Edward Burns discusses The Brothers McMullen, his lesser-known films, and how he convinced Tom Petty to compose the score for his second movie.

      Edward Burns’ career is truly captivating. The lifelong New Yorker has an origin story that's almost unbelievable. After raising $25,000, he filmed an indie movie on a tight budget over weekends with a small crew and local actors. At that time, he was working as an assistant at Entertainment Tonight and managed to get a copy of his film, The Brothers McMullen, into the hands of Robert Redford during an interview on a New York set. Redford, who sadly passed away recently, was the founder of the esteemed Sundance Film Festival. Months later, The Brothers McMullen won the Grand Jury Prize and went on to become a success in theaters, grossing over $10 million. The following year, Burns' second film, She’s the One, hit theaters, and by 1998 he was part of the main cast in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan.

      Since then, Burns has taken on lead roles in various films, both large and small, while still creating modest indie dramedies that cater to a specific audience. This holiday season, he returns to his roots with the sequel The Family McMullen, which will be available on HBO Max this Friday, December 5. It’s a confident, mature piece of filmmaking and one of his finest works.

      We spoke with Burns about the new movie, his most underrated films, the future of his acting career beyond his projects, and how he’s evolved as a visual storyteller over the past 30 years. You can watch or read the conversation below.

      The Film Stage: You’ve been in the industry for 30 years now. [Actually longer, since you filmed The Brothers McMullen.] You've transitioned from shooting on film to digital and have explored every version of digital there is. What remains unchanged amidst all this transformation?

      Edward Burns: The one thing that stays constant is what unfolds after I call “action.” The actors are in front of the camera, and I’m either behind it or acting alongside them. Regardless of the scale of the scene, what occurs in that moment doesn’t change. That’s the magic I’ve always been drawn to. If you’re familiar with my work, you know I fell in love with screenwriting and dialogue before I truly embraced visual storytelling. I may not be the most cinematic filmmaker, but I aim for my characters to be rooted in reality—authentic and relatable. That aspect never changes, whether we were shooting 16mm for McMullen or on a RED for this film; consistency is key.

      It's interesting that you mention visuals. Watching Millers in Marriage, which was released earlier this year, and rewatching The Brothers McMullen last night, it’s evident you have a strong grasp of visual space. You've really mastered that quintessential Woody Allen style. Millers showcases a lot of that beautiful, minimalist editing. Was there a turning point for you? You’ve made around 15 or 16 films now. When did you become more comfortable with visual storytelling?

      When McMullen premiered, there was quite a bit of critique regarding its visual style. I readily acknowledged that we operated with a three-person crew, couldn’t afford camera movements, and lacked a lighting kit. That’s just how it was. Moving forward, while I continue to work with limited budgets, I focused on educating myself, getting the camera to move more, and learning how to convey a story visually. You mentioned Woody Allen’s moving master shots—I definitely came to appreciate those. In 2015, I produced a television show called Public Morals, set in 1962 New York. That was the first time I had a substantial budget, a larger crew, and access to the equipment my peers had been using for years. I still collaborate with my cinematographer, Will Rexer, and on that project, we finally had the necessary time.

      For this new film, we managed to shoot it in 22 days, which, as a producer, you know is a rock-and-roll schedule. Public Morals had a more traditional timeline. While prepping for that, I closely studied the work of filmmakers I admired and absorbed what they did with the camera. That was a pivotal moment for me—it’s when I truly learned how to be a filmmaker in that regard.

      What I appreciated about The Family McMullen is that you revisit the internal monologue aspect. I had forgotten that was part of The Brothers McMullen, as it’s not often revisited. While Sidewalks of New York uses documentary-style testimonials, this is different. Was it enjoyable to go back to that technique? It seems like a fun “cheat code.”

      It truly was. Interestingly, I had forgotten about that element myself. I originally wrote the first draft of this script without it. Then, while rewatching portions of McMullen—though it’s hard for me to sit through the entire film—I realized I had those internal monologues. I thought, “Oh