Former Dalton Park resident Terry McMahon will take his place alongside Fatal Attraction’s Glenn Close and Ocean’s Eleven’s Don Cheadle in the National Convention Centre on February 11, after his film Charlie Casanova was nominated for four Irish Film and Television Awards this week.
Terry (41 ) has already collected a screenwriter’s award at the Cannes Film Festival, while the film won Best First Film at the Galway Film Fleadh and the DMV Festival in Washington DC.
Terry’s picture is nominated for best film - along with The Guard, Charlie Nobbs, and Stella Days - best screenplay, best director, and best editing.
“They’re [the IFTAs] on in the Convention Centre, which we’ve rented from NAMA for the night. I’ll actually be up for an award in a building I part own!” said Terry.
The movie is about a ruling-class sociopath who hits a working class girl in a hit-and-run, and uses a deck of cards to decide a future.
“The movie’s tagline is: ‘You don’t know him, but he already hates you’,” Terry explained.
“It’s a metaphor for the state we’re in. He drags everyone down the toilet with him,” said Terry.
This area of politics would be very close to Terry.
“Why are people dying because of scumbags who have taken power and done nothing with it?” he wonders.
“The marginalised, the poor, the vulnerable, the weak, the working classs. Anybody without a modicum of power,” he suggests are the put-upons in modern Ireland.
“Our country is totally at war and we’re doing nothing. Fine Gael and Labour are totally enslaved by the IMF. We can afford to spend billions to prop up bondholders, but not manage to keep a few special needs assistants in work. It’s disgraceful,” he stated.
“Personally I’m ashamed I have done nothing...they’re selling our children’s future down the toilet,” he lamented.
Currently Terry is working on an original screenplay called Oliver Twisted, which he described as: “More Dick than Dickens!”, and a number of screenplays for Paddy Breathneach.
Terry earned his screenwriting spurs writing over 100 episodes of Fair City, after having played a murderer in just 12 episodes.
He has a Masters degree in screenwriting from the IADT in Dun Laoghaire, and has worked with stars such as Darryl Hannah, Jonathan Pryce, and Paul Bettany.
Terry is married to Lisa, a trainee midwife, and is dad to Sam (16 ), Katie Jo (10 ), and Luis (4 ). He is a former pupil of St Mary’s CBS, and is brother to Glenn and Carol.
