CATEGORY: ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
FILM: "FALLING SLOWLY" FROM "ONCE"

INTERVIEW WITH: GLEN HANSARD, MARKETA IRGLOVA

Q. Congratulations. We have been with you since the beginning, we've been such fans. One of our producers gave me a tip off last week and she says that you guys told her last week you ran into Melissa Etheridge and you thought it was sort of a very serendipitous moment. Can you talk about that?

A. We were in a restaurant and we sat down and I recognize that's Melissa. She won last year and I went over and I said "hey, I just wanted to introduce myself and I'm a big fan and I heard that you won last year and we were nominated this year". And she said "you'll be fine, and just go up there and be yourselves". And it was just an amazing thing to do and I was just "can I hold the hand that won last year?". And it was an just an amazing moment for us.

Video - Marketa Irglova's Oscar acceptance speech (the best moment of the night :-)

 MELISSA ETHERIDGE - ETHERIDGE IS ONCE STAR'S GOOD LUCK CHARM

MELISSA ETHERIDGE turned out to be a lucky charm for ONCE star MARKETA IRGLOVA after a chance meeting in the days before the Oscars. Irglova and partner Glen Hansard's Falling Slowly was the surprise winner of the Best Song category at the Academy Awards on Sunday (24Feb08) - the honour Etheridge won in 2007. And the Once star knew she was in for a chance of winning the award after meeting Etheridge in a restaurant last week. Irglova says, "I asked, 'Can I hold the hand that won last year?' It was a very amazing moment for us."

BTW, I think ONCE is a charming movie, and I'm in love with the soundtrack! :-)

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