BIGGER THAN BRAVEHEART; New Scots vs Roman Legion movie is global hit.. before it's even filmed.

Byline: Janice Burns

A SCOTTISH movie is being tipped as a bigger blockbuster than Braveheart - before it is even filmed.

The Eagle Of The Ninth, about an ancient Roman Legion, is being filmed in Glasgow, Loch Lomond and the Highlands this summer.

The pounds 15million epic will star Donald Sutherland, Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell, who was the ballet dancing star of Billy Elliot.

The film was written and will be directed by Glasgow-born filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, whose previous credits include The Last King Of Scotland and the recent Russell Crowe thriller State Of Play.

The Eagle Of The Ninth - based on the adventure novel for children first published in 1954 and set in Roman Britain - has become the talk of the Cannes Film Festival after clinching distribution deals for every global market before it has started shooting.

Despite the economic crisis, distributors scrambled to sign up for a share of the movie.

It became a Cannes hit because of its strong script, cast and director and the success of similar productions such as Gladiator and the American HBO series Rome, starring Scot Kevin McKidd.

Alison Thompson, of Focus Features International, who have been selling the distribution rights, said: "We're almost embarrassed to have done so well with this project.

"People love the idea of Scots overcoming the mightiest army of the world - it's Braveheart for a new generation."

Eagle Of The Ninth producer Duncan Kenworthy, of Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill fame, said of his latest project: "People are looking for surefire hits. Clearly, Eagle is being viewed in that way."

Filming the feature is expected to have as big an impact on the Scottish tourist industry as Mel Gibson's Braveheart, which won five Oscars.

Another Hollywood film about the Ninth Legion, Centurion, recently finished filming in Scotland.

It stars Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and is produced by Christian Colson, who won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire.

Massacred It also tells of the disappearance of the Ninth Legion - 40,000 elite troops who had marched into Scotland around 117AD and were never heard of again. It was thought they were massacred by Picts.

Macdonald spent last week in Scotland scouting locations ahead of the August start date.

He said he didn't feel threatened by Centurion. He added: "I'd rather there wasn't another one but I think it's going to be very different. There's room for both."

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OSCAR WINNER: Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart DIRECTOR: Macdonald, right, with Last King Of Scotland star James McAvoy