I do not know where you are, because so many of you are from all over the globe, but where I am, IT IS HOT! Summer is here, blazing and scorching and just generally making life miserable and scary. However, it will not last forever (we hope!). I’ll stop complaining now and grab a cold drink, so I can share with you all the Gabriel Byrne news I managed to gather—despite the heat! cool

Coming Soon: An L. A. Minute

Finally, finally, finally! This is going to be so much fun!

As I posted earlier, An L. A. Minute will come to streaming services later in July. As soon as I know the exact date and the services involved, I will let you know!

Director Daniel Ross Adams has been providing information and teasing us a bit on his Instagram, which is great but also just spikes that anticipation factor to the point of madness! OK. Maybe not madness, but still. Can’t wait to see this movie!

Check out his Instagram Postings, including a clip from Gabriel’s interview, part of the Electronic Press Kit (EPK) for the film, which I have provided in screenshot format below, and a brief clip from the film itself.

Gabriel’s (and Hemingway’s!) comments here are so in line with the mission of the Writer’s Guild Association (WGA) as they continue their strike (8 weeks so far) against major film studios. Storytelling is what film is all about and you cannot have it without the storytellers themselves. Hollywood and streaming services need to be reminded of this, it seems, so GO WGA! We love you and need you. Support Writers Everywhere! Huzzah!

Sorry. I get carried away. As you know. . .

Meanwhile, back in Maine

This Gabriel News Item was published on Facebook.

A very lucky person, or couple, or family, or group of friends (don’t know which!) won a very Byrne-ing prize at this year’s Masquerade Gala and Auction at the Children’s House Montessori School in Camden, Maine, which was held May 13, the day after Gabriel’s birthday.

Gabriel and his wife, Hannah Beth King, offered a “priceless” auction item: a film supper club at their home, with Gabriel sharing his thoughts and experiences on his films.

Wow. Can you imagine? Of course you can. Oh, those very lucky winners!

So, which films would you want to ask a Byrne-ing question about? I have my own personal list. If you ask nicely, I might share it with you, but I bet you can already guess most of the titles on it! wink

Walking With Ghosts Nominated for 2023 Prix Fitzgerald

Now, I am not quite sure in what way Gabriel’s memoir, which does have a French edition, “evokes the spirit” of F. Scott Fitzgerald, a writer I personally cherish, but it is always nice to be considered for a literary prize, especially one so chic as the Prix Fitzgerald. So chic, I almost cut myself typing this paragraph.

A Great Gatsby Getaway in Antibes, from Forbes Magazine

One balmy evening in the first days of June, guests and international literati crowd Bar Fitzgerald, guzzling down gin and tonics as they await the winner of the Prix Fitzgerald Created in 2011, the Fitzgerald Prize is annual literary award given to an author who evokes the spirit of Great Gatsby author in his or her own prose and published in French during that literary year. Nick Hornby, Julia Pierport, Jay McInerney, Whit Stillman and Jeffrey Eugenides are just a few of the Prix winners.

Traditionally, according to Antoine, the award culminates with the entire party – guests, hosts, jury, nominees, winners- jumping into dark blue water with Fitzgerald flair. Thinking of it as keeping Daisy’s green light on.

The 2023 Prix Fitzgerald takes place on June 9 and nominees are Quentin Tarantino, Manuel Villas, Joyce Carol Oates, Gabriel Byrne, Antoine Wilson, and Domenico Starnone.

As it turns out, Quentin Tarantino took home the Prix Fitzgerald this year, for his memoir Cinema Speculation. Nice place, that Belle Rives, yes? Not so sure about jumping into the dark blue water at night though. I guess I’m just not a 1920’s flapper at heart, darn it.

More Movie News

Ballerina

“An undisclosed supporting role” is Gabriel’s part to play in this spin-off from the world of John Wick.

Screen Rant’s cast and character guide for the film tells us:

Ballerina is scheduled to be released on June 7, 2024, as the first movie in the John Wick universe not to star Wick himself. The Ballerina cast adds some exciting new actors to the ensemble of the John Wick franchise, as well as bringing back iconic cast members from the previous films. From a Wes Anderson regular, a breakout star of The Walking Dead to the legendary action hero who made the franchise as beloved as it is, the Ballerina cast is full of great actors that audiences will recognize from their other projects.

Here is all they (and we) know about Gabriel’s part in the film:

And here is the pic they chose:

So, we know when the film will be released and we know Gabriel is in it! That will have to sustain for the NEXT YEAR. All things come to those who wait. They say. So far, they’ve been right. heart

Read the entire article for more details. It sounds like it will be a great thrill ride, doesn’t it?

Four Letters of Love

IMDB notes the film wrapped in March and is now in post-production. No release date has been set yet.

More cast members have been announced, including the totally amazing Irish actor Olwen Fouéré, who made an indelible impression on American audiences in The Northman (I can say that because that was the only film I saw in the theater in 2022 and the response to her on screen was enthusiastic!).

The Irish character names are so intriguing. Gabriel plays Muiris Gore and Olwen Fouéré is Nora Ni Liathain. And the synopsis has been updated, I think:

Based on Niall Williams’ best-selling novel. Nicholas and Isabel were made for each other but how will they ever know it? As ghosts, fate and the sheer power of true love pull them together, so too does life threaten to tear them apart.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available!

Dance First

Director James Marsh talked with The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Ritman back in May, at the Cannes Film Festival, where he was presenting two “buzzy” films, one of which is the movie about Beckett for which we have been pining!

The title of this interview is pretty “buzzy” as well:

Cannes: James Marsh on Bringing a Surprisingly “Playful” Samuel Beckett to the Screen in ‘Dance First’

The film — now complete and starring Gabriel Byrne as the Irish literary icon — is being sold by Film Constellation

From The Hollywood Reporter:

A sweeping account of the life of literary icon Samuel Beckett (the title is taken from his ethos, “Dance first, think later”), the film sees Gabriel Byrne as the Nobel Prize winner in a story that covers the many aspects of his younger years: from Parisian bon vivant to WWII resistance fighter and philandering husband. The film, which Film Constellation is selling in Cannes, was written by BAFTA-winner Neil Forsyth with a cast that includes Sandrine Bonnaire, Maxine Peake, Aidan Gillan and Finn O’Shea (playing a young Beckett) . . .

How did you cast Gabriel Byrne as Beckett?

When you get the script, you think who’s going to do it? Because it’s going to stand and fall on that choice. It’s like The Theory of Everything and Stephen Hawking. If you get it wrong it doesn’t work. Nothing works. I only really thought of Gabriel, to be honest. He was the first thought I had, and quite quickly he responded to it. In Ireland, Beckett is one of the patron saints of literature, so for an Irish actor it’s a real responsibility. And quite scary, because you’re going to be judged by Irish culture. But he was up for it. And I think it’s a really great performance. And then a young Irish actor, Fionn O’Shea, plays the younger Beckett, and he looks just like Samuel Beckett. It’s uncanny. 

You can also listen to the article, so be sure to check it out!

And there is a page for the film at Film Constellation, with new synopsis and this hero shot of Gabriel as Beckett!

I’m feeling pretty buzzy myself now, but I’ll wait patiently for this “surprisingly playful Samuel Beckett” to pop up on the big screen. I can already see Gabriel’s twinkling and mischievous eyes as he brings this Irish literary icon to life for us, can’t you?!

Julian Sands Update

According to The New York Times:

The authorities in Southern California recovered human remains on Saturday near the mountain where search crews have been looking for the British actor Julian Sands, who was reported missing in January.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that it had been contacted around 10 a.m. local time on Saturday by hikers who had found human remains in the Mount Baldy wilderness, which is more than 40 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

The remains were brought to the coroner’s office and were expected to be identified this week, the department said.

So, DNA testing is underway and a definitive answer should be available soon. I would imagine that evidence at the site (clothing, gear, etc.) as well as the location of the find leads authorities to believe they have found him, but we will know for certain shortly.

This is very hard news to share because Julian Sands was such a special person, on and off screen. However, he was doing what he loved to do on his last day–climbing a mountain–and somehow we might take solace in that fact. heart

Website Update

The Interviews section is updated, reformatted, spiffed up, prettified, and DONE!

I tried to make it more interesting. Wait. That does not sound right. I tried to make it more fun. No, that’s not right, either. What I really tried to do was make it visually interesting, with lots of good Gabriel Pics, AND more fun, with quotes from many interviews, to get you in the mood to click on the link and read/watch/listen to the rest!

There. That’s what I tried to do. I hope you enjoy this compilation of Gabriel Byrne’s Interviews on the Internet. I’ll continue to update it with the new stuff, of course. heart

Summertime Eye Candy

Photographer David Turner captured Gabriel during an interview in 1993. I’ve shared other pics from that photoshoot with you and now here is another, in 5 different colorful versions. Enjoy! heart

And here is your treat for reading to the end. Happy Season of Your Choice to you and I’ll see you as soon as more news happens!