In L.A., an Irish party toast to ‘In America’
Tamara Conniff, Hollywood Reporter
Jan 29, 2004
Jim Sheridan is an intense man. His thoughts shift easily from the death of William Shakespeare’s son and the meaning of “Hamlet” to James Joyce’s obsession with death to the merits of schlepping a third-hand air conditioner through the streets of Manhattan on a very hot day, as seen in his Oscar-nominated film “In America.”
Sitting in a garden restaurant on a mild and sunny Los Angeles afternoon, Sheridan joins U2’s Bono, songwriter and performer Gavin Friday, composer Maurice Seezer and singer Andrea Corr to toast the success of “In America.” The original song “Time Enough for Tears” was written for the film by Bono, Sheridan, Friday and Seezer and performed by Corr. And even though the song failed to take home a Golden Globe and was shut out of the Oscar nominations, the group is thrilled by the film’s three Oscar mentions — for leading actress Samantha Morton, supporting actor Djimon Hounsou and original screenplay by Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kirsten.
Bono says it’s important that smaller films and nonradio-friendly songs like the delicate “Time Enough for Tears” receive attention. “These are gems that people need to know about, otherwise they’ll fall into the dirt,” Bono says.
Sheridan, Friday and Bono have a long history of supporting each other creatively. The trio’s friendship dates to the late 1970s, when Sheridan ran Dublin’s alternative theater, the Project Art Center, where Bono (with U2) and Friday (with the Virgin Prunes) performed their first gigs. Friday says that Sheridan, in an effort to improve his and Bono’s stage personas, instructed the two frontmen in the art of mime. The trio and Seezer first worked together on the score and an original song for Sheridan’s award-winning 1993 film “In the Name of the Father.”
“In America,” which follows an Irish family who emigrates to the United States in search of the American dream, comes at a strange political time, given the anti-American sentiment raging through Europe because of the Iraq war. Bono noted that being shut out of the Golden Globes, which is voted on by the international press corps, was not surprising, and he hopes that the film will fare better in American awards.
“The film takes an unpopular position because it’s pro-American and pro-working people,” Bono says.
For Sheridan, the semiautobiographical film also is about dealing with loss. In the picture, the family comes to terms with the premature death of son and brother Frankie. In real life, Sheridan was 18 when he lost his brother Frankie, who was 11, to a brain tumor. Sheridan says he and his family were haunted by Frankie’s death; writing the film with his daughters (who moved with him and his wife to New York City in the early 1980s) was cathartic.
“The Irish have too much of a preoccupation with death,” Sheridan says. “This film is about (all of us) moving away from this fascination.”
Bono smiles and nods in a agreement, “It’s the (Irish) rain that makes us melancholic.”
However, while the Irish enjoy their suffering, they balance it with a good party, Seezer says.
The score to the film reflects this spirit. In fact, Sheridan’s direction to Friday and Seezer was to “make fun of the film” and incorporate the true sounds of Irish immigrant music. The result is purely Irish, with the music adding bittersweet levity to devastating emotion.
In many ways, “In America” is a love letter to New York and its boundless possibilities. Sheridan smiles: “Sorry, I love America.”

The ‘In America’ soundtrack will be released on Warners in the U.K. and Ireland on November 21st. In the U.S.A. the album is on Atlantic Records, out on November 25th.
Track listing:
1. Time Enough For Tears
2. Some things you should wish for
3. All our troubles have flown away
4. Mr American Dream I
5. Fe Fi Fo Fum
6. Painting an Angel
7. Mr American Dream II
8. Hell’s Kitchen Suite
9. Happy Holiday
10. I’m an alien
11. Bad Blood
12. The whole world has had a bad day
13. Mateo goes home
14. The third wish (In America finale)
15. All our troubles have flown away finale
All tracks written by Friday/Seezer and performed by the Friday/Seezer Ensemble, except Time Enough For Tears which is Bono/Friday/Seezer, sung by Andrea Corr.
The ‘In America’ website has gone live at Fox Searchlight.

RTE Late Late Show, Tribute to Jim Sheridan, October 31, 2003
by Patrick Lynch

Gavin and Maurice were among the many guests who appeared on a two hour tribute show to film director Jim Sheridan on Ireland’s Late Late show on Friday night.

Gavin told host Pat Kenny they have worked with Sheridan since 1993’s In The Name of the Father. Gavin has known Sheridan since the late 70s, when Sheridan ran the Project Arts Centre in Dublin and gave the Virgin Prunes a stage to play on. Doing a spot on impression of the director he said Jim had approached them saying: “We’ve got forty million for The Boxer, but I want youse to do the score and if Hollywood don’t like it, sure I’ll pay yis anyway!”

Andrea Corr, with Maurice on piano accompaniment, performed a moving rendition of the inspiring Time Enough For Tears a song co written for the soundtrack of In America by Gavin Friday, Maurice Seezer and Bono.
Friday joined Andrea for the last verse and chorus of the song before talking about its origins with her, Sheridan and Kenny. Gavin also spoke of Project Arts Centre memories, and that the Virgin Prunes were much more interesting looking that their U2 counterparts. He also revealed how he would like to become a ‘Count Friday’, and drew a laugh from all when he said that he would get Bono to arrange it with the Pope.

Bono, who performed the song Falling at your feet with The Edge and Daniel Lanois, acknowledged how the new Irish are better at been themselves than trying to be like anyone else and how they now look to themselves more through the art of Sheridan’s movies. He also described Jim as a great bodyguard, someone who would encourage them through their failures or self-doubts.

TV maker Gary Jermyn described as a ‘poet laureate’ to the Dalkey network of friends and neighbours who came on to read a poem to Sheridan.

The Irish Independent covers the ‘In America’ premiere.
DIRECTOR Jim Sheridan last night decribed his new movie ‘In America’ which was premiered in Dublin as “a love poem to my family”.
Driving wind and rain meant a group of only 10 people turned out to greet those arriving at the Savoy Cinema but nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of the delighted director.
Accompanying Mr Sheridan last night were his wife Fran and daughters Tess (18) and Kirsten along with cast members Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine and sisters Sarah (12) and Emma (8) Bolger. Mr Sheridan described their performances as the best he had ever seen by child actors.
Pictures of the premiere.
Read the full article.

‘In America’ by Irish director Jim Sheridan has won the Grand Price for Best Film at the 30th International Filmfestival Flanders-Ghent, Belgium. Producer Arthur Lappin accepted the EUR25,000 award. (Yahoo report)

Gavin and Maurice wrote the film’s score.

Jim Sheridan’s new film (score by Friday/Seezer) was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival with a new title: “In America”.
Consolation Champs reviews the film.

Gavin and Maurice are currently in the studio working on a score for Jim Sheridan’s new film for 20th Century Fox. The film is roughly based on Sheridan’s own experiences a young man in New York. Working title: ‘New York Story’. (Although the IMDB has it listed as ‘East of Harlem’) Expected release for the film is September 2002.
Later this year they will be recording ‘Peter and the Wolf’ with the Friday/Seezer ensemble (Julia Palmer, Renaud Pion, Gary Hughes, Des Moore).