Waking Ned Devine (1998)

When a lottery winner dies of shock, his fellow townsfolk attempt to claim the money.

Director:

Kirk Jones

Writer:

Kirk Jones

Stars:

Ian Bannen, David Kelly, Fionnula Flanagan

9 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian Bannen	...	Jackie O'Shea
David Kelly	...	Michael O'Sullivan
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Annie O'Shea
Susan Lynch	...	Maggie O'Toole
James Nesbitt	...	Pig Finn
Paul Vaughan	...	Narrator (voice)
Adrian Robinson	...	Lotto Observer
Maura O'Malley	...	Mrs. Kennedy
Robert Hickey	...	Maurice O'Toole
Paddy Ward	...	Brendy O'Toole
James Ryland	...	Dennis Fitzgerald
Fintan McKeown	...	Pat Mulligan
Eileen Dromey	...	Lizzy Quinn
Kitty Fitzgerald	...	Kitty
Dermot Kerrigan	...	Father Patrick

Storyline

The lucky winner of the national lottery is Ned Devine, so taken by his good fortune that he now can't be waked, because he died from the shock of it! News of the win spread quickly in the scenic little Irish village of Tully More, but not the secret news of Ned's demise. With lottery officials closing in to confirm the prize claimed by the deceased Devine, Ned's closest friends scheme to keep the prize money close to home, in memory of Ned of course! But as the plot twists humorously, they learn it is hard is to keep such a secret in a small town.

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Plot Keywords:

lottery | village | small town | lottery ticket | dead body | 

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Taglines:

How far would you go to win a fortune!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for nudity, language and thematic elements

Details

Country:

UK Ireland France USA

Language:

English Latin Irish

Release Date:

8 January 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Waking Ned Devine

Filming Locations:

Cregneash, Isle of Man

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$148,971, 22 November 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$24,788,807, 20 June 1999

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,515,982, 8 December 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tomboy Films, Gruber Bros, Mainstream S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original title of the script was Waking Ned Devine. However, distributors insisted on changing it to Waking Ned as they felt the shorter title was more user friendly. American distributors were the only ones to keep the 'Devine'.

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Goofs

When the lotto man comes to the village the fist time to verify the ticket, Jackie states that he has left the little bag with the ticket in it in the phone booth. However, earlier when Jackie and Michael are making the call to the lotto we see Jackie placing a red bag with the ticket in it on top of the phone, but when they leave the phone booth there is clearly no red bag left behind.

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Quotes

Jackie O'Shea: [after finding Ned's dead body] Dear God. You'll be cursing in heaven tonight, Ned Devine.

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to the fond memory of Ian Bannen (Jackie O'Shea), Alexandre Heylen (producer) and Peter 'Snowy' Butler (grip) - "we shall forever be in your debt".

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Connections

Featured in Dot the I (2003)

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Soundtracks

The Parting Glass
(1998)
Composed and arranged by Shaun Davey
Performed by Liam O'Maonlai
By courtesy of London Records

User Reviews

A lovely Tale!

Fionnula Flanagan, Ian Bannen and David Kelly, are just a few of an excellent cast in this tale about an Irish Lotto-winner, who is unable to collect.

Never have I seen a lovelier yarn, and, I tell ye', I've seen a few! Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) figures out that one of the inhabitants in the local hamlet must have won the latest Lotto draw, and does he best to find out who, by every mean possible, and eventually finds out who.

I don't want to spoil it, but it sure is a lovely story! Very close to a masterpiece, and it gets better each time I see it!

Yours, Tord