Jordan’s Film Fears

Neil** Jordan** says he fears for the future of the Irish movie industry, because there are no young directors coming along trying to take his place. Currently plugging his adaptation of the Graham Green novel The End of the Affair, the director believes there is only himself,** Jim Sheridan **and **Pat O'Connor **currently making interesting Irish films that are also box office successes. He says, "We should be getting booted out by younger and more aggressive talents. But we don't seem to be as yet, which is a pity. A lot of Irish movies have been made that haven't been seen or released. There's been some good ones, but I don't think there's a thing as yet that you could call new Irish cinema. I think we've still got a lot to learn." But though Jordan does his bit to foster new talent, spending four years on the Film Board before pressure of work caused him to step down in 1998, we're not remotely convinced by his argument. Among the younger talent emerging from Ireland - who seem to have by-passed Jordan's attention - are Thaddeus O'Sullivan, whose Ordinary Decent Criminal is out this year and stars Kevin Spacey and Linda Fiorentino, Pat Murphy, who is finishing up on Nora(a biopic of James Joyce's lover, Nora Barnacle) with Ewan McGregor and Paddy Breathnach, director of the critically acclaimed I Went Down, who's currently shooting Never Better, a comedy with Rachel Leigh Cook and Alan Rickman.