Oscar History
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Original Score

Alexandre Desplat
CHERI
Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders
THE HURT LOCKER
Marvin Hamlisch
THE INFORMANT
Hans Zimmer
SHERLOCK HOLMES
Michael Giacchino
UP
 The sound mix over-emphasized it but it's a delight.
 Is there anything that doesn't work in this movie? Unusually tense soundscapes.
Playful. Nice to see er... hear Hamlisch back in it.
Does as much to keep the movie as lively as Robert Downey Jr.
The central theme "Married Life" sure is a wistful beauty. Bonus Giacchino points: Star Trek
 

Gold: UP Silver: SHERLOCK HOLMES Bronze: THE HURT LOCKER

Finalists: Sergey Yevtushenko for THE LAST STATION | James Horner for AVATAR

Semi-Finalists: Alberto Iglesias for BROKEN EMBRACES | Abel Korzienowski for A SINGLE MAN | Christopher Young for DRAG ME TO HELL | Mark Bradshaw for BRIGHT STAR

 

Adapted / Song Score

Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen and various artists (w/ Zooey & Joey)
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
Bruno Colais, They Might Be Giants and children's choir
CORALINE
T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton, Ryan Bingham (w/ Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell)
CRAZY HEART
Alexandre Desplat, Burl Ives and various artists
FANTASTIC MR FOX
Karen O and the Kids, Tom Biller and children's choir
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
 Hall & Oates gets the best scene but the rest of the music works wonderfully, too.
Great match for the material: creepily intricate, children's voices and all around curious.
Lots of fine songs and performance. Bonus points: actors who can actually sing.
Busy busy busy Desplat keeps on impressing (and the score is spiced up with other choice bits)
Perfect hipster score of the mysteries and moods of (remembered) childhood.
 

Gold: FANTASTIC MR FOX Silver: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Bronze: CRAZY HEART

Finalists: WHIP IT

Semi-Finalists: NINE featured hit and miss interpretations of the original great Yeston song score. Plus new songs.

 

Original Song

"All is Love"
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
"Take it All"
NINE
"Somebody Else"
CRAZY HEART
"The Weary Kind"
CRAZY HEART
"You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger"
AN EDUCATION
 Written and performed by Karen O and The Kids. So weirdly moving what with the little kids singing and the lyrics and the...
Written by Maury Yeston. Performed within the film by an assaultive bruised Marion Cotillard. With striptease no less.
Writte by T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Burton. Such a smart intro to the character "I used to be somebody, now I am somebody else."
 Written by Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett. The writing performed in recovering boozy character by Jeff Bridges.
 Written and performed by Beth Rowley in the film at the nightclub. It's so swoony, you'd think it was actually an old standard.
 

Gold: YOU'VE GOT ME WRAPPED... Silver: ALL IS LOVE Bronze: THE WEARY KIND

Finalists: "Smoke Without Fire" from AN EDUCATION | "Depression Era" from THAT EVENING SUN

Semi-Finalists: "Other Father's Song from CORALINE | "Ayayayay" from THE MAID | "Being Bad" from DUPLICITY

 

 

Sound Mixing

(finished soundscape: dialogue, score, effects all blended as one.)
AVATAR HUNGER THE HURT LOCKER INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS UP
 [insert Na'Vi war cry here.]
Sounds in close-up, almost no score to speak of and little dialogue. Such control and artistry.
Explosions, dialogue, score all in harmonious psychological dischord. Er... tick-tick-boom.
 I can still hear the echo on that baseball bat. Ick. And Shoshanna's intake of breath. And Tarantino's wordy poetry.
"SQUIRREL!"
 

Gold: THE HURT LOCKER Silver: AVATAR Bronze: HUNGER

Finalists: BRIGHT STAR has such fragile beauty. Were those butterfly wings I heard flapping? | A SERIOUS MAN does anyone have better sound on a film by film basis than the Coen Bros.

Semi-Finalists: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE | HUNGER | AN EDUCATION | (500) DAYS OF SUMMER | MOON

 

Sound Editing

(creation of aural elements, sound effects, overall sound design)
AVATAR DISTRICT 9 DRAG ME TO HELL THIRST UP
 Such a transporting world creation, I wish there were smell-o-vision to add to it's sights and sounds.
I love the way the prawns sound. And those weapons of mini-mass destruction.
Gleefully over the top horror tropes. I half expected to hear someone shout "Boo!"
A vampire film with a real appetite; ever slurp, fasp and gurgle is fully felt and heard. Creepy creepy creepy.
The dog collars alone have to be considered a highlight of the year.
 

Gold: AVATAR Silver: DISTRICT 9 Bronze: THIRST

Finalists: THE HURT LOCKER | INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS | STAR TREK | CORALINE

Semi-Finalists: MOON