Colin Farrell to star in $50 million Drogheda famine relief movie

Hollywood heartthrob and former bad boy Colin Farrell has been confirmed to play the lead role in a film which is due to start shooting in Drogheda and Turkey in October. Leonardo DiCaprio had been in the running for the role but the producers decided Farrell is more suitable.

Alongside Farrell in the film “Famine” which has a budget of $50 million, will be fellow Irish actors Saoirse Ronan and Sean Bean as well as renowned Turkish actors Burak Özçivit and Kenan Imirzalioglu.

Turkish scriptwriter Ömer Sarikaya got the idea for the movie during a visit to Drogheda four years ago when he saw the plaque on the wall of the Westcourt Hotel commemorating the humanitarian aid sent to Drogheda by Turkish Sultan Abdülmecid during the famine.

He’d never heard the story before and reckoned that neither had the vast majority of the millions of Irish and Turkish people around the world, so he set to work on a script. The resulting movie, which is to be directed by Irish director Mark Mahon, is expected to be in cinemas sometime next year.

Auditions for around 25 speaking roles and 200-300 extras are set to take place in August.