First-time feature director Nick Moran started principal photography today for Telstar, which will shoot for six weeks at Twickenham Film Studios in the UK.

The tragi-comedy is based on the true story of Joe Meek, the first independent record producer whose rise to fame led to a tragic downfall.

Moran, an actor who appeared in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, wrote the original screenplay with James Hicks.

Simon Jordan, the chairman of Crystal Palace Football Club, brought the Telstar story to the stage in London's West End in 2005, and he is producing and independently financing the film, a project of Aspiration Films.

Adam Bohling and David Reid, who both worked on Matthew Vaughn's Layer Cake, are producing with Jordan.

Con O'Neill, who was nominated for an Olivier Award for his stage portrayal of Meek, will reprise the role in the big-screen version.

Telstar's cast also includes Kevin Spacey, JJ Field, Tom Burke, Sid Mitchell, James Corden, Ralf Little, Pam Ferris and 1960s rockers Jess Conrad, John Leyton and Chas Hodges.

'Having financed the West End stage play and seen the rollercoaster of emotions this story evokes, coupled with the exceptional performances, making this movie for me was a must. My passion for this project is enormous and I have great belief in Nick as a director,' Jordan said. 'I hold my fellow producers Adam Bohling and David Reid in very high regard, along with a fantastic ensemble of great actors and a production team who share my passion and enthusiasm for telling a great British story about an iconic British figure.'

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