Trivia / Threads

• Amateur Cast: Originally, director Mick Jackson wanted to cast actors from Coronation Street, but decided instead to cast unknown actors in order to heighten the sense of realism and emotional impact. Ironically, Reece Dinsdale (Jimmy Kemp) and Jane Hazlegrove (Allison Kemp) would be cast on Coronation Street years later, while Karen Meagher (Ruth Beckett) would star in the one-off EastEnders special, CivvyStreet, in 1988.
• Completely Different Title: The Black Sun in Quebec.
• Enforced Method Acting: The crew set off a smoke bomb to create the mushroom cloud rising over Sheffield, but it actually scared the local residents, so the shots of the panicking crowds are likely genuine.
  • The cat suffocating was simulated by giving it a generous does of catnip, hence its odd reaction, which probably gives some solace to all animal lovers that got traumatized by the shot.
• Hostility on the Set: The relationship between Mick Jackson and Barry Hines was strained on several occasions, as Hines spent much of his time on set, and apparently disliked Jackson on account of his middle class upbringing. They also disagreed about Paul Vaughan's narration, which Hines felt was detrimental to the drama.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: There is rumor that the iconic Traffic Warden was played by Kenneth Branagh in an early role. The actual actor is unknown.
• Trivial Title: Downplayed. The film does explain its title and it describes a major theme of the story: it opens by depicting a spider creating a web, which acts as a metaphor for the theme of the film, that many of the connections modern civilisation depends upon to exist can be easily severed by the use of nuclear weapons. However, the title comes off as remarkably obscure if you only know the very basics of its story.
• Throw It In!: During a protest, a Salvation Army band suddenly begins marching down the adjacent street. This was an actual band who had just returned from an open-air service and just happened to march in during filming. Mick Jackson loved the spontaneous interruption and kept the cameras rolling.
• Working Title: Beyond Armageddon.

---