The Cast of Black Irish
COLE: Michael Angarano
Youngest son and the film’s protagonist, Cole is a good looking, good natured, earnest, 15 year-old altar boy. He carries the guilt of a good Catholic schoolboy and is also a gifted young baseball player.
Michael Angarano is one of Hollywood’s most sought after teen actors. He has recently starred with Kurt Russell in last summer’s Disney release Sky High and was most recently featured in the skateboarding movie The Lords of Dogtown.
TERRY: Tom Guiry
The McKay’s older son Terry is 17 years-old and big-framed. Surly and misguided, the threat of violence is his constant companion. Terry is more complex than meets the eye with a surprising sense of family loyalty. With an explosive temper, Terry lives by his own set of rules.
Guiry’s acting debut came in The Sandlot (1993). He has also been featured in such seminal dramas as Tigerland (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001) and Mystic River (2003). Soon he will be appearing in Academy Award-winner Paul Haggis’ (Crash) new series The Black Donnellys for NBC.
DESMOND: Brendan Gleeson
The 50 year-old, alcoholic, chain-smoking father. Formerly strong and handsome, Desmond has succumbed to bad habits and illness. Claiming fate has dealt him a bad hand, he’s long since replaced his dreams with a deep cynicism.
Brendan Gleeson is a favorite of some of the world’s greatest directors as is evidenced by his work with Steven Spielberg (AI), Ridley Scott (Kingdom of Heaven), Neil Jordan (Breakfast on Pluto), Martin Scorcese (Gangs of New York), M. Night Shamayalan (The Village), Anthony Mighella (Cold Mountain), Wolfgang Peterson (Troy), John Woo (Mission Impossible II), and Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).
KATHLEEN: Emily VanCamp
The daughter: 16 years-old and beautiful, with just enough attitude to keep her safe. Independent, loving, intelligent and secure, Kathleen is not only mature beyond her years, but is a survivor as well.
Emily is a rising star who is the featured actress on Everwood. She has also appeared in such films as Lost and Delirious, A Different Loyalty and The Ring Two.
MARGARET: Melissa Leo
The mother: 44 years-old and a natural and understated beauty. Margaret is weathered by the passage of time. She’s fiercely proud, determined, intelligent, and religious. Facing disappointments with resolute courage, she is the moral backbone of the family.
Melissa Leo is best known for her starring role as Detective Kay Howard on the award-winning NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street. Ms. Leo has a vast body of work with her most recent acclaim coming from her role opposite Benicio Del Toro in the Oscar-nominated film 21 Grams.
Writer/Director
Brad Gann
BLACK IRISH marks the directorial debut of the sought-after screenwriter. Brad had recent success with the Disney release of INVINCIBLE, a sports drama he wrote, starring Mark Wahlberg and Greg Kinnear. INVINCIBLE enjoyed a 2 week run as the #1 film at the box office in 2006. Prior to that, an action script he wrote entitled STATIC embroiled several studios in a bidding war. Sony Pictures was the eventual winner, with Neal Moritz producing. Currenty, Brad is writing a pilot for NBC as well as a sports drama entitled THE THROWBACK for Walden Media, with Mark Ciardi & Gordon Gray (THE ROOKIE, MIRACLE, INVINCIBLE) set to produce. He's also penning an action picture entitled BAD BLOOD. And in the spring of 2007, Brad will return to the directing chair for a script he wrote entitled ONCE WAS LOST, with Kelly Crean producing.
Production Team
J. Todd Harris, Producer
J. Todd Harris is president of production for IPW, the rights-driven production company based in Los Angeles. He has produced 28 films, ranging in budget from $500,000 to $40M. He has had three films in the Sundance Film Festival, two in Toronto and one in Cannes, which won an award. His credits include Universal Pictures’ Dudley Do-Right starring Brendan Fraser and Sarah Jessica Parker. He co-produced the horror hit Jeepers Creepers for MGM/UA and Francis Coppola. His Sundance entries have included Digging To China (starring Kevin Bacon), Urbania, and Lewis & Clark & George. He also produced the cult classic Sordid Lives, the TV movie Little Richard, and the recently completed Legend Of Lucy Keyes, Supercross (due out this summer from 20th Century Fox), and the soon to be released romantic comedy Knots (John Stamos and Tara Reid). Todd earned his BA and MBA from Stanford University. In between degrees he served as managing director of the Palo Alto- based repertory theatre company TheatreWorks. Todd is a member of the producers’ branch of the Motion Picture Academy.
Kelly Crean, Producer
Ms. Kelly Crean is founder and president of Creanspeak Productions, Falcon Film Funding, and Creanspeak's financing arm Creanspeak Funding, LLC. She is the managing member of three film financing funds, one of which is based and traded internationally. The other two are housed at UBS & Merrill Lynch respectively.
Ms. Crean is currently in pre-production on ONCE WAS LOST, the follow up feature to writer/director Bradley Gann’s BLACK IRISH, starring multi-platinum rapper T.I. She has a multitude of films in development including ONE STEP BEYOND, a journey into the Ska music scene shooting in 2007 with Executive Producer Barbara Boyle; COVER, which premieres in January 2008 with Fox, directed by Bill Duke and starring Aunjanue Ellis, Raz Adoti, Vivica A. Fox, Lou Gossett Jr., Paula Jai Parker, Mya Harrison, Heavy D, Glenn Plummer and Clifton Powell; iMurders, THE STATUE GAME, and BETTER THAN SEX. Additional Creanspeak films include BLACK IRISH, starring Brendan Gleeson, Michael Angarano, Tom Guiry, and Emily VanCamp (WB’s “Everwood”), which won seven film festivals and premiered at the Hampton’s International Film Festival in October 2006 and which premieres in theaters September 2007, the 2003 Sundance Film Festival’s PREY FOR ROCK N’ ROLL, starring Gina Gershon, Drea De Matteo and Lori Petty.
Ms. Crean has also launched a thriller division called TROCAR Films with four films slated for the first year and six for the second.
Ms. Crean is an executive producer of "Gagsters!" the first hybrid reality/scripted TV show for children, now sold in over forty countries. She also co-created and executive produced “Doctors of Rock” for HDnet. In collaboration with living Hip Hop legend Kool Mo Dee, Ms. Crean produced the revolutionary documentary There's a God on the Mic, based on his highly acclaimed book of the same title. She is currently in post production on SPEED SHIFT, a new reality series for the WE network, created and produced JUST AS FAST, a reality show also for the WE network about the few women who compete in the world of auto racing.
Ms. Crean formerly served as an associate producer on "EMERIL LIVE!" and worked as an assistant to producer Cary Woods at Miramax on Swingers, Scream, Citizen Ruth, Gummo and Copland. Earlier in her career, she worked in production at MGM, CBS News and Engel Brothers Productions.
A former member of the U.S. Ski Team, Ms. Crean earned a degree in English Literature from Columbia University, studied film production at Columbia University's School of the Arts. She is a voting member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Her affiliations include AFI, AFTRA, IFP, EO, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Women in Film.
Moody Street Pictures
Mark Donadio, Producer/ Miriam Marcus, Executive Producer
Moody Street Pictures is a Boston-based independent media company that develops feature films, television and music productions as well as work for corporate and commercial clients. Moody Street Pictures offers end-to-end production & development services, enabling clients to realize their media & entertainment visions. Moody Street Pictures offers creativity and innovation as well as support for cutting-edge motion picture and video technology. Moody Street Pictures takes on projects in the Northeast, across the country and in the far corners of the world. In addition to its distinguished team, Moody Street Pictures has the unique advantage of its relationship with sister company Boston Camera, New England’s leading Motion Picture and Video equipment rental outfit. This partnership combined with Moody Street’s imagination, know-how and ability to deliver makes Moody Street Pictures an attractive production partner. Moody Street principal Mark Donadio has produced twelve movies, including the critically acclaimed Next Stop Wonderland.
Jeffrey Orenstein, Producer
Jeffrey Orenstein, founder of Purple Princess Productions, has quickly assembled a diverse slate of independent film projects. He is currently in post-production on Running With Arnold, a provocative documentary about the surprise campaign of actor-turned California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and in pre-production on the independent romantic comedy Just the Two of Us, featuring Jennifer Love Hewitt. Orenstein has held a number of senior management positions on Wall Street prior to his entertainment industry endeavors.