LIFT supplier Caltech Lifts is hoping a contract to supply stairlifts to a location for Hollywood movie Cloud Atlas may lead to future orders from filmmakers or Hollywood’s older A-listers.
The family-owned company based in Dundee is one of the UK’s leading suppliers and maintainers of a range of lifts and was first approached by the Assistant Set Decorator for the film, Carrie Garner, in August 2011. She asked if they could supply two stairlifts to act as props for a three-day location shoot at Overtoun House, Dunbartonshire.
It doubles as a Scottish retirement home in which Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent’s character Timothy Cavendish finds himself trapped after agreeing to hide there while on the run from a gangster. But he soon finds that his brother (Hugh Grant), who he cuckolded, has plans to keep him there!
Safety
Caltech supplied two Brooks Lincoln stairlifts to the film company in September 2011 for the garden and a hallway, but as they were not to be fully installed or used the firm removed the batteries for safety. Despite that they play a supporting role in the blockbuster, which also stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon and Hugo Weaving.
Caltech Director Andrew Renwick (right) only discovered the extent of his firm’s stairlifts’ role when he went to his local cinema at the start of March with his fiancée Suzie. “I half expected the scenes with them to be cut, but they were clearly in-shot at least twice! I almost shouted out, but a swift elbow from Suzie reminded me I was in a packed cinema! It was pretty exciting to see the stairlifts we provided in the film,” he said.
Hollywood market
“We’re hoping this is the start of a new market for us — providing lifts for other movies and TV shoots, or who knows, we may even get asked to supply stairlifts for the more senior members of the Hollywood A-List! We’d love to be stairlift supplier to the stars.”
There’s one lift though which Caltech are delighted they DIDN’T supply — the passenger lift Halle Berry gets stuck in at one point in the movie!
Until the first stairlift order comes in from Tinseltown’s veterans, Andrew will be busying himself preparing for his April wedding to fiancée Suzie Reid. “If any Beverley Hills VIPs want to place an order during my honeymoon, they’ll have to speak to my dad or brother!” he laughed.
Established in 1978, Caltech Limited is one of the UK’s leading suppliers and maintainers of lifting equipment, including passenger lifts, goods lifts, disabled access lifts and stairlifts to the Public and Private Sectors including local government as well as the health, construction, oil/energy, renewables and property sectors.
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