- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: ANDY GARCIA TALKS ABOUT NEW FILM "NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN"
- Date: 9th September 1996
- Summary: (RTV - ACCESS ALL) LUMET (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) SAYING, "HE'S ONE OF THE FEW ACTORS WHO HAS GREAT PASSION AND GREAT COMPLEXITY BUT YOU FEEL A BRAIN, INTELLECT WORKING. HE'S BRIGHT, YOU FEEL SOMETHING BRIGHT ABOUT HIM AND IF HE'S GOING TO BE THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF NEW YORK, HE BETTER BE BRIGHT. ANDY WAS THE MOST NATURAL CHOICE, MY FIRST CHOICE" GARCIA (SOUNDBITE EN
- Embargoed: 24th September 1996 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVADS2HPM4OOT7TRCDNYTE4T2UN8
- Story Text: Andy Garcia hits British screens again this week in his latest film "Night Falls on Manhattan".
Garcia plays an idealistic street cop turned D.A. (District Attorney) in the New York District of Manhattan.
It's the latest film to be directed by Sidney Lumet, known for his directorial debut "Twelve Angry Men" with Henry Fonda and later "Dog Day Afternoon" starring Al Pacino.
In a career stretching from 1957, Lumet has been nominated for more than 50 Academy Awards.
The director returns to his favourite genre for this film.
Lumet also wrote the screenplay for "Night Falls on Manhattan" after adapting the novel "Tainted Evidence" by Robert Daley.
"Night Falls on Manhattan" is Lumet's 40th film and the 29th to be shot entirely in New York City.
He says it's his favourite kind of film to direct.
"There's a certain world that I know very well," he said. "I know police life, so it's a sound that I feel very comfortable with, very familiar with. When I have that kind of relationship to it, it's simply easier and faster." Cuban-born Garcia plays Sean Casey, a D.A. who is thrust into the limelight after prosecuting a high profile, headline-making case.
As he moves deeper into the criminal justice system, Casey's world is torn apart by personal and professional betrayal after discovering a crime and cover-up among those closest to him.
Through the political deals and compromises that come with his new job, Casey learns his ideals are unrealistic. The system forces him to choose between loyalty and morality.
Lumet said he targetted Garcia for Casey because he was able to fulfill the needs of the role.
"He's one of the few actors who has great passion and great complexity but you feel a brain, intellect working," he said.
Garcia said his main reason for doing the film was to work with Sidney Lumet.
He said Lumet has a "tremendous level of passion and focus" for what he believed a film to be and there was a sense of truth in his work.
The film also stars Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, best known for his roles in "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Mr Holland's Opus".
Dreyfuss plays Sam Vigoda, a liberal defense attorney who opposes Casey in the courtroom.
Lena Olin, who starred in "Mr Jones" with Richard Gere and "Havana", plays Peggy Lindstrom, a colleague of Vigoda's drawn into a romance with Casey -- despite conflincting professional agendas.
Ron Leibman is District Attorney Morgenstern, who supports Casey and grooms him to be his successor.
Ian Holm rounds out the principal cast as Sean's father, Liam Casey, a veteran cop whose involvement in the case launches his son's career and triggers its downfall.
"Night Falls on Manhattan" opens in Britain on Friday (September 5). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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