The Amber Models Dirty Dozen Storm Norfolk Beaches
Twelve actors from Cromer based Amber Models agency stormed onto Norfolk beaches for an action packed show reel presentation. A normally quite Sunday morning was turned into a war zone with scenes mimicking the 1967 blockbuster movie 'The Dirty Dozen' The project was planned over a year ago by Amber Models supremo, Andreas Yiasimi "I have always been a great fan of the movie' said Andreas 'My models and actors are not run of the mill and I knew they would relish something like this" The models were dressed in camouflage gear provided by East Runton's 'Kit Bag' complete with grubby style make up by Paston college student, Eleonor Hicks. "I really enjoyed working on the shoot" said Eleanor "The models gave it all they had so I was determined the make-up didn't look cheesy. Rather than the usual lines across the face I went for dirty water based effect as if they had really been in a war"
The original Dirty Dozen had an all star line up including Telly Savalas, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland and Lee Marvin as a group of lags infiltrating a chateau, used as a retreat by top German officers, Just before D-Day, with the aim of overcoming the post against extraordinary odds. There was no let off for the models and they were put through rigorous emotional breaking routines before filming. Andreas was determined to show how good the models were at their job and gave a build up speech at his family's Constantia Cottage Greek restaurant that was used as base. "I thought it would give us some good action to bring the models to life, rather than have bland still profiles," he explained. 'They really got into it and we had real tears as emotions ran high'
Just like in the movie some of the actors were from different walks of life rounded for a mission, including a group of four actors calling themselves the 'Norfolk Rat Pack' Andy Callaghan, Who plays villain hard man style parts in some major movies, Jimi James an American actor and a qualified fire arms expert, David Frost a former fireman officer and the unmistakable Johnny Lynch a well known scuba diving instructor. 'This was not just a random collection of actors' said Andreas "It was something that was planned over a period of Months and I knew immediately that I wanted these talented individuals on my books"
Peter Pepper, is presently appearing in 'The Full Monty' at The Playhouse in Norwich with The Threshold group and provided some breath taking cliff top stunts. In contrast, Gharib Desuky owns an Egyptian massage shop in Norwich and provided some action scenes. Fashion model Christon Sharpe may have been in uncharted waters had it not been for his army background "I used all the expirience of army training in my performance"
