ONCE Short Synopsis John Carney, Writer/Director (2006)

Samson Films, 76 Irishtown Rd, Dublin 4, IRELAND Tel: +353 1 667 0533 Fax: +353 1 667 0537 www.oncethemovie.com ONCE Short Synopsis John Carney, Writer/Director (2006) “...a simple, classic story of two artists falling in love.” The Guy works part-time helping his father, who music, they find a common bond that brings Production Notes runs a small, vacuum cleaner repair business, them effortlessly together. ONCE - About the Production but dreams of having his songs recorded and landing a record deal. His girlfriend has recently As the Guy and the Girl get to know each other ONCE is the inspirational tale of two left him and gone to London, and he is still over the course of an intense few days, their coming to grips with that loss and is emotionally relationship blossoms as they share their music, kindred spirits who find each other on vulnerable. put together a band to rehearse songs and the bustling streets of Dublin. One record some demos, all of which results in them is a street musician who lacks the One day while busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street, bringing some much-needed impetus to their confidence to perform his own songs. he meets the Girl, an East European immigrant artistic and personal lives. who has moved to Dublin to start a new life for The other is a young mother trying to herself and currently works as a house cleaner Written and directed by John Carney, Once find her way in a strange new town. in an upper-class residence. She is struggling is produced by Martina Niland and executive As their lives intertwine, they discover financially, and cannot afford the piano she produced by David Collins with music by Glen yearns for, and is also in the process of making Hansard and Marketa Irglova. The director of each other’s talents and push one crucial decisions about her personal life. photography is Tim Fleming, and the production another to realize what each had only designer is Tamara Conboy. Costume design is dreamt about before. ONCE is their In a Dublin that has grown increasingly affluent by Tiziana Corvisieri with casting by Maureen inspiring story. and materialistic during Ireland’s unprecedented Hughes. Once financed by The Irish Film Board economic boom, they are both outsiders, and RTE. Written and directed by John Carney struggling with their art and their hearts. Through (ON THE EDGE, BACHELORS WALK), ONCE is a nod to the classic musicals of the past, while it is also grounded in the bohemian world of struggling young Dubliners that he knew from his days as a young musician. a lot of songs. That was the original starting-point,” he explains. In the early 1990’s, before devoting himself to a film career, Carney As he developed the concept that was a musician playing bass guitar would become ONCE, he sought with Dublin band The Frames. He “something that would express itself understands and appreciates the in ten pages of dialogue or script. A power of a song, and how it can two-and-a-half-three-minute piece carry more weight than swathes of music, I always feel, can be as of dialogue. In fact, conversations powerful as a day’s conversation with, about this project started in 2005 at a for example, a young lady. You can Frames’ concert. “As a filmmaker with talk and talk and talk…” a background in music, I wanted to try and make something that relied less However, Carney did not want ONCE on your conventional 90 page script, to be a classic song-and-dance something that was a little bit more musical where scenes ended with the organic, and something that included key characters breaking into verse. 2 3 www.oncethemovie.com l [email protected] l Martina Niland T: +353 86 288 5874 l David Collins T: +353 86 831 6592 www.oncethemovie.com l [email protected] l Martina Niland T: +353 86 288 5874 l David Collins T: +353 86 831 6592 Production Notes ONCE - About the Production As he recalls, the fleshing-out of the “I had an Irish actor in mind for the characters became a part of his early leading role of the film, who can sing morning routine. “It originated with as well, but it didn’t work out for him. just me sitting outside, having my And it just gradually occurred to me breakfast, coffee and cigarette every as I was putting [Glen] on tape, asking morning, playing songs and thinking him about his songs, giving him for months and months, how could script pages. He’d go off and write I make a little film that has all these something according to them, or I’d songs in it,” he explains. “I came up write some scenes according to the with the idea of a story of a busker song he gave me. It occurred to me mainly because I wanted to keep the this guy’s the guy to do this role, really. characters in a musical world. I didn’t Because he’ll sell these songs better want them just singing, I wanted them than any actor would as they’re his to be musicians and singers. So it songs.” was more natural that they would like working with non actors because ‘Ah yeah, they tell you that you might sometimes say to each other, ‘Look, Hansard also had some previous they’ll give you their all.” be in a film and then they just don’t I’ve just written you a song and I want acting experience, having played cast you, they take someone else.’ So you to hear it.’ It would be natural for the part of Outspan in Alan Parker’s For Marketa Irglova, then only 17, the I didn’t put too much hope in it, but them to sing. So I came up with the film of the Roddy Doyle novel, THE concept of acting was alien, although the idea was very exciting. Part of the idea of a busker and a pianist, who COMMITMENTS. But while Carney she had been aware of the project and reason I was so excited was because then ended up being an immigrant.” acknowledges that aspect of Glen was enthused by it. “I heard about the Glen’s music would be in it, and I love The music in the film would not work Hansard’s past, he insists that The idea of the film from Glen, because he Glen’s music. So I did the audition, I if it wasn’t incorporated in to who they Frames’ front man had even more to was asked to write music for it,” she played some piano music for John, I were. bring to the role. recalls. “I saw some of John’s films read a bit of script, and that was it.” before and I thought that was very The story is set in Carney’s native “Glen has a little bit of acting cool. The idea of the film sounded At that stage, Carney felt very Dublin, with Frames’ singer Glen experience but, more importantly, he’s nice, and then one night I got a phone comfortable with the people around Hansard as a songwriting guitarist, just a very naturally charismatic guy: call from Glen, asking if I’d like to act in and involved with the film. As well as and Marketa Irglova – a musician he’s very laidback, he doesn’t try too the film. I thought he was joking! But having Glen and Marketa on board, from the Czech Republic who has hard,” he insists. “And the great thing he was serious, saying that John was the crew were people whom he’d collaborated with Hansard - as an about Glen is that he’s not an actor, considering casting me in the film, that befriended while also having utmost immigrant pianist. Despite Carney’s so he doesn’t actually care, in a way. he wanted me to audition for it. faith in their abilities. background as a former member Sometimes, working with professional of The Frames, he hadn’t initially actors, you realize you’re just helping “I thought it was really crazy as, “They were all people that I knew considered either Hansard or Irglova them put their show-reel together. obviously, I haven’t done any acting. and trusted,” he explains. “They got for the key roles, even though he A professional actor can rarely get Because I’m so young, I’m kind of the whole idea of this not being your had Hansard contributing songs from behind a production in the way a non- up for anything,” she laughs. “I didn’t conventional film. So once my mates the beginning. actor will, which is understandable. I really take it so seriously. I thought: were making this film with me, then 4 5 www.oncethemovie.com l [email protected] l Martina Niland T: +353 86 288 5874 l David Collins T: +353 86 831 6592 www.oncethemovie.com l [email protected] l Martina Niland T: +353 86 288 5874 l David Collins T: +353 86 831 6592 Production Notes ONCE - About the Production I was like: ‘Brilliant!’ This is back to he wants to make. And this appealed The backdrop largely consists of each other. It certainly taught me to how we were when we were 16, with to him, and I think working with me Dublin city streets, shops and the get actors to hang out with each other a camcorder and friends and some again - because we had done a film less-than-salubrious interiors of the before going into a certain style of film songs.

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