A new rom-com set in Manchester has started filming in the city centre

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New rom-com set in Manchester has started filming 2024

A brand-new rom-com set in Manchester has begun filming in the heart of the city centre and there are some recognisable names attached to it.

Manchester is no stranger to a movie set or bit of filming, with the Castlefield canals and viaduct having featured in Peaky Blinders and numerous ad campaigns, not to mention Northern Quarter doubling as New York on numerous occasions, but the latest project looks set to be based all over the city.

Film crews have been spotted along those very same canals we just mentioned, outside the likes of Evuna tapas restaurant in NQ, staging queues outside Band on the Wall, walking down Canal Street in the Gay Village and more.

Seemingly set and filmed almost entirely within the heart of various Manchester districts, the film is called CC: Emily and stars young duo Angourie Rice and Spike Fearn.

Principal photography is said to have started back in August but more and more shoots have been spotted popping up at various different recognisable locations.

Rice, 23, is an Australian actor who is best known for roles in the Mean Girls remake, action comedy The Nice Guys and the new Spider-Man movies, whereas English talent Fearn (24) has most recently appeared in the Amy Winehouse biopic, Aftersun with Paul Mescal and the latest Alien film, Romulus.

As for the plot itself, the IMDb listing explains that a “lovesick musician teams up with a psychology student to find his dream girl, sparking a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their hearts and ambitions.”

The conceit comes from Fearn’s character – all character names are still unknown – being given the wrong number and, as we’re sure any regular cinephile can guess already, the love story takes an unintended even if albeit predictable turn.

Not everyone is exactly happy about the space the Manchester-based rom-com is taking up though, as a now-deleted post criticised the crews for closing off sections of streets where independent businesses were losing footfall and blocking signage with large trucks.

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Similar complaints came from several locals when Manchester was famously taken over by the Chanel Métiers d’art show last year, though that was on a much bigger scale and did see many residents compensated for the inconvenience.

CC: Emily is being directed by Alicia MacDonald, the woman behind recent TV favourites like Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws and will be distributed by Focus and Universal – two studios behind the likes of Shaun of the Dead and the Bridget Jones films – though there’s still no release date as yet.

This being her feature film debut after and only one of a few movie outings by writer Rachel Hirons, the equally young and still relatively unproven cast makes this an exciting original that we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on – especially since it’s filming around our way.

Along with the 90s aesthetic, the rom-com era looks to be back in full effect as another iconic franchise is also returning very soon.

A new Bridget Jones film is on the way – but a key actor won’t be returning for the fourth instalment
She’s back.

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Featured Images — Marvel/Zealousideal-Bug-869 (via r/Manchester)/ScreenSlam (via YouTube)