Oscar Wilde Awards Canceled for 2021
The event honors Irish contributions to Hollywood
This year’s edition of the Oscar Wilde Awards, which celebrates the work of those from Ireland who contribute to film, television and music, has been canceled.
The lively event traditionally takes place on the Thursday night before the Academy Awards at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company in Santa Monica, and that would have put it on April 22 this year. But with the pandemic still raging, US-Ireland Alliance president Trina Vargo has called off the party.
“Bringing together 400 people, at this point, would be irresponsible,” she said Friday in a statement. “We look forward to 2022 and the opportunity to gather again to honor the Irish in entertainment.”
The nonpartisan, nonprofit US-Ireland Alliance, which has hosted the Oscar Wilde Awards since 2006, was created to build contemporary ties between the U.S. and Ireland. Its George J. Mitchell Scholarship program, a nationwide competition, selects 12 future American leaders to pursue graduate study on the island.
Oscar Wilde honorees over the years have included Norman Lear, Jim Sheridan, Catherine O’Hara, Hylda Queally, Glenn Close, Ruth Negga, Saoirse Ronan, Martin Short, Carrie Fisher, Brendan Gleeson, Colm Meaney, Van Morrison, Terry George, Michelle Williams, Neil Jordan and late Hollywood Reporter writer-editor Steve Brennan.