Irish Eye on Hollywood: Brosnan in Polanski's 'Ghost Writer'

When the thriller The Green Zone opens on March 12, it may be one of the most Irish movies ever made – although only supporting star Brendan Gleeson is technically Irish. Matt Damon (who played a troubled South Boston Irish kid in Good Will Hunting) stars in this latest Iraq war film, which also features Irish-American actress Amy Ryan, best known for The Wire as well as her turn as a troubled Boston Irish lass in Gone Baby Gone. (She earned an Oscar nomination for that role.) The Green Zone, finally, is directed by Brit Paul Greengrass, who directed the riveting docudrama Bloody Sunday.

March will also see the scheduled release of Liam Neeson’s next film Clash of the Titans, in which the Irishman plays Zeus in this epic action-adventure film about warring Greek gods. Neeson will also be busy this summer, appearing in The A-Team remake as well as the romantic thriller Chloe, also starring Julianne Moore.

Charlize Theron (significant other to Irish actor Stuart Townsend) is reportedly going to star in a film based on Irish writer Sebastian Barry’s recent novel The Secret Scripture. Set to film in Ireland, famed Irish producer Noel Pearson has also been linked to the film. Barry’s best-selling novel revolves around a 100-year-old woman who looks back on her colorful, at times tragic, Irish life.

Brendan O’Carroll is another Irish writer who is no stranger to Hollywood. O’Carroll’s books were the basis for the film Agnes Browne, starring Anjelica Huston. Now, HBO is eyeing O’Carroll for a series about an Irish immigrant family in the U.S. entitled We’ve Arrived. O’Carroll was even quoted in Ireland’s Evening Herald as saying: “It’s a possibility I’ll star in it myself, I hope so. Basically it’s for HBO and it’s about an Irish immigrant family who arrive in America and they’re a bit lost with the traditions over there. I hope it will be a success, they seem happy with what we’ve got so far, so with any luck it will go down well.”

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Nster.com