Saoirse talks to NOW about her Oscar buzz

Brooklyn officially hits theaters on November 6, and movie-goers are sure to be captivated by 21-year-old Saoirse’s portrayal of a young woman in fifties Ireland who is torn between her home there and the new life she established for herself in New York. When asked by Toronto’s NOW magazine about a likely second Oscar nod – her first came for Atonement in 2007 when she was only 13 – Saoirse said she’ll wait and see.

“When Atonement happened I was a kid, so I wasn’t really aware of all the Oscar talk, but it worked out and it was great. But I’ve also been on the other side, where there’s so much buzz before a film’s even made and then it doesn’t have that kind of success when it’s released. So I know how unpredictable these things can be. But listen, Jesus, it would be absolutely amazing for the film to get recognized. Even the fact that some people are talking about it in those terms is a dream. Whether it happens or not.”

Born in New York in 1994 to undocumented Irish parents, Paul and Monica Ronan returned to Co. Carlow Saoirse was three. Paul Ronan was a theater actor of note in New York, and featured in Brad Pitt’s 1992 IRA film The Devil’s Own.
It wasn’t easy for her folks, Saoirse said, and she credits them with giving her a sense of what’s real.

“They went over and didn’t have degrees or anything like that. They went over to work, to graft,” she says. “My dad did all sorts of jobs, construction and things like that. At literally at one point he actually shoveled s*** out of an elevator shaft at the Waldorf Hotel, which he only told me about recently.”

Her parents gave their only child many things, chief among them a U.S. passport. “In the states they are very strict when it comes to visas. My mom was adamant that I wouldn’t have to go through what they went through. My American passport is golden to me,” Saoirse says. Donald Trump take note!

Source: Irish Central

Brooklyn Interviews

Published

by Jess

on Sep 19, 2015

Gallery Additions: TIFF Portraits

Our gallery has been updated with several portraits of Saoirse, her ‘Brooklyn’ co-star Domhnall Gleeson and director John Crawley. Thanks to Lindsey, from rachelmcadamsonline.com, for sending a couple of them our way!

Photoshoots > 2015 > Session 019
Photoshoots > 2015 > Session 020
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Photoshoots > 2015 > Session 022

Photoshoots

Published

by Jess

on Sep 18, 2015

(Video) Saoirse promotes 100minds.org

Saoirse has joined other Irish public figures on the promotion of the 100minds.org campaign, which she describes: “It’s a great opportunity for you to just fully support our kids, our future and our country”.

In just 2 short years college students involved in 100minds have fundraised almost €400,000 for Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Barnardos Ireland and Blossom Ireland. This year we’re fundraising €1,000,000 for Childline to ensure that every child’s voice in Ireland is heard!

Sign Up to 100minds.org now to manage your own project, receive professional mentoring from top graduate employers and to contribute to real social impact whilst developing new skills and gaining practical work experience.

Videos

Published

by Jess

on Sep 18, 2015

‘Brooklyn’ Release Date Moved Up

Following a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this week, Fox Searchlight announced Brooklyn, the new film about about an Irish immigrant coming to 1950s New York City, will open in select theaters November 4. This marks a two-day bump up for the film’s release.

Saoirse Ronan plays Ellis Lacey, a young Irish woman who heads to America after World War II and falls in love with an Italian man (Emory Cohen) from Coney Island. As the romance heats up, Ellis’s past begins to surface and she must choose between her old home and newfound happiness.

Nick Hornby adapted the screenplay from on Colm Tóibín’s novel Brooklyn, and John Crowley directs the period drama. The film premiered at Sundance in January.

Brooklyn

Published

by Jess

on Sep 18, 2015

(Video) Saoirse’s Interview for Vanity Fair

Saoirse talked to Vanity Fair at Toronto International Film Festival this week about why she was drawn to the film ‘Brooklyn’ and how different she believes the story is from the ones that have previously been told. Watch it below.

Interviews Videos

Published

by Jess

on Sep 17, 2015

(Video) Saoirse talks to Variety

Saoirse, Domhnall Gleeson and director John Crowley discuss the acclaimed period drama ‘Brooklyn’ at the Toronto Film Festival. Saoirse mentions she had already read the novel years before the script ever came to her, and when it did she found it so amazing that there were no changes to be made. Watch it below.

Brooklyn Videos

Published

by Jess

on Sep 17, 2015

‘Brooklyn’ TIFF Reviews

Now that ‘Brooklyn’ has premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, many reviews of the film have started to come out, most of them praising the production and the acting of not only Saoirse, but also her castmates. James Dempsey, from Newstalk, gathered several of those reviews into a single post, making it easier for us to share them with you. As he mentioned, reviews of the film have been overwhelmingly positive, with many critics singling out Saoirse as a frontrunner for a ‘Best Actress’ nod, to add to her 2007 nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for ‘Atonement’.

In The Telegraph, critic Tim Robey writes that in taking on the role of Eilis, Ronan produces “easily her most mature performance, and she steps up to the occasion with captivating sensitivity. The whole shape of Eilis’s life feels somehow up to the young actress playing her, which is exactly as it should be.”

The The New York Post review describes Ronan’s work as “an awards-calibre performance,” while Eye for Film applauded the Irish actress for giving her role the “space to breathe and transform from someone smart but timid into a more worldly decision-maker.”

On RogerEbert.com, critic Susan Wloszczyna enjoyed the film, though warned that its romantic plot means it “could easily become your grandmother’s favourite movie of the year.” But Ronan was singled out for lifting the movie up with her “ability to deploy her expressive features with aplomb while relaying her character’s inner journey.”

But The Mary Sue, a feminist pop culture blog, was glowing in its praise of the entire film, saying: “Along with Ronan’s lovely, contained performance (saying it is one of her best so far is saying a lot of an actress who has already been so good), and excellent support from the cast, the script is really remarkable and stands out as one of the very best of year.”

Brooklyn will be released in cinemas on both sides of the Atlantic on November 6.

Brooklyn Reviews

Published

by Jess

on Sep 17, 2015

(Photos) Promotional Photoshoot for ‘The Crucible’

Our gallery has been updated with a promotional photoshoot of Saoirse for her Broadway debut on ‘The Crucible’. She’ll play Abigail Williams, who accuses the women in Salem of witchcraft as a way to conceal her affair with her former employer John Proctor (Ben Whishaw) from, among others, his sickly wife Elizabeth (Sophie Okonedo).