Deborah Kerr Movies

Hollywood director Tom Vaughan backs bid to return cinema to Helensburgh

Childhood in Scots town put Tom on road to top

Hollywood director Tom Vaughan reckons he would never have achieved his dream career if he hadn't grown up in Scotland.

The 41-year-old, who has just directed Miley Cyrus in her latest flick So Undercover, was inspired by watching films like Star Wars at the local cinema in Helensburgh.

Now he wants to help raise enough cash to open a new cinema in the Dunbartonshire town to say thanks.

Tom, who spent his teenage years making films around the area, such as in an old Army base, the local woodland and along the coast, said: "There was a sense that we could go anywhere and film anything.

"It was a lot of fun and it really developed my enjoyment of film-making. My career is all thanks to Helensburgh really."

The proposed cinema is in the Heroes Centre, which will honour its many famous sons and daughters, such as John Logie Baird and Hollywood legend Deborah Kerr.

There will also be space for local people to express themselves creatively.

Tom, who directed Brit flick Starter For 10 as well as What Happens In Vegas and Extraordinary Measures, said: "I have known about the centre from its inception and when I was back in Helensburgh a couple of years ago I went to all the meetings.

"It is the kind of thing a town can really benefit from and I keep thinking it would have been great to have something like that when I was growing up there.

"And while I think the whole idea is fantastic, I am particularly pleased with the idea of bringing a cinema back to the town.

"The La Scala was where I saw all my first movies, including films like Star Wars, but it shut in 1984.

"By that point I had the bug but from then on, you had to go out of town to see films.

"To give people a place to go to be creative is fantastic, but what's more amazing is that people can come together to see movies on the big screen.

"When I make movies, that's where I want people to see them, to watch them with an audience.

"I think it will be good for Helensburgh to have a place where people can go and have a shared experience.

"Anything which inspires people and makes them feel connected to the wider world has got to be good.

"Maybe that's part of Helensburgh's secret, why it has produced so many people who have gone on to great things, because it has always been connected to the wider world."

He cut his creative teeth in the town when he was a boy - but it was his unexpected career as a child actor in STV kids' series Stookie that put him on the path to directing success.

The Oscar Nerd: Deborah Kerr in Separate Tables

Deborah Kerr received her fifth Oscar nomination for playing Sybil Railton-Bell, a shy spinster in the Best Picture nominee, Separate Tables. This was the fifth unsuccessful nomination for Deborah but I don't think she even had a prayer of winning that year. Susan Hayward (as I said) was almost a sure thing plus Liz Taylor and Rosalind Russell were both stronger contenders and bigger names than Deborah Kerr. I'd say that Deborah might have got ahead of Shirley MacLaine who was just becoming a major star. What if is a very interesting question of 1958. What if Susan Hayward hadn't been in contention? I'd say Elizabeth Taylor would have won because her performance was a surprisingly deep one and she was the hottest star plus she had the sentiment on her side because of the death of her husband. I guess Deborah would have lost anyway. Separate Tables is not really talked about nowdays, unfairly, I might add as it is a pretty good movie. I wouldn't say it's my pick for Best Picture but I enjoyed it. It's a real ensemble picture, full of great, world-famous actors who give very good performances. Rita Hayworth stands out the most, I think and I feel that she might have deserved a nomination though I'm not 100% sure. David Niven gives a very good performance but I feel that Sidney Poitier or Paul Newman deserved to win more (I usually switch my vote for 1958 and 1963 between them). Wendy Hiller dismissed her own Oscar win. Although I agree with that she wasn't amazing, I still think she was the best of the weak nominees that year and she was pretty great this way, too. Deborah Kerr (as you might know) is not one of my favorite actresses. Some go for her dignified, subtle acting style but I'm not one of those. I prefer highly emotional performances with lots of fire and music. That's me. Of course, that doesn't mean that I cannot respect certain works of Ms. Kerr, I just don't think that she's the greatest. It's fun, though, that she was born on 30th September like me (and Marion Cotillard). I know that I said it last time but I'll say it again and again. Separate Tables is really an ensemble piece so it takes a very special performance to stand out. And as such, we cannot really talk about leading characters, in my opinion. Everyone is either leading or supporting. However, back then category placement was a matter of vanity and not competition.

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