Bringing Hollywood Here

Behind many of the big-budget productions that have recently graced our shores is Ned Dowd, a producer who has had a truly diverse career. Paul Farren learns how he went from professional ice hockey player to executive producer on King Arthur.

Luck of the Puck
Ever since the Kalem Film Company first set up its gear in Killarney, Ireland has managed to lure Hollywood productions to its shores on regular basis. The most recent (and biggest) of these is of course King Arthur, a film that provided a lot of gossip as well as employment last year. One of the people we can thank for this is executive producer Ned Dowd, who is the man behind four of the recent big-budget productions to shoot here: The Count of Monte Cristo, Reign of Fire, Veronica Guerin and, of course, King Arthur.

I've been asked to interview him about his involvement with the Tiernan McBride International Screenwriting Award, and I do – eventually – but he man's career path is a distraction, and impressive to the point of incurring seething jealousy. He has rubbed shoulders with a long list of talented people, as you will see, but he also played Ogie Ogilthorpe in one of my favourite sport movies, Slap Shot. So what is the first step on the road to being a successful Hollywood producer? Professional ice hockey, it would seem.

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 99