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Following in the tradition of movies like Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and, more recently, Shane Meadows Once Upon A Time In the Midlands, Nottingham is once again being used as a big screen backdrop.

Location, location, location

With an investment of £250,000 from Nottigham-based organisation EM Media, filming began in July 2006 on Control, a biopic of Ian Curtis, the leader of the 1980s band Joy Division.

Although Curtis spent most of his life in the north of England, Nottingham has been chosen as a location largely due to it resembling Manchester at the height of the band's success. Orian Williams, Control's producer, says:

"Manchester looks a bit different than it did back in the 1970s. Some of the locations we shot in we just needed an empty space and it's hard to find that in Manchester. For the most part we're here in Nottingham."

Local stars in Control

The local connections don't stop there. Playing the role of Ian Curtis's former wife, Deborah, is Nottingham film star Samantha Morton.

Another Nottingham actor, Toby Kebbell, also features. He plays Joy Division manager Rob Gretton. Toby won critical acclaim for his portrayal of Anthony in Nottingham director Shane Meadows film Dead Man's Shoes, which was filmed just over the Nottinghamshire border at Matlock in Derbyshire.

The lead depiction of Ian Curtis will be by Sam Riley.

Director in Control

The film is directed by Anton Corbijn, better known as a photographer and director of music videos like Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus".

He says: "If I only ever make one movie, Control, would have to be that. I simply feel that as Joy Division and Ian Curtis played a big part in my life, I cannot think of a better combination of subject and director."

Control goes on general release on Friday 5 October 2007.