Chris O’Dowd’s ‘Moone Boy’ To Premiere In Boyle | The Irish Film & Television Network

The first two episodes of the Sky 1 series, which was filmed in Boyle and at Ardmore Studios, Co Wicklow, earlier this year, will be screened on August 11 at Lough Key Forest Park. The six-part series will then be broadcast on Sky next month.

The Boyle screening will be open to the public with up to 500 locals invited to take part in a “special family fun day”. O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, The IT Crowd), young actor David Rawle and other cast members will attend the screening.

O’Dowd said: “It will the proudest moment of my working life to premiere ‘Moone Boy’ in my hometown of Boyle. Watching people watching themselves depicted on the big screen fills me with equal measures of joy and fear. I'll be wearing runners in case things get ugly. Up the West!”

Tickets for the screening will be available free of charge from the Una Bhan shop, located at King House in Boyle, on a first come first served basis from this week.

As previously reported by IFTN, O’Dowd and director Ian Fitzgibbon (Death of a Superhero) will begin production on series two of ‘Moone Boy’ on August 13, two days after the hometown screening.

The shoot will also take place in Boyle and at Ardmore and is expected to last for seven to nine weeks with Ireland’s Grand Pictures once again co-producing the series alongside Britain’s Baby Cow Productions, Sprout Films, Hod Cod Productions and Sky.

Nick Murphy (Hideaways, The Running Mate) and O’Dowd will again write the series, which is a loosely semi-autobiographical tale about O’Dowd’s time growing up in Boyle.

Set in a small town in Ireland in 1989, ‘Moone Boy’ follows the youngest member of the Moone family, 11-year-old Martin Moone (Rawle), and his imaginary friend, Sean Murphy, played by O'Dowd. Martin's imagination comes into play both in his childish drawings, which come alive through animation, and in the ridiculous schemes he comes up with, against Sean's better judgement.

With Sean's help, Martin negotiates life as the youngest in a chaotic, scatter-brained family helmed by Debra (Deirdre O’Kane) and Liam (Peter McDonald). Johnny Vegas, Steve Coogan, Simon Delaney, Maeve Higgins, Ruth McCabe, and Norma Sheahan also appear in the show.

Commissioned by Sky’s head of comedy, Lucy Lumsden, series one of ‘Moone Boy’ comprises of six 30-minute episodes and is directed by Declan Lowney (Little Britain, Father Ted, Help, Happiness, Cold Feet) and produced by Ted Dowd (Gavin and Stacey, Nighty Night, Saxondale). Executive Producers are Henry Normal, Gina Carter, Paul Donovan and Chris O'Dowd. It was adapted from O’Dowd’s own comedy short for Sky 1 in the 2010 Little Crackers series.

Kilkenny-based ‘Cartoon Saloon’ (Skunk Fu, The Secret of Kells) designed and supplied the animated elements for ‘Moone Boy’.

BREAKING NEWS

Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Awards Accepting Entries up to 7th June

‘A Nightingale Falling’ to Start Filming in Offaly this July

Tickets Now on Sale for John Ford Ireland Film Symposium 6-9th June

‘Ripper Street’ Filming Moves to North Great George's Street

FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

Making the Cut....Career Advice from VFX-artist Keith Brett

Conor Masterson talks filming 'The Frames: In The Deep Shade’

Free Industry Newsletter

Subscribe to IFTN's industry newsletter - it's free and e-mailed directly to your inbox every week.
Click here to sign up.