U.S.-Ireland event to laud Van Morrison

You knew he could sing, but did you know he was such a soundtrack king as well?

Van Morrison’s music has been included in nearly 50 films over the years, most recently in “The Departed” (a version of “Comfortably Numb”), a career that will get the pre-Oscar treatment Feb. 22 during the “Oscar Wilde: Honoring Irish Writing in Film” event at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

The event is the second annual program to benefit the U.S.-Ireland Alliance, a nonprofit group aimed at strengthening ties between the countries.

Al Pacino is scheduled to present the award to Morrison, who is also scheduled to perform.

Writer-director Terry George and screenwriter William Monaghan will also receive awards.