Emmy Winner to Portray Judge Constance Sweeney in Movie on Pedophile Priest Scandal

By Ray Kelly
The Republican
September 3, 2015

http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2015/09/connie.html

Actress Laurie Heineman, left, on the set of the movie "Spotlight" portraying real-life Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney. (Open Road Films, The Republican photos)

Chicago actress Laurie Heineman will portray Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney in "Spotlight," an upcoming movie chronicling the pedophile priest scandal in Massachusetts.

Hollywood A-listers Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton star as Boston Globe staffers probing allegations of sexual abuse. Canadian actor Len Cariou plays Cardinal Bernard Law.

The film on the Pulitzer Prize winning investigation is set for release on Nov. 6.

In 2001, Sweeney reversed another judge's ruling and ordered the release of 10,000 documents from 84 lawsuits concerning John J. Geoghan, a former priest convicted of molestation.

Heineman, 67, who some may remember as the free-spirited hitchhiker in "Save the Tiger," is an Emmy Award winner for the daytime soap opera "Another World." She appeared in many episodic TV shows, including "Lou Grant," "The Streets of San Francisco" and "Law & Order."

"Spotlight" will be shown during the Venice International Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival this month. Filming took place last fall in Boston and Ontario.

rkelly@repub.com