In the Carpetbagger blog, someone in the comments section posts a trailer of a '06 Czech movie that supposedly used Falling Slowly. I don't know if that trailer is legit or if the song was used in the movie, too. I didn't read the any of the other comments so the answer might be there.

http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/song-getting-the-once-over/

By David Carr

Song Getting the “Once” Over

The original song category for the Oscars has already hit its share of clanky notes, what with none of Eddie Vedder’s breathtaking songs for “Into the Wild” making the cut. And now comes quiet word that “Falling Slowly,” the achingly pretty song from “Once” written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, may be ruled ineligible. The Bagger has been making some calls and there are indications that that the song, which is up against three, count ‘em three, songs from “Enchanted” in addition to “Raise It Up” from “August Rush,” may have some problems with eligibility requirements. Post nominations, this tempest could set the teapot to boiling. (There is a lot of seemingly well-informed speculation in the comments, so give a click for more info.)

The relevant language from the Academy rules suggests: “An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film.” (bold is theirs)

It is unclear how “Falling Slowly” may have run afoul of those rules, but the music branch of the Academy branch will be looking into the matter on Monday with a decision to follow soon after.

This is the time of year when mini-controversies, most of them cooked up by parties who finished out of the money, bubble up, so best wait until all the facts are in before commencing to freak out.

Oddly enough, the Bagger watched the movie again last night – you can hear the song here — and for the our money, there has never been a better movie depiction of the music that can occur between two people. “Once” has a small, but rabid pack of fans and it would be a bummer if the centerpiece song of the movie was not there for the Big Dance.

New bit: Greg Mitchell, the editor of Editor and Publisher and a guy who knows a lot about a lot, suggests in his blog Pressing Issues that “Falling Slowly” was out there for the listening before “Once” hit the screens. He writes:

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.


http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/0128/once.html

Once song faces Oscar eligibility probe

Oscar officials are to meet to decide whether a song from the Irish film 'Once', which has been nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar, is eligible to win the award, according to reports.

Both the New York Times and the Irish Independent are reporting that the song 'Falling Slowly' has come under scrutiny by the Academy as it is unclear whether it was written specifically for the film, as the rules demand.

The song, which was written by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, first appeared on 'The Swell Season', a 2006 album recorded by the pair.

It was then re-recorded for The Frames' last album 'The Cost', which was also released in 2006.

However, the song would have been filmed for 'Once' four months before it publicly appeared on any album.

'Once' was shot in Dublin in January 2006 over a 17-day period, while 'The Swell Season' was released in April 2006.


The rules for eligibility to the Oscars say that "an original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film".

The rules state: "The work must be the result of a creative interaction between the filmmaker(s) and the composer(s) or songwriter(s) who have been engaged to work directly on the film."

Speaking to the Irish Independent, the director of the film, John Carney, said that he had not had any contact from the Academy directly.

He said: "We're all discussing that at the moment to get clear, exactly, and figure this out."

Oscar officials are likely to discount the fact that the song featured on two albums before it was released as part of 'Once', and are expected to focus on whether the song was specifically written for the film.

Last November, Hansard gave an interview to a US film website saying that he had written the song for Carney.

Story from RTÉ Entertainment:
http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/0128/once.html