New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet

A semi-autobiographical tale based on writer-director Jim Sheridan's own life experiences, East of Harlem will hit theaters on a very limited basis just in time for Academy Awards® consideration. The film will be distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures and is a drama/romance about an Irish immigrant, set in modern times.

Sheridan, the Oscar®-nominated writer-director of My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father, worked on a $10 million budget through his own production company, Hell's Kitchen. The film is loosely based on his own life story, and tells the tale of Johnny and Sarah, who emigrate, with their two young daughters, from Ireland to New York City so that Johnny can pursue his dream of becoming an actor. They wind up living in a run-down apartment but, using their resourcefulness, resolve to make the very most of their new life. Sheridan has described the film as a romance about starting over.

On a biographical note, the film will most closely follow an early stage in Sheridan's career when he moved from Ireland to New York to open the Irish Arts Theater. Though it would seem that such a theater would get strong support from the large Irish community in the city, the director's choice of subject matter (which was as challenging then as it has been since he moved to film) began to create problems for him in pretty short order. Just as Sheridan struggled to overcome these obstacles, we can likely expect Johnny's story to follow a similar path.

Irish actor Paddy Considine will take on the role of Johnny, while past Academy Award®-nominee Samantha Morton will play Sarah. Gladiator's Djimon Hounsou, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in Amistad, will play a troubled Harlem-based artist who befriends the family.

Currently, the distributor has plans to release East of Harlem wider in January, but, of course, much of that will hinge on the film's quality and the attention it receives during end-of-year awards. Either way, it does seem to be one of the major holiday entries in the race for Oscar® glory. (Kim Hollis/BOP)

Vital statistics for In America Main Cast Paddy Considine, Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou, Emma Bolger, Sarah Bolger Supporting Cast Randall Carlton, Adrian Martinez, Bernadette Quigley, Michael Sean Tighe Director Jim Sheridan Screenwriter Jim Sheridan Distributor Fox Searchlight Trailer Click Here for Trailer Official Site http://www.foxsearchlight.com/inamerica/ Rating PG-13 Running Time 107 minutes Screen Count 11 Awards Awards page for In America Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture

Comparison films for In America
Title	Date	Opening	Adjusted Opening	Screens	PSA	Adj PSA	Total BO	Adjusted Total	Mult
In the Name of the Father	2/25/94	1.96	2.89	669	2930.00	4165.2	25.10	37.09	6.21
My Left Foot	3/2/90	1.03	1.47	397	2594.00	3565.2	14.04	20.06	9.03