Hansard and Irglova's Once heading to Broadway

Glen Hansard might be the most gracious man in the business. When he and the angel-voiced Czech singer Marketa Irglova made the film Once—shot in Dublin over a mere 17 days for $160,000—the last thing on his mind was that it would lead to worldwide acclaim, a sold-out cross-country tour or even an Academy Award.

"The whole life and trajectory of this film has been incredibly fortunate and sort of crazy luck, as well as the fact that I think we made something that was just very, very simple," Hansard told Paste earlier this year. "It had a certain amount of believability, and people really liked the music, thank God. So I’m over the moon, and we’re all over the moon, but we had no real expectations with all this."

Once is turning out to be the gift that keeps on giving. Variety reports the Irish-busker-meets-girl love story will be adapted into a Broadway musical for the 2010-11 season. The adaptation will showcase music from the film—including "When Your Mind's Made Up" and the Oscar-winning "Falling Slowly"—alongside material Hansard and Irglova wrote that ended up on the cutting-room floor.

Hansard and Irglova, who travel by the moniker The Swell Season along with members from The Frames, will continue touring throughout Europe until the end of the year. Hansard says a new Frames album is in the works as well.

Just don't expect the duo to get behind the camera lens anytime soon. Hansard says doing another film may be too much of a good thing. "No, I’m going to leave that alone,” he told The New York Times. “I got lucky with the one I already did.”

Related links:
The Swell Season on MySpace
Features: Catching Up With... Glen Hansard
Features: Signs of Life 2007: Best Films

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