The Long Island Incident

Last updated
The Long Island Incident
GenreDrama
Screenplay byMaria Nation
Directed by Joseph Sargent
Starring Laurie Metcalf
Mackenzie Astin
Peter MacNeill
Tyrone Benskin
Elisa Moolecherry
Theme music composer Charles Bernstein
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers Barbra Streisand
Cis Corman
ProducersRobert W. Christiansen
Rick Rosenberg
CinematographyEdward J. Pei
EditorMichael Brown
Running time96 minutes
Production companies Barwood Films
Columbia TriStar Television
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseMay 3, 1998 (1998-05-03)

The Long Island Incident is a 1998 American made-for-television drama film produced by Barbra Streisand's Barwood Films. The teleplay by Maria Nation is based on the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting. The film premiered on May 3, 1998 on NBC.

Contents

Plot

On December 7, 1993, Jamaican émigré Colin Ferguson boarded the 5:33pm train to Hicksville at the Long Island Rail Road terminal in midtown-Manhattan and opened fire on the passengers with a 9 mm handgun soon after departure. [1] While early scenes of the film depict his efforts to purchase the weapon, the bulk of the movie concentrates on the aftermath, particularly its impact on Mineola housewife Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband Dennis was killed and son Kevin so severely injured doctors initially gave him only a 10% chance of survival.

McCarthy's determination to rehabilitate Kevin keeps her close by his side, and initially she resists an invitation to lobby Congress to pass stronger gun control measures. When Ferguson's original attorney, William Kunstler, announces he will use "black rage" as an innovative defense in his client's mass murder trial, McCarthy becomes enraged and stirred to action. In large part due to her efforts, the Federal Assault Weapons Ban is passed in 1994.

The following year, Republicans gain a majority in Congress and attempt to repeal the law. When Congressman Dan Frisa, who represents the district in which McCarthy lives, supports the repeal, she impulsively decides to run against him in the next election. She changes her party affiliation to Democratic and, with no previous political experience and against all odds, she garners enough support from the local and national Democratic parties and the endorsement of the local daily newspaper Newsday to defeat Frisa by nearly 17%.

Joseph Sargent directed a cast that included Laurie Metcalf as Carolyn McCarthy, Mackenzie Astin as her son Kevin, Sandy Crawley as Dan Frisa, and Tyrone Benskin as Colin Ferguson. The movie was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Related Research Articles

<i>Eyeball</i> (film) 1975 film

Eyeball is a 1975 Italian giallo slasher film written and directed by Umberto Lenzi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting</span> Shooting in a train in Garden City, New York, US

On December 7, 1993, a mass shooting occurred aboard a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) train in Garden City Park, New York, United States. As the train arrived at the Merillon Avenue station, passenger Colin Ferguson began firing at other passengers with a semi-automatic pistol. Six of the victims were killed and nineteen others were wounded before Ferguson was tackled and held down by other passengers on the train.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolyn McCarthy</span> American politician (born 1944)

Carolyn McCarthy is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 4th congressional district from 1997 to 2015. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Donald E. Belfi was an American lawyer, judge, and politician in Nassau County, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carolyn Maloney</span> American politician (born 1946)

Carolyn Jane Maloney is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 12th congressional district from 2013 to 2023, and for New York's 14th congressional district from 1993 to 2013. The district includes most of Manhattan's East Side, Astoria and Long Island City in Queens, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as well as Roosevelt Island. A member of the Democratic Party, Maloney ran for reelection in 2022 but lost the primary to 10th district incumbent Jerry Nadler after redistricting drew them both into the 12th district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin McCarthy</span> American politician (born 1965)

Kevin Owen McCarthy is an American politician who served as the 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January to October 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. Representative for California's 20th congressional district from 2007 until his resignation in 2023.

<i>Just Cause</i> (film) 1995 film by Arne Glimcher

Just Cause is a 1995 American crime thriller film directed by Arne Glimcher and starring Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne. It is based on John Katzenbach's novel of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Frisa</span> American politician

Daniel Frisa is an American lawyer and former Republican politician. He was a United States Congressman and a state legislator from New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathleen Rice</span> American politician and lawyer

Kathleen Maura Rice is an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States representative for New York's 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2023. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before serving in Congress, Rice served as the Nassau County district attorney, and, before that, she served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia and as an assistant district attorney in the Kings County District Attorney's Office in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riki Lindhome</span> American actress

Erika "Riki" Lindhome is an American actress, comedian and musician. She is best known as a singer and songwriter for the comedy folk duo Garfunkel and Oates with Kate Micucci.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merillon Avenue station</span> Long Island Rail Road station in Nassau County, New York

Merillon Avenue is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line. It is located at Nassau Boulevard and Merillon Avenue in Garden City Park, New York. The station is wheelchair accessible with two side platforms and a cross-under at Nassau Boulevard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaime Herrera Beutler</span> American politician (born 1978)

Jaime Lynn Herrera Beutler is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 3rd congressional district from 2011 to 2023. The district is in southwestern Washington, lying across the Columbia River from Oregon's Portland metropolitan area. A Republican, Herrera Beutler previously served in the Washington House of Representatives. In 2010, she was elected to Congress, going on to be re-elected five times. She was eliminated in the 2022 blanket primary, finishing third, and was succeeded by Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.

<i>The D.I.</i> 1957 film

The D.I. is a 1957 American military drama film starring and directed by Jack Webb. The film was produced by Webb's production company Mark VII Limited and distributed by Warner Bros.

<i>Scarlet Pages</i> 1930 film

Scarlet Pages is a 1930 pre-Code American crime drama film with songs starring Elsie Ferguson and directed by Ray Enright. It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. The film stars Elsie Ferguson, John Halliday, Grant Withers and Marian Nixon. Scarlet Pages is based on a 1929 Broadway play of the same name that Ferguson also starred in. It is similar in theme to the better remembered Five Star Final, also by Warners released a year later. The film simultaneously marked the first time Ferguson appeared in a sound film and the last film she ever made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Lujan Grisham</span> Governor of New Mexico since 2019 (born 1959)

Michelle Lujan Grisham is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2019 as the 32nd governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party, Lujan Grisham previously served as the U.S. representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district from 2013 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Scaturro</span> American lawyer, historian, public advocate, and politician

Francis Joseph "Frank" Scaturro is an American lawyer, historian, public advocate, and politician. As a college student, he spearheaded the restoration of Grant's Tomb in New York City's Riverside Park, and in 1998 he published a reassessment of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. Scaturro is a constitutional law expert and served as counsel for the Constitution on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee from 2005 to 2009, and helped coordinate the nomination process to elevate John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court. Scaturro published other books and articles about history, constitutional law, and public policy. He ran for Congress in 2010, 2012 and 2014 in New York's 4th congressional district on Long Island, but was defeated each time. As of July 2023, Scaturro is president of the Grant Monument Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">118th United States Congress</span> 2023–2025 meeting of U.S. legislature

The 118th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2023, and will end on January 3, 2025, during the final two years of President Joe Biden's initial term.

<i>The Kitchen</i> (2019 film) Film by Andrea Berloff

The Kitchen is a 2019 American crime film written and directed by Andrea Berloff in her directorial debut. It is based on the DC/Vertigo Comics limited series of the same name by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle. The film stars Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss as the wives of Irish American mobsters who take over organized crime operations in New York's Hell's Kitchen in the late 1970s, after the FBI arrests their husbands. The film also features Domhnall Gleeson, James Badge Dale, Brian d'Arcy James, Jeremy Bobb, Margo Martindale, Common, and Bill Camp in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia</span>

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 14 U.S. representatives from the state of Georgia, one from each of the state's 14 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kat Cammack</span> American politician (born 1988)

Kathryn Christine Cammack is an American politician and political advisor serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 3rd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, Cammack previously served as deputy chief of staff to her predecessor, Representative Ted Yoho, who retired in 2020.

References