World premiere held at Village 6
Cinemas in Suva in a big way
UK actress, Laura Aikman, on the set of Bula Quo with a generic copy of the Fiji Sun used during the shooting of the film. Ms Aikman is currently shooting for a Bollywood film. The world premiere of the Bula Quo was held last night at Village 6 Cinemas in Suva. Photo: Courtesy of STUART ST PAUL
By RACHNA LAL
Stuart St Paul took a bold move coming all the way from UK to Fiji to shoot action comedy ‘Bula Quo’ with legendary Status Quo’s rockers, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt.
But the locations in Fiji seemed to provide exactly what Mr St Paul was after and the warmth and friendliness of the Fijians enhanced this further.
The movie had a world premiere at Village 6 Cinemas in Suva last night. It starts with a short introduction about Fiji (ideally for those abroad who don’t know where Fiji is) accompanied with a bit of our ancestral history.
It then goes on to see the arrival of Francis and Rick at the Nadi International Airport.
The movie captures the beauty of Fiji really well when the legendary band members go sightseeing.
The way the scenes have been captured on camera, nobody would be able to tell Fiji had just been through two floods just before the shooting for the movie started.
The storyline
Francis and Rick, who are on a World Tour, after a concert at Churchill Park in Lautoka, slip away for drinks. They end up going to the wrong bar on the wrong night.
The two witness a murder in a game of Russian Roulette which is orchestrated by an American gangster who runs a gambling ring where the loser literally loses his head.
They escape the scene and then begins the game of cat and mouse with comedy which shows the two evading capture and trying by all means to stay alive.
Their entourage also gets involved in trying to protect Francis and Rick who just seem to have a neck for trouble finding them.
The 90-minute action comedy keeps you focused on what is happening and wanting to know more.
Attractions of the films
Especially for all Fijians, they would be eagerly and keenly looking at the scenes and the locals who acted to recognise everyone and everything.
The roles played by the locals are not entirely flawless, but with an influx in movies being shot here, very soon people will be catching on and it would be a natural thing.
One of the most catchy things of course is the music which is sure to rock all Status Quo fans.
The light effects were just perfect and seemed to provide great ambience to the film.
The use of Bula costumes added to the effects of the film giving it more of a Pacific feel. Don’t be surprised if after the release the Bula-wear becomes the fashion for summer in the UK.
Conclusion
The movie was fun-filled comedy – something to watch with your entire family.
And if you are a Status Quo fan, you will surely love Francis and Rick in their roles.
Fingers crossed the duo from a band which rocked the music world, will now rock the film world with their appearance in a film for the first time. With Fiji a star.
Production Year: 2013
Country: UK
Shot in: Fiji
Runtime: 90 mintures
Director: Stuart St Paul
Producer: Tim Major
Featuring: Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Craig Fiarbrass, Laura Aikman and Jon Lovitz