Irish Mafia Goes Hollywood in Boston: James Cagney Influenced Movie 'Townies' Takes Momentum
Ten years ago, Boston area screenwriter Mike Kenney, was neck deep in a life of violence and crime. From the remains of his past, a dark and gritty story unfolds.
(PRWEB) August 10, 2005 -- Mike Kenney, 32, has formed a production company
and written his first screenplay, Townies, a contemporary black comedy/crime
drama about a member of the Irish mafia in Charlestown, the Hell's Kitchen of
Boston.
After reading the script, Lisa Vitale, a consultant for
Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, immediately offered her services as Townies' executive
producer.
"I grew up hanging around in Charlestown," Ms Vitale said.
"The characters rang true, and I could see this was a world the public hadn't
seen before."
Kenney, who also stars in Townies, cites the late James
Cagney as one of his biggest influences in writing the screenplay.
"James Cagney was 32 years old when The Public Enemy was released in
1931, I'm 32; this is my first gangster film, The Public Enemy was his first;
I'm Irish, he was Irish. Can you see the connection?" Kenney asks. "People only
refer to The Godfather and Goodfellas when they recall gangster movies, when in
fact it was James Cagney films that created the gangster genre. Cagney is the
king of gangster movies, just as Elvis was the king of music, without question.
I even made several references to Cagney in the screenplay. It was the least I
could do to show my respect for the late legend."
Casting for the film
begins late September.
"The story is about an Irishman, fresh from
prison, who wants to get out of the neighborhood and live somewhere nice,
tropical, maybe find a nice girl," Kenney states. "But the code of silence and
loyalty to his friends forces him to stay. You can't easily walk away from that
life, not without causing a lot of suspicion amongst the people you do business
with. Ultimately the story is about dreams, and how sometimes they are left
behind for the ones we love."
Kenney sees the shortage of Irish gangster
movies as an opportunity.
"I really grew very tired of all the Italian
mafia movies that parade fancy silk suits, diamond pinky rings and lavish homes.
Moviegoers may fantasize about living like that, but they can't relate to it,"
says Kenney. "Guys in the Irish mafia are different from the Italians. Irish
gangsters mostly dress like working-class people, drive average cars, and enjoy
a good barstool conversation, just like me and you. They just happen to make
their money illegally and are exceedingly violent behind closed
doors."
The Townies movie site has received over 4,000 visitors by word
of mouth since March of this year.
"We really want to get people
involved in the movie and a web blog is the best way to achieve that," Kenney
explains. "Anyone who visits http://www.towniesmovie.com can see the development
of Townies as it happens."
Although Townies will be a very violent movie,
Kenney doesn't intend to glamorize it.
"There are too many young kids
out there today thinking it's cool to be a gangster. I hope they leave the
theaters entertained, and tell their friends about it, but I also want them to
realize how lucky they are not to live that kind of a life."
Townies is
expected to reach theaters on Saint Patrick's day of 2006.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb270620.htm