belief in love and a desire not to let the ghosts of the past stand in their way. Cast Shari Albert as Susan Maxine Bahns as Audrey Catherine Bolz as Mrs. McMullen Connie Britton as Molly McMullen Edward Burns as Barry (Finbar) McMullen Peter Johansen as Marty Jennifer Jostyn as Leslie Michael McGlone as Patrick McMullen Elizabeth McKay as Ann Jack Mulcahy as Jack McMullen Production Edward Burns wrote the screenplay in the spring of 1993 while working as a production assistant for Entertainment Tonight, where he worked for cameraman Dick Fisher, who later produced and edited the film. Burns' own Irish Catholic background fed into the screenplay, and film was mostly shot in Burns' real-life family home, a house in the Valley Stream community of Long Island, New York. Shooting took place on weekends over an eight-month period in New York. The film, which was shot on 16mm film, originally cost only $25,000, essentially the cost of raw stock and processing. Burns saved money by placing an advertisement in Backstage magazine looking for Irish-American actors willing to work for free. When Robert Redford was at the Entertainment Tonight studios for an interview, Burns approached him at the elevator and gave him a copy of the film, asking Redford to watch it. Redford later extended an invitation to show it at the Sundance Film Festival. The showing led to a distribution deal, which included an additional $213,000 for post production work and to get the rights for the Sarah McLachlan song "I Will Remember You", which was added over the closing credits. Reception When it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival, it was picked up for distribution by 20th Century Fox and grossed $10.4 million at the US and Canadian box office. It grossed $19.3 million worldwide and, based on a cost-to-return ratio, it was the most profitable film of the year. According to Tom Rothman, it was also the first film ever released by Fox Searchlight Pictures, which Rothman started for 20th Century Fox, in order to release Independent, Dramedy, Foreign and Arthouse films. Edward Burns was called "The New Woody Allen" and even continued to make Woody Allen-esque films afterwards. Awards Sundance Film Festival 1995 — Grand Jury Prize Independent Spirit Award 1995 — Best First Feature Deauville Film Festival 1995 — Jury Special Prize (Edward Burns) References External links 1990s American films