Ed Burns writes 'love letter to the suburbs'

BY MEAGHAN GINNETTY | Special to Newsday

April 30, 2006

Long Island native Ed Burns directed, co-produced, wrote and stars in "The Groomsmen," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. (Getty Images Photo)

Growing up in Valley Stream, Ed Burns always knew he wanted to "write a love letter" to the suburbs one day.

"I spent my summers on Long Beach and on my dad's boat in East Rockaway," the actor said in an interview Friday at Tribeca Cinemas. "I've always been fascinated with seaside Long Island towns."

Burns' film "The Groomsmen," which he wrote, directed, co-produced and stars in, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last night; it also will be screened Thursday, at 4:45 p.m., AMC Loews Lincoln Square 6.

Originally set to be shot in Rockaway Beach, the film switched locales to City Island because of budget concerns, but the neighborhood is reminiscent of a suburbia Burns knows well.

"It's the kind of place where you cross the street into your best friend's house," Burns said. "It's more of a family than a neighborhood."

"The Groomsmen" tells the story of a close-knit group of childhood friends struggling with, what Burns refers to as, "their extended adolescence," and angst over their friend's [Burns'] wedding. Matthew Lillard, Jay Mohr, John Leguizamo and Donal Logue co-star as Burns' band of friends.

Burns said he feels intimately connected to his movie's first venue, the Tribeca Film Festival, which he said is "like a gift from God."