Filming is set to take place in Suffolk next year for a new movie of a thriller written by a novelist based in the county.
Iain Maitland is excited that his book Mr Todd’s Reckoning will be hitting the cinema but says he is not allowed to reveal the full details at present.
Film crews will be using Ipswich and Felixstowe as locations next summer - bringing another boost to the area through its links with the film industry and the increasing number of projects being shot in the county.
Mr Maitland said: "That’s pretty much all I can say about it at the moment.
“I’ve been told I can reveal it’s happening but I’m not allowed to talk about the production company that’s making it or who the lead actor will be. Not just yet.
“I can say that I am thrilled to be working with this production company that’s just had a massive success with one of my most favourite TV series ever. And I’ve seen the movies they make and am delighted to be working with them.”
Mr Todd’s Reckoning - which was published two years ago - is set in Suffolk and is a tense thriller focussing on Mr Todd, an angry and frustrated ex-tax inspector who’s lost his job, who is stuck at home with his son, who has no work or friends and doesn’t connect with his father.
Mr Maitland, who lives in Felixstowe, said work on the film project was currently centred on the scripts.
He said: “From now to Christmas, we are looking at screenwriters who can work with me to bring Malcolm Todd and his family to the screen. A working script should then be ready for the spring.
“From there, the lead actors will be engaged – the TV production company works with some of the biggest names in the industry so we will have a wonderful lead actor. We’ve talked over some names and it’s a tough call.
"By the summer, filming will be taking place in Ipswich, up near St Augustine’s Church, and in Felixstowe, down by the Spa Pavilion and up by the Grove woods.”
Mr Maitland said he would be working on a sequel to Mr Todd’s Reckoning, through 2022, to come out when the movie is released in, all being well, 2023.
HIs previous books include psychological thrillers Sweet William in 2017, and The Scribbler last year, as well as two non-fiction books on mental health, Dear Michael, Love Dad (2016) and Out of the Madhouse (2018). A new novel The Girl Downstairs is due out on November 21.
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