EMILY Watson, an Oscar nominee this year for her first film, Breaking The Waves, took a break from co-starring with Daniel Day-Lewis in Jim Sheridan's The Boxer, now shooting in Dublin, to make a flying visit to Cannes this week. The news in Cannes was that she will he back in Ireland in August to co-star with Brenda Fricker in Paul Unwin's Crucible Of Fools, to be shot in the west. The screenplay is by Frank Deasy, who wrote The Grass Arena and Captives, and it will be produced by Hilary McLoughlin and Judy Counihan with David Collins as executive producer.
Former RTE director Declan Lowney, who now directs Father Ted for Channel 4, is to make his feature film debut with Banjaxed, a Hugh Leonard screenplay to be shot on Irish locations in October, it was announced in Cannes. Mia Farrow, who starred in the film of Leonard's Widow's Peak, will take the leading role.
Joining the Quinn brothers - actor Aidan, director Paul and lighting cameraman Declan - on their fraternal project, This Is My Father will be actors James Caan, John Cusack and Stephen Rea. The project, which starts shooting next month, will be made in Montreal and Ireland. An Irish-French co-production, it will be produced by musician and broadcaster Philip King of Hummingbird Films, and Nicolas Cleremont, with Kieran Corrigan of Dublin-based Merlin Films as executive producer.