Oscar 2012: Settling the Score
By Tom Houseman
December 30, 2011
BoxOfficeProphets.com
This process for voting on the nominees makes sense. After all, it is unlikely that screenwriters know much about sound editing, that song writers know much about cinematography, or that actors know much about... anything really. By allowing only the members of each branch to vote for specific categories it ensures that the people who really know the category best are the ones who decide what films will be represented at the Oscars.
However, it does allow branches with certain eccentricities to run amuck in their respective categories, and there is perhaps no branch more eccentric than the composers. These guys (and yes, they are overwhelmingly guys, with only three female winners in the history of the award) are the ultimate insiders club. They are loathe to nominate anybody who has not already nominated, instead nominating the same composers over and over again.
In 1999, the categories of Best Dramatic Score and Best Musical/Comedy Score were combined into one category, “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score.” Over a seven year span between 1999 and 2005, only eight never-before-nominated composers received their first nomination. Over that same span, John Williams was nominated eight times, Thomas Newman was nominated four times, and Gabriel Yared and James Horner were each nominated twice. 2005 was an anomaly, with three of the nominees earning their first nomination, but the other two nominees were both John Williams.
However, once a composer does score their first nomination, they have magically transformed from outsider to insider, and a second nomination is likely to follow. Between 2001 and 2008, ten composers scored their first nomination, and seven of them are now multiple-time nominees in this category.
So what does it take to get over that hump of scoring a first nomination in this category? Usually it takes something pretty special, a score so memorable or extraordinary that the composers can't help but overlook it. Seven of the last twelve Best Original Score winners have been first time nominees, usually unconventional choices who composed scores that could not be denied. These run the gamut from Tan Dun's score for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, to Gustavo Santaolalla's iconic guitar strumming in Brokeback Mountain, to A.R. Rahman's Indian melodies in Slumdog Millionaire, to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's haunting strains in The Social Network. Often a composer can spend years building a reputation before finally getting their first nomination (Howard Shore or Dario Marianelli, for example), but if an up-and-comer really wows everyone, they are hard to ignore. Not impossible, though, as Johnny Greenwood (There Will Be Blood) and Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream) can attest.
But one unknown composer who is almost certain to be nominated this year is Ludovic Bource. A great score was crucial to the success of a film like The Artist, as silent films are reliant on their scores to create tone and atmosphere as well as keep the pace of the film up. Bource delivers on that front, and considering how much love there is for the film, clearly there is also a lot of love for the music. Bource is virtually guaranteed a nomination and is the frontrunner to win the award.
Beyond Bource, the only contenders for this award are the usual suspects. John Williams seems to be assured of a nomination every time he hums during a movie. Between 1990 and 2006, Williams was nominated 18 times, and in his career has been nominated for multiple films in the same year nine times (some of those were years when Best Score was split into multiple categories). Since then his output has slowed considerably, and the only film he scored between 2006 and 2011 was Indiana Jones and the Abomination That Shall Never Again Be Mentioned.
But this year Williams scored two films, which means his chances of being nominated twice are pretty good. His best bet is for the historical drama War Horse, but he is also in the running for The Adventures of Tintin. Will the latter score be too light and actiony for The Composers? It's hard to say, as Williams was nominated for Catch Me if you Can but not Minority Report or War of the Worlds.
The other renowned composer with multiple horses in the race (although none as warlike as Williams') is Alexandre Desplat, who has had the most prolific output of anybody in the film industry over the last several years. This year Desplat wrote scores for seven films, plus the opening and closing music for Roman Polanski's Carnage. His best shot is for either the last Harry Potter film or the 9/11 drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
Two previous Harry Potter films have been nominated in this category (the first and third, both of which had John Williams as their composer) so it would not be a shock if the last film shows up here as a way of awarding the series as a whole. And while Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has gotten very mixed reviews, the score has garnered quite a bit of attention. It would not be surprising if its only nomination was for its score, as respect for Desplat - who has been nominated four times in the last five years - could easily trump distaste for the film. Of course, if the composers want to be wacky (and when don't they want to be wacky?) they might nominate him for his work on The Ides of March.
The other serious contenders for nominations, all of whom have been nominated before, have only one film in contention, those slackers. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are back again this year after winning here last year for The Social Network. Clearly, the composers weren't put off by the idea of nominating the frontman of metal band Nine Inch Nails, and there is no reason to expect they won't be similarly impressed by the duos score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Of course, The Social Network was a guaranteed Best Picture nominee, which Dragon Tattoo is not.
Which brings me to another interesting point about the films that the composers tend to nominate. In some categories being a Best Picture contender is an advantage, as voters are more likely to pick a film that they are already supporting for Best Picture. The film composers do not seem to have that mindset; since the merger into one category, there have never been more than three Best Picture nominees appearing in the Best Score category, and often there is only one. This means that while a film like The Help will be able to use its status as a Best Picture contender to its advantage in some fields, it is unlikely that its score will be nominated. However, the fact that Thomas Newman is the film's composer will definitely help, as the composers love Newman almost as much as they love Williams.
I do think that Howard Shore's work on the film Hugo will turn a lot of heads... or ears, I guess. This is a film that, like The Artist, is defined by its visuals and its music more than anything else, and it seems like the kind of film that every branch will love for different reasons. Howard Shore has never been nominated for a film that doesn't have the words “Lord of the Rings” in the title, but this should be the film that busts him out of that slump.
Three other men have composed scores for film that likely won't be competing for Best Picture but are certainly in consideration here. Dario Marianelli has scored nominations for two previous historical literary adaptations, and is back again with Jane Eyre. The composers don't mind nominating films that came out early in the year if they have the prestige factor, and Jane Eyre has prestige out the wazoo. Alberto Iglesias is represented by Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which no longer seems to be a serious threat to be nominated for Best Picture. But a film with a very dark, noirish tone seems like a good bet for success here, and Iglesias could get his second nomination, especially if a couple of the other contenders fail to impress.
The wild card this year is Michael Giacchino. Giacchino has two nominations, both for Pixar films, and this year stepped out of Pixar's embrace to score JJ Abrams's Super 8. A throwback to '80s adventure films, Super 8 could tap in on the nostalgia of the composers, who might fall for Giacchino's moving and spirited score.
Of course, my hunch about Super 8's chances is pure speculation because, despite their tendencies, the composers are an unpredictable bunch. Who would have expected The Constant Gardener or The Hurt Locker to be an Oscar nominee? Unlike the acting categories that tend to get swayed by public opinion, the composers are steadfast: they like who they like, and they love what they love. It is respectable, in a way, even if it at times makes it frustrating to try and track their movements.
All that being said, here are my current predictions for Best Original Score, which are subject to change at any moment. I'll be back in the next couple of days with my thoughts on Best Original Song, which is, if it's possible, even more difficult to predict than its lyricless counterpart.
1. Ludovic Bource- The Artist
2. John Williams- War Horse
3. Howard Shore- Hugo
4. Dario Marianelli- Jane Eyre
5. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
6. Alexandre Desplat- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
7. John Williams- The Adventures of Tintin
8. Alberto Iglesias- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
9. Michael Giacchino- Super 8
10. Alexandre Desplat- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
*The exceptions to this rule are Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary Feature, and all of the short categories. In order to vote in those categories members must have seen every nominated film.
**The Documentary filmmakers might give them a run for their money, though, as their snubs are legendary. This year four of the most famous living documentary filmmakers had films in the running, and all of them were left off the 15-film shortlist. Steve James (The Interrupters), Morgan Spurlock (Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold) Errol Morris (Tabloid) and Werner Herzog (The Cave of forgotten Dreams and Into the Abyss) make the case for the Documentarians as equally eccentric as the composers.