| 28 April 2024 | The Irish Film & Television Network | |
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| Although set entirely in New York, principal photography for the €30m comedy feature ‘The Honeymooners’ was shot on locations throughout Dublin and surrounding areas. Consulting with Irish co-producers Hells Kitchen International and the Irish Film Board, IFTN investigates what attracted this major studio production to the Irish capital. Released across Ireland this week, ‘The Honeymooners’ stars Cedric The Entertainer as Ralph, a New York City bus driver who dreams of making it big. Together Ralph and his best buddy, Ed (played by Mike Epps), dream up various get rich quick schemes that continuously end in disaster. Ralph’s wife Alice (Gabrielle Union) has her sights set on the simple life and wants to buy a local fixer upper duplex, but when Ralph blows all their savings on another one of his doomed projects, she threatens divorce. Finally, Ralph pins all his hopes on a greyhound he’s found in a dumpster and enters the racing dog into the New Jersey derby… Watching ‘The Honeymooners’ on the big screen is like playing a really tough game of spot-the-difference. It’s hard to believe Dublin could masquerade as the Big Apple but the production team have quite convincingly pulled it off. Some of Dublin’s main city centre thoroughfare’s like O’Connell Street, Amiens Street, Parnell Street and John Rogerson’s Quay were used for key shots in the film and are unrecognisable as an Irish location to even the most watchful eye. A fleet of New York City buses, yellow cabs and other American “action” vehicles were shipped across the Atlantic for major street scenes. Shops and restaurants were dressed with New York style awnings; MAC trucks were used to block out buildings; traffic in the city centre was reversed with the assistance of the Gardai and DublinCity Council and a major city centre driving route was filmed with a Garda escort. More key scenes set in the New Jersey Greyhound Stadium, some of the most dramatic in the film, were shot at Shelbourne Park in Dublin 4, sufficiently disguised with Americanised advertisements and signs. As well as filming in Ardmore Studios, other scenes were shot in the Independent Newspaper old print factory and the ESB station at Turlough Hill in Wicklow. together on ‘Law’s of Attraction’ (2003) starring Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore which also filmed New York scenes on the streets of Dublin. Speaking of his experiences on the ‘Laws of Attraction’ shoot, producer David Friendly said; “It's certainly comparable if not less expensive [to shoot in Ireland]. I don't like "cheaper" because that implies lesser quality - it's "less expensive." There's also a great crew base in Ireland. They've got a wonderful group of people that are really passionate about filmmaking and there's a great studio there - Ardmore Studios.” ‘The Honeymooners’ seven week shoot began in Ireland during August 2004 with 213 (out of a total 250) Irish crew working on the production. 20 Head’s of Department were Irish (see below) and producers benefited from the Section 481 tax breaks. Out of the €30,376,994 total spend on ‘The Honeymooners’, €9,999,9913 qualified for the Section 481 incentive and the production was finished on time and on budget. A significant incentive for the overseas producers was the new Film Dublin Partnership that was officially launched by the Irish Film Board in September 2004. This scheme has designated a film liaison at all of the Film Dublin partner organisations who understands the urgency and importance of helping film projects solve any locations issues. It allows for early consultation, coordination and communication on projects that need multiple agency assistance and focuses on the overall smooth running of the production. Lead partners in the Film Dublin are An Garda Siochana, Dublin City Council, Dublin City Business Association, Dublin Tourism, Screen Producers Ireland, The Department of Arts Sport & Tourism, The Irish Film Board, Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. Other associate partners include Coillte Teoranta, Dublin Airport Authority, Dublin Bus, Irish Rail, The Irish Aviation Authority, Waterways Ireland and Dublin Zoo. Speaking about filming ‘The Honeymooners’ in Ireland, producer Andrew Lowe said “ Hells Kitchen International are very pleased to have worked with Paramount Pictures on ‘The Honeymooners’. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work again with David Friendly and are very proud of the Irish cast and crew, who have proven themselves to be very professional. Working with Film Dublin enabled us to build on Ireland’s reputation as a film friendly location.” The Irish Film Board’s Film Commissioner Naoise Barry said “The Film Dublin Partnership is a welcome addition to Ireland’s production sector. Maintaining access to Dublin as a production base is key to attracting mobile international film and television projects to Ireland. It is wonderful to see the film industry and the city working together in a coordinated way. I look forward to similar alliances being forged in towns and cities across the country.” crew, locations and facilities to filmmakers across the globe. Amongst others, future international productions in the pipeline include Working Title’s adaptation of the Marian Keyes novel ‘Rachel’s Holiday’ and ‘Eternally Yours’ to be produced by The Little Film Company with Irish producer John McDonnell. For further info about shooting in Ireland and the Film Dublin Partnership contact the Irish Film Board Location Services on 091 561 398 or by email at locations@filmboard.ie. Irish Crew - Heads of Department: ‘The Honeymooners’ is released nationwide through UIP from 2 nd of September 2005. Check out the trailer for 'The Honeymooners' in the IFTN Preview Theatre |
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