Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here is a round-up of Byrne-ing film and other news to enhance your celebrations! Are you wearing the green today? No? Then consider yourself pinched! wink

film news

The Hollywood Reporter/Todd Mccarthy on the Cannes Possibilities, Probabilities, and Near-Shoo-Ins: THR’s chief film critic takes a look at the movies with the best shot of scoring a coveted slot at the 68th edition of the world’s most prestigious cinema event.

Other American titles that could be in the frame include…Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s New York-set drama Louder Than Bombs featuring Jesse Eisenberg, Gabriel Byrne, Isabelle Huppert, David Strathairn and Amy Ryan…

We are awaiting this film with so much anticipation! Stay tuned for more festival news and an official release date.

gb-joachim-trier-onset-louderthanbombs-2014Mr. Byrne and director Joachim Trier, pondering

The Blu-Ray release of John Ford: Dreaming The Quiet Man has got critic Leonard Maltin pretty excited!

When I was growing up, St. Patrick’s Day was heralded by an annual airing of The Quiet Man on New York television. This year, Irish-Americans and film buffs alike have a new way to celebrate with Olive Films’ release of an excellent feature-length documentary called Dreaming the Quiet Man. Bearing a 2012 copyright, produced by the Irish Film Board and directed by Sé Merry Doyle, this entertaining film, narrated by Gabriel Byrne, follows three streams: the tourist industry that has grown up around the village of Cong, where the movie was shot in 1951, the making of the film (including rare color home footage and the memories of some locals who participated), and a look at the life and career of John Ford, for whom this marked a return to his ancestral homeland. We even meet members of his Irish family; one of his cousins recalls being recruited to translate some of the movie’s dialogue into Gaelic.

The Blu-Ray is available at Amazon and Turner Classic Movies Online Shop.

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The 33/Los 33 is set for release in August, 2015 but we do not know WHERE it is being released. Rumors are that it will not be released in the US at that time. We must be patient.

Filming for the new movie The Book of Vision was reported to have begun in March but no word on this yet. Stay tuned.

And speaking of films: a wonderful way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day would be a cozy viewing, with a cuppa tea nearby, of Into The West. Check out the Mega Movie Page for the film to refresh your memory and then hurry and find that DVD you have hiding somewhere!

supporting the arts

Mr. Byrne attended a recent performance of Mikel Murfi’s play The Man In The Woman’s Shoes at the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan. Here is what he has to say about it:

“I absolutely loved the play and Mikel’s performance. There is such humanity, compassion, humour and wisdom in it and he has found the universal in the local. We live in an ageist culture which doesn’t value the elderly ( who in a way are made mute through our indifference ) yet worships at the altar of vacuous youth.

When old people die their stories and life experiences die with them – we should be out recording in every town and village the way Seamus Ennis collected music – there is no such thing as an ordinary life. All lives are extraordinary.

Mikel illustrates that by giving voice and honouring a man we might pass on the road and judge superficially. Its a privilege to witness such work. It will stay with me in the way that the best theatre does.”

Check out the play’s Facebook page for comments!

gb-iac-themaninthewomansshoes-20150314Mikel Murfi, Gabriel Byrne, and a smiling friend

in the news

Gabriel Byrne is in the news even when there is no new news! wink

Examples:

celebrity crush

Director Andrea Montgomery has five plays(!), called Arrivals2, currently touring Northern Ireland. In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, she was queried about her special relationships:

My celebrity crush, Gabriel Byrne

I remember when The Usual Suspects came out, everyone was raving about Kevin Spacey’s performance, but I was thinking about Gabriel Byrne. He’s a great actor, very charming. I would love to direct him one day.

What a brilliant idea!

gb-usual-suspects-screencap-02-cropped.pngCharming? Yes. Also dangerous. And very memorable indeed.

fatherhood

Liam Neeson has another new action film out–the man is a machine! In an interview with Irish Central about his new movie Run All Night, he talked about being a father:

Neeson, father of two sons with his late wife, actress Natasha Richardson, understands how being a parent transforms a life.

“You don’t have to act that, you just have it,” says Neeson. “As a parent your life is changed forever. You carry that like a smell with you. In your work, in your acting, when you’re crossing the road, when you’re eating in a restaurant, everything is informed by the fact that you’re a dad.”

Neeson says he remembers fellow Irish thespian Gabriel Byrne telling him what it felt like to be a dad.

“I was out visiting him many years ago in LA and seeing his little son Jack, this little Greek Adonis, he was 18 months with long blond hair, just this beautiful boy walking around. He’s now a blues guitarist, a very successful one,” Neeson recalled.

“I asked him, ‘God Gabriel what’s it like to be a dad?’ He said, ‘When he was born I realized my place in the universe.’ I felt the exact same when my son was born. Everything just aligned in some way.”

iac-gala-2014-gb-liam-neesonTwo Dads

a shocking death–on television [beware: spoilers for the History series Vikings!]

Jessalyn Gilsig was interviewed everywhere recently regarding the fate of her character, Siggy, the widow of the early-and-dearly-departed Earl Haraldson. Entertainment Weekly asked her about her favorite moments in the show:

When Gabriel dies, and she immediately anoints Ragnar. She makes this political decision right as her husband is bleeding in front of her. Like: “Okay. Where are we gonna put our money? Let’s put our money on that guy.” She’s a master manipulator.

And there was a moment really early on. In the first few episodes, Siggy didn’t have a lot of dialogue, but I had these incredible scenes where I’d sit in the great hall on the thrones with Earl Haraldson. Gabriel Bryne was such an incredible scene partner. We would do so much in silence. He’d throw me so many looks. We’d stay connected. We talked a lot about how everything that happened in the Great Hall came from his mouth, but it was a decision we’d made in private chambers.

I remember when Athelstan, is introduced, and Earl Haraldson says to Ragnar, “You can take one thing from the spoils you’ve collected on this raid.” Ragnar says, “I want to take the priest.” And I got the giggles! I just started laughing. And then Earl Haraldson started laughing. It was like we shared this cheeky moment. “What an idiot! Who would take the priest?” But really, that was our downfall. We underestimated Ragnar.

 vikings-promo-27Earl Haraldson and his wife, Siggy–reunited in Valhalla

a byrne-ing st. patrick’s day

These should help you celebrate. Enjoy and Sláinte!

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3 Comments

  1. megustagabriel

    I am not surprised at all about these comments. I mean the way of commenting by Stella.
    Never boring, amazing and sometimes funny.
    Very interesting news and pictures.

    <3

  2. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everybody!
    Thank you Stella for making this wonderful article with information and comments about Gabriel and his work and other qualities.

    I love Gabriel’s words: “There is no such thing as an ordinary life. All lives are extraordinary.”
    That is so true! And Gabriel is such a master to bring alive different characters on screen for us. He shows us the depth of so many different personalities. I am really very grateful to him because of that.

    So thanks to Stella for sharing his word and his world with us.

    Nora from Norway

  3. sweetbud2

    Read belatedly but really enjoyed. Wonderful byrne-ing news wrap-up Stella!

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