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Yesterday: Gorleston gets Tribeca Film Festival boost

Yesterday/Working Title Films/Danny Boyle Himesh Patel singing in YesterdayYesterday/Working Title Films/Danny Boyle
The film imagines a world where Himesh Patel's character can pass the Beatles' songs off as his own

The premiere of a Danny Boyle film featuring scenes shot in a seaside town could help unlock a new international tourism economy, a council has said.

Yesterday, made by Oscar winners Boyle and Richard Curtis, closes the Tribeca Film Festival in New York later.

The Beatles-inspired movie, filmed in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, included a scene with 6,000 extras in Gorleston.

Paula Boyce, of Great Yarmouth council, said Boyle called Gorleston beach "one of the greatest secrets of England".

Boyle described Yesterday's closing night slot as a "great honour".

Yesterday/Working Title Films/Danny Boyle Crowds at Gorleston beachYesterday/Working Title Films/Danny Boyle
More than 6,000 extras turned up to be in the film
Gorleston beach crowd
A concert scene was staged with Himesh Patel appearing on top of the roof of Gorleston's Pier Hotel

An open casting call was held last summer for extras to turn up to the Gorleston beach for a concert scene starring Himesh Patel.

Ex-EastEnders actor Patel plays singer-songwriter Jack Malik and appears opposite Mamma Mia 2's Lily James, with cameos by Ed Sheeran and James Corden.

The film imagines a world without the Beatles in which Patel's character claims the Fab Four's hits are his own.

Ms Boyce said: "We're really pleased that Danny Boyle chose Gorleston as the location for the two key scenes in his major film, describing Gorleston beach as very beautiful.

"Yesterday is a fun, family film, based around a unique storyline, and we hope it will become a big summer blockbuster, showcasing and promoting the area and resort on the international stage.

"There is an entire tourism economy based around locations that have appeared in films, in addition to the money that visiting film crews bring to the area."

PA Danny Boyle filming in SuffolkPA
Danny Boyle, on location filming Yesterday, described Gorleston as "very beautiful"
Yesterday/Working Title Films/Danny Boyle Ed Sheeran and Himesh PatelYesterday/Working Title Films/Danny Boyle
Ed Sheeran, who's from Suffolk, has a part in the film

Filming also took place at Latitude Festival and Halesworth, in Suffolk, and Clacton-on-Sea in Essex.

Yesterday was due to open Nantucket Film Festival in the US on 19 June.

Boyle is billed to appear at Lowestoft First Light Festival next month, ahead of its cinema release on 28 June.