Villagers in Pettigo are keeping their fingers crossed that filming will resume in the Autumn on a movie that was halted on Friday.
Aidan Gillen, the Dublin-born actor who made his name in Shanghai Knights with Jackie Chan and in the hit 1999 tv series Queer As Folk, was to have arrived in Pettigo in the next few weeks for his scenes in the €1 million feature-length horror film Wake Wood.
Other actors lined up for the movie include Eva Birthistle and Peter Mullen.
Pre-production crew had been in the village for almost three weeks, choosing locations and doing other preparatory work, when they were told that the project and their contracts were being put on hold.
Dublin-based independent production company Fantastic Films is making the movie through its subsidiary, Wake Wood Productions, with involvement by horror movie specialists Hammer Films and the Irish Film Board.
The Irish Film Board said the plug is not being pulled on the project.
A spokeswoman said funding is still available but has been put on hold for a few months while issues on the script are resolved. She added: “We are fully committed to the project.”
Production manager Kathleen Dore told the Donegal Post: “We’re definitely coming back. We’ll be back in July to continue the preparatory work and filming will start in September.”
She added: “There was a realisation that the long summer evenings are not ideal for a horror movie. We need the darker nights. You could say Pettigo isn’t spooky enough at this time of year.”
The Association for the Development of Pettigo and Tullyhommon(ADOPT), in conjunction with Donegal County Council, played a major role in attracting the film to the area after producers ruled out another location under consideration, Waterford.
More than 15 crew were in the village and accommodation had been booked for a further 40 actors and crew.
Natasha McGrath, Development Worker with ADOPT, said: “Everybody was quite excited about the film being made here. It would have been a great boost to the area.”
She added: “The people who were here were very nice and so enthusiastic about it. We do look forward to them coming back in the Autumn.”
Reporter: Paddy Clancy