With the 20th anniversary of his film success "Brothers McMullan" fast approaching, Edward Burns is heading back to his Irish roots.
In an interview with Metro News, the writer-director-actor reveals that he is working on a sequel for the 1995 film for the anniversary. He has also done a film about a big Irish family that comes out in November called the "Fitzgerald Family Christmas."
Burns said that his "Alex Cross" co-star Tyler Perry encouraged him to make the movie.
"It’s funny. Tyler is the inspiration for the movie. He had just watched Brothers McMullan while we were working together and he was like, 'Why didn’t you ever make a sequel for that film?' So that’s where that idea came from," said Burns.
"And then he goes, 'You know, those first two movies were so successful, and it’s all about the Irish-Catholic families. Why haven’t you written about that since?' And I really didn’t have an explanation. He’s like, 'Take it from me. Super-serve your niche. I guarantee that all those folks that really connected to those first two movies, if you were to make another Irish-American-themed film, they’re probably going to come out to check it out.' I was like, 'F—, you know what? He’s absolutely right.' So I sat down and I just started writing."
Burns also addresses why a lot of the characters he plays as an actor have a such a strong Irish-American identity, including the upcoming "Alex Cross."
"I had nothing to do with that being in the script. I think at a certain point in some of the films I’ve acted in, they just throw that in there — or they throw the New York thing in there. I was in this movie called "Life or Something Like It" with Angelina Jolie, a romantic comedy, and at a certain point they were just like, 'All right, what are we going to do with this accent? Let’s get him in a Mets hat in one scene and we’ll just be done with it.' But for me as a filmmaker, it’s not even just writing what you know, it’s write what you love, you know? Growing up … everywhere we went there was just nothing but Irish people. It’s in your blood."
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