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Brendan Canty’s Christy won the best Irish film prize at the Galway Film Fleadh, as the 37th edition of the Irish festival drew to a close yesterday (July 13).

Christy is based on Canty’s short film of the same name and follows a 17-year-old after he’s thrown out of his suburban foster home and moves in with his estranged older half-brother in Cork.

Danny Power, Emma Willis and Chris Walley star in the UK-Ireland co-production between Marina Brackenbury and Wayward Films’ Meredith Duff, with Rory Gilmartin of London and Dublin-based Sleeper Films.

BBC Film and Screen Ireland supported the project,...

The groundbreaking anarchic, drug-soaked and political semi-biopic “Kneecap” opened the Galway Film Fleadh in 2024 on its way to a BAFTA award and a chance at an Oscar nomination, having been submitted by Ireland and making the Academy’s international film shortlist.

While Kneecap the band are still touring (they recently played at Glastonbury) and sparking headlines as they go, the film’s producer Trevor Birney returns to Galway this week with an altogether different project.

“The Negotiator” is a feature doc telling the story of George J. Mitchell, the U.S. senator who was instrumental in what would become 1998’s Good Friday Agreement that brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The film charts Mitchell’s journey from Maine to Washington D.C. to almost six years as senate majority leader to being selected by Bill Clinton as the special envoy for Northern Ireland. But it also puts...

Irish directorColum Eastwood’shorror film The Morrigan andMark Forbes’class divide documentaryQuiet On Setare among the films set to world premiere at the 37th edition of Galway Film Fleadh, taking place from July 8-13 in Ireland.

Quiet On Set explores class division in the UK film industry and features actors Maxine Peake and Vicky McClure, writer Paul Laverty and filmmakers Sean McAllister and Kolton Lee.

The Morrigan follows an archaeologist who unearths a burial casket of a mummified figure and unleashes an ancient evil upon her team. The cast includes Saffron Burrows, James Cosmo, Toby Stephens and Antonia Campbell-Hughes.

Galway...

Portraying a real person in Say Nothing was "a great honor," Anthony Boyle tells Gold Derby about his role as renowned Irish activist Brendan Hughes. "This one felt really special, because it was so close to home. I used to walk past the mural of Brendan Hughes coming back from school, and you'd hear folk songs about the guy." (Watch our full interview above.)

Say Nothing was created by Joshua Zetumer, based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s acclaimed nonfiction book Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Set during the height of the Troubles, the nine-part drama follows Belfast sisters Dolours Price (Lola Petticrew) and Marian Price (Hazel Doupe) as they become deeply entangled in the Ira's militant campaign. At the center of the story is the 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10, through which the series explores the emotional and ethical fallout of political violence.

Editor’s note: Deadline’s It Starts on the Page (Limited) features 10 standout limited or anthology series scripts in 2025 Emmy contention.

Say Nothing, FX’s limited series about The Troubles in Northern Ireland, took five years to make – a long time in television terms but nothing compared to how long the peace process took.

The series is based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s 2018 book Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, which told the story of the abduction and murder of Jean McConville, a mother of 10 who was wrongly accused by the Ira of being a British Army informant. It explores the lives of a group of people growing up in Belfast between the 1970s and 1990s, including members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Ira), who killed McConville, and also bombed the Old Bailey in London.

The show has already started its awards-season run...

The BBC has been ordered to pay €100,000 in damages to ex-Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams in a libel case about the murder of an Irish MI5 informant. Responding, the BBC said today’s decision could “hinder freedom of expression.”

In a BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight documentary that aired in 2016 plus an online article, Adams was identified by an anonymous contributor as sanctioning the 2006 murder of Denis Donaldson, a member of Sinn Féin and volunteer for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Ira) who was then exposed as an MI5 informant and killed soon after. The Real Ira, which was distinct from the Provisional, claimed responsibility for his murder in 2009.

According to BBC News, Adams’ legal bill is believed by sources to be between €3M to €5M. This would make the trial one of the most expensive cases the BBC has ever fought.

Adams has always denied all involvement with Donaldson...

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FX's mini-series "Say Nothing" arrived back in November, but despite that late release date and its invisible advertising, it managed to sneak in as some of the best TV of 2024. The series is based on a 2018 nonfiction book by Patrick Radden Keefe, the full title of which is "Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland."

The book and series' story spans decades, focusing on "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland and the scars they left. The Troubles refers to the terrorist campaign waged by the Provisional Irish Republican Army and British forces' attempts to suppress it, which raged from the 1960s until a ceasefire in 1994.

One of the key figures in this narrative is Brendan Hughes, an Ira leader who in middle-age wound up disillusioned; not with the cause, but with his former friend (and...

Say Nothing, the Hulu miniseries based on the book Say Nothing: The True Story of the Troubles by Patrick Radden Keefe, is an insightful and solemn glimpse into the complexities of the Troubles. While the Troubles took place during the last half of the 20th century, the foundation of the ongoing conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland goes back centuries.

Say Nothing focuses on Dolours Price (played by Lola Petticrew), a volunteer with the Irish Republican Army (Ira) and a zealous defender of the effort to remove the British from Northern Ireland. Woven into the story are her sister, Marian (Hazel Doupe), and other Ira loyalists, as well as the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Jean McConville (Judith Roddy) in 1972.

Say Nothing is a compelling series, but understanding the stakes heightens the intensity. While detailing every event of the struggle is not possible, here is the true story of the Troubles.

Exclusive: There’s fire and anger in Maxine Peake’s portrayal of Dolours Price in new FX drama Say Nothing.

Price, in her younger years, was one of the Irish Republican Army’s most feared paramilitary operatives, responsible, along with her younger sister Marian, for atrocities in London and Northern Ireland during the so-called Troubles.

Peake abhors that phrase. “It’s such a flimsy word, isn’t it?” she argues. “The country was occupied, the English came, and it was a war.”

The Troubles, she continues, is a feeble way of describing “something so horrific and something that the legacy continues on and on.”

Peake is one of the best actors of her generation. She’s an expert comedienne — watch her in Dinnerladies,Inside No. 9 or Shameless — and a breathtaking dramatic thespian. Witness her in dramas such as Little Dorrit, Silk and The Village and movies that include Peterloo...

Say Nothing (2024) is a political thriller series based during the time of the Troubles. The series is inspired by real-life events and from Patrick Radden Keefe’s 2018 book Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. The story is set in Belfast, where the young and old were proud to be a part of the Ira as they were fighting for a free Ireland. In this series, an exploration of a few disappearances takes place, especially that of Jean McConville.

The belief is that the ones who disappeared were informants for the British, so the Ira killed these people. The mastermind behind the operations is Gerry Adams, who has changed his strategies and personality over the decades. So much so Gerry Adams denies being a member of the Ira, infuriating the Ira members. The question remains as to what happens to Jean and if Gerry Adams...

Say Nothing, created by Joshua Zetumer, presents a fictionalized narrative inspired by the real-life events that took place in Ireland during the time period that was referred to as the Troubles. The Ira (Provisional Irish Republican Army) waged a war against the British regime, and it felt like every other civilian joined the cause and contributed in whatever manner they could. The series makes us privy to the stories of many real-life people who played a key role in the freedom struggle at that point in time. So, without further ado, let’s explore everything that took place in Say Nothing’s ending and where these key characters end up.

Spoiler Alert

How did Dolours and Mars get arrested in London?

Dolours and Marian Price wanted to make a contribution in a more significant manner compared to what the women in the “Cumman na mBan” did. They didn’t just...

Say Nothing is a mini-series on Hulu that unfolds in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It spans over four decades, and the series goes back and forth between the younger versions of the characters and their older selves. At the center of the drama is a series of tapes recorded by Boston College titled the Belfast Project that aimed to maintain an oral history by gathering accounts of Ira volunteers active during the Troubles. One of the most prominent figures who contributed massively to unveiling hard truths about the crimes committed by the Ira was Dolours Price. Born into a republican family, Dolours had heard stories of bomb-making and prison escapes as a young girl instead of fairy tales and rhymes. While she initially advocated for non-violent measures when it came to demanding equal rights for Catholics, the world soon taught her that freedom was an impossible dream without armed struggle.

“I did things, Stephen, and I don’t even know what I think about them.”

This is Dolours Price, in a later episode of the new FX/Hulu miniseries Say Nothing. Dolours (played as a young woman by Lola Petticrew, and as an older one by Maxine Peak) has spent much of her life fighting on behalf of liberating Northern Ireland from British control. Her methods have often been violent, including the 1973 car bombing of London’s Old Bailey courthouse. And she has often been called upon to drive traitors...

Patrick Radden Keefe wanted his 2019 book Say Nothing to be different from other accounts of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Before sitting down to write the book, the author had noticed partisan politics seeping into many histories he was reading of the sectarian conflict. “I felt as though I wasn’t seeing real people. I was seeing caricatures — be they good or evil, depending on your point of view,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter.

He sought to make his narrative more complex, hoping his readers would have “complicated” feelings about the people he was chronicling. So he started his story with the disappearance of Jean McConville, a Belfast mother of 10 accused of being a British informant by the Irish Republican Army. She is one of the “Disappeared,” a group of people thought to be quietly murdered by Republicans during the roughly 30-year period of sectarian violence called the Troubles. (The...

Say Nothing explores the Troubles in Northern Ireland with a particular focus on the Irish Republican Army and their impact on the community in Belfast. The series is based on a 2018 novel by Patrick Radden Keefe, which offers an in-depth look at the 30-year period where the conflict in Northern Ireland peaked, and the unresolved fallout that continued to plague both those involved and innocent bystanders in the years that followed. It's challenging, complex, and full of emotion, but it's also an incredibly human story.

Say Nothing

Cast Maxine Peake, Josh Finan, Lola Petticrew, Hazel Doupe, Anthony BoyleCharacter(s) Older Dolours Price, Gerry Adams, Dolours Price, Marian Price, Brendan HughesRelease Date November 14, 2024Genres Drama, HistoryNetwork HuluProducers Michael Lennox, Joshua Zetumer, Monica Levinson, Edward McDonnell, Brad Simpson, Nina JacobsonYouTube Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETo4hnxVFho

The Troubles defined Northern Ireland between the 1960s and 1990s, with the Ira...

In 1972, a woman named Jean McConville was abducted from her home, in front of her 10 children, never to return. She was suspected of being a tout — or an informant for the British Army — and during the peak of the The Troubles, suspicion was all it took to be taken away for good. The Irish Republican Army and its sympathizers dominated Jean’s neighborhood. They were waging a war that their enemies refused to acknowledge as a war (over fears of legitimizing the opposition), which only escalated animosity among the oppressed Catholic people. Their actions — robberies, bombings, murder — demanded to be taken seriously, so even those who didn’t want to participate in the conflict found themselves caught up in it, one way or another. Jean’s way was worst of all.

But her fate is only one focal point in “Say Nothing,” the nine-episode limited series from FX Productions based...

Hulu’s FX-produced limited series Say Nothing, like its source book by Patrick Radden Keefe, takes its name from the striking 1975 poem “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” by Seamus Heaney.

It’s a sad and angry piece that looks at the unfolding tragedy of the Troubles, critiquing simultaneously the culture of enforced silence that repressed free speech within Northern Ireland and the voyeuristic instincts of the outside media covering “the Irish thing.” The poem is dazzlingly focused on speech and storytelling, the power and limitations of words in contrast to what Heaney refers to as “Northern reticence, the tight gag of place / And times.”

Keefe’s mission, and the mission of Say Nothing creator Joshua Zetumer (RoboCop, the 2014 one), is to break through the silence. To use a different metaphor, it’s about the disinfecting power of sunlight. It’s also a chronicle of Northern Ireland reported on by...

The exciting limited series “Say Nothing” on Disney Plus takes viewers right into the middle of Northern Ireland’s most troubled time, turning a terrible true story into an interesting story that is part historical drama and part true crime probe. Jean McConville, a 38-year-old single mother of ten, was taken from her home in Belfast by the Irish Republican Army (Ira) in December 1972 and never seen living again. This case is at its heart.

The series is based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s well-reviewed nonfiction book of the same name. It’s not just a retelling of a single sad event; it’s a broad look at the complicated moral landscape of The Troubles. Keefe, who is the executive producer, helped create a nine-episode journey that weaves personal stories with larger political issues. The story is both complicated and heartbreaking.

The show tries to tell a big story by...

FX is transporting viewers back to Belfast during the Troubles with “Say Nothing,” a limited series that the network released a trailer for on Wednesday.

The trailer has a sort of kiss-kiss-bang-bang ‘70s thriller tone that emphasizes the thrill of young people fighting for a radical cause. That is not the tone of journalist Patrick Radden Keefe’s excellent book on which the series is based, which is more neutral and sad. FX’s description of the show, however, hints that the show may be more like the book. “Telling the story of various Irish Republican Army (Ira) members, ‘Say Nothing’ explores the extremes some people will go to in the name of their beliefs, the way a deeply divided society can suddenly tip over into armed conflict, the long shadow of radical violence for all affected, and the emotional and psychological costs of a code of silence,” according to the network.

Say Nothing is getting ready to talk.

The anticipated FX series based on the nonfiction bestselling book by Patrick Radden Keefe has dropped its trailer, previewing what’s in store when all nine episodes release Thursday, Nov. 14, on Hulu.

Described as a gripping story of murder and memory set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, the limited series spans four decades to follow various Irish Republican Army (Ira) members, the group suspected of being behind the real-life abduction of a 38-year-old widow and mother who was taken from her Belfast home, rumored to be a British informant, and never seen again.

The logline: “The series opens with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of 10 who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again. Say Nothing explores the extremes some people will go to in the name of their beliefs, the way a deeply divided...

FX may just have another massive hit on its hands. The first trailer for “Say Nothing,” based on the acclaimed non-fiction bestseller by Patrick Radden Keefe, has just dropped. It tells the true story of The Troubles,” the decades-long conflict between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, including the rise of the Irish Republican Army. As part of that, the story delves into “the Disappeared,” centering, like the book, on the mystery of a missing mother of 10.

Adapted by creator Joshua Zetumer, the primarily Irish cast includes Lola Petticrew and Hazel Doupe as Dolours and Marian Price, respectively, sisters who played vital roles in the Ira; as well as Anthony Boyle as a young Brendan Hughes and Josh Finan as leader Gerry Adams.

“They’re complicated,” Keefe said earlier this month at a screening of the show in NYC. “How you feel about them should shift. And I think that the challenge for us,...

Anthony Boyle knew his latest TV project had a high bar to clear. The actor, a Broadway vet who recently portrayed John Wilkes Booth in “Manhunt,” took on the role of Brendan Hughes in FX’s upcoming “Say Nothing,” based on the beloved nonfiction bestseller of the same name by Patrick Radden Keefe about The Troubles in Ireland and the Ira.

“I was so nervous to show my mom and dad, because this is their life,” Boyle said onstage during a recent panel discussion in NYC. “You know, for me, it’s a story, and I’ve lived in the hangover of this conflict. But for them, it was there every day. It was like just their existence. So when I showed them it, like two weeks ago in Belfast, I was really nervous, and I was looking at them sitting behind them, kind of seeing if they were liking it.

FX’s Say Nothing will premiere on Thursday, November 14, exclusively on Hulu, with all nine episodes available at launch. The new limited series is based on the best-selling book by Patrick Radden Keefe, which recently ranked #19 on the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

Internationally, Say Nothing will premiere on November 14 exclusively on Disney+ in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Gibraltar, the Balkans, Singapore, and the Philippines. The series will soon be available on Disney+ in all other territories.

Say Nothing is a gripping story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. Spanning four decades, the series opens with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again.

Telling the story of various Irish Republican Army (Ira) members, FX’s Say Nothing explores the extremes some...

Photo Credit: FX Netwoirks Clear your schedules for an intense new series coming to Hulu this fall. FX’s Say Nothing debuts Thursday, November 14, with all nine episodes dropping at once. Adapted from Patrick Radden Keefe’s acclaimed book, this series dives deep into one of Northern Ireland’s darkest times. Set during The Troubles, Say Nothing unravels the chilling story of Jean McConville, a mother of ten who vanished in 1972. Over four decades, the series follows members of the Irish Republican Army (Ira) as they face the repercussions of their actions. This gripping narrative explores the extremes people reach for their beliefs and the violent fractures within society. It also delves into the long-lasting scars left by radical acts and the heavy price of silence. The cast features Lola Petticrew and Hazel Doupe as Dolours and Marian Price, two women swept up in the era’s chaos. Anthony Boyle portrays Brendan Hughes,...

FX’s upcoming limited series Say Nothing will premiere Thursday, November 14 with all nine episodes, exclusively on Hulu, the network announced today. Internationally, the series also debuts November 14 exclusively on Disney+ in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Gibraltar, the Balkans, Singapore and the Philippines. It will be coming soon to Disney+ in all other territories.

Starring Lola Petticrew, Hazel Doupe, Anthony Boyle, Josh Finan and Maxine Peake, Say Nothing is a gripping story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

Spanning four decades, the series opens with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again.

Telling the story of various Irish Republican Army (Ira) members, Say Nothing explores the extremes some people will go to in the name of their beliefs, the way a deeply divided society can...

“Every fucking story about Belfast starts like this,” intones rapper and protagonist Naoise Ó Cairealláin in voiceover as cars explode and protestors clash with soldiers in grainy footage. Happily, Kneecap has no truck with such tired tropes. The “mostly true” origin story of the titular rap trio — Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh and JJ Ó Dochartaigh winningly playing themselves — British-Irish writer-director Rich Peppiatt’s predominantly Irish-language feature bursts with energy, laughs, fizzy filmmaking and a big heart, but never forgets pertinent political point-making.

At its centre, Kneecap is a band origin-story, as childhood pals and drug-dealers Liam and Naoise are inspired to start rapping by local music teacher Ó Dochartaigh, who discovers Naoise’s lyrics during a police interrogation where he acts as an Irish-language translator. Because Kneecap are a real band, the music has an authenticity and vitality that fictional musical biopics rarely replicate. The drug-fuelled recording sessions are riotous,...

‘Say Nothing’ by Patrick Radden Keefe. (Photo Credit: Penguin Random House)

FX has given Say Nothing a limited series order and announced Lola Petticrew, Hazel Doupe, Anthony Boyle, Josh Finan, and Maxine Peake in starring roles. The nine-episode drama is based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s book, with the author involved as an executive producer.

Josh Zetumer (RoboCop) will serve as showrunner and executive produce along with Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force. Additional executive producers include Edward McDonnell (Shōgun), Monica Levinson (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), and Northern Ireland native director Michael Lennox (Derry Girls).

Produced by FX Productions, Say Nothing will air on Hulu in the US, Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ in all other territories.

FX offered this description of the series:

“Spanning four decades, Say Nothing explores the tumultuous period in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. The series launches with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville,...

FX has ordered a limited series adaptation of the Patrick Radden Keefe book “Say Nothing,” Variety has learned.

The nine-episode series explores The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Lola Petticrew, Hazel Doupe, Anthony Boyle, Josh Finan, and Maxine Peake will star.

It will be available exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America and Disney+ in all other territories.

The official description states:

“Spanning four decades, ‘Say Nothing’ explores the tumultuous period in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. The series launches with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again. But McConville was only one of many others who became known collectively as The Disappeared. Through the eyes of various Ira members, including sisters Dolours and Marian Price—young women who transformed into magnetic symbols of radical politics, Brendan Hughes—a tight-lipped but conflicted military strategist,...

Bursting with unruly energy that practically escapes the confines of the screen, “Kneecap” is a riotous, drug-laced triumph in the name of freedom that bridges political substance and crowd-pleasing entertainment. The three members of the eponymous Irish rap group — Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh — play themselves in this liberally fictionalized reimagining of their origin story set in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Cornerstone to the trio’s artistic ethos is the use of the Irish language (sometimes referred to as Irish Gaelic), to which writer-director Rich Peppiatt (a Brit) remains faithful. The island’s ancient native tongue — once banned by the British and only recognized as an official language in the U.K. in 2022 — is intrinsically tied to the identity of the colonized Irish people, often seen as an emblem of their enduring culture and defiance against British imperialism.

Oscar-nominated “The Quiet Girl,” a quaint drama in Irish,...

You might have seen word going around about the Irish Unification of 2024. No, don't worry, you didn't miss a bombshell news story; people are floating a line of dialogue from what's been called the most controversial episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" — "The High Ground".

In this episode, the Enterprise visits Rutia IV. The planet's western continent, ruled by its eastern neighbor, is home to the terrorist group the Ansata, who fight for self-determination. Around 20 minutes into the episode, Data (Brent Spiner) asks Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) about the moral arguments for terrorism, pointing to times when violence has affected political change.

Data lists three occasions: Mexican independence from Spain, the Kenzie Rebellion, and the Irish Unification of 2024. The first one is real history, the second is fictional, and the third is imagined but based on reality.

To be clear; the island of Ireland is divided between two governments.

By and large, modern superhero cinema is unsurprisingly IP-driven. Marvel and DC superheroes come with built-in fan bases both recent and long-standing — ones comprised of multiple demographics — and appeal to families and solo viewers alike. As Robert Downey Jr.'s essential turn as Tony Stark proved, though, the casts of these films matter. As we previously covered, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has added Harrison Ford to its roster, and DC has endured its share of star turns and casting woes. In "Black Adam," the Warner Bros. tentpole has Dwayne Johnson, who promises to change the hierarchy of the DC Extended Universe forever and, potentially, the company's box-office fortunes (though our "Black Adam" review may disagree).

Johnson is one of the few actors who can open a non-superhero blockbuster. With "Black Adam," he is testing his mettle in modern Hollywood's most tried-and-true genre. Thrillingly, in "Black Adam" Johnson is surrounded by...

Shane MacGowan does not look well. Then again, the former lead singer of the Pogues and one of our greatest living songwriters has not looked well for quite some time. The notion that he’s permanently, tipsily teetering on the edge of this mortal coil has been a part of MacGowan’s legacy for decades; with the exception of Keith Richards, no rock star has defied the odds of an early demise while indulging in drink, drugs and an appetite for self-destruction that would destroy mere mortals. And even when...

One of the most memorable and disturbing evenings in my extensive concert-going career came in the early 2000s at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles when The Pogues came to L.A. on a reunion tour with Shane MacGowan, the lead singer they’d fired more than a decade earlier for his unreliability and substance abuse. MacGowan was a mess, leaving the stage for stretches of the concert and barely able to croak his way through the songs in what seemed to be an alcohol- or drug-induced haze — and yet the audience responded deliriously to every slurred word and cheered even louder for every stumble and slur.

Was it a concert or a sideshow? Was the audience so besotted with the beautiful-loser myth that it gloried in the damage MacGowan had done to himself and loved him more because he was such a disaster? Or were they on his side,...

The film-maker on his new documentary about the former Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, Johnny Depp’s role in it, and why he’s still hungry to create

When film-maker Julien Temple met Shane MacGowan to discuss making a documentary about his life, the 62-year-old, hard-living former Pogues frontman was watching a David Attenborough programme about snow leopards. The image has stayed with Temple: many times, while making Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan, he found himself feeling like a naturalist stalking an elusive species. The film, though, is a hugely entertaining and revealing one. While MacGowan wouldn’t sit still for Temple, he would for friends and fans such as Johnny Depp, Gerry Adams and Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie. Temple has made acclaimed documentaries on the Sex Pistols and the Clash, as well as the cult feature film Absolute Beginners. He’s 67 and lives in Somerset.

The royals of The Crown suffer a huge loss in season four with the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, aka "Uncle Dickie," and no one is hit harder than Prince Charles. In real life, as on the show, Charles was particularly close to this uncle of his, and although some of the specific conversations between them were made up for dramatic purposes, their relationship was largely what is shown on screen.

Charles was actually related to Lord Mountbatten through both of his parents, albeit distantly, since the Queen and Prince Philip are distantly related themselves. As a descendant of Queen Victoria, Mountbatten was related to the Queen, whose line descends from Alice's brother, Edward VII. Technically, Mounbatten and the Queen were second cousins, once removed. His relationship through Philip's side of the family is much clearer: Mountbatten was the brother of Princess Alice, Philip's mother, making him Charles's great-uncle.

In Jonathan Dimbleby...

Did ex-Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan and the late London jazz club impresario Ronnie Scott ever cross paths? As key figures of the last century of music, it is certainly possible. And based on the documentaries Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan and Ronnie’s, it is enticing to ponder the conversation that might ensue between the ragged Irish eccentric (MacGowan) and the witty tenor sax man turned club owner (Scott). The gobsmackingly entertaining Crock of Gold and well-made if less enthralling Ronnie’s make a strong case that both figures have left an indelible mark on music. And while director Julien Temple’s Gold is far more memorable than Oliver Murray’s Ronnie’s, both films deserve attention. Crock of Gold is making its North American premiere at the Doc NYC festival, while Ronnie’s is making its international premiere.

It should come as no surprise that...

One of the defining moments early in season four of The Crown is the shocking death of Lord Mountbatten, "Uncle Dickie" to the royal family. His 1979 assassination at the hands of the Ira sent shockwaves in real life just as much as in the show's version of events, but the reasons for his death were based in the complicated and violent politics of the time.

The New York Times, along with most other major media sources at the time, reported the Ira's statement taking responsibility and explaining its motivations for the bombing, which also killed his grandson, his daughter's mother-in-law, and a local boy and injured other members of the family:

"In claiming responsibility for the execution of Lord Mountbatten the I.R.A. state that the bombing was a discriminate act to bring to the attention of the English people the continuing occupation of our country. The British Army...

Before Amy Winehouse, there was Shane MacGowan, another, earlier figure who captivated Britannia at first with irreverent songwriting brilliance, then train-wreck levels of unbridled consumption. That MacGowan has, unlike Winehouse, survived decades into a death watch and been able to participate in an A-list documentary feels almost like an eighth wonder of the modern world. Which is not to say that Julien Temple’s “Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane McGowan” is framed as a triumphant tale: MacGowan, now in his early 60s, seems so far removed from being able to make music anymore that the documentary takes on an almost eulogistic tone, amid a lot of nostalgic raucousness to spare.

Temple’s film is certainly in the upper echelon of recent rock docs, as might be indicated by the special jury prize it received at the San Sebastian Film Festival, that gathering’s second-highest honor. Over the course of 40 years,...

One evening in late 1972, a young mother of 10 named Jean McConville was taken from her home in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, by four men and four women in masks. McConville’s children would never see or hear from her again. She had been disappeared and likely killed, one of the 3,600 casualties to result from Northern Ireland’s infamous three-decade period of violence and upheaval known as the Troubles.

Forty years later, a pair of detectives working for the Serious Crimes Branch of Northern Ireland’s police service arrived...

The easy step from bigotry and ideological entrenchments to outright madness gets a timely depiction in David Ireland’s Cyprus Avenue at Off Broadway’s Public Theater. Timelier, perhaps, than Ireland or his star Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) could ever have imagined.

Be warned: A child – an infant, in fact – will pay the price for adult madness, and though the Belfast-set drama takes place nowhere near America’s southern border, recent headlines of youngsters caged, literally, in fights not of their making resonate throughout Ireland’s dark allegorical drama.

Cyprus Avenue, directed by Vicky Featherstone and a co-production of the Abbey Theatre and The Royal Court Theater, begins before we, the audience, have a chance to adjust our boundaries, which most certainly is the point. On a lovely, intentionally bland off-white set with a few sticks of the attractive but not overly comfortable furniture of a psychiatrist’s office,...

The first official international trailer for Jackie Chan’s next, The Foreigner – an action thriller co-starring Pierce Brosnan – has just come out. The film is directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, GoldenEye), and also stars Katie Leung and Liu Tao.

A British-Chinese co-production, the film is based on the 1992 Stephen Leather novel The Chinaman, and showcases Chan in a role very different, and much darker, from the familiar guise of a heroic action figure we have seen him as in recent films like Railroad Tigers and Kung Fu Yoga.

Poster for the film The Foreigner (2017). Source: IMDb.com

In The Foreigner, Chan plays a Chinese restaurant owner, who loses his young daughter in a bombing that Brosnan’s Liam Hennessy, an Ira-man turned government minister, is responsible for. With no help from the police forthcoming, Chan sets out on a revenge mission to find the man responsible for his loss,...

Julie Walters is one of those people who really does seem like a national treasure. She's done it all, from comedy to drama, over an amazing career that earned her a BAFTA Fellowship earlier this year.

We were lucky enough to pop along to a Q&A with Julie last night - launching BAFTA's new live strand A Life in Television - and she was funny, interesting and always entertaining. We've collected together just 18 amazing things we learned - from why Educating Rita made her cry to her crush on Hugh Bonneville to why dancing and Julie do not mix. Read on for all that and much more...

1. She cried when she first saw Educating Rita because she thought she was "terrible".

"I'd done Educating Rita on stage, Willy Russell's play, and then Lewis Gilbert came along and said, 'Do you want to be in a film, darling?'...

Julie Walters is one of those people who really does seem like a national treasure. She's done it all, from comedy to drama, over an amazing career that earned her a BAFTA Fellowship earlier this year.

We were lucky enough to pop along to a Q&A with Julie last night - launching BAFTA's new live strand A Life in Television - and she was funny, interesting and always entertaining. We've collected together just 18 amazing things we learned - from why Educating Rita made her cry to her crush on Hugh Bonneville to why dancing and Julie do not mix. Read on for all that and much more...

1. She cried when she first saw Educating Rita because she thought she was "terrible".

"I'd done Educating Rita on stage, Willy Russell's play, and then Lewis Gilbert came along and said, 'Do you want to be in a film, darling?'...

Take a daytime TV star, an ex-soap actor, 10 extras and some potted palms to a quarry in Hertfordshire and what do you get? An award-winning Iraq war blockbuster, of course. Here's how the producers of A Landscape Of Lies conned millions out of the taxman

Paul Knight is not the sort of person you'd take for a fall guy. A youthful-looking but physically imposing 45-year-old, Knight makes no secret of his colourful past. "Let's just say my path up until my 30th birthday went in a certain direction," he says. As a youth, his record ran to car theft, shoplifting and breaking and entering; in "the bigger leagues", he was arrested several times but always managed to avoid prison. "I was only convicted for certain things, so I'm not going to admit to what they didn't catch me for." He hints that his godfather was Charlie Kray, and that his...

Both sides visit London, Belfast and Dublin to learn methodology and psychology that led to negotiations breakthrough

While Turkish and Kurdish leaders wait for the music to start in their fragile "peace process", they have already jointly taken to the dance floor, warily exploring whether enemies can become partners.

Two places they have been doing this are Britain and Ireland, with politicians from both sides visiting London, Belfast and Dublin to learn about the methodology and psychology of negotiations that led to the breakthrough Good Friday accords under Tony Blair.

"Although there are historical differences between Northern Ireland and Turkey, it was very important. I learned a lot," said Ayla Akat, a Kurdish MP who took part. She recalled meetings Jonathan Powell, Blair's chief of staff, and learning of his "bicycle theory" of conducting negotiations. "You've got to keep pedalling or you fall over."

Cengiz Çandar, a veteran commentator with...

Queen Elizabeth is making a 'very significant step' by meeting former terrorist Martin McGuinness on Wednesday (27.05.12). The British monarch will make an official visit to Northern Ireland and is scheduled to meet the onetime Ira commander, who is now the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. The move is controversial as Martin is part of the Sinn Fein political party, who believe Northern Ireland should have political independence from Britain. However, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams believes the meeting is a 'gesture of respect' and an attempt to move 'beyond rhetoric to reach out' to unionists. He told BBC Sunday Politics: 'It is a very significant step and I think it may bring us into a different phase, into...

HollywoodNews.com: The “Gotti” movie: I’ve told you exclusively for weeks that the movie is in financial trouble. Today, Deadline Hollywood tried to steal our thunder by literally just picking up what we’ve been reporting–haha, since they complain all the time about being stolen from.

Anyway, I can tell you that the actor signed to play John Gotti, Jr., Ben Foster, has been asking around for other work since “Gotti” doesn’t seem to be happening. Foster was brought in by director Barry Levinson, who introduced the talented young actor a decade ago in “Liberty Heights.” If Foster leaves, expect the rest of the cast to start exiting too since the money simply is not there. What Deadline has totally overlooked is that the producer, Marco Fiore, and executive producer, Salvatore Carpanzano, have no history in the film business. They do, however, have history with the law.

Gina Herold Gabriel Byrne, left, and Enda Walsh

Directors Jim Sheridan and Enda Walsh chatted with actor Gabriel Byrne yesterday at MoMA about their own films and others, as part of “Revisiting The Quiet Man: Ireland on Film,” an exhibit which runs through June 3. John Ford’s classic 1952 story about Sean Thornton (John Wayne), an American boxer born in Ireland who returns to Innisfree and falls in love with Mary Kate Danneher (Maureen O’Hara), is more than just a feel-good St.

From singing in Mamma Mia! to shaving her head to play Mo Mowlam in a new TV drama, Julie Walters is anything but vain

Julie Walters said yes! when asked to play Mo Mowlam in a Channel 4 biopic, and then, after watching archive footage of the late secretary of state, rang her agent and said get me out of it. They were too ­physically different, she thought, Mowlam with her "big, broad shoulders" and general swagger, Walters, as she describes herself, so ­unfailingly "weedy". And then there was the voice. "It was kind of prissy. The last thing you would describe her as is prissy, but her mouth was sort of..." Walters puckers up and squeaks. "I thought, oh shit, I don't think I can play her."

Walters, 5ft 3in, seems at times too fiercely good an actor for the roles she is cast in. As well as all those...

He’s king of the box office yet again with his latest hit “Couples Retreat,” and Vince Vaughn is doing the rounds on a promotional victory lap in Europe. Dublin, it appears, was easily his favorite stop. Vaughn did a guest spot on Rte’s “Late Late Show” last Friday night, and besides garnering chuckles for mispronouncing Galway as “Gahl-way” – host Ryan Tubridy teased that he could be a “real Irishman” back home by saying it the correct way, and that his surname would be pronounced “Vaw-han” if he lived in Ireland –the star spoke warmly of his trips to Ireland in the past. “I have a lot of Irish ancestors and I’ve been here many times. The Ring of Kerry is beautiful, but I’m always scared of driving on the little roads y’all have here,” Vaughn said. “And (the signs) say, ‘40 people killed on this road,...