Nick Moran, best known for his role in Guy Ritchie's 1998 film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, will take part in a Q&A at Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle on September 3. The event marks the northern premiere of Don't Forget Me, the first fully authorised documentary about the life and legacy of rock 'n' roll pioneer Eddie Cochran.
Gala night details and guests
The gala night screening at the city centre independent cinema - which has previously hosted premieres of Ken Loach's Tyneside-set dramas and Sir Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later - offers local music fans a chance to be among the first to see the film. Tickets, including options for a meet-and-greet with special guests, are still available.
Moran will be joined by Jack Harris, an up-and-coming American singer-songwriter making his screen acting debut as Cochran, and the film's director Kirsty Bell, who is originally from Newcastle. The homecoming screening holds extra significance as Cochran gave one of his final performances in the city during his legendary UK tour in 1960, the year he died.
Film features exclusive interviews
The documentary features exclusive interviews with music stars including Keith Richards, Yungblud, Roger Daltrey, Sting, Rod Stewart, Billy Idol and Suzi Quatro, as well as Cochran's bandmates and family. It explores the lasting legacy of the young talent who died following a taxi crash at the age of 21.
Don't Forget Me has already had a London premiere and a showing at America's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The London premiere featured as part of this summer's Raindance Film Festival, where Bell won the best director award.
Bell called it the "deepest honour" to be entrusted by Cochran's family to tell his story, adding: "His life burned fast and bright but the ripples of his sound reached across oceans and decades, shaping the very language of rock 'n' roll. Don't Forget Me is not just the title of this film, it is Eddie's own plea, echoed in autograph books and in the lives he touched."
Anniversary celebrations and Q&A panel
The North East debut will form part of the 10-year anniversary celebrations of the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation, which has raised millions of pounds for charity, including the cinema's Tyneside Talent Unit that nurtures local film-making talent. The Q&A panel will include Moran, Bell, and Harris.
Moran, who played card sharp Eddie in Lock, Stock and Scabior in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, also co-wrote Telstar, a dramatisation of the life of record producer Joe Meek, and played Kit Lambert in the Telstar film. He has also fronted a Frank Sinatra tribute band.
Journalist and ChronicleLive columnist John Gibson, a lifelong Cochran fan who saw the late star's 1960 performance in Newcastle, will also take part in the Q&A, sharing his memory of the event.
The documentary, produced by Oscar and BAFTA-winning Goldfinch Entertainment, highlights how Cochran's songs have been covered more than 500 times by artists including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Jett, Kiefer Sutherland, Led Zeppelin and T. Rex.
Angie Jenkison, chief executive of the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation, said it is honoured to have the northern premiere play a part in its anniversary celebrations, adding: "Eddie Cochran was a young man with extraordinary talent and passion and that is exactly what we are funding at Tyneside Cinema: a facility that will support young people with talent and passion to find their purpose."
Nic Greenan, the cinema's chief executive, said the upcoming gala night "celebrates outstanding filmmaking, music and culture, while also marking the 10th anniversary of the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation and recognising the support that helps create opportunities for emerging film talent."
Standard tickets to the event cost £17.49, while limited VIP Circle tickets for £45 include drinks, canapés and an exclusive meet-and-greet with cast and crew.
