Fox Searchlight has set an awards season release for “Brooklyn,” slotting the Saoirse Ronan drama for a Nov. 6 launch.

“Brooklyn,” the story of an immigrant’s journey to New York, was bought during Sundance for $9 million following its Jan. 25 premiere at the festival.

Ronan plays a native of Ireland who leaves for Brooklyn in 1952. The movie was directed by John Crowley and adapted by Nick Hornby from the novel written by Colm Toibin.

Producers are Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey. Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters also star.

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Weeks before the Oscars were handed out Sunday, studios were already taking meetings with awards consultants for next year’s best picture contenders. What movies might we be hearing about again (and again … and again) later this year? An early stab at a top 10, in alphabetical order:

“Brooklyn,” (Fox Searchlight, release TBA): Searchlight paid $9 million at Sundance for this exquisite immigrant love story — and that might end up being a bargain price. Set in 1950s New York, it follows a homesick Irish woman (Saoirse Ronan) struggling to adapt to her new life until she meets a sweet Italian plumber (Emory Cohen). It’s beautifully crafted, emotionally turbulent and sports a superb lead turn by the 20-year-old Ronan, making good on the promise she first showed in “Atonement.”

“Carol,” (The Weinstein Co., fall): The latest from Todd Haynes (“Far from Heaven”), a drama about a married woman (Cate Blanchett) embarking on a lesbian romance with a younger woman (Rooney Mara) in the early 1950s, will likely premiere at Cannes this May.

“Demolition,” (Fox Searchlight, fall): Director Jean-Marc Vallee (“Dallas Buyers Club,” “Wild”) knows how to win Oscar nominations for his actors, which might mean Jake Gyllenhaal will finally get his due for this drama about an investment banker widower whose world is changed when he meets a single mother (Naomi Watts).

“In the Heart of the Sea,” (Warner Bros., Dec. 11): Ron Howard’s historical thriller about the 1820 sinking of the whaleship Essex was moved to a prime awards release date after being initially slated for March. The studio has a strong history of turning quality commercial movies (“Argo,” “American Sniper”) into Oscar contenders.

“Joy,” (20th Century Fox, Christmas): David O. Russell. Jennifer Lawrence. They’ve been to the dance together twice before (“Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle”), so why doubt this biographical dramedy about the Long Island single mom who invented the Miracle Mop?

“Money Monster,” (TriStar, TBA): George Clooney plays a self-serving TV stock huckster (paging Jim Cramer!) taken hostage by a gunman on air and forced to come clean. Jodie Foster directs; Julia Roberts costars. Expect Clooney to have plenty of fun promoting this one.

“The Revenant,” (20th Century Fox, Christmas): In between stocking his mantle with awards, “Birdman” director-producer-writer Alejandro G. Inarritu spent the past few months shooting this revenge-themed western about a frontiersman (Leonaro DiCaprio) mauled by a bear and left to die by his companions. Expect to see plenty of Inarritu again on the awards circuit.

“St. James Place,” (Touchstone, Oct. 16): Steven Spielberg’s Cold War historical thriller reunites him with Tom Hanks, who plays attorney James Donovan, the man asked to negotiate the release of Francis Gary Powers, the pilot of the U-2 spy plane shot down in Soviet airspace in 1960.

“Steve Jobs,” (Universal, Oct. 9): That biopic of the Apple co-founder that caused so much consternation between producer Scott Rudin and then-Sony studio head Amy Pascal will arrive in October via Universal and director Danny Boyle. Michael Fassbender stars. Burning question: Will Angelina Jolie be invited to the premiere?

“Suffragette,” (no distributor yet): This British production doesn’t have a U.S. distributor yet but it does feature Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan playing women fighting for voting rights in England in the early 1900s. And it’s directed by a woman, Sarah Gavron. You did see the reaction to Patricia Arquette’s speech at the Oscars, right?

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According to Latino Review, Taron Edgerton (“Kingsman: The Secret Service“), Jamie Blackley (“If I Stay“), and Tye Sheridan (“Mud“) are all in the mix to play young Cyclops in the film. The studio is looking at a talented batch of young actors here, and Edgerton is already set to possibly launch into bigger and better things with ‘Kingsman’ getting hugely positive notices.

Young Storm has Alexandra Shipp (“Aaliyah: The Princess Of R&B“) and Zendaya Coleman looking to fill Halle Berry‘s wig. Meanwhile, young Jean Grey has slightly more established names like “Game Of Thrones” star Sophie Turner and Saoirse Ronan in the mix. Nothing wrong with either of those picks as far as we’re concerned, and while it looks like the cast is sort of rebooting again, with the core “X-Men: First Class” team returning (Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, etc.), these new faces will add some fresh blood to the proceedings.

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Set in the early 1950s, Brooklyn is the story of a young woman played by Ronan who moves from small town Ireland to Brooklyn, New York, where she has the opportunity for work and romance with an Italian-American played by Emory Cohen.

When a family tragedy brings her back to Ireland, she finds herself absorbed into her old community.

Romance sparks between her and local boy Jim Farrell, played by Gleeson, and she finds herself torn about returning to America. Author Toibin (below) said he was impressed with the adaptation and described Ronan’s performance as “extraordinary”.

“It’s very, very emotional. It’s the first time I suppose she’s doing a part as a lead actress as an adult on her own and she’s absolutely extraordinary,” he said.

He also revealed that Ronan had major on-screen chemistry with co-star Cohen.

“Emory Cohen plays it as pure charm. He’ll do anything to win her,” he said.

The screenplay was written by About A Boy author Nick Hornby and is set to hit cinemas next year.

Brooklyn marks the fifth Irish production with support from the Irish Film Board to screen at the festival over the years.

Kerry director Gerard Barrett will be taking his new film Glassland to the festival established by Robert Redford.

Starring Jack Reynor, Toni Colette and Will Poulter, it tells the story of a young man trying to cope with an alcoholic mother in Tallaght.

“It’s such an honour and privilege to take this film to Sundance. To be in competition at Sundance really is special,” said Barrett.

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The acclaimed actress (20) has finished filming on the movie based on the novel of the same name by award-winning Irish author Colm Toibin.

Co-starring Domhnall Gleeson, it tells the story of a young woman named Eilis who moves from a rural town in Ireland to the bright lights of Brooklyn as she tries to follow her dreams.

Once in the US, Eilis is initially homesick, but soon settles down in the city and falls in love with an Italian plumber called Tony, who is played by Emory Cohen.

And having seen the first version of the movie, which saw Nick Hornby writing the screenplay, Toibin was left singing the praises of the Carlow native.

“It’s very, very emotional. It’s the first time I suppose she’s doing a part as a lead actress as an adult on her own and she’s absolutely extraordinary,” he said.

“I thought, maybe this is for people who remember emigration but all the young people who came from the publishers and agency in London, they were all in tears of the choice she had to make.

“Was she going to stay in Ireland or was she going to go back to Brooklyn and the guy, the American actor Emory Cohen plays it as pure charm. He’ll do anything to win her.”

He also said there was wonderful chemistry between her and the ‘Stars Wars’ actor, who’s quickly becoming the toast of Hollywood and plays Saoirse’s love interest in the film.

“Domhnall Gleeson in Ireland plays it the other way around (to Cohen).

“He is just so sincere, so honest, so decent that he would mean pure stability and he sort of needs her and she can see that every word he says is true. So they’re playing the opposite ways against each other and she has to decide which way to go,” Toibin told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny.

The cast also includes Jim Broadbent as the village priest and Julie Waters as Ronan’s mum with the production shot in locations including Enniscorthy in Wexford and Dublin.

Set in 1950’s Ireland, the shoot then moved on to Montreal in Canada with the movie scheduled for release in early 2015 with Toibin saying the only thing left to do is add the music score to the film.

Author Toibin will shortly publish his eight novel, which is entitled Nora Webster.

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One of the youngest actresses to be nominated for an Oscar, it was clear from the outset that Saoirse Ronan was destined for big things, and that’s before you throw her actor father Paul Ronan into the mix. Earning the election at just 13 for her role in 2007’s Atonement, she went on to star alongside the likes of Susan Sarandon (in 2009’s The Lovely Bones) and Cate Blanchett (2011’s Hanna). Now, at just 20 years old, Ronan already has a reputation for role picking done right.

When we catch her jetlagged and cocooned in blankets on a sofa in her home in Ireland, Ronan is doing what any sensible girl would do: indulging in a 24-hour marathon of Homeland, her latest obsession. We talk through upcoming films Stockholm, Pennsylvania and Brooklyn, dream director collaborations and why integrity is paramount.

Wonderland: Talk us through the films you have coming out.
Saoirse Ronan: At the start of the year I did Stockholm, Pennsylvania. It’s a tiny film written and directed by Nikole Beckwith. It was her first time directing and we did it in 19 days, on a million dollar budget. I’d never done anything like that before. It was interesting to see how somebody, especially a new filmmaker, could handle that kind of pressure. After that I had about a week off, before moving onto Brooklyn.

W: It’s certainly intriguing. What’s the role like?
S: Stockholm is about a girl called Leia who’s in her early twenties. At the start she’s rescued, after seven years, from her kidnapper, who raised her in a basement. She has never seen the light of day until she is handed back to her biological parents in the second scene, but she doesn’t know these people. It’s mainly about the relationship between Leia and her mother, and how she doesn’t see why it’s wrong to be completely in love (in a childlike way) with her kidnapper, despite what he did. Her mother, played by Cynthia Nixon, spirals out of control, imprisoning Leia in a different way. Both films are centred on women. Brooklyn is based on a book by Colm Tóibín. It’s set in the 1950s and follows Eilis Lacey’s journey to New York to start a new life. It follows immigrants and Irish people in general, who made that trip, showing its difficulties, wonders and heart-breaks. I’ve never been so affected by a film before. The screenplay was written by Nick Hornby; it’s a gorgeous and very simple take on life.

W: He does it so well, doesn’t he?
S: He really does. It spans two years of Eilis’s life within the first half hour – going over to New York, getting a job and meeting a boy, before a family tragedy brings her home after a few months. It’s about how her relationship with home has changed, which I really got. Once you move away from home, it’s never quite the same again. You expect everything to be just as you left it, and it never is. It’s almost the first step into adulthood, realising you’ve got to make your own way.

W: You’ve picked two quite independent films to star in. How do go about choosing roles?
S: The story always comes first – it’s paramount. A lot of actresses who I’ve worked with have said that this is a tricky age – you can’t quite do the coming of age roles anymore, or maybe you don’t want to, and nobody has seen you as a young woman yet. Brooklyn was perfect for me. I’ve done a couple of biggish movies, but it was never down to exposure or money. I remember there was a toss-up between a big action film and Atonement, but I knew what I wanted to do. People make different decisions regarding their work, for different reasons. I keep it as simple as I can.

W: How did you stay rational about being nominated for an Oscar so young?
S: I was 13, so I didn’t think about it. It would be different now as I’m more aware of how the industry works. It’s amazing to look back on. I think Atonement was a very important film for all involved. It was really exciting to be on a film set with people who have won like 12 Oscars, but I knew I wasn’t going to win.

W: Do nominees know that kind of thing?
S: Yeah, I had an insider! No, I just I knew. I was in a category with Tilda [Swinton], Cate [Blanchett] and Amy Ryan, so I knew one of them would win. But it was amazing to be in the front row at the Academy Awards with my parents.

W: How did your dad prep you for the Oscars? Obviously he knows the game, so to speak.
S: He hadn’t really been to any award shows apart from the Iscars, which is the Irish Oscars. It’s just as good, obviously. It’s like a huge wedding that everyone in the Irish film industry is invited to…

W: Like The Godfather or something?
S: Yeah, basically. It’s like the Irish Godfather awards! So the three of us went [to the Oscars] not knowing what to expect. It’s definitely on a bigger scale than any other award show, another realm altogether. At one point John Travolta and his wife were in front of us. If I met him now, I’d be more excited because I love Saturday Night Fever and Grease so much. My mum went to see Saturday Night Fever at the cinema 27 times when it first came out – she’s obsessed. When they said hello to us, it absolutely made her night.

W: You were a front-runner for the role of Katniss in The Hunger Games. How do you feel about that in retrospect?
S: I love Jennifer Lawrence – she’s done an incredible job with the film. A lot of girls auditioned for it, it wasn’t like I was offered it and turned it down or anything. I only auditioned. It was years ago, so I’m fine about it.

W: If you had the choice, which directors would you like to work with next?
S: I would love to work with Lenny Abrahamson, he’s an Irish director. He just did Frank and he’s made some of the best Irish films, including my favourite, Adam & Paul. I like it when Irish filmmakers’ work is unrelated to Ireland. Jonathan Glazer is really brilliant as well and obviously I want to work with the legends: Tarantino, Spielberg and Alexander Payne…

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Saoirse Ronan has said Byzantium star Gemma Arterton was very maternal to her, which helped the pair to bond on set of new film Byzantium.

The pair play a couple of vampires who are mother and daughter in the fantasy thriller from Interview With A Vampire’s Neil Jordan, which was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Saoirse said: “She’s lovely, she’s very, very sweet and somebody who I got on with pretty much straight away. And she’s got a real maternal instinct as well, which I think helped for us to get along even better from the off.

“We’re in pretty much everything together, we have a lot of scenes together so we got to know each other quite well and she’s just lovely.”

The 18-year-old Irish actress said the film couldn’t really be compared to Interview With A Vampire.

She said: “I think the way the story is told, and even visually it is very different to Interview With A Vampire. That was quite traditional in the way the story was told, which was so beautiful.

The grandeur is still there when it comes to the imagery and the cinematography and all that kind of stuff. This is a very beautiful film to look at, but that jump between present and past, and fantasy and reality, is kind of like a Neil Jordan stamp.

“So you can expect to see a Neil Jordan film when you go to see this.”

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Irish actress Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, Hannah) stars in Neil Jordan’s vampire film, Byzantium, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival Sunday. The 18-year-old described her first on-screen kiss:

“My very first on-screen kiss was in my very first film that no one ever saw because it never came out. I was 11 years old and hadn’t kissed a boy before. I went up to the director, Amy Heckerling who did Clueless, and said, ‘Okay. How long do you want me to kiss this guy for because I don’t want this going on for very long?’ She said, ‘You know, a few seconds.’ ‘No, how many seconds?’ She said, ‘I don’t know. Maybe three seconds?’ Every time we’d do a take, I’d make sure it was only three seconds and I’d pull away.”

She’s had several on-screen kisses since — timing them is no longer an issue.

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With ‘Byzantium’ set to premiere at this weekend’s Toronto International Film Festival, acclaimed Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan – who was in Dublin this week for a special Irish Film & Television Academy screening of ‘The Crying Game’ – took five minutes with IFTN to discuss his 17th feature as a director; his memories of ‘The Crying Game’ 20 years on; and ‘Broken Dream’, his collaboration with director John Boorman.

Neil, while in one way you are looking back on the past this week with ‘The Crying Game’ anniversary, you must also be looking forward to Sunday’s world premiere of ‘Byzantium’, which you filmed here in Ireland?
Yes, it’s very good. It’s a very good movie but I can’t say that much about it because it’s not coming out until next weekend. It’s set in England, in a little seaside town, and it’s kind of a quasi-vampire story. We almost ended up shooting it [here] in Ireland, by default. I introduced some Irish elements into it [the script]. There’s a mythic story in it. There’s an 18th century story and a 20th century story to it, so I ended up introducing elements to the 20th century story. We ended up shooting 90 per cent of it here, everything but a week of it.

Has it got an Irish release date yet?
I don’t know because we have to work out when it is going to be released in America. It probably won’t be this year. It will probably be February or March. It depends on how they decide to handle it in America. We’ll know after the weekend.

Three of your last four films have been filmed here – ‘Byzantium’, ‘Ondine’ and ‘Breakfast on Pluto’ – what is it that you enjoy most about filming in Ireland?
Well, I suppose I still live here. It would be a bit strange if I never wrote anything to do with here. It would be a bit odd. I could have moved to Hollywood years ago, and I did for a while. In terms of filming here, ‘Ondine’ was all about the landscape, pure and simple. It was about that little corner of the world, of the universe. It was about that and nothing else. ‘Breakfast on Pluto’ was about… well what I thought was lovely about the script, was the way that it told a certain truth about the 1970s that I remember very clearly – that sort of mad glamour and violence at the same time. ‘Byzantium’ is more like ‘Interview with The Vampire’ or ‘The Company of Wolves’. It’s a fantasy.

‘Byzantium’ will receive its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this Sunday (September 9).

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A host of Ireland’s most famous faces were basking in the early September sunshine at Electric Picnic over the weekend, including Bono and his wife Ali who checked out Gavin Friday’s set on, em, Friday. The pair returned on Saturday to catch Villagers and The Cure. Others who were spotted over the weekend included Saoirse Ronan, Neil Jordan, Cat Deeley, John Rocha, Brian O’Driscoll, Amy Huberman, Rob Kearney, Cian Healy and Diarmuid Gavin.

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