Irish celebrate the Oscars at home and in Hollywood

THE IRISH went to Hollywood en masse last night for the Oscars and a little bit of Hollywood came to Ireland.

There were five Irish nominees from five different films for the Academy Awards, a vintage year by any standards, and they promised to party come what may after the ceremony at Dillon’s Irish Pub near the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

For those who stayed at home, parties were held in Dublin and Kilkenny for the crew of two films which were surprise nominees.

About 50 members of Brown Bag Productions celebrated at Residence, a members' club in St Stephen's Green. They were there to celebrate the presence of Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beautyin the best animated short awards.

Ironically, the nomination alone meant so much work for Brown Bag that many were too busy to go to Los Angeles. Those who stayed behind had a red carpet and a mock ceremony calling it the “Grannies”.

The future of Grannyis secure irrespective of last night's awards. Brown Bag are in development with RTÉ for a half-hour Christmas special and there is huge interest overseas in the old lady with her twisted take on well-loved fairy tales. The short film has already won 11 national and international awards.

Co-producer Jenny Stacey said: “We’re all in production at the moment. The lucky ones got to go there. It’s a transatlantic party. We want to show the crew out in Los Angeles that we are having a good time at home.”

Between 100 and 150 people from Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny, including family and friends, gathered in the Set Theatre in Kilkenny city to celebrate the surprise inclusion of The Secret of Kellsin the best animated film category.

Art director Ross Stewart, who stayed behind in Kilkenny, said: “Just to see a clip of our film being shown to a worldwide audience is enough for us. That’s the best exposure you could possibly hope for.” The release of the film in the US was brought forward to last Friday from St Patrick’s Day to allow it capitalise on the buzz surrounding its Oscar nomination.

The director of The Door, the other homegrown film up for a nomination, admitted she was "sick with nerves" ahead of the event. The film about the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster has been made by Bray-based Octagon Films.

In her BBC Oscar diary, Juanita Wilson said being nominated for the best short film was “life changing in terms of making more movies”.

Richie Baneham, who went to Ballyfermot College of Further Education, was hopeful last night of an Oscar for visual effects on Avatar. Peter J Devlin was nominated in the best sound category for his work on Star Trek.

Full coverage of the Oscars by film critic Donald Clarke will be carried in tomorrow’s paper.