Blest Souls

''Blest Souls'' is an unfinished epic historical romance film by Michael Cimino. Set in the 1920s during the Irish War of Independence, the film was to follow the life of revolutionary leader Michael Collins, and his secret love affair with Hazel Lavery. It was intended as Cimino's follow-up to ''The Sicilian'' (1987), another period production with biographical elements set in a European country. The first iteration of the screenplay was written by Eoghan Harris but, after disagreements, Cimino brought on Robert Bolt to help develop a new draft. Sean Bean, at the time a relatively unknown stage actor, was set to portray Collins.

Controversy regarding a film being made about Collins was generated from the start, and while reports differ as to why it was ultimately cancelled, co-producer Joann Carelli and assistant director Michael Stevenson claimed it was due to threats against the production that were made to Columbia Pictures. Despite this, a film on the subject, entitled ''Michael Collins'' (1996), was made, but without the involvement of any members of this production.

Cast

* Sean Bean as Michael Collins, an Irish revolutionary
* Tilda Swinton as Hazel Lavery, Collins' love interest

Production

Development and writing

In early 1987, Michael Cimino agreed to direct an epic saga chronicling the life of the Irish rebel Michael Collins, based on a screenplay by Eoghan Harris. The film was backed by Nelson Entertainment and would have re-teamed Cimino with British producer Barry Spikings, who had co-produced ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978). David Puttnam of Columbia Pictures gave Cimino the greenlight to begin shooting. The project reportedly generated controversy from the start, drawing criticism from both Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. Northern Irish Protestants were particularly vocal, believing that Collins was less a national hero than a terrorist, and that the film should not be made.

Upon disagreement with Harris over Collins as a character, his draft was heavily rewritten by Cimino with the assistance of Robert Bolt, which the two developed at his home in London over the course of three months. A production representative noted that Bolt, who at the time had recently suffered a stroke, was Their script, retitled as ''Blest Souls'', was described subsequently by the ''Los Angeles Times'' as

Pre-production and casting

Cimino spent countless hours reading the work of Irish poet W. B. Yeats for inspiration and to better . He began location scouting in Edinburgh, Liverpool and in Ireland, accompanied by assistant director Michael Stevenson, who had previously worked on the productions of '' Heaven's Gate'' (1980), '' Year of the Dragon'' (1985), and ''The Sicilian'' (1987). While on a recce, Cimino and a team of production managers gained permission from the Irish Parliament to use their army for the production. Cimino also "nudged" the Liverpool City Council into making a modest investment—£200,000 a year for two years—in municipal film finance. As Liverpool's film liaison officer Paul Mingard recalled, there were plans in place to close off a street for a month, and Cimino had

Cimino's producer/collaborator Joann Carelli found the relatively unknown Sean Bean and Tilda Swinton to play the leads. Other actors who had been considered for the Collins role included Mickey Rourke, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and Robert Redford. Irish rock musicians Bono and Bob Geldof were additionally hired early on during pre-production to compose the score.

Filming and cancellation

Principal photography was due to begin in September 1987. On 1 August, Cimino shot rehearsal footage of Bean and Swinton at Burghley House in Lincolnshire, but on 18 August, the project was . By this time, Nelson had spent $2 million on pre-production costs alone. According to Carelli, the cancellation did not occur as a result of as reported at the time, but rather political pressure:

This news took Cimino by complete surprise. Carelli, nor Stevenson, were aware of the real cause considering Columbia's apparent satisfaction with the script, and since it was highly unlikely that anyone from the studio could have been worried about the weather in England and Ireland in August. Bolt later admitted he didn't know what came of the project or their script: Afterwards, Nelson executives assured Cimino that they were going to store the ''Blest Souls'' sets in readiness for a later start date if he took on an alternative project in its place. The film, entitled ''Santa Ana Wind'', was not produced either. A separate project about Collins written by Neil Jordan later resurfaced and was made into a film in 1996 starring Neeson as Collins.

Notes

References

{{Michael Cimino

1980s unfinished films
Cancelled films
Unproduced screenplays
Films directed by Michael Cimino
Films with screenplays by Michael Cimino
Films with screenplays by Robert Bolt
Films set in the 1910s
Films set in the 1920s
Films set in Ireland
Films shot in Liverpool
Films shot in Lincolnshire
Films shot in England
Films shot in Ireland
Irish War of Independence films