Three Day Millionaire: Grimsby is the subject of a movie again – but this time the town is celebrated, rather than mocked
The town of Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire is synonymous with fish, a tumultuous political landscape, and the butt of jokes about poverty and the working classes.
Many will remember the Sacha Baron Cohen film about the town, The Brother’s Grimsby, which relentlessly mocked the town and its people – it left a sour taste in the mouths of Grimbarians, especially as it was filmed in Essex on a set made to look rubbish-strewn and poverty-stricken.
Meanwhile, there are numerous documentaries and shows that depict Grimsby as an end-of-the-road (the A180 and A46 to be precise) town with no prospects, full of poverty, and as having a fishing industry clinging to life support (only last week an Icelandic fish processing centre in the town was threatened with closure, with operators citing Brexit and the pandemic as reasons).
But this view of the town has been flipped on its head by filmmakers Jack Spring and Paul Stephenson, who used Grimsby as a backdrop for new comedy-drama film Three Day Millionaire.
Before we go any further, I must admit to having a conflict of interest here – I grew up in the town. I spent the best part of 20 years in Grimsby and will always have a deep love for the region. I was excited to see a depiction of Grimsby closer to the one I knew.
The film, which features British stars such as former Corrie actors James Burrows and Sam Glen, Gangs Of London legend Colm Meaney, as well as TikToker Grace Long, follows trawler men on shore leave for three days, who have a fat wedge of cash in their pocket, and the town of Grimsby, and everyone in it, at their disposal.
But while the lads go out and drink and snort their hard-earned wages, a plot to dismantle the town’s once powerful fishing industry and replace it with coffee shops and fancy restaurants is under way – led by politicians and yuppie London developers.
What follows is the townsmen doing anything they can to protect Grimsby’s heritage – and their jobs.
“It’s a lazy trope, isn’t it?”, director Jack Spring told Sky News of films that mocks the town.
“There have been previous pieces of media that used the Grimsby name in a very lazy, slapstick, kind of assumptive way.
“We wanted to tell the story of the town’s real identity, rather than just the lazy tropes of ‘it’s not a nice area’ or ‘it’s got nothing’.”
Sam Glen, James Burrows and Michael Kinsey in Three Day Millionaire. Pic: Signature Entertainment
‘It’s about identity’
What the town’s “real” identity is, is different, depending on who you ask – a fishing giant, an industrial firepower, a market town, a political hotbed or a leader in the green revolution.
“The whole film, when you strip it back, is about identity in the towns like Grimsby, almost echoed in every northern industrial town that, at some point, had the same thing happen to it,” Spring explained.
“And holding onto that identity, and that’s perhaps stopping it forming its new one.
“Grimsby is now one of the UK leaders in the renewable energy space and the offshore wind farms and… big companies coming to town and creating new jobs – but it’s taken an awful long time.
“It’s only really in the last kind of five years maybe that you can really say that Grimsby has found its new identity and is kind of on the up.”
But it’s not just the town’s identity explored in the film – there are wider themes of opportunity and levelling up.
Writer Paul Stephenson, who hails from Hull, just over the River Humber from Grimsby, told Sky News that when he was growing up he was told: “If you were a bloke, you would be a plumber; if you were a girl, you’re going to be a hairdresser.
“And if you were talking about art or creativity or self-expression, you’re probably somewhere in between.”
It’s something he reflects in his writing, with two of the characters talking about their lack of prospects in the town, but still feeling guilty about leaving – which from experience is still a real mindset for many in their home towns.
‘We wanted to tell the story of the town’s real identity, rather than just the lazy tropes,’ says director Jack Spring. Pic: Signature Entertainment
Who is levelling up for – locals or billionaires?
Gentrification isn’t always a welcome idea in these working class industrial towns, as shown by the film, with generational livelihoods being turfed out, in favour of easy access shopping, new coffee shops, and flats overlooking the river.
Stephenson explains his rationale: “Cookie cutter retail parks that just pop up in every town – is that what we’re really asking for, or is somebody else asking for it? The billionaires who can get the thing through planning and get the buildings put there?
“And, some people will welcome that, but if retail is the way forward to give our towns identity, there will be people like the guys in our film who will say no to that.”
A sense echoed by actor in the film Sam Glen, who comes from Oldham – who suggests when it comes to levelling up, sometimes a step back is needed.
“My local theatre in Oldham just lost its (Arts Council) funding, and it’s supposed to be a levelling-up town,” he told Sky News.
“In terms of access to arts, in those cultural cold spots, in terms of funding literally being from all angles for those places… these organisations just come in and, yeah, just read the room.
“I think if it’s not fancy new apartments, every sector is getting slashed in different ways in these towns.”
TikToker Grace Long stars alongside Glen in Three Day Millionaire. Pic: Signature Entertainment
‘It was a joy and privilege’ to film in the town
So how did Grimsby react to the best and brightest of British filmmaking swooping into the town to make a film?
“People were resistant,” Glen said.
“There was a feeling of like fear because… every time a film crew appears in this town, they kind of know where it’s leading to in terms of the story that it’s trying to tell.”
Director Spring added: “But everyone was great. The whole town really opened the door to outsiders.
“It was during COVID, so we were knocking on people’s doors saying, ‘Hi, can we come and look at your bathroom? We’re making a film’, and what a weird request, but people would let us in.
“It was a genuine joy and privilege to spend a couple of months there doing this.”
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In fact, the town was so enamoured by the attention, hundreds signed up to be extras, and when the premiere was held in neighbouring Cleethorpes, at the country’s largest independent cinema, (Grimsby’s Odeon has been left empty for almost 20 years) thousands of tickets were shifted.
Three Day Millionaire is out now in selected cinemas, or available to buy digitally.
Warner Bros is reportedly set to reject a hostile $108bn (£81bn) takeover bid from Paramount, with one of the prospective buyer’s financing partners confirming it’s pulled out of the offer.
A spokesman for investment firm Affinity, owned by Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner, told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News “the dynamics of investment have changed significantly”.
It had backed Paramount’s bid, along with funds from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal report the Warner Bros Discovery board are set to advise shareholders to reject Paramount‘s bid – paving the way for Netflix, which had struck a $72bn (£54bn) deal.
If the takeover goes through, it would give the streaming giant the rights to hit Warner franchises like Harry Potter, Batman, and Game Of Thrones, as well an extensive back catalogue of classic films.
Money latest: Oil prices fall to lowest level since 2021
Pic: iStock
It is the latest twist in a takeover saga where the winner will acquire a huge advantage in the streaming wars.
In June, Warner announced its plan to split into two companies – one for its TV, film studios and HBO Max streaming services, and one for the Discovery element of the business, which primarily comprises legacy TV channels that show cartoons, news, and sports.
Netflix agreed a $27.75 per-share price with the firm, which equates to the $72bn purchase figure deal to secure its film and TV studios, with the deal giving the assets a total value of $82.7bn.
However, Paramount said its offer would pay $30 (£22.50) cash per share, representing $18bn (£13.5bn) more in cash than its rival offered. The offer was made directly to shareholders, asking them to reject Netflix’s deal, in what is known as a hostile takeover.
The Paramount deal would involve rival US news channels CBS and CNN being brought under the same parent company.
Read more:
Why is Warner Bros for sale and how is Trump involved?
The US government will have a big say on the final deal, with the winning company likely facing the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, a federal agency which scrutinises business deals to ensure fair competition.
Entertainment
Film director Rob Reiner’s son could face death penalty if found guilty of parents’ killings, prosecutors say
Rob Reiner’s son Nick could face the death penalty if he is found guilty of murdering his parents, Los Angeles prosecutors have said.
Nick Reiner will be charged with two counts of first degree murder over the killings, district attorney Nathan Hochman said.
The 32-year-old is suspected in the deaths of the 78-year-old director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner.
Rob Reiner with wife Michele and children Jake, Romy and Nick (left to right). Pic: Reuters
“Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades. His wife, Michel Singer Reine, was an equally iconic photographer and producer,” said Mr Hochman.
“Their loss is beyond tragic. We will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice.”
Prosecutors said they would file the charges – two counts of first degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders, later on Tuesday.
They will also include a special allegation he used a dangerous weapon, a knife.
Mr Hochman said the charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, adding “no decision” has been made with respect to the death penalty.
“This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for the Reiner family and their loved ones but for our entire city,” LA Police chief Jim McDonnell said.
“We will continue to support the Reiner family and ensure that every step forward is taken with care, dignity and resolve.”
Their tributes were a stark contrast to Donald Trump’s response to the news, which prompted the US president to attack Mr Reiner as “tortured and struggling, but once very talented”.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said Mr Reiner and his wife died “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME”.
Read more: Rob Reiner spoke to Eric Idle about future before he was killed
It comes after it emerged Mr Reiner’s son was reportedly disruptive at a party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien the night before the killings.
Nick Reiner joined his father and mother at the event on Saturday – and the couple were upset and embarrassed about his behaviour, Sky News’ US partner NBC News cited a source as saying.
They also expressed concerns about his health.
The outlet cited another source saying Nick Reiner’s behaviour had made other guests uncomfortable.
They said he interrupted a conversation filmmaker Bill Hader was having with two guests and – when informed it was a private conversation – stood still and stared before storming off.
The couple were found dead from apparent stab wounds at their home in the Brentwood neighbourhood on the west side of Los Angeles.
Nick Reiner did not resist when he was arrested hours later in the Exposition Park area, near the University of Southern California, around four miles from the crime scene, police said.
He had been expected to make an initial court appearance earlier on Tuesday, but his attorney said he was not brought from jail to the courthouse for medical reasons, and the appearance would not happen before Wednesday.
Nick Reiner has not yet entered a plea.
Rob Reiner was a celebrated director, whose work included some of the most memorable films of the 1980s and 1990s, including This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men.
He met Michele Singer in 1989, while directing When Harry Met Sally, and they had three children together.
Michele used to work as a photographer and took the photo of Donald Trump that appears on the cover of his book Trump: The Art Of The Deal.
Entertainment
Rob Reiner death: ‘Sick’ Trump sparks backlash with ‘disgusting’ post about murdered film director
Donald Trump has been branded “a sick man ” after launching an extraordinary attack against murdered film director Rob Reiner.
The Hollywood luminary was found stabbed to death with his wife on Sunday – and the filmmaker’s son had been arrested on murder charges.
Reacting to news of his death, the US president said in a post on Truth Social that Reiner was “tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star”.
Mr Trump said Reiner and his wife died “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS”.
“He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace,” Mr Trump wrote.
Celebrities and politicians have criticised Mr Trump for his comments, labelling them “disgusting” and “petty”.
Rob Reiner on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999. Pic Reuters
‘Can you get any lower?’
“What a disgusting and vile statement,” actor Patrick Schwarzenegger said on X, while Californian Democrat Zoe Lofgren condemned Mr Trump’s comments as “a new low for this petty, hateful man”.
Talk show host Whoopi Goldberg compared the president’s comments to those he made after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, when Mr Trump hit out at critics.
“I don’t understand the man in the White House. He spoke at length about Charlie Kirk and about caring, and then this is what he puts out. Have you no shame? No shame at all? Can you get any lower? I don’t think so,” she said.
‘Sick’
“This is a sick man,” California governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X.
Republican US House member Thomas Massie also addressed the comments, saying: “Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered.”
Meanwhile, Reiner’s son, Nick, 32, has been “booked for murder”, Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell said. The LAPD later said Nick Reiner remains in custody without bail.
Mr McDonnell said the department’s robbery and homicide division was handling the investigation.
“They worked throughout the night on this case and were able to take into custody Nick Reiner, a suspect in this case,” he said, calling the deaths “a very tragic incident”.
Rob Reiner, Michele Singer Reiner, Romy Reiner, Nick Reiner, Maria Gilfillanaknd Jake Reiner.
Pic: JanuaryImages/Shutterstock
It comes as it emerged Nick was reportedly disruptive when he joined his father and mother, Michele Singer Reiner, at a party hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien on Saturday night, the day before the killings.
Reiner and his wife were upset and embarrassed about their son’s behaviour, Sky News’s US partner NBC News cited a source as saying, and expressed concerns about his health.
The outlet cited another source saying Nick’s behaviour had made other guests uncomfortable. They said he interrupted a conversation comedian and filmmaker Bill Hader was having with two guests and, when told it was a private conversation, stood still and stared before storming off.
Rob Reiner with wife Michele and children Jake, Romy and Nick (right to left). Pic: Reuters
Reiner and his wife apparently died of stab wounds, US media reported.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman were found dead inside a property in the Brentwood neighbourhood, without identifying the victims. The victims were later confirmed to be Reiner and his wife.
The case against Nick Reiner will be presented to the Los Angeles county district attorney’s office for filing consideration on Tuesday, according to the LAPD.
Rob and Michele Reiner’s home. Pic: Reuters
Nick Reiner has spoken publicly of his struggles with addiction after he had cycled in and out of treatment facilities by the age of 18, with periods of homelessness and relapses in between.
Reiner and his son explored their difficult relationship and Nick Reiner’s struggles with heroin addiction and homelessness in a 2016 film called Being Charlie, which they co-wrote.
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene referred to Nick Reiner’s “drug addiction and other issues” in a statement on X.
“This is a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies,” Ms Taylor Greene said.
“Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder.”
The couple were found dead in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Pic: AP
Reiner was a celebrated director whose work included some of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and 1990s.
He directed classics such as This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men and Stand By Me.
He also acted, starring in Sleepless In Seattle and The Wolf Of Wall Street among others. His most recent high-profile work was a recurring guest role in the hit show The Bear.
He met Michele Singer in 1989, while directing When Harry Met Sally. They have three children together.
Singer used to work as a photographer and took the photo of Donald Trump that appears on the cover of his book Trump: The Art Of The Deal.
Reiner on the set of This Is Spinal Tap. Pic: Authorized Spinal Tap LLC/Shutterstock
Former US president Barack Obama has led tributes. He wrote on X that “Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen”.
Harry Shearer, who collaborated with Reiner on This Is Spinal Tap, said in a statement: “Rob was a friend and collaborator through much of my life. He was funny, he was smart, he was a mensch.”
He said Reiner’s wife was a “very good friend” to his own wife, Judith, adding: “This is unspeakable, the stuff of Greek tragedy.”
Christopher Guest, who starred in Reiner’s films This Is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride, and his wife Jamie Lee Curtis said in a joint statement that they were “numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and Michelle Singer Reiner”.
The couple said: “There will be plenty of time later to discuss the creative lives we shared and the great political and social impact they both had on the entertainment industry, early childhood development, the fight for gay marriage and their global care for a world in crisis. We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.”
Read more: Reiner spoke to Eric Idle about future before death
Rob Reiner with Billy Crystal (left) and Meg Ryan (right). Pic: THA/Shutterstock
Reiner was a champion of liberal causes and a political activist.
In the 2004 presidential election, he backed Democrat candidate John Kerry and featured in advertisements taking aim at incumbent president George W Bush.
Reiner also supported Democratic presidential hopefuls Al Gore and Hillary Clinton.
“This is a devastating loss for our city and our country. Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass said.
Rob Reiner with Hillary Clinton. Pic: Reuters
California governor Mr Newsom paid tribute to Reiner’s activism as he said he was “heartbroken” over the director’s death.
“Rob was a passionate advocate for children and for civil rights – from taking on Big Tobacco, fighting for marriage equality, to serving as a powerful voice in early education,” Mr Newsom said in a statement.
“He made California a better place through his good works. Rob will be remembered for his remarkable filmography and for his extraordinary contribution to humanity.”
Read more from Sky News:
Four charged with California bomb plot
Australian PM reveals details about Bondi killers
Former House speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, said: “Personally, Rob cared deeply about people and demonstrated that in his civic activities – whether by supporting the First 5 initiative or fighting against Prop 8 in California.
“Civically, he was a champion for the First Amendment and the creative rights of artists. And professionally, he was an iconic figure in film who made us laugh, cry and think with the movies he created.”
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