Saipan filmmaker told he was going to open old wounds'

"The producer of the upcoming film Saipan was told he was mad to work on a movie about the row between Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane at the 2002 World Cup, and that he was just going to open old wounds. Saipan tells the story of the infamous fallout between the Irish football manager McCarthy and his star player Keane ahead of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan 23 years ago."

"Speaking at a gala screening of the movie at Belfast Film Festival, Trevor Birney said he was told friendships that have never been the same again since 2002 are going to be challenged again. Eanna Hardwicke stars as Roy Keane (Jim Corr Photography) Even as a five-year-old, one of the movie's stars, Eanna Hardwicke, said he distinctly remembers the heightened emotions in Ireland after the clash between Keane and McCarthy at pre-tournament training in Saipan, a small island in the Pacific Ocean."

"He added that the people who go on from your city and do amazing things, like Roy did, hold a huge kind of power over your imagination. While he has not met the former Manchester United captain, Hardwicke said every second person in Cork has a story about him, making it a daunting role to play."

Saipan recounts the infamous 2002 fallout between Irish football manager Mick McCarthy and star player Roy Keane during pre-World Cup training on Saipan. The production faced warnings that revisiting the dispute would reopen old wounds and challenge friendships strained since 2002. Actor Eanna Hardwicke, cast as Keane, recalled childhood memories of the national emotional response and described the role as daunting given Keane's local celebrity. Hardwicke met co-star Steve Coogan, who portrays McCarthy, and noted the imaginative power of hometown figures who achieve major success. The film aims to portray personal memories, local reactions, and the lingering impact of the Saipan incident.

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