Hollywood star Russell Crowe has called on the First Minister to give his support to a unique Scottish heritage project.
The actor is a big fan of west Fife charity the Clanranald Trust, which is building a medieval fortified village in the Fintry Hills just west of Falkirk.
As we reported last year, the Oscar winner has in the past arranged for the trust to receive a £60,000 battering ram used in the Ridley Scott blockbuster Robin Hood.
Now he is stepping up his support for the Kincardine trust with a series of messages on Twitter.
In a post sent to Alex Salmond and fellow SNP big-hitters Nicola Sturgeon, Kenny MacAskill, John Swinney and Fiona Hyslop, the Gladiator star urged, “Shout out! Thanks for supporting Clanranald Trust.”
In another tweet, he told his 213,000 followers the trust was, “educating folks on Scottish history”, and focused “on helping the long-term unemployed and criminal reform service”.
He describes the project as “awesome”, and posts links to photographs of the fort.
Crowe, who is at home in Australia, posted the same comments on Facebook.
The Clanranald Trust’s chief executive Charlie Allan said the actor would like the First Minister to visit Duncarron, the village under construction.
“Russell has been absolutely brilliant for us, and his tweets are much appreciated,” he said. “To have such a high-profile person back us is amazing.”
He added, “Three years ago Mr Salmond verbally expressed his support for the project to me, and it would give us a tremendous boost if he was able to visit the site. I know who to thank if he does.”
Crowe, who has described the project as “fantastic” and “a great achievement”, has been a follower of the trust since he and Charlie struck up a friendship on the Gladiator film set in 1999.
Allan also heads Combat International, an offshoot of the Clanranald Trust, which provides combat and stunt performers for films such as Gladiator, Robin Hood and, more recently, The Eagle.
The money it raises is helping to pay for the £650,000 fort, which the trust hopes will become a tourist attraction, film set, craft centre and venue for weddings and corporate events.
Duncarron, which has a 420-metre palisade comprising more than 4200 logs, will eventually feature longhouses, roundhouses, a warriors’ training camp and exhibits to lead people through the story of Scotland’s past.
It is being built by various groups, such as a detachment from the Territorial Army, volunteers from throughout the world, ex-offenders and people doing their community service, and the long-term unemployed.
Two years ago, Crowe bought Rosie, a giant battering ram used in Robin Hood, and paid for it to be sent to the trust. The war weapon will be one of Duncarron’s main exhibits when it opens to the public next year.
Duncarron is also attracting the interest and support of another man of the movie world, award-winning Scots director/producer Norman Stone.
He used men from Combat International on the drama documentary KJB: The Book That Changed the World, the story of the King James Bible, aired on the Discovery History Channel. A team from Stone’s company, 1A Productions, have been at Duncarron to do preparatory work for a documentary about the project.
“Clanranald are very special,” he said. “They are unique, extremely professional and totally committed in what they are doing. They also look great, and would make a wonderful subject for a film.
“My colleague, Peter Kirkwood, is doing some filming at the fort so that we have something to take to the BBC, STV, Channel 4 or whoever in the hope that they might be interested in commissioning a film. At this stage, however, it is very early days.”