Composer Thomas Newman Leads with Most Original Music Scores Eligible for Oscar Nomination

Ninety-seven scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures are in competition for nominations in the Original Score category for the 84th Academy Awards.

Composer Thomas Newman

Composer Thomas Newman has the most original scores eligible for nomination. He has four: The Adjustment Bureau, The Debt, The Help, and The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep. One, or more of these feature motion pictures will get a best picture nod.

Thomas Newman, has exemplary musical pedigree, being the son of composer Alfred Newman; nephew of Lionel Newman and Emil Newman; and cousin of Randy Newman. An accomplished pianist, Newman almost always plays piano on his own scores, typically during slow, moody passages.

He has been nominated for nine best score Oscars, but has never won, not even for such motion pictures as Finding Nemo, Road to Perdition, Little Women, American Beauty, and The Shawshank Redemption. I think 2012 may be this Newman's year.

Composer Alexandre Desplat is not nominated for The Tree of Life. It could be because much of the music for that movie consists of vintage recordings, and that movie score was disqualified. Desplat is nominated for three other scores: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and The Ides of March.

A possible cousin of mine, one of the James among many in the Horner family, this one known as James Roy and an Oscar-winning composer (Titanic, Avatar, Braveheart, etc.), is not nominated this year, either.

The venerable John Williams is nominated for The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse, both collaborations with Steven Spielberg. They have worked together going back to Jaws. Williams won Oscars for Jaws, ET, and Shindler's List. See his full music composition repertoire.

The eligible scores along with the composer(s) are listed below in alphabetical order by film title:

The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
African Cats, Nicholas Hooper
Albert Nobbs, Brian Byrne
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Mark Mothersbaugh
Anonymous, Thomas Wander and Harald Kloser
Another Earth, Phil Mossman and Will Bates
Answers to Nothing, Craig Richey
Arthur Christmas, Harry Gregson-Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
@urFRENZ, Lisbeth Scott
Atlas Shrugged Part, Elia Cmiral
Battle: Los Angeles, Brian Tyler
Beastly, Marcelo Zarvos
The Big Year, Theodore Shapiro
Captain America: The First Avenger, Alan Silvestri
Cars 2, Michael Giacchino
Cedar Rapids, Christophe Beck
Conan the Barbarian, Tyler Bates
The Conspirator, Mark Isham
Contagion, Cliff Martinez
Coriolanus, Ilan Eshkeri, composer
DAM999, Ousepachan, composer
The Darkest Hour, Tyler Bates
The Debt, Thomas Newman
Dolphin Tale, Mark Isham
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Dream House, John Debney
The Eagle, Atli Orvarsson
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Alexandre Desplat
Fast Five, Brian Tyler
The First Grader, Alex Heffes
The Flowers of War, Qigang Chen
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
The Greatest Miracle, Mark McKenzie
Green Lantern, James Newton Howard
Hanna, Tom Rowlands
Happy Feet Two, John Powell
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," Alexandre Desplat
The Help, Thomas Newman
Hop, Christopher Lennertz
Hugo, Howard Shore
I Don’t Know How She Does It, Aaron Zigman
The Ides of March, Alexandre Desplat
Immortals, Trevor Morris
In Search of God, Rupam Sarmah
In the Land of Blood and Honey, Gabriel Yared
In Time, Craig Armstrong
Insidious, Joseph Bishara
The Iron Lady, Thomas Newman
J. Edgar, Clint Eastwood Jane Eyre, Dario Marianelli
The Lady, Eric Serra
Like Crazy, Dustin O’Halloran
Margaret, Nico Muhly
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Michael Giacchino
Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Rolfe Kent
Moneyball, Mychael Danna
Monte Carlo, Michael Giacchino
New Year’s Eve, John Debney
Norman, Andrew Bird
One Day, Rachel Portman, composer
Puss in Boots, Henry Jackman
Rampart, Dickon Hinchliffe
Real Steel, Danny Elfman
Rebirth, Philip Glass
Red Riding Hood, Alex Heffes and Brian Reitzell
Restless, Danny Elfman
Rio, John Powell
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Patrick Doyle
The Rite, Alex Heffes
The Rum Diary, Christopher Young
Sanctum, David Hirschfelder
Sarah’s Key, Max Richter
Senna, Antonio Pinto
Shame, Harry Escott
The Skin I Live In, Alberto Iglesias
The Smurfs, Heitor Pereira
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Rachel Portman
Super 8, Michael Giacchino
Take Shelter, David Wingo
The Thing, Marco Beltrami
Thor, Patrick Doyle
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
Tower Heist, Christophe Beck
W.E., Abel Korzeniowski
War Horse, John Williams
Warrior, Mark Isham
Water for Elephants, James Newton Howard
The Way, Tyler Bates
We Bought a Zoo, Jon Thor Birgisson
We Need to Talk about Kevin, Jonny Greenwood
Win Win, Lyle Workman
Winnie the Pooh, Henry Jackman
X-Men: First Class, Henry Jackman
Young Adult, Rolfe Kent
Your Highness, Steve Jablonsky

A Reminder List of works submitted in the Original Score category will be sent with a nominations ballot to all members of the Music Branch who shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements. The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award.

To be eligible, the original score must be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer. Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer will not be eligible.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood and Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Clint Eastwood Awarded Lifetime Palme d'Or

Today, actor/director/producer Clint Eastwood, received a lifetime Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) from the organizers of the Cannes International Film Festival. The ceremony took place during a news conference and cocktail party at the chic Parisian restaurant, Le Fouquet's. Each year, the prestigious Palme d'Or is awarded to the top film at Cannes.

The Cannes International Film Festival has awarded only one other lifetime Palme d'Or, which was given to the great Swedish director Ingmar Bergman during the event's 50th edition in 1997.

Eastwood, 78, was in Paris to promote his latest movie, GRAN TORINO. He stars in the movie and directed it. It is doing great at the box office, but neither Clint nor his movie was nominated for the Academy Awards® (Oscars®). Unusual, considering his nominations and wins over the last three decades -- won four.

The presentation was moved ahead of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival because Eastwood will be filming in South Africa at the time of this year's Festival on the Riviera, 13 - 24 May. The organizers were being frugal by taking advantage of Eastwood's stop in Paris, and Eastwood received the added publicity for GRAND TORINO, which opened in French theaters the same day as his award. Quid Pro Quo!

61st Cannes Winners Spread Among Countries

The 61st Cannes Film Festival, which wrapped today, spread the festival awards among many countries with the biggest winners being France and Italy.

The jury headed by Sean Penn named the French movie THE CLASS (Entre Les Murs), the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) winner for best film at Cannes. It was directed by Laurent Cantet (TIME OUT, 2001, HUMAN RESOURCES, 1999), and is based on an autobiographical novel by Francois Begaudeau who plays himself as a young French teacher facing a sometimes rebellious class (surprise?).

The Grand Prix runner-up prize went to Italy's GOMORRAH (Gomorra), Matteo Garrone's hard-hitting film about the world of modern day Naples crime families, the principal one being the Camorra family. The movie is based on the book by Neapolitan writer Roberto Saviano.

The second Italian competition entry, IL DIVO, a satire on the life of former prime minister Giulio Andreotti and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, won the jury award.

A special prize was given to screen legend Catherine Deneuve, as well as Clint Eastwood whose film THE EXCHANGE (a.k.a., CHANGELING) was in competition. The Camera d'Or for best new directorial debut went to Britain's Steve McQueen for HUNGER. Yes, that's his name.

The Best Director award went to Turkey's Nuri Bilge Ceylan's dark tale, THREE MONKEYS.

Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro was named Best Actor for his portrayal of the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara in Steven Soderbergh's epic four-and-a-half hour CHE (USA).

The Best Actress award went to Brazil's Sandra Corveloni. She portrays the trials of a now pregnant mother, who already has four sons, in the popular Brazilian drama LINHA DE PASSE (Line of Passage), co-written and directed by Walter Salles, which is set in the slums of Sao Paulo.

Belgium's Dardenne brothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc, won Best Screenplay for LORNA'S SILENCE. Previously, the brothers have won two Golden Palms together: L' ENFANT (2005) and ROSETTA (1999).

The Federation of International Film Critics (FIPRESCI) awarded their FIPRESCI Prize for "Revolation Film" to Mexican filmmaker Fernando Eimbcke's second feature, LAKE TAHOE. The award was announced 19 May during Critics' Week.

Films receiving this award at Cannes must have won a FIPRESCI at a previous festival during the year, and TAHOE won the FIPRESCI at the Berlinale in Berlin this year. His first film, DUCK SEASON, won the same award during the Cannes Critics' Week in 2004.

For a list of the 22 films in competition, to read more about these films and Cannes, click the link on the right sidebar to access my Film Festivals Page-Part I.

Proposed Rule Change for Foreign Movies

I wish to make a proposal to change the names of the Best Motion Picture and the Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF) categories effective for the 2009 81st Academy Awards®. A change is long overdue. Read on to see why it may make some sense.

In June, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences® (AMPAS®) mailed rules and entry forms to 95 Countries inviting them to submit a feature motion picture for the Best Foreign Language Film of 2007 Oscar® category. The 80th Academy Awards will be this coming February.

The rules for the Best Foreign Language Film (BFLF) this year are contained in Rule 14. The old language rule for the BFLF read that the film must be in the official language of the submitting country. Last year, the Academy designated that, "A foreign language film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track." The members made no changes in this rule for 2007. See link on right sidebar under Archives for July 2006 for more on the rule changes last year.

Apparently, the two-phase committee screening process instituted last year is still in place, since the previous nominating process has not been rescinded. Five motion pictures will be nominated from the committee(s). The final voting for the BFLF Award still will be restricted to active and life Academy members who have attended Academy screenings, or other exhibitions, and have been certified as to having seen all five motion pictures nominated for the award.

It is the producer of a motion picture who accepts the golden statuette for a Best Motion Picture at the Academy. However, in most countries, it is the director who accepts awards for Best Picture (Film). Therefore, in regards to the BFLF, the Academy this year determined that, "The Academy statuette (Oscar®) will be awarded to the picture and accepted by the director on behalf of the film's creative talents." Finally!

Someone took issue about my statement that Géraldine Chaplin might be nominated for her role as Aurora in THE ORPHANAGE (the official selection from Spain submitted for the BFLF category), which I wrote in a previous post. I wish to point out that the Academy rule is specific. The rule states, "Films submitted for BFLF Award consideration may also qualify for the 80th Annual Academy Awards in other categories, provided they meet the requirements of the special rules governing those categories." In this case, any special rules governing the acting categories.

Actually, Rule One, Paragraph 3, states that, "Awards of Merit in the form of gold statuette trophies of the Academy (Oscar®) shall be conferred annually for the following achievements: . . . " and the major awards are outlined.

Rule Two, Paragraph 8, states, "Motion pictures from all countries shall be eligible for the annual awards listed in Rule One [sic] Paragraph 3, as long as they satisfy the requirements of the other applicable rules, and contain English subtitles if released in a foreign language."

In other words, the spoken language in the movie is not a problem in any category other than the BFLF, yet the Academy specifically requires that motion pictures from other countries adhere to the non-English rule. Clint Eastwood's movie LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, filmed in Japanese, was nominated with the American movies for Best Motion Picture of 2006, under the current rules. Mel Gibson made a movie in a language other than English, too, APOCALYPTO, 2006. Both were domestically produced, but they are non-English movies. BABEL, Best Motion Picture of 2006 is a multi-language movie. Spoken English is only a small portion of the dialogue.

One of the hottest movies this year will be THE KITE RUNNER, directed by Marc Forster (FINDING NEVERLAND, 2002), whom I've been told chose to film KITE RUNNER (USA) in English, Dari, Pashtu, Urdu and Russian, much like last year's Oscar winner BABEL At any rate, there will be more multi-language movies made by American companies and foreign countries in coming years.

Besides spoken words, motion pictures have visual, rythmic, technical languages that are far more important than the ethnic dialogue attached to them. I have a proposal for a change in the rules for Best Motion Picture, and Best Foreign Language Film categories - - both categories need renaming. Either remove the word "Language" from the BFLF category, or the two categories should read: Best Motion Picture in English and Best Motion Picture in a Language other than English.

My questions are, "If American directors can make movies in any language and submit their movie to the Academy, why are directors outside America required to use a language other than English? Why can't a Japanese director make a movie solely in English for his country to submit as their official representative foreign motion picture for the Oscars, if an American director can make a motion picture solely in Japanese and it is eligible for an Oscar, no language restrictions applied?"

The answer is: Because of the way the current rules are written and the categories are named. By insisting upon a language qualifier, the Academy keeps the foreign producers and directors at a disadvantage at the U.S. box office. The rules as written are now discriminatory, but I certainly advocate including foreign motion pictures at the Oscars.

Also, why is the top category "Best Motion Picture" while the foreign category is "Best Foreign Language Film?" Both are feature-length movies made through the same process and qualify within the same length restrictions. Therefore, I suggest the categories be designated as: Best (Domestic, American, U.S, etc.) Motion Picture of 20_ _, and Best Foreign Motion Picture of 20_ _.

At the very least, the designation should be motion picture, and not film for the foreign category. It has become customary to use film with the other categories along with their other qualifiers (feature, short, live, documentary, animated, etc.), but they are all motion pictures.

I once had a film professor at Southern Cal (USC) who clarified it this way, "A motion picture is a filmed or taped series of pictures that move, which is viewed by some mechanical or electronic means." On the other hand, "Film is one material (tape or film) and/or process that allows the motion picture to be made and viewed." I like those definitions.

Of course, all of this will be a mute point in less than ten years when everything will be digital, and new students will ask, "Tape? Film? What are those?"

However, a motion picuture will still be a series of pictures that move, but the new definition is likely to include holographic pictures that move. It is even possible within that same ten years the Academy will be obliged to adopt a new name for this century such as, American Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences. Think about it!

I suggest these changes because I believe they are needed due to this quickly evolving electronic and cultural age in which we live. I hope the Board of Governors will give these suggestions serious consideration.

Honorary Oscars® at Gala - Morricone and Lansing

Composer-conductor Ennio Morricone, who has composed more than 300 motion picture scores over a 45-year career, was voted an Honorary Award by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last December. The Oscar statuette, was presented at the 79th Academy Awards® Gala, 25 February 2007, by Clint Eastwood for "Morricone's magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music.” Eastwood translated into English as Morricone read his acceptance speech in Italian.

Morricone has never received an Oscar, although he has earned five Academy Award nominations for original scores, DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978), THE MISSION (1986), THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987), BUGSY (1991) and MALẺNA (2000).

It was fitting for the Oscar presentation was made by Eastwood, long associated with Morricone and director Sergio Leone in the so-called "spagetti westerns." Born in Rome, Morricone was hired in 1964 by Leone and began a long collaboration with him, although Morricone's career has spanned most film genres from comedy and romance to horror.

The bulk of his work has been on Italian films, including THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY; A FISTFULL OF DOLLARS; ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA; and CINEMA PARADISO. Yet, Morricone has composed memorable scores for such international titles as BULWORTH; IN THE LINE OF FIRE; LA CAGE AUX FOLLES; and TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA. Due for a 2008 release is his current project, LENINGRAD. More about Morricone.

Also, the Board of Governors voted to honor Sherry Lansing, the former chairman of Paramount Communications Motion Picture Group, and first woman to head a major movie studio, with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Tom Cruise presented the golden statuette at the gala. The Hersholt Award is given to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.

Lansing helped Dr. Armand Hammer form the nonprofit organization Stop Cancer and serves on its board. She is on the board of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, founded to honor excellence in basic and clinical science, and is a trustee of the American Association for Cancer Research. In addition, she serves on the Citizens’ Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Stem Cell Research, on the American Red Cross Board of Governors Advisory Committee and is a trustee of the Carter Center, the human rights organization formed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn. She also serves as a regent of the University of California.

A graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Lansing got her feet wet in Hollywood as an actress, a career she quickly abandoned for production. She joined Talent Associates as an executive in charge of development in 1974, moving to MGM in 1975. Two years later, she became vice president in charge of production at Columbia Pictures.

She was named president of 20th Century-Fox Productions in 1980, and in 1983 formed Jaffe-Lansing Productions with Stanley Jaffe. After Jaffe was appointed president of Paramount Communications in 1990, Jaffe-Lansing Productions disbanded, and Lansing became chairman of the Motion Picture Group in 1992. Viacom became the parent company of Paramount Communications in 1993 after a hostile takeover fight with Barry Diller.

Under pressure from Viacom's Chief Executive Sumner Redstone, she resigned that position when her contract expired in 2000. While at Paramount, Lansing was responsible for the studio's biggest hit, FORREST GUMP, among others. More about Lansing.