HORWICH is heading to Hollywood in a new film to be released in December.

A trailer for the film A Monster Calls has been released and shows scenes shot on the well-known Rivington Pike, near the town.

The film stars Liam Neeson and Sigourney Weaver and tells the story of 13-year-old Conor, played by Lewis MacDougall.

Lewis’s character is visited by a story-telling monster while struggling to come to terms with his mother’s terminal cancer and bullying by classmates.

To escape his situation he delves into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales to explore courage, loss, and faith.

The film has been in the making since 2014 and temporary structures and a blue screen were spotted by walkers on Rivington Pike at the time.

It is thought the location was chosen due to its hilly landscape and the ‘fairytale’ like structures built on the hillside.

Councillor Joyce Kellet, leader of Horwich Town Council, said the film is “fantastic” for Horwich.

She added: “Horwich is really leading the way in a lot of things and it is brilliant.

“We are blessed to have Rivington just at the back of Horwich and this film is going to be really exciting to see.”

It’s further putting Horwich on the map, which is great, because Horwich is such a lovely place to live.”

The film has been produced by Focus Features after it paid $20m to buy the rights to the book, which was a best-selling 2011 children’s book by Patrick Ness, based on an original idea by writer Siobhan Dowd, who started the story but died from breast cancer in 2007.

In the scenes seen in the trailer the Rivington Pike setting has been altered for the purposes of the film.

Craig Rotherham, who is a member of Horwich First, said: “In the trailer the pike has been manipulated and there is a house on top of the hill with a tree.”