Irish talent is arriving in Los Angeles for an Oscar ceremony that will welcome an unprecedented number of domestic nominees.
Two Irish films, Lenny Abrahamson's Room and John Crowley's Brooklyn, will compete for best picture on Sunday night. Those two pictures are up for a total of seven awards.
Saoirse Ronan, nominated in the best actress race for her performance in Brooklyn, said that "from our point of view, there has been nothing but love and support for Brooklyn from people in the industry".
"Everyone, whether they're Irish or not, seems to have such a strong connection to the story for obvious reasons and I think, because of that connection, people have genuinely been so happy that the film has received such wonderful recognition," she told The Irish Times.
Ronan has been rehearsing for The Crucible on Broadway, but she has found time to make appearances on influential chat shows. Her performances on the Stephen Colbert and Ellen DeGeneres shows were particularly amusing. She has the patter down perfectly.
“Why, thank you,” she said. “The most exhausting part has been rehearsing for my very first play, six days a week and then travelling to LA or London on my days off for an event. I’ve already scheduled to take a really, really long nap this July when the play closes.”
Pronouncing Saoirse
Does she tire of having to constantly parry jokes about how to pronounce her forename? It’s happening a lot.
“There’s no point in me getting narky. It’s a lot of vowels and not so many consonants – I get it,” she laughed. “My life’s goal is to teach the world how to pronounce the name ‘Saoirse’ for myself and all the other Saoirses that follow. I have a group of disciples now who have joined me on my quest.”
On Wednesday night, industry professionals gathered at the Laurel Hardware restaurant in hip West Hollywood for a reception, hosted jointly by the Irish Film Board and the IDA, to celebrate Ireland’s success at this year’s Oscars.
It was part of week-long push by both to promote Ireland’s potential as a “creative and innovation hub”. Colin Farrell, Fionnula Flanagan and Chris O’Dowd were among those pumping hands at the event.
James Hickey, Irish Film Board chief executive, said it was "unprecedented" for a country of Ireland's size to feature so prominently in the nominations. "It is a watershed moment for Irish film with Brooklyn and Room now achieving global status."
As has been the case in recent years, many of the categories already seem sewn up. Leonardo DiCaprio looks set to take the best actor prize for The Revenant. Sylvester Stallone will surely tease the tear ducts by taking home best supporting actor for Creed.
Preparing to win
There is, however, a rare three-way tie at the bookies in the best picture race. Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant, Adam McKay's The Big Short and Tom McCarthy's Spotlight all seem like plausible winners.
Abrahamson knows he is an outsider, but has been forced to make preparations for winning. “This year, in order to stop huge speeches, the Academy is asking for lists of people that you want to thank, which they’ll scroll at the bottom of the screen. It feels presumptive even to do that much,” he said.
