ST. PAT'S 4 SIGN MOVIE DEAL
Hollywood insider, Ez Kidder, has learned that I-town's own Radical Quartet, the blood-hurling, be freckled crew that invaded an Army recruiting station several years back, have signed a contract with New Line Productions to play themselves in an upcoming film about their controversial "act of conscience." Unconfirmed sources have reported that veteran Hollywood actor Harrison Ford will appear in a cameo as radical Jesuit priest, Daniel Berrigan.
In an exclusive interview with Ez, Danny Byrnes, the roguish self-styled 'comedian' of the group joked around about his motives for making the film.
"Hey people will say that we're doing it for the money. Others will probably say we just want more publicity. Personally, I just want to break into the movies. Hey, do you really think there's a future in chaining yourself to Polaris submarines, throwing fake blood around recruiting offices, spending hours in untelevised courtrooms or being sent to prison? I want to see where all this goes -- maybe I'll get to do a love scene with Uma Thurman some day." Byrnes snickered and rolled his eyes.
The St. Patrick's Day Four first broke into the news when they turned a predictably uneventful anti-war protest at Pyramid Mall in Ithaca into a media circus, locking themselves in the Triphammer Army recruiting station and splattering, among other government property, a U.S. flag with fake blood. After a much publicized trial, the Four spent several months in various federal prisons. Since the recruiting station incident, the Grady's, a sister act with a long track record of civil disobedience, have participated in a host of other protests, including an unruly demonstration at a local state senator's office for which they still face prosecution.
"They like to think of themselves as the Doublemint Twins of mayhem," Danny Byrnes kidded. "The studio wanted to get Julia Roberts to play Clare but, hey, you can't play the part without the freckles."
A spokesperson for director, Milos Forman, told KidderNews that, "The St. Patrick's Day Four are like the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid of protest. Nobody is doing this stuff anymore. Protesters today spent all their time making puppets, or they put on ski masks and break a few windows, get in the evening news, then spend the next 20 years regaling their buddies about their radical antics. Like Butch and Sundance, the St, Pat's 4 continue to do this 60's thing long after it's lost its relevance, they're throwbacks to an earlier, less cynical time. And that's interesting in itself."
"Maybe I'll get to meet Julia Roberts anyway," Danny Byrnes, fair haired boy of Ithaca protest winked as he flashed the peace symbol.
Comments invited at: ezrakidder@gmail.com - Peace, Ezra at 7:12 AM
