ìOnceî Again, a Legit Nominee
At the 11th hour, members of the executive committee of the music branch of the Academy met and decided that in spite of some questions about the validity of ìFalling Slowly,î a nominee for best song from the movie ìOnceî, the song was eligible and would be on ballots that shipped tomorrow morning. Charles Bernstein, chairman of the music branch executive committee, speaking to the Bagger by phone, read part of the committeeís statement on the matter:
The Academyís music branch executive committee has met and endorsed the validity of ìFalling Slowlyî as a nominated achievement. The committee relied on written assurances and detailed chronologies provided by songwriter of ìFalling Slowly,î the writer-director of ìOnceî and Fox Searchlight.
The genesis of the picture was unusually protracted, but director John Carney and songwriter Glen Hansard were working closely together in 2002 when the project that became ëOnceí was discussed. ëFalling Slowlyí began to be composed, but the actual script and financing for the picture was delayed for several years, during which time Mr. Hansard and his collaborator Marketa Irglova played the song in some venues that were deemed inconsequential enough to not change the songís eligibility.
Mr. Bernstein said he had called Mr. Hansard in Dublin with the news and described him as ìdelighted.î Mr. Bernstein said that various parties had raised questions about whether the song had been performed and/or recorded before it became part of the movie, but said that the committee was satisfied that it was written for the film and as such represented a song writing achievement worthy of inclusion in the nominees.
ìWe needed to address whether the song was written specifically for the film and the second issue was whether it had been played prior to the inclusion in the film ó did this constitute a reason to ineligible-ize it,î said Mr. Bernstein. ìThe first issue was satisfied by a sworn statements attesting to the fact that it was written for the film along with a chronology, and the second issue was settled by the fact that it had only been performed in Europe and the Czech Republic and not in a way that would have given it advantage or influence here.î
Mr. Bernstein said he was happy the issue was resolved and that he was proud of the fact that the Academy and his committee were willing to work up to the last minute to see that any outstanding issues were addressed before the ballots were shipped.
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