Oscar nomination

SIGN OF SUCCESS Martin Niland, whose film ‘Once’ is nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category. She is pictured during a visit home to Westport last year.  Pic: Conor McKeown

Will Oscars fall slowly for ‘Once’?

Áine Ryan

ONCE upon a time there was a Dublin street busker and an east European classical pianist. They met on the set of a low budget movie and fell in love. While the movie’s love story may not have had a fairytale ending, its two leading actors, Glen Hansard of The Frames and Marketa Irglova, have since followed a star-struck path, and that’s not only due to the film’s prestigious nominations for the glitzy Grammys, an Oscar and Spirit awards.

‘Once’ has already won the Sundance (World Cinema Audience) Award and two weeks ago was awarded the Best Song in the Critics’ Choice Award with ‘Falling Slowly’.

Ironically, it was this beautiful love song that convinced its producer, Mayo native, Martina Niland, to take on the project with director, John Carney. In an interview with The Mayo News last September, she said she was initially reluctant when Carney (of RTÉ series ‘Bachelor’s Walk’ fame) showed her the 40-page script. “John, I’m not making any more short films,” she said at the time. However, when she saw Hansard and Irglova playing ‘Falling Slowly’, Niland quickly changed her mind. “Of course, little did I think as we shot the movie with Sony DVD [tiny tapes], taking serious risks all over the place, that it would win the Sundance Award,” she observed.

This week Niland has to grapple with the possibility of more accolades as she prepares to travel to Los Angeles in mid-February. Ironically, Oscar night, February 24, is also her birthday, so she may be having a double celebration.

“Coincidentally, I was going to LA anyway on the 18th of February for meetings between Irish film producers and Hollywood executives,” said Martina Niland at the weekend, adding that the only difference now is the question of ‘the dress’!

“We’re actually in talks with Fox [distributors of ‘Once’] at the moment for tickets for the ceremony. They are like gold dust but hopefully we’ll get four or five. Obviously Glen and Marketa are the priority, but hopefully John Carney and I will get in also,” she said.

“That’s if they go ahead, it might be just a press conference like the Golden Globes. It would be a disaster if the Oscars were cancelled,” continued Martina.

She said that a meeting about Falling Slowly’s eligibility was to be held yesterday (Monday) between Fox and Academy officials. The ‘original song’ must be written especially for the nominated film, and Glen Hansard has always said that it was written for Once Director John Carney, even though it was released before the movie.  

Ms Niland also told The Mayo News that the movie has also been nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Spirit Awards (independent film-makers), held in LA the night before the Oscars, on February 23.

“Two weeks ago, we won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Song with Falling Slowly. So that might be a good omen,” she mused.

Niland also said that Samson – the film production company which made ‘Once’ – did not know yet what kind of profits the movie has earned in the US, although she was aware it has turned over just under $10 million at box offices across the US. 

“We’re due a report at the end of the month from Fox about the revenue. Apparently, the DVDs have been flying out the door in the US. But they did spend a lot of money marketing it initially and also held it in the cinemas for four months. They knew from the outset that word-of-mouth was the key to its success,” said Ms Niland.

‘Once’ has been nominated for two Grammys, on February 8 next – in the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album in a Motion Picture and Best Song categories.