Riveting and raw, "In America" follows the Sheridan family as they seek to establish themselves in New York. With no money but full of love and ambition, Johnny (Paddy Considine), Sarah (Samantha Morton), Christy and Ariel (sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger), discover how hope can spring from tragedy and loss.
DIRECTOR JIM SHERIDAN:
How difficult was the decision to put such a personal story on paper?
It kind of came by increments. At first, it was a funny comedy of coming to New York. But I could never make it work and I never had an ending. Then I got my daughters to write an ending and they eliminated my character. It was all about going to school and kids and treat or treating. It was very funny, but it didn’t still have a theme. Eventually I put in the story of my dead brother and that kind of gave it a thematic unity. It took about eight years to get to there, and then a few years more to fix it and work with the girls. That was a difficult enough decision but I lived in a lodging house when I was a kid, we had lodgers, so privacy was never a big deal.
What kind of writing style developed between you and your daughters? Did you each work on separate scenes?
I wrote a draft and then I asked them to write their version. They both wrote 120 pages where they were the heroes. They completely changed the direction of the story and got the voiceover. I took that, with them, and we put it all into one script, putting back a little bit of the father, of course, as he was the hero. Then we spent a while doing that and then I put in my brother. Then we shot it and improvised scenes because we were missing stuff. It wasn’t fraught with any tension, really.
When you were working and cutting out scenes, who had the final say? Was that always you?
No, not really in the early stages, but in the shooting, I suppose. I was fairly easy because I knew I would shoot it anyway someday.
Were your daughters writers prior to doing this script with you?
One of them had made a film – Kristen. The other one had written a lot of stuff. They were more writers than I was when I was young. They were really into writing and reading. They were only 16 and 19, maybe 17 and 20, when we started writing this.
Did they head into writing and films because of your influence and your film career?
I think it was because they used to improvise in the Irish Art Center. They’d sit down and watch the shows and take the dance classes. That was our babysitting. They were always around it.
Did you put anything down on paper that you ended up removing because it was too personal?
None of that ever bothered me.
When you were whittling the script down, what was the most painful scene to leave out?
You always forget what you cut. There was a scene early on where we were arrested when we came over the border. We were fined $40 but we only had $38. It was really funny, but it kind of didn’t work in.
That really happened?
That was a true story.
That must have been such a scary time in your life.
I don’t know. We’re pretty easy-going – a bit Bohemian. Then the other scene was that I was in a show and my daughters were helping me to learn the words. I was just taking over for an actor for one night. I memorized the lines and then I got up on stage. I was doing it – and I was doing okay – then I forgot a line and one of my kids was prompting me. I looked out and there she was in the audience. I completely lost it, and messed up the whole First Act. I told the kids to go back into the lighting box. At the end of the show, I asked what were they doing there. They said, “Well, mommy’s in the hospital having the baby.” I said, “What do you mean?” “The baby came too soon.” This was seven weeks before the baby was due. They said, “Mom walked down four flights of stairs and over to the hospital. They said it was an emergency so she put us into a cab down to here and then went back into the hospital.” The ambulance took her up to Harlem. That was another true story we left out.
It’s amazing to hear where your life has taken you.
Yeah. And I did steal the air conditioner (laughing).
You actually dragged that heavy thing down the city streets?
Yes. You couldn’t make that up.
PAGE 2: Casting the Kids, Period Films, and 'Organic' Directing
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"In America" Photo Gallery
"In America" Credits and Websites
