Tickets have gone on sale for Blackbird, a film written and directed by – as well as starring – Riverdance star and Lord of the Dance creator Michael Flatley.
Flatley plays a retired CIA agent in the self-financed film from 2018. After premiering at London’s Raindance Film Festival almost four years ago, the project languished without a release date.
Last month Flatley confirmed that Blackbird would finally be screened in cinemas in Ireland and the UK starting 2 September. Now, the long-awaited tickets are finally available.
Fans and sceptics immediately reacted to the news.
“Didn’t I see this once on Brass Eye?” commented one user comparing the casting of the famed Irish dancer as a spy to the current affairs parody show.
“I know I’m going to come across as an arch-grump here, but I’m a bit tired of this cult of bad films. It’s not a hill I’m willing to die on though. It’s more a bump in the ground I’ve grumpily tripped over,” wrote another in a more cynical take on Flatley’s project.
Another user saw the humour in the unlikely casting: “Now I want to see Kim Philby trying Irish dancing.”
Many Twitter users also expressed excitement about buying tickets, though it was hard to tell the ironic posters from Flatley’s sincere fans.
“Cancel August, bring me September,” posted a user referring to the film’s looming release date.
Perhaps it was this ambiguous post that best summed the internet’s divided reaction: “Floored tbqh.”
