Q&A with "The Narrows"scribe

From The Brooklyn Eagle
By Brad Lockwood, 6.14.07

The Borough of Writers:
Interview :Tim McLoughlin

excerpted ~
BE: This is a good time to be you — your first novel, “Heart of the Old Country,” has just been made into a film.

TM: Yes, filming just wrapped last week. It was shot mostly out in Bay Ridge, and some indoor scenes were filmed in Astoria, Queens. But it was shot on location in Brooklyn.

BE: Did you stipulate that?
No, it was agreed upon. I think everyone wanted it that way. It’s an independent film that’s coming out by Serenade Films and Mister Nice Productions. I think it’s Serenade’s fourth movie, they’ve done “Game 6” and “Twelve and Holding” and “Great New Wonderful” — all pretty much on the same model. It’s kind of guerrilla filmmaking and we’ve got some good people attached to it. Vincent D’onofrio and Kevin Zegers and Sophia Bush and Eddie Cahill are terrific actors. They really threw themselves into it, so I’m really happy with the way it comes off.

It’s very much an out-of-body experience to suddenly see people walking around, saying words you’ve written, and acting out scenes you wrote. I’m sure it happens to anyone who has had their work adapted, but it’s certainly never happened to me before.

BE: And they changed the name of the book for the film, from “Heart of the Old Country” to “The Narrows,” even though that debut novel was well received and got you selected as one of the “Great New Writers.”

TM: Yes, I was fortunate enough to be selected by the Barnes & Noble “Discover Great New Writers” series and the book did well, especially for a book coming from an independent publisher out of Brooklyn. But, yes, the decision was made somewhere down the line to change the title of the film to “The Narrows” – which is a good title, it just isn’t mine. More.