FEATURE: An American director in Edinburgh

Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
October 15, 2009

THE chance to entertain a mysterious American guest turned out to be a thriller for two Old Town tour guides.

Stuart Nicoll and John Baxter were intrigued when the famous Ealing Studios asked to book "a client" on one of their Burke and Hare murder tours.

But they could hardly believe their eyes when film great John Landis - the director of Michael Jackson's Thriller video and a string of hit films including An American Werewolf in London - turned up.

The celebrated director was visiting the Capital to scout for locations for his forthcoming comic-horror take on the famous West Port murderers.

Mr Nicoll, 28, of Abbeyhill, co-owner of The West Port Tours, said: "I clocked him right away because I'm a big fan of Trading Places and Coming to America.

"He said he was only there for the night and he had to fly out to America the following day.

"Obviously the subject matter of the tour is dark and scary, so it was great to show him around.

"John took him up to Greyfriars Kirkyard to set the scene. He explained about the demand for bodies at the medical school that led some to go grave-robbing and ultimately led Burke and Hare to commit their murders.

"He loved the atmosphere of the place.

"We made it clear that Burke and Hare weren't actually grave-robbers, a common mistake that we wouldn't want to see repeated on film.

"Then we took him to the Grassmarket and up to the West Port to show him the site of the old Tanner's Close, where they carried out their murders."

Mr Baxter, 23, of Musselburgh, was a bit less fazed by Landis' arrival - as he wasn't really sure who he was.

He said: "I'd heard the name but the only film I could place him on was Beverly Hills Cop III, and it was only when I Googled him that I released how big he is.

"The tour lasted about an hour-and-a-half longer than usual because the location scouts wanted to take their time, and they couldn't agree on anything.

"Landis was particularly interested in Burke's hanging site on Parliament Square, but there was some talk of them moving it to the Grassmarket in the film."

The tour guides were approached before they had even launched their new Burke and Hare Murder Tours, which are due to start on 26 October, after Ealing Studios found their website.

They arranged a private tour which ended up lasting three hours.

Both men are now angling for a cameo in the film, with Mr Nicoll hoping to portray murder witness Hugh Alston, and Mr Baxter eyeing the role of the Rymer's Bar landlord who unwittingly plied the murderers' victims with drink.

An Ealing Studios spokesman said that pre-production shooting on the film will begin in November, with Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg lined up for one of the roles.

But he dismissed suggestions that Bathgate-born Doctor Who star David Tennant would play Hare to Pegg's Burke as "a rumour".

He added: "John Landis found the recce with West Port Tours really useful and inspiring."