Documentary charts rise of boy from West Lothian village to terrific Hollywood movie director

Daily Record

23-04-2025

Michael Caton-Jones directed a number of big screen movies such as Memphis Belle, Rob Roy, and The Jackal
The life of an award winning Hollywood movie director from Broxburn is being celebrated in a new documentary.
Michael Caton-Jones: This Broxburn Boy's Life is a co-production between the two Scottish production companies; Partickular Films and Two Rivers Media.
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The 67-year-old grew up in the West Lothian mining village before moving to London, and studying at the UK's National Film School.
His first feature. Scandal, about the Profumo-Keeler sex scandal, became an international hit and put him in high demand.
He went on to direct a number of successful big screen movies including Memphis Belle, Doc Hollywood, Rob Roy, The Jackal, Shooting Dogs, Our Ladies, and Basic Instinct 2.
Another film he directed – This Boy's Life – saw Leonardo DiCaprio in his first major film role, with Caton-Jones instrumental in his casting.
The Scottish production companies collaborating to produce the documentary about the West Lothian man have announced that actor-producer Matthew Modine and Adam Rackoff's Cinco Dedos Peliculas production company have boarded.
The documentary includes interviews with Caton-Jones and those who worked with him throughout his career, including David Putnam, Tim Roth, Letitia Wright, Ron Perlman, Ewen Bremner, and David Hayman, as well as never-before-seen archive material from Caton-Jones' 40-year career.
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Executive Producer is Alan Clements (Special Forces: Most Daring Missions narrated by Tom Hardy; Dogs of War; Cassius X: Becoming Ali; Killing Escobar).
Alan Clements, Managing Director of Two Rivers Media, said: 'Not only is this film the story of how a young, working-class man became one of the most exacting directors in the business, it tells how Hollywood embraced this driven Scot.
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"We are delighted to have secured so much unique and exclusive material with which to tell this inspiring story. It is also fantastic to be working with Matthew and Adam, whose collective experience will be a huge asset to this project.'
Cinco Dedos Peliculas is a film and new media production company co-founded by actor-producer Matthew Modine with producer and former Apple marketing executive Adam Rackoff.
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Modine and Rackoff have executive produced a number of award-winning films, documentaries, and animated features. Their recent documentary, Downwind, chronicles the fallout from decades of nuclear bomb testing on American soil and is narrated by Martin Sheen and features Michael Douglas, Lewis Black, and John Wayne's son, Patrick.
'I'm excited to have this opportunity to introduce Michael Caton-Jones' body of work to a new audience while also reminding folks what a terrific filmmaker he is,' said Matthew , who played Captain Dennis Dearborn in Caton-Jones' second feature, Memphis Belle.
'To this day, Rob Roy remains one of my favourite movies of the 1990s. The end sword fight might be the most realistic ever put to film,' added Modine's producing partner, Adam Rackoff.
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'Michael Caton-Jones' life and filmography deserve the documentary treatment and I'm thrilled to help bring Joseph McLean's and Alan Clements' vision to the screen.'
The Caton-Jones documentary is directed and produced by Joseph McLean (River City; Cows Cash & Coverups) of Partickular Films.
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He added: 'This Broxburn Boy's Life is a celebration of the talent and determination that led Michael from his home town to Hollywood. The calibre of talent we have on-screen is testament to Michael's success story and the relationships he formed over the course of his career.
"We're delighted to have Matthew and Adam onboard as Executive Producers and we've already discussed some exciting plans for filming in New York and LA.'
Also onboard are Emmy award-winning composers Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly of Hart Reilly Music, whose recent credits include the Roger Moore documentary From Roger With Love.