James McAvoy's directorial debut “California Schemin” is sold to the UK

James McAvoy's directorial debut Californian intrigue about a hip-hop scam has already been sold to StudioCanal for the UK and Ireland as well as a number of other international markets.

The film is based on the true story of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, two friends from Dundee, Scotland, who scammed the music industry by pretending to be a Californian rap duo called Silibil N' Brains, using American accents. The project is based on Bain's autobiography of the same name, which was reissued under the title Direct from ScotlandThe story of the duo was already told in 2013 in the documentary The great hip-hop scam.

McAvoy will not only direct, but also take on a supporting role. Séamus McLean Ross (Outlander: Blood of my blood) and Samuel Bottomley (How to have sex) are set to play the main roles. Archie Thomson (Deep State 2) and Elaine Gracie (Romantic short break) were responsible for the adaptation of the screenplay

The film is currently in pre-production and is scheduled to begin shooting in Scotland in October. Guy J. Louthan of Ransom Films (The call) and Danny Page of Homefront Productions serve as producers. Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green are executive producers for Bankside Films.

Bankside handles international distribution, while UTA Independent Film Group handles North America.

The company, which continues to sell the title in Toronto and AFM, has also signed deals with HBO for Eastern Europe, Estonian Theatrical Distribution for the Baltics, Beta for Bulgaria, MCF for the former Yugoslavia, Cinetel for Hungary, Green Light for Ukraine, NOS Lusomundo for Portugal, EFAR Films Distribution for India and Front Row for the Middle East.