For any of you out there who haven’t seen Townies the short film by Mike O’Dea then here it is in all its original You Tube glory. Made back in 2007 it began production as a full movie but was forced to closed down after the Police busted them for filming a mob hit scene in south Boston without the official permits. The director took that footage and incorporated it into a forty-five minute short film. There were plans to re-shoot the entire film under a new title this year and Mike O’Dea has just announced that this will be happening. As Mike said on his official Facebook page
“I’m gearing up to begin filming my latest feature film ‘Hustler’. It’s about a Boston drug dealer who loses drugs and guns that belong to the mob. He has only 2 days to get it all back”
Country: USA Release Date: 15 August 2009 Production Co: Shamrock Films
Director: Mike O’Dea Writer: Mike O’Dea
Starring: Mike O’Dea, Jimmy Burke, Frannie Bryne, Michael Foot, Wade Gallagher, Johnny Hickey
Townies opens to the sound of London Irish celtic rockers The Bible Code Sundays singing ‘Honour Of The Gael’, a tune the band wrote specifically for the film. It is set in the town of Charlestown an Irish-American neighbourhood where the locals refer to themselves as townies. It is the oldest district in Boston and has always been known as an Irish area. In common with most cities now though since the late 1980s Charlestown has changed dramatically. The yuppies have moved in and gentrification has overtaken much of the area, as it has in much of Boston, but it still maintains a strong working class Irish American population and ‘Townie’ attitude.
After being released from prison, the son of an Irish mafia boss returns to his home town. Mickey Callaghan dreams of getting out of Boston and relocating to Florida but visions of palm trees vanish in gun smoke when he’s immediately surrounded by his Charlestown gangster crew and all of their problems. Murder and revenge is taking brother for brother and friend for friend until the vicious circle of bloody violence finally comes around to him.
(newspaper report about the filming of Townies)
CHARLESTOWN, Mass.-A handgun, gun shots and a bleeding victim; sounds like the scene of a crime, but when police responded to the incident, they discovered that it was all part of an act. State Police rushed to the scene for a report of shots fired at Paul Revere Park. When they got there, officers found a man, a fake gun and another with fake blood on his arm. “As I was coming up to him, he did pull his right hand out and saw a bit of his weapon,” Trooper Robert Malloy, State Police Marine Unit, said. “My adrenaline was pumping pretty good man,” Wade Gallagher, actor, said. “It was quite a rush.” Wade Gallagher is not a killer. He’s an actor who was filming a mob movie called ‘Townies’. Paul Revere Park was not an actual crime scene, but witnesses saw the gun and the blood they ran screaming for help. “It’s an actual gun and it fires blanks,” Mike O’Dea, Film Director, said. “Nothing actually comes out of the chamber.” Here’s the problem, O’Dea never told the city or police they were filming a violent mob scene in broad daylight. They did however post a sign on a car near the scene. “Well, we don’t have any money for permits, so you gotta do what you gotta do to get the movie done,” O’Dea said. “So, we took a risk and paid the price for it.” The actors were not arrested; however they are expected to face a judge later this month to face charges of disorderly conduct. They say that it was all worth it. “It’s supposed to be the most realistic mob movie ever made, so I guess we proved that today didn’t we,” O’Dea said. – – 2007 Sunbeam Television Corp.
Soundtrack:
Follow Michael O’Dea (actor and Director)
The Top Ten Irish Mobster Movies Here * Twenty Questions With Mike O’Dea Here * Irish Organised Crime Forum Here * The Irish-American Gangster In Film Here
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