J.J. Abrams to Host Irish in Film Event

The Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film event, a staple of awards season since 2006, will shift venues next year and be hosted by J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot in Santa Monica.

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The intimate party, held each year on the Thursday before the Oscars, had been held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre.

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The Oscar Wilde shindig was created to recognize the contributions of the Irish to film and serve as a way for those in the U.S. and Ireland creative industries to meet once a year. The recent filming of Universal’s Your Highness was the result of what began with an introduction via the nonprofit U.S.-Ireland Alliance, the organizer of the event.

Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, have regularly attended the party, and last year the producer-director was made an “honorary” Irishman. Tom Cruise, who starred for Abrams in the third Mission: Impossible feature, presented him with his award.

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“J.J. and Katie have been good friends to me and the event and we’re thrilled they’ve invited us to hold it at Bad Robot,” said Trina Vargo, the Washington-based founder and president of the U.S.-Ireland Alliance. “This shift in venue also gives us a chance to re-imagine things a bit. From the start, it’s been small, intimate and casual — a house-party feel. And it will be even more so at Bad Robot.”

The Alliance also announced that CAA agent Hylda Queally, a native of Ireland, has joined the organization’s advisory board.