California Schemin'

California Schemin'
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames McAvoy
Written by
  • Elaine Gracie
  • Archie Thomson
Based onCalifornia Schemin': How Two Lads from Scotland Conned the Music Industry
by Gavin Bain
Produced by
  • Danny Page
  • Paul Aniello
  • Simon Kay
  • Michael Mendelsohn
Starring
CinematographyJames Rhodes
Edited byJoe Sawyer
Music byRaffertie
Production
companies
  • Patriot Pictures
  • Homefront Productions
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 6 September 2025 (2025-09-06) (TIFF)
  • 10 April 2026 (2026-04-10) (United Kingdom)
Running time
107 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[2]
LanguageEnglish

California Schemin' (stylized as California $chemin') is a 2025 musical biographical film directed by James McAvoy in his directorial debut. The film stars Samuel Bottomley and Séamus McLean Ross as Scottish faux-American rap pairing Silibil N' Brains, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, and is based on Bain's 2010 memoir California Schemin': How Two Lads from Scotland Conned the Music Industry.

California Schemin premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2025. It is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom by StudioCanal on 10 April 2026.

Premise

The film tells the true story of Silibil N' Brains, a rap duo from Dundee who, for three years, pretended to be American in order to be taken seriously by the record industry and ended up touring with Eminem.[3]

Cast

Production

James McAvoy was reported to be directing a film about faux-Californian rap duo, Silibil N' Brains, otherwise known as Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd from Dundee in Scotland, in October 2023.[4]

The film is produced by Danny Page of Homefront Productions and Michael Mendelsohn of Patriot Pictures. It is based on Bain's 2010 memoir California Schemin': How Two Lads from Scotland Conned the Music Industry (which was later re-printed as Straight Outta Scotland[5]) and adapted by Elaine Gracie and Archie Thomson. Samuel Bottomley and Séamus McLean Ross were cast to play Boyd and Bain. McAvoy also has a small role in the film.[6] It was funded by Screen Scotland.[5]

Principal photography began on 29 October 2024.[7][8] Filming locations include Dundee and Glasgow.[9][10][11]

Release

Bankside Films handled international pre-sales on the film in September 2024; among the buyers was StudioCanal, which bought the film for the U.K. and Ireland.[12] California Schemin premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 6 September 2025.[13]

The film was screened at the 20th Rome Film Festival in October 2025.[14] It also received a special screening at the Gasparilla International Film Festival on March 5, 2026, and was also screened at the Glasgow Film Festival on March 8, 2026.[15]

The UK release is set for 10 April 2026.[16] In March 2026, Magenta Light Studios acquired the U.S. distribution rights.[17]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 22 critics' reviews are positive.[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on nine critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "California Schemin (2026)". Irish Film Classification Office. January 23, 2026. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  2. ^ "British Council UK Films Database: California Schemin". British Council. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  3. ^ "X-Men star to direct film about fake rappers". BBC News. May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  4. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (October 19, 2023). "James McAvoy To Make Directorial Debut On Story Of Scottish Duo Who Got A Record Deal & More After Pretending To Be Rappers From California". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Scotland, Screen. "California Schemin'". Screen Scotland. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  6. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 6, 2024). "James McAvoy's Directorial Debut 'California Schemin', About Con Artist Rappers, Sets Cast & Heads To Cannes Market With Bankside". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  7. ^ "James McAvoy Daily (@mcavoyfiles) on X". X (formerly Twitter).
  8. ^ McDonald, Ben (November 4, 2024). "Exclusive: James McAvoy filming new movie in Dundee as crew pictured outside multis and shopping centre". The Courier. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  9. ^ Kemp, Stuart (August 19, 2024). "Rising Stars Scotland 2024: Séamus McLean Ross (actor)". Screen Daily. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  10. ^ "Movie star James McAvoy set to shoot Dundee hip-hop duo film at Multi". The Courier. October 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  11. ^ "James McAvoy to film scenes for new movie in Glasgow". Glasgow Times. October 30, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  12. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (September 5, 2024). "James McAvoy's Directorial Debut 'California Schemin' Pre-Sells To Raft Of Buyers Including Studiocanal For UK; Filming To Begin Next Month In Scotland". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 21, 2025). "TIFF Galas & Presentations: World Premieres 'Good Fortune', 'Nuremberg', Sydney Sweeney Pic 'Christy', Angelina Jolie 'Couture'; North American Debuts Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein', Dwayne Johnson 'Smashing Machine'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  14. ^ "Festa del Cinema di Roma 2025, il programma completo (diretta)" [Rome Film Fest 2025: Full program (live)]. Ciak Magazine (in Italian). September 19, 2025. Retrieved September 19, 2025. As well as the Gasparilla Film Festival in March 2026. web|url=gasparillafilmfestival.com
  15. ^ Scotland, Screen (March 10, 2026). "Glasgow Film Festival 2026 closes with UK Premiere of James McAvoy's directorial debut, California Schemin'". Screen Scotland. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  16. ^ Dalton, Ben (February 12, 2026). "UK-Ireland film cinema release dates: latest updates for 2026". Screen Daily. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  17. ^ Lewis, Hilary (March 10, 2026). "James McAvoy's Feature Directorial Debut "California Schemin" Acquired by Bob Yari's Magenta Light Studios (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  18. ^ "California Schemin'". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  19. ^ "California Schemin'". Metacritic. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
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