February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Ray O’Hanlon
Irate Irish Americans who think that the NBC miniseries "The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns" is now television history should think again.
The producers of what one radio promo piece described as a "major motion picture event," is set for an endless run of magical small-screen appearances around the world.
"Leprechauns" was given a major push recently at an annual event in the southern French city of Cannes known as MIPCOM.
MIPCOM is a fair in which production companies from around the globe buy and sell each other’s wares.
" ‘Leprechauns’ was being energetically sold in Cannes to international buyers," Steve Brennan, a reporter for the Hollywood Reporter, told the Echo.
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Brannan said he had hardly arrived at the MIPCOM event when posters for ‘Leprechauns’ captured his eye.
"I stood with my mouth open staring at the posters for ages," he said. "I couldn’t believe it. And ‘Leprechauns’ is not going away just because it was screened on NBC. ‘Leprechauns’ is going to crop up in many languages and in many different media outlets for years to come."
The miniseries about mythical mini-Irish was produced by Hallmark, which got into hot water with Irish Americans in the early ’90s over what many saw as stereotypical St. Patrick’s Day greeting cards being sold by the company.
"Leprechauns" was extensively advertised in the U.S. before being broadcast Sunday and Monday nights on NBC.
In New York City, an extensive campaign featured posters on bus shelters and the sides of buses. "Leprechauns" was also the cover feature on the New York Times weekly TV guide.
A feature in the guide described the background to the film and provided details of its making, mainly in England.