"Strength And Honor"
First Look
In Theaters December 7, 2007
"Strength And Honor" tells the story of an Irish-American boxer, Sean Kelleher (Michael Madsen), who accidentally kills his friend in the ring and promises his wife that he will never box again. However, years later, when he discovers that his only son is dying of the same hereditary heart disorder which has taken his wife, he is forced to break his promise in order to raise the substantial funds needed for the surgery that could save his son’s life. "Strength And Honor" is a human drama of love and friendship, sacrifice and devotion, set against the violent underground world of bare-knuckle boxing.
Awards for "Strength And Honor"
Best Picture - 2007 Boston Film Festival
STARRING: Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, Patrick Bergin, Richard Chamberlain
DIRECTOR: Mark Mahon
STUDIO: Slowhand Releasing
RATING: Not Rated (Language, violence)
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"Strength And Honor"
Behind The Scenes
"I've played a lot of dangerous, nefarious guys over the years, and I guess I liked the idea of playing someone with heart. I want to finally play a guy who rides off into the sunset with the girl," says Michael Madsen, who brings Sean Kelleher’s character to life in Maron Pictures’ "Strength And Honor." As a man whose life falls apart after the death of his wife, Kelleher’s showdown with fate is a perfect match for the intense and engaging well-known “tough guy,” in a rare performance displaying his sensitive side.
For director Mark Mahon, who also wrote and produced "Strength And Honor", it was the culmination of a lifelong dream. “Despite winning an award in Hollywood a couple of years ago for one of my other projects (FREEDOM WITHIN THE HEART), nobody would give me a chance, so as a writer/director I was forced to become a producer,” says Mark.
Mahon won the coveted Hollywood ‘Best Screenplay Unproduced’ Award in 2005 at the International Action on Film Ceremony in Los Angeles and was courted by some of the major U.S. studios for a spell. One point that became very evident was that the making of FREEDOM WITHIN THE HEART was going to be expensive and the studios had reservations about the costs. Mahon knew that the only way he could make things happen was to take charge himself, so he set up his own production company, Maron Pictures.
“I discussed the project with my solicitor, friend and now Executive Producer, Olann Kelleher, as to how we could get this project off the ground.” The problem that then presented itself was how they would raise the twenty million for his first production. “Prior to setting up Maron Pictures I was developing property, where I would buy sites, get planning and build the properties. I reckoned that film producing is effectively the same thing, except instead of dealing with sites, I would be dealing with scripts,” says Mahon. After exhausting all possibilities, Mark and Olann decided with proper investigation and planning that they could make a movie for approximately half of this figure and so the writer developed a script with the budget constraints in mind. In December 2005, he started writing "Strength And Honor". He knew initially what the underlining theme was going to be, that of overcoming the odds, a theme which has run through his own life.
After meeting Michael Madsen, Mark had a chat with him about his idea for the film. Michael wanted to see the script. After completing its ninth draft, Mark personally dropped it off to Madsen’s manager. It didn’t take long for Michael to ring the Irishman and tell him that he loved the screenplay and wanted to do it.
At first glance, the film seems to revolve around the world of boxing in Ireland but digging deeper, the feel-good movie turns into a magical experience where the audience will be left with a sense of deep satisfaction. In the film, Madsen plays Sean Kelleher, an Irish-American forced to break the last promise he made to his dying wife in order to save their son’s life. His decision to return to boxing and fight for what he knows is right is a powerful story of good overcoming all. “I was lucky to work with Quentin Tarantino in my early days, and I say the same about Mark today,” says Madsen. “So much of any picture is down to the writing, and I see in Mark the kind of talent for telling a story that's really rare to find.”
What most intrigued Madsen – in addition to playing the good guy – was his character’s internal battle with himself. It is not just about fighting the devil incarnate in Smasher O’Driscoll (Vinnie Jones), but the demon that plagues his own soul.
