Switchblade Comb

UPDATE:

“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 Once was discussed. ‘Falling Slowly’ 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 song’s eligibility.”

What an awful, stupid shame. Rumor has it that, post-nomination, Once may be disqualified from the Academy Awards in the Best Original Song category, where it deserves a sweeping win. We’ll have an update later this evening as the official word is supposed to come then.

From Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher . . .

Here’s the likely cause: The song, “Falling Slowly,” appeared on two albums before the movie came out — a big no-no for the Academy — but the question is, was it written for the movie specifically and then ended up on the CDs as the film made its slow way to release? It appears on two excellent 2007 CDs by the writer and male star in the film, Glen Hansard: One is from his band, The Frames, called The Cost, and the other is the duet album he made with his co-star in the flick, Marketa Iglova, The Swell Season. You can see The Frames do it via YouTube. He was definitely asked to write original songs for the movie (he wasn’t supposed to appear in it himself at first) but whether “Falling Slowly” was one of them, I don’t know for sure.