James McAvoy is one of our favorite actors here at JoBlo.com. Whether he’s playing Professor X in the X-Men prequels or starring in horror flicks like Split and Speak No Evil, he’s proven himself to be a thoroughly chameleonic actor, capable of disappearing into just about any kind of role. But now, McAvoy is taking on an entirely new challenge: directing.
His first film as a director, California Schemin’, is actually based on an incredible true story. It follows Scottish rap duo Silibil N’ Brains, who spent years pretending to be American after discovering that the music industry wouldn’t take them seriously with their Scottish accents. Rather than give up on their dreams, the pair reinvented themselves as California rappers and managed to fool just about everyone.
Samuel Bottomley and Séamus McLean Ross star as the duo, with McAvoy himself also co-starring in the film. California Schemin’ premiered to a warm reception at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and is now making its way stateside. It’s set for a theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles this Friday before expanding to additional markets the following week.
To celebrate the film’s release, we’re proud to debut an exclusive clip from McAvoy’s directorial debut, which you can check out embedded at the top of the article. The clip offers a taste of the movie’s combination of comedy, music, ambition and the increasingly elaborate deception at the heart of this wild true story.
Here’s the official synopsis:
CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN’ is inspired by a real-life story rooted in both early-2000s hip-hop culture and McAvoy’s native Scotland. The film follows Silibil N’ Brains — two aspiring Scottish rappers who, after being mocked for their accents, rebranded themselves as Californian emcees and duped their way into a record deal with Sony. Suddenly, they were rubbing shoulders with the likes of Eminem and D12, scoring MTV airplay and fat advances — until their American dream began to unravel.
We’ll be back later this week with an exclusive interview with McAvoy, as well as our review of his first feature as a director.
Are you intrigued by California Schemin’? Check out our exclusive clip and let us know what you think in the comments!