backdrop in Ready Player One? Likewise, it was a massively missed opportunity when “Two Tikkas” Tom wasn’t filmed running around an unrecognisable Grand Central whilst looking for the right exit in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning.

But Phillip is about to change all that with his debut feature film which puts the city right at the heart of the action with some very Brummie scenes set for the big screen. Action is a topic he knows a lot about, having received a Best Action Choreography nommo at the 2023 Fighting Spirit Awards Festival and shooting several independent short films in and around B-Town. We’re not talking about the kind of action you see on Broad Street at 2am on a Sunday.

In Lotus, he plays John, an ex-special forces brick sh*thouse who witnesses a murder by a corrupt cop and uncovers a plot to flood Brum with a dangerous new drug, leaving the safety of our fair city in his hands. Yes, he sounds like the hero we need and the hero we deserve right now.

The man does makes a good point about Birmingham being underused though. Alongside the beauty and yes, the somewhat grey areas, we’re slap-bang in the middle of the country, with great transport links and Birmingham International. Which all makes you wonder why we haven’t been used more often as a location. Undoubtedly, we are starting to get our props, what with Steven Knight’s Loc studios popping up in Digbeth and with the BBC moving into the old Typhoo gaff but it feels like we deserve more, doesn’t it?

That’s why Big Phil is tired of waiting for Hollywood to come calling and is just going to do it himself, by hook or by crook. “I’m not going to stop until Lotus is the best film it can be, using the resources I have” he says. We’re not going to argue.

Lotus flies the flag for Birmingham from the off. The poster proudly features the Rotunda up-front and central, while Digbeth is shown in a much better light than Spielberg intended, as the ever-aesthetic Floodgate Street plays its part perfectly. Even The Ruin pub gets, err, ruined as Big Phil himself gets thrown around by the 6ft 9 Chi Lewis-Parry, the massive man-mountain who has a lead role in Danny Boyle’s upcoming zombie threequel 28 Years Later.

Having survived that smackdown, Phil’s character John ignores the West Midlands’ High Court injunction banning car cruising by belting through the Queensway tunnel. It’s a scene that’s enough to make you hold your breath if you weren’t already. Then there’s the stunning aerial drone footage that captures the city’s night-time skyline. It’s truly a thing of vertigo-inducing beauty.

Like Whitney Houston, Big Phil believes the children are our future. With his years of experience as a stunt performer, he’s all too aware of the difficulties that people have, young ‘uns in particular, when trying to get into an industry which is still so in love with London. From spenny accommodation to the hiked cost of living to strikes on the Avanti West Coast line, the opportunity to work in film or TV is stacked with seemingly-insurmountable obstacles.

Even if not for the job opportunities and aspirations, the benefits of Brum being on screen are huge. When it comes to your hometown, it’s more than just an opportunity to point and say, “I’ve been there”. Being represented on screen has the potential to instill a big ol’ sense of pride in your city and creates a feeling that not only do you belong in Birmingham, but that Birmingham belongs on the world’s stage. Of course, when it comes to the latter, we’ve known this all along, but those from outside looking in? Not so much.

Not only will Lotus fly the Birmingham flag, but Big Phil’s making our first action film in a bid to kickstart a movie movement here in the city. A successful production is bound to see more film shoots taking place here, with more jobs available and more out-of-the-ordinary opportunities for people facing the obstacles mentioned earlier. And yes, more “I’ve been there” moments.

As for the future? Big Phil’s got big plans for Lotus, setting his sights on a trilogy culminating in a final showdown with Sutton Coldfield’s Scott Adkins; the man who’s been going toe-to-toe with John Wick, Marvel’s Doctor Strange and martial arts legend Donnie Yen. Another few onscreen fights he has his eye on are with fellow Brummie and Taekwondo Black Belt, Adrian Lester, CBE (from TV’s Hustle) as well as Vaughn Lee, Birmingham’s first UFC star, who he was meant to meet in the cage back in the day, before injury got in the way. We’ll just watch quietly from the sides.

Back at the farm Phil has just “broken the neck” of that poor stunt performer, before feeding another into what looks like an agricultural angle grinder. Seconds later, he’s doubled over in fits of laughter and wiping the blood from his face as soon as the cinematographer shouts “cut”.

Set for release in the Summer of ‘25 and with the premiere taking place in Brum, keep a lookout for Lotus. Because Big Phil said so.

Trailer, Words: Robb Sheppard