Movie News
Once song faces Oscar eligibility probe
Monday 28 January 2008
Both the New York Times and the Irish Independent are reporting that the song 'Falling Slowly' has come under scrutiny by the Academy as it is unclear whether it was written specifically for the film, as the rules demand.
The song, which was written by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, first appeared on 'The Swell Season', a 2006 album recorded by the pair.
It was then re-recorded for The Frames' last album 'The Cost', which was also released in 2006.
However, the song would have been filmed for 'Once' four months before it publicly appeared on any album.
'Once' was shot in Dublin in January 2006 over a 17-day period, while 'The Swell Season' was released in April 2006.
The rules for eligibility to the Oscars say that "an original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film".
The rules state: "The work must be the result of a creative interaction between the filmmaker(s) and the composer(s) or songwriter(s) who have been engaged to work directly on the film."
Speaking to the Irish Independent, the director of the film, John Carney, said that he had not had any contact from the Academy directly.
He said: "We're all discussing that [the eligibility of the song] at the moment to get clear, exactly, and figure this out."
Oscar officials are likely to discount the fact that the song featured on two albums before it was released as part of 'Once', and are expected to focus on whether the song was specifically written for the film.
Last November, Hansard gave an interview to a US film website saying that he had written the song for Carney.
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