Hollywood star Billy Zane spotted at Newcastle Greyhound Stadium

Feb 16 2010 by David Whetstone, The Journal

PUNTERS who bumped into American actor Billy Zane at Newcastle Greyhound Stadium at the weekend might have imagined he was lost.

Not so. The Hollywood actor is on Tyneside filming Flutter, a feature film with a gambling theme in which he plays a character called Edwin the Dentist.

Described as “a contemporary and darkly comedic morality tale”, Flutter also stars Ricky Tomlinson, best known for his stand-up performances and his role in TV’s The Royle Family.

Heading the cast, however, is young British actor Joe Anderson who plays John, a renowned gambler who gambles his marriage.

Joe played Joy Division bassist Peter Hook in the 2007 film Control and recently finished shooting The Crazies, a remake of a 1973 horror film.

Ricky plays Freddie, the gambling father-in-law who fears John may be following in his footsteps.

Principal photography began yesterday on Flutter which has been developed with the help of Northern Film & Media, the regional screen agency.

It is being filmed at a series of locations in Newcastle and North Tyneside including the Swan Hunter shipyard at Wallsend, St Mary’s Lighthouse at Whitley Bay, the Blue Reef Aquarium at Tynemouth and the Newcastle Greyhound Stadium where Titanic star Billy Zane posed for photos with punters at the weekend.