Oscar winning Die Hard actor – Trashed in Bishop’s Cleeve
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Gloucestershire Echo
OSCAR winning actor Jeremy Irons left a Bishop’s Cleeve resident stunned when he pulled up on his motorbike outside her house.
The Die Hard film star is a keen environmentalist and visited the village to find out about its nearby toxic waste dump, Wingmoor Farm.
He was filmed speaking to Safety in Waste and Rubbish Disposal (SWARD ) campaigner, Barbara Farmer.
The documentary, Trashed, which features footage of the village and Cleeve Hill, has now been selected for a special screening at Cannes international film festival.
Barbara said: “It was quite surreal to have Jeremy Irons motorcycle up to my house and knock on my door. He spent a lot of time talking with me as the cameras rolled, finding out all about the blight of having thousands of tonnes of toxic incinerator chimney ash dumped on the edge of our villages in open conditions.
“He was astounded by the scale of the hazardous landfill so close to a residential area and in such a beauty spot.”
Blenheim Films came to visit Bishop’s Cleeve as part of a tour of worldwide locations that have been blighted by waste disposal.
The crew spent a day filming the area then came back to film the protest in September 2011 when SWARD held a protest to coincide with the Gloucestershire County Council Planning Committee’s site visit.
“I was astonished to get a text from the director telling me that she was sitting with Vangelis, who has written the music for the film, watching my clip,” Barbara said.
“So far we’ve only seen the trailer, which included a brief glimpse of Jeremy Irons with Cleeve Hill behind him. We can’t wait to see the finished film.”
SWARD is delighted that Trashed has been selected for Cannes.
Barbara said: “”It is very apt timing. Gloucestershire faces the awful prospect of a massive incinerator at Javelin Park. If this application is granted we will have to feed the burner 24 hours a day seven days a week with precious resources that can’t be replaced and at a terrible cost to our environment.
“Anyone who thinks burning rubbish is a safe and clean option should come to see the vast quantities of toxic ash that are dumped at Wingmoor.
“Trashed” shows why we have to simply stop producing waste and start realising that on a finite planet what we throw away comes back to haunt us.”
The trailer can be viewed at Trashedfilm.com
jeremyirons.net 
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