IN THE 2009 Oscar nominations, Irish producer Redmond Morris has been nominated for the most coveted prize – best picture.
Of the Oscar nominations which were announced in Los Angeles yesterday, other Irish nominations have gone to production designer Nathan Crowley for The Dark Knight, to a Dublin-set short film based on a Roddy Doyle story, New Boy, and to Martin McDonagh for his In Brugesscreenplay.
The Oscar for best picture is presented to the producers of the winning film. Morris, who is from Dublin, is one of the four producers on The Reader, which has been shortlisted for the top prize.
Two of his fellow producers on the film, Oscar-winning directors Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, died last year before the film was finished.
"We've gone beyond our expectations to get five nominations, including best picture," Morris told The Irish Timesyesterday. I am so grateful to Anthony and Sydney for the opportunity to work on such a wonderful project."
New Boy, an 11-minute movie adapted from a Roddy Doyle story, was nominated in the best live action short film category. Written and directed by US film-maker Steph Green, it deals with a nine-year-old African boy who encounters xenophobia and bullying when he enrols at a school in Dublin.
"It's great news," Doyle said yesterday. "I'm delighted for Steph. She read my story and contacted me about making a film from it." New Boywas made under the Irish Film Board's Short Cuts scheme.
Production designer Nathan Crowley has been nominated in the best art direction category for his work on The Dark Knight.
The London-born son of Irish parents, McDonagh, whose award-winning plays have mostly been set in Ireland, is a nominee in the best original screenplay category for In Bruges, the comedy-thriller starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.