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I didn't discover the beauty and brilliance of Once until at least a half a year after everyone else, but needless to say, I loved it. Part of the movie's charm was due in large part to stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova and their music, but what about writer-director John Carney? Clearly he played a large role in constructing the film, and ever since then I've been wondering what else he is capable of. Well, recently we got a look at the trailer for his next film, and believe me when I say that it's something completely different. Zonad is a movie about a man who turns up in a small Irish town wearing a strange outfit and claims to be a visitor from another planet. This isn't another remake of Starman, however; from the outset it is made clear that he is an escaped convict trying to pull one over on the locals.

Zonad is the story about an escaped convict who fools a whole Irish village into thinking he's a visitor from outer space. Zonad, a strange visitor comes to the town of Ballymoran, is taken in by the Cassiday family and accepted by the locals as an extraterrestrial.

The film is directed by 'Once' director John Carney, who also co-wrote the film with his brother Kieran. The film stars Simon Delaney, David Pearse, Rory Keenan and Geoff Minogue and is due for release in Ireland, 17 March 2010.

Irish films generally fall into a few limited categories. There's the dark and dour movies that explore their troubled history with the Ira (Bloody Sunday), films that focus on abuses at the hands of misguided and violent authority figures (The Magdalene Sisters), movies where people sing bad songs poorly (Once), and then there's the whimsical fantasies about seal people attempting to enslave humanity (The Secret of Roan Inish). That's it really. But now a fifth category can be added to the official Irish film canon... zany comedy! Zonad is about the people of a small town in Ireland that witness a comet streak across the sky and the arrival of a strange visitor. Zonad is his name, and dressing like a sausage is his game. Not really, but his outfit is pretty damn tight. He claims to be from outer space, and his interactions and relationships with the townsfolk form the basis of this new fish out...

Yes, please.

The full trailer for John Carney's latex-clad comedy Zonad is freshly arrived on the scene and I want more.

Simon Delaney stars as a man who escapes from a rehab facility on the night a comet passes close to the earth and hides out in a small rural town, convincing the gullible local residents that he is actually an alien from another world.

This is just smart, funny stuff, the sort of fish-out-of-water (but not really) story that could very well become a word-of-mouth cult hit.  Check the trailer below!

Here’s a little piece or tease for the upcoming comedy Sci-Fi? “Zonad”. The bit I just saw is funny enough for me to want to share it with you, my Sci-Fi buddies. It’s directed by John Carney and stars David Murray and Simon Delaney (Zonad, himself) Not sure when we’ll get to see it, only that I want to. Thanks Quiet Earth for the tip.

Funny thing about John Carney. The Irish writer-director may have broken into the international scene with the touching indie-musical-drama Once - leading people to believe he's one of those sensitive Celtic types, all deep-eyes and well in touch with their emotions - but, really, he's a big geek. And now he's a big geek with a scifi-comedy to his credit.

Releasing in Irish theaters in March is Zonad, the story of an alien from outer space who drops onto the doorstep of a tiny countryside community when a comet passes close to the planet. Probably. Maybe. Okay, almost certainly not. Here's how the production company describes it:

Zonad follows the story of Liam, a rehab escapee, whose arrival in a small Irish town coincides with a rare comet sighting, making the (very) gullible local community hail him as an alien from another Galaxy.

Check the teaser below!

The first teaser trailer for writer/director John Carney’s Zonad has hit the net. If Carney’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because he wrote and directed Once back in 2006 and the film was a massive hit around the world.

In his new film - which stars Simon Delaney, David Pearse, Rory Keenan, Don Wycherley, and Janice Byrne - we follow a rehab escapee named Liam whose arrival in a small Irish town coincides with a rare comet sighting, making the (very) gullible local community hail him as an alien from another Galaxy.

While the synopsis doesn’t exactly wow me, I loved Once and am curious about his follow up film. Hit the jump to check out the teaser trailer:

-...

Year: 2009

Directors: John Carney

Writers: John Carney & Kieran Carney

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: Alan Maxwell

Rating: 8 out of 10

In a small Irish town that feels like some Pleasantville-inspired alternate reality where the 1950s have never ended, the happy Cassidy family return home from watching a meteor shower to discover a portly man (Simon Delaney) in an outrageous outfit lying in the front room of their house. His name is Zonad and he's from outer space.

Or at least that's his story. The audience are very quickly alerted to the fact that this man isn't all he seems but in keeping this secret hidden from the population of the town, writer-director partnership John and Kieran Carney wring plenty of laughs from the contrast between our cynical modern attitudes represented by Zonad and the idealised vision of happiness that forms the life of the rest of the cast.

Despite the...

London -- Neil Jordan's "Ondine" and "The Eclipse," directed by Conor McPherson lead the pack with eight nominations apiece in the race for film glory at the upcoming 7th Annual Irish Film and Television Awards.

Both Jordan and McPherson will battle it out to win the evening's top director nod while the movies themselves find themselves vying with one another in the best film category.

The pair face John and Kieran Carney ("Zonad") and Jim Sheridan ("Brothers") in the best film director section while "Eamon," "The Secret of Kells" and "Zonad" all present a challenge to "Ondine" and "The Eclipse" in the best film category.

Dished out by the Irish Film and Television Academy at a ceremony in Dublin next month, the IFTAs serve as a timely reminder of the wealth of talent from the emerald isle. Nominees this year include newcomer Darren Healy alongside Colin Farrell, Ciaran Hinds,...

'Happy Ever Afters', the debut feature film from writer and director Stephen Burke (Anner House, No Tears) comes down the aisle on December 26th with the premise that sometimes the happiest day of all can be the most heartbreaking. Iftn chats to Burke and two of the film's stars Tom Riley and Jade Yourell. The film's plot is anything but straightforward: Freddie, played by Tom Riley (Lost in Austen, St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold) and Maura, played by Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky, An Education) are getting married, just not to each other. While Freddie is entering his second marriage with the neurotic Sophie, played by Jade Yourell (Waiting for Dublin, The Longest Day), Maura's is more concerned with her pockets than her heart in marrying 'Doctors' star, Ariyon Bakare's Wilson. Then, when the two wedding parties end up at the same reception venue,...

The 21st Galway Film Fleadh, which runs from July 7-12, has announced this year's festival line up. The weeklong programme of world premieres special tributes, Irish and international features, documentaries and shorts will also see a host of prestigious actors, directors and filmmakers join the celebrations. Opening this year's festival on July 7 will be Patricia Riggen's 'Under the Same Moon' which tells the heart breaking story of nine year old Carlos who is left behind in Mexico as his mother works in the Us in order to give Carlos a better chance in life. The Festival will close on July 12 with 'Fish Tank', director Andrea Arnold's latest feature, which stars Ifta winning actor Michael Fassbender who will also be attending the screening. Eight World Premieres will be screened at this year's Fleadh including; John Carney's 'Zonad'; 'The Disturbed', an epic thriller; Irish coming...