Al Pacino On Van: "The Soundtrack To All Our Lives" As Hollywood Roles Out The Green Carpet

Van Morrison, Terry George and Bill Monahan honored in LA

Al Pacino Presents Award to Van Morrison, Roma Downey Emcees; Stars Light Up the Green Carpet

It was a fantabulous night to make music and mingle with the stars at the second annual "Oscar Wilde: Honoring Irish Writing in Film" awards party sponsored by the US-Ireland Alliance. Multi-award winning singer/songwriter Van Morrison, 2007 Oscar-nominated screenwriter William Monahan, and writer/director Terry George were honored at the star-studded event at the Wilshire Ebell in Los Angeles, California. Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino, who presented the Oscar Wilde award to Morrison, compared the legendary musician to the Irish playwright, describing the two artists as "visionaries who push boundaries."

Morrison, who treated the party guests to an intimate 45-minute private concert following the awards ceremony, was joined on stage by his daughter, Shana, a fantastic singer in her own right, rhythm and blues legend Solomon Burke, who, with Van, rocked the crowd with a rendition of "Stand By Me," and Chieftains front man Paddy Moloney. Towards the end of the concert, Grammy nominated singer Maura O'Connell came up on stage and sang "Crazy Love," with Van. When Van and his band left the stage, Shana and her band, San Francisco-based Caledonia, took over.

Actress Roma Downey emceed the pre-Academy Awards® party, which drew more than 400 VIPs, despite the rain. Major sponsors of the annual event are Quinlan Private, American Airlines, Culture Ireland and the Irish Film Board. The Oscar Wilde event was created to "bring together leaders in the Irish film community with their Hollywood counterparts at a fun, casual Irish party," according to Trina Vargo, founder and president of the US-Ireland Alliance.

And in keeping with that vision, this year's event brought a host of Hollywood and Irish film heavyweights who showed up to hail the trio of honorees. Some of the stars spotted walking the "green" carpet were: Fionnula Flanagan who presented the award to Terry George, Orlando Bloom, Charlize Theron, Mark Burnett, Stuart Townsend, Andie McDowell, Colm Meaney, Rachel Griffiths, Eric Stoltz, Bruno Maddox, who presented the award to William Monahan, and multi-Grammy Award winning music producer David Foster. Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook served on this year's Host Committee, as did HBO Films President Colin & Elizabeth Callender, Anjelica Huston, Fionnula Flanagan and past honorees Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan and David Holmes (who recently finished composing the original music for Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 13). Another Academy Award nominated guest was Irish American Mark Fergus, nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Children of Men. Among those over from Ireland were Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Chairman of Culture Ireland, Irish Film Board CEO Simon Perry, and best-selling author Cecelia Ahern, whose book, P.S. I Love You, is currently being made into a film starring Hilary Swank.


Al Pacino jokingly remarked that he didn't understand a word that Van said when they first met over twenty years in London, but noted "somehow I could feel what he meant through his body language and was taken by his sensitivity and kindness." Pacino has recently been in Dublin working on his upcoming docudrama on the life of Oscar Wilde and his masterpiece Salome. In presenting the award to Van, Pacino described the musician as a "descendant of a long line of Irish balladeers: poets and writers whose lyrical words read like music: Wilde, Shaw, Yeats, Joyce, and O'Casey."


A native of Belfast, Ireland, Van Morrison has one of the most enduring and consistently impressive careers in music history. His music is included in nearly fifty films, including the recently released Scorsese film, The Departed, as well as Breakfast on Pluto, What A Girl Wants, The Royal Tenenbaums, Bridget Jones's Diary, One Fine Day, When a Man Loves a Woman, Prelude to a Kiss, Thelma & Louise, An Officer and a Gentleman, Proof of Life, and As Good as It Gets.

Terry George and William Monahan were also recognized for the power of their writing in film. Fionnula Flanagan, who presented the Oscar Wilde award to George, said that Terry "is like a compass that always points true north, true north in the sense of guiding us to the truth." The acclaimed Belfast-born film writer, who wrote the script for Hotel Rwanda, has often woven Northern Ireland themes into his work. Frequently collaborating with Jim Sheridan, his credits include The Boxer, Some Mother's Son and In the Name of the Father, all starring Daniel Day Lewis, as well as Hart's War and A Bright Shining Lie. He is currently at work on Reservation Road - which he wrote and is directing – starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino. George also recently wrapped The Waterhouse, currently in post-production.


William Monahan has received wide acclaim, including a 2007 Oscar and a Writers Guild of America award, for his screenplay for The Departed, the Martin Scorsese-directed film about the Irish American mafia that stars Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg. Upon accepting his award, the scriptwriter looked out at the audience and said, "receiving this award from the US-Ireland Alliance, in this roomful of people, makes me feel like I've made it." Monahan is currently at work on the feature film, Penetration, which will be directed by Ridley Scott. He previously collaborated with Scott on the film Kingdom of Heaven, which was Monahan's first produced screenplay. Monahan is also the author of the acclaimed novel, Light House: A Trifle.

The evening's emcee, Derry, Northern Ireland-born Roma Downey, began the evening speaking of the influence Van Morrison's music has played in her life. Downey is an accomplished actress and producer, best known for her role as "Monica," the principal character in the long-running TV series, Touched By An Angel. She can currently be seen in "A Picasso" at the Geffen Playhouse.

Record company, EMI, presented each guest with a copy of the recently released Van Morrison At The Movies: Soundtrack Hits – a first time collection of Mr. Morrison's best-known songs that have been featured in films. In addition to such favorites as "Gloria" from The Outsiders, "Wild Night" from Thelma & Louise, and "Brown Eyed Girl" from Born On The Fourth Of July, the new collection includes a previously unreleased live version of "Moondance" from An American Werewolf In London, recorded live with strings in 1986 at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre.


Guests feasted on food provided by Kensington Caterer's Richard Mooney, originally from Limerick, Ireland. Other contributors to the event included River Films, Tiffany & Co., Baileys, Lily O'Briens, Food America, Bushmills, Hot Irishman, Boru Vodka, Kerrygold, Guinness, Harp, Sunset Marquis, Le Brea Bakery, Oronoco, Three Thieves and Laura Lee Designs.
We bring together leaders in arts and culture in the U.S. and the island of Ireland.



From Belfast to Hollywood

"I love acting," said a burly Irish dandy quoting Oscar Wilde as he pointed out Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Andie MacDowell, Orlando Bloom, John Lynch and Fionnula Flanagan at the Wilshire Ebell Theater on Thursday. "It is so much more real than life."


Pacino presented an Oscar Wilde award to Belfast-born Van Morrison during an evening that honored Irish writing in film and featured the wee Oronoco "Wilde" mojito.

"I didn't understand a word Van said when we first met," admitted Pacino, who's currently directing and starring in "Salomaybe," a behind-the-scenes look at his stage production of Wilde's "Salome." "But I love Van Morrison."

Morrison was equally brief.

"It's a long way from Belfast to Hollywood, and I'm speechless," he said.

"Thanks!"

Everyone else, including honorees writer/director Terry George and Oscar-nominated screenwriter William Monahan, paid homage to Van the Man, whose music is in "The Departed" and almost 50 other films.

"If there were a soundtrack to my life, it's Van and me in a garden wet with rain," said emcee Roma Downey.


Morrison made up for his short trip to the podium during a 45-minute performance that included a "Stand By Me" duet with Solomon Burke, who sang from his wheelchair in the audience, and had MacDowell clapping her hands and singing along with "Brown Eyed Girl." But what really made the actress/model smile was a banner with the Oscar Wilde quote "There are two kinds of tragedy. One is not getting what you want, the other is getting it."


Andie MacDowell, Van Morrison and Orlando Bloom (Above Pic)


"That's fitting for Oscar week," MacDowell said to a girlfriend.



Van Morrison honoured for his songs' role in film


Willim Monahan, Orlando Bloom, Van Morrison & Terry George

The Oscars awards season took an unusual Irish twist yesterday, as Van Morrison - not a performer immediately associated with the cinema - won a prize from the US-Ireland Alliance in Los Angeles for his musical contributions to film.

The Belfast born star was one of three recipients of an Oscar Wilde award, intended principally to reward Irish contributions to film writing. And while he may never have penned a film score, he has earned a living over the years granting permission to directors and producers to use his songs in more than 60 movies.


His song Wild Night was featured prominently in Thelma and Louise (though sung by Martha Vandella), and his live duet with Roger Waters on the Pink Floyd classic Comfortably Numb was a memorable part of the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's multi-nominated latest, The Departed. Scorsese has used Morrison's songs quite a bit over the years - T.B. Sheets in Bringing Out The Dead (1999) and Wonderful Remark in The King of Comedy (1983).

The US-Ireland Alliance has worked hard for the past couple of years to make its event as appealing and different as possible. As the organisation's president, Trina Vargo, told Variety: "We're told we're the perfect Oscar-week event because no one is trapped at a dinner table, there are only three awards, no long speeches and you can wear jeans."


Hotel Rwanda director Terry George, from Belfast, was also honoured. Other recipients included William Monahan, the screenwriter on The Departed. Morrison was expected to show up to last night's ceremony with his band. Al Pacino was set to introduce him and Michael Moore, the scabrous documentary maker, was set to introduce George.


Also expected to attend were Helen Mirren, the hot favourite for a best actress Oscar for her work on The Queen, and Mirren's director husband, Taylor Hackford. Mirren appeared in the film Some Mother's Son, which Terry George wrote, and Hackford has used Van Morrison songs in his films.

Ms Vargo said the show's purpose was to bring American and Irish film professionals together. "Just by hanging out together, listening to music and chatting, good things can come from creating a bridge between the two cultures," she said.

Van Left Speechless
Van the Man who accepted his award with about 10 words, said he was “speechless”, but later performed for about 40 minutes,, joined by his daughter Shana, who dueted with him. Al Pacino said he met Van in London 15 years ago and found him to be a man of ”huge heart and great sensitivity.”


There was a strong northern accent in Los Angeles when Terry George spoke about coming form east Belfast and hearing the names of streets he played on named in Van’s songs. Morrison’s music has been used in 50 international movies.