This article was originally published on November 15, 2019, before the film Blue Story was pulled from some cinema chains following violence at an entertainment complex. As the rain hits the roof of a photography studio on an industrial estate in South East London, two young British actors are planning to take over the world. Stephen Odubola is trying to persuade Micheal Ward that he should move to Los Angeles. Like any good British chat, it starts with the weather, but this is no small talk.

“You will love it. The weather is good there and it’s like the home of the film industry, Hollywood’s there. It’s where you want to be,” he says.

“I need to go there first,” replies Ward. “I need to go and see if it’s LA or New York. I might not like it, but I feel like I was destined to be in America.”

The talk of destiny is catching. “I see this film as being the first step there. I know I’m on a bigger track to where I want to be. That’s the goal,” says Odubola.

“One hundred percent,” says Ward. “It’s every actor’s dream to end up in Hollywood. I know for a fact that everything’s going to be coming soon.”

When you learn that both actors are precisely one film into their acting careers, it could sound arrogant; they’re not only plotting a move to America, but plan to let LA and New York fight it out for their affections. But this is no ordinary film, and these are no ordinary actors.

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They are joint leads in Blue Story, the tale of two schoolboy pals, Timmy (Odubola) and Marco (Ward), who live on council estates in different parts of South London – Deptford and Peckham – and whose lives become complicated, to say the least, by a postcode war between gangs in the two districts.