Dennis Lehane has been speaking in Dublin this evening about the US remake of Love/Hate, which he is hoping to see greenlit within the next two months.
Lehane, who wrote the likes of The Drop, Gone, Baby Gone and Mystic River, described how he initially felt there was no way of bringing Love/Hate to the United States given the pre-conceived notions of Irish people.
However, he describes driving around Hawaii and the area of Oahu, which has more in common with the rundown areas of depicted in Stuart Carolan’s drama than you might think.
“Nobody knows this Ireland, that’s the appeal (of Love/Hate),” he says.
“We thought you were sitting around by the hearth, drinking Guinness and singing Danny Boy. This is Trainspotting meets GoodFellas. I said, “you can’t do this in America.””
Lehane’s mind was changed in an instant and he described how enthusiastic people were to back it.
“I went past this part of Hawaii called Oahu, which is really poor. It’s been completely displaced. Poverty’s crazy, drug abuse is crazy, and I went, “that’s Love/Hate!”
“It works. When I pitched it, people went crazy. Either we’re going to be greenlit in the next two months (or it’s not going to happen).”
He’s in it for the long haul, too.
“I know where that thing’s going for five years and if they take it away from me I’m going to be very sad.”
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