Irish author Emma Donoghue of ‘Room’ fame says she’s feeling confident about Oscar glory once again as her novel ‘The Wonder’ gets its big screen debut.
Adapted from her bestselling novel and inspired by true stories of the “Fasting Girls” phenomenon – The Wonder has an impressive cast - with Florence Pugh in the lead.
And with the same dream team on board that was also behind Oscar winning thriller ‘Room’ - her first novel to be adapted for the screen - the talented author said she wouldn’t be surprised if there are more awards to come with this new Netflix project.
Read more: Florence Pugh hopes to live in Ireland as she leads stars at Irish film premiere
“I’m so excited, it’s hard not to squeal,” she told Irish Daily Mirror as she walked the red carpet at the Irish film premiere in Dublin this week.
“I hoped this film would get made and I pretty much trusted Ed Guiney and Tessa Ross, our producers, who had both been involved in making room.
“So I pretty much trusted they would make it happen but I didn’t imagine it being this big and glamorous or featuring such stunning actors and a headliner like Florence Pugh.
“So everything about this film has been made even more beautifully and to a higher standard than I could have ever imagined.”
“And actually Ed Guiney made The Favourite and got an Oscar with Olivia Coleman there too, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all [if it gets an Oscar].”
She went on to tip leading lady and Hollywood starlet Pugh to win big for her role.
“I think Florence's performance is absolutely unnervingly good.”
Filmed in Ireland last year, the screenplay is co-written by Donoghue along with Alice Birch and director Sebastián Lelio.
Set in 1862,13 years after the Great Famine, it follows the tale of an English Nightingale Nurse Lib Wright, played by Pug, who is called to the Irish Midlands by a devout community to conduct an examination over an 11-year-old girl who claims not to have eaten for four months, surviving miraculously on “manna from heaven”.
The thrilling drama features an impressing Irish cast - including Niamh Algar and mother and daughter stars Elaine Cassidy and Kíla Lord Cassidy.
Belfast star Ciarán Hinds also stars in the new Netflix flick, alongside Tom Burke, Toby Jones, Dermot Crowley, Brían F. O'Byrne and David Wilmot.
The author said it was ‘so important’ to keep the Irish element within the story.
“I know that films are often made in other places than they are set for money reasons, but in this case it made absolutely sense to make it here and be part of the Irish film industry.
“And it just feels like a good use of investment. So to have Netflix make an all Irish film in this way, i’m so proud.
"And what an incredible range of talent we have in it. It's like a kind of showcase for those faces you know.
The Dubliner went on: “Ciaran Hinds for instance, I was thrilled when we got him to Kila Lord Cassidy and Elaine Cassidy, who I've been a fan of for donkeys years, and as mother and daughter they bring a particular intimacy and an eerie similarity to the role.
"So I'm so glad we found that.”
The Irish drama will be released in Irish Cinemas on 2 November and on Netflix globally from 16 November.
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