James McAvoy Makes Directorial Debut in Toronto — Telling One of Showbiz’s Wildest Hoax Stories
True story of Silibil N’ Brains, hip-hop’s greatest deception.
Considering James McAvoy such a talented actor, I was intrigued to see what his next step as a filmmaker might be. Now we know: his directorial debut, California Schemin’, will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. After that, it will head to Zurich, where it will close the festival’s Sounds section devoted to music on screen.
And the story he chose is not just unusual — it’s almost unbelievable.
A Hip-Hop Hoax
The film is based on the outrageous true story of Silibil N’ Brains, a Scottish rap duo who, back in the early 2000s, decided their own identities wouldn’t sell. So they reinvented themselves as Californians, perfected American accents, and faked their way into London’s music industry.
The con worked for a while — they even opened for Eminem — until the truth inevitably came out. As far as showbiz scams go, this one might be the wildest. Don’t we all love a story where reality feels stranger than fiction?
McAvoy’s First Step Behind the Camera
Known for Atonement, X-Men and Split, McAvoy not only directs but also co-stars in the film. Zurich festival director Christian Jungen has already described it as "highly entertaining" and a reminder of how thin the line can be between illusion and reality. That feels like a fitting subject for a first-time director, doesn’t it?
I find it fascinating that McAvoy chose a story about performance and deception as his debut. After all, acting itself is a kind of hoax — only here, the stakes were careers, fame and the lure of hip-hop glory.
