Ned Beatty and Liev Shreiber in Tom Gilroy's Spring Forward

Tom Gilroy gets a top-flight cast for his first feature, a diary-like study of a young ex-con (Daytrippers’ Liev Schreiber) rethinking his future under the gentle guidance of his new work partner (Ned Beatty). Spring Forward begins the day the recently paroled Paul – jailed for holding up a Dunkin’ Donuts in a rash moment of financial desperation – gets a fresh start with a Parks and Recreation gig. Paul’s partner, Murph, is 64 and winding down towards an uncertain retirement 12 months hence. The film unfolds through four distinct episodes, each set in a different season during the course of a year. Along the way Paul’s life lessons include encounters with a Lexus-driving yuppie (Campbell Scott), an alcohol-plagued childhood friend, and an hysterical young woman running from her abusive husband (Lili Taylor). He also wins a date with a free spirit who cares more about whether he eats dairy than the fact he’s been in jail. "It’s Ken Loach territory but a U.S. variant," says Gilroy. "It’s about class, community and displacement and [the story] works in an elliptical fashion."

Gilroy says he got the idea for Spring Forward several years back when he shared a Boston hotel room with his father during a family crisis. Best known for starring opposite Ian Hart in Ken Loach’s Land and Freedom, Gilroy’s spent ten years as an actor and turns up next in Paul Auster’s ’98 Un Certain Regard opener Lulu on the Bridge. He also directed a 17-minute short starring Lili Taylor, Touch Base, that was a hit at Sundance ’95. Spring teams Gilroy with a trio of producers including Hurricane Streets’ Gill Holland, Girls Town director Jim McKay – Gilroy’s college roommate – and REM lead singer Michael Stipe, also an old friend. McKay and Stipe are on board through indie venture C-100 Film Corporation and have been Gilroy’s co-conspirators many times over on assorted projects.

The 35mm Spring is being shot to accommodate the seasonal variations that Hollywood art departments can’t buy and low budget indies can’t afford – in distinct sections scheduled for early May (in the can at press time), July, October and January. Holland says solid-seven-figure equity financing came together quickly and the biggest headache so far has been May rains. Gilroy says REM guitarist Peter Buck will score the film; rights are available.

Cast: Ned Beatty, Liev Schreiber, Campbell Scott, Lili Taylor. Crew: Producers, Gill Holland, Jim McKay, Michael Stipe; Screenwriter/Director, Tom Gilroy; Cinematographer, Terry Stacey, Production Designer, Susan Block; Editor, Jim Lyons; Line Producer, Paul Mezey. Contact: Gill Holland, cineBLAST, 32 Thompson St., New York, NY 10013. Tel: (212) 941-0788, Fax: (212) 334-9794.

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