HE famously portrayed a Scottish island community as murderous pagans in a classic 1970s horror film.
But now the director of The Wicker Man is aiming to portray the people of Scotland in a more realistic light – in a national museum in Edinburgh.
Robin Hardy – who made his name with the 1973 cult hit starring Britt Ekland, Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward – hopes to persuade Forth Ports to let him use the former VA Tech building in Leith (pictured above).
He wants to create a museum of Scottish history that will house a series of interactive pavilions using the latest technology, including 3D projections, film and audio, to bring various periods to life.
Mr Hardy had planned to create the attraction in West Lothian but the proposed site, on the old Freeport retail village outside Livingston, has been provisionally allocated for housing by the Scottish Government.
He said: "I always wanted to have it either in a site that was within an hour's drive of all three major Scottish airports, or in the country's biggest tourist draw, which is of course the Capital.
"I was very disappointed that the site in West Lothian was put over for housing, although I understand totally that it is needed.
"I just felt it would have been ideal, but now I have to find a new site."
Top of his list is the site that housed engineering company VA Tech, which the director, who is based in England, passed on a recent visit to the Capital.
"It just struck me that it would be ideal," said Mr Hardy.
"Leith has changed so much over the years and it is in a perfect location.
"If I can't get it I will need to look for other sites, but I can't imagine finding anything as suitable."
But most of the building – dubbed "the big blue shed" by its critics – has been let to private companies and owner Forth Ports said it did not think it would be possible to accommodate a museum.
There have already been failed attempts to turn the building into a Guggenheim-style art gallery.
A Forth Ports spokesman said: "Unfortunately most of the building has already been let, and we are not able to lease the rest of the building as it would be against building requirements.
"It is a shame, as we had hoped to create a museum there and had several inquiries about such ideas in the past. It would be ideal for that."
City arts impresario Richard Demarco said the idea was "wonderful", although he thought there would be a better site in East Lothian.
He said: "I am absolutely delighted to hear about an initiative like this and I think Robin Hardy is a man of great creative thought, so I'm sure this would be a wonderful attraction.
"If he wants to explore Scottish history however, East Lothian would be the ideal place – it is the historic gateway to Scotland used by the Romans and the English, it was the landing place of Mary Queen of Scots, and it was the birthplace of the Saltire, so there would be plenty of scope for exploring history there," he added.
• www.cowboysforchrist.info
• www.forthports.co.uk
The full article contains 548 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
