John Williams Heading Toward Oscar Nomination #46
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 9:03AM 
John Williams © Chad Batka, New York TimesIn the long history of the Academy Awards, only one man can claim more nominations than composer John Williams. And that man, long gone, is now less a man and rather more like a symbol, a legend, an industry, a way of life.
John Williams never opened a theme park and his name is decidedly less distinctive that "Walt Disney" but he's also inextricably embedded in our popular culture. In a very literal way John Williams has scored our collective dreams and adventures for over a half century now. Though the movies of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are hardly his only playground in terms of beloved movies, they're probably the scores that people think of first. (The fan tribute video below provides a thorough overview of just that.)
After an unusually long break from features the much celebrated composer is now back at work. He's got three new Spielberg movies on the way (The Adventures of Tintin, War Horse, Lincoln) and he could be celebrating his 80th birthday in February as a 46 or even 47 time Oscar nominee. Take that, Streep, with your piddly 16 nominations!
Tribute to John Williams, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas from whoispablo on Vimeo.
Do you think John Williams (45 nominations / 5 wins) will finally break his nomination tie with Oscar's other most awarded composer Alfred Newman (45 nominations / 9 wins) this January. Either War Horse or TinTin could do it. But will it be both?
Related
Oscar Predictions - Aural Categories
Recent New York Times Interview
Awards Daily posted pieces from the Tintin score
John Williams, Original Score, Star Wars, Steven Spielberg, Tintin
Reader Comments (6)
Williams is my all-time favorite composer (I still get misty-eyed whenever I hear the Jurassic Park theme), so I hope he scores at least another nomination.
I think it will be for both.
To answer your question, I have no clue. However, I recently discovered the most charming movie, How To Steal A Million with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. It's so charming you can barely stand it. And guess who composed the wonderful score .....John Williams, credited as "Johnny Williams"!
Williams, for better or worse, tends to be a default nominee in the category. He was snubbed for INDY 4, but that movie turned many people off and it was a sequel. I'm guessing both Spielberg films this year will be beter received and Williams will score two Oscar nominations.
Alfred Newman has won 9.
I think "War Horse" has excellent chances to receive an Oscar nomination - maybe even the Oscar itself. I've heard the score, it's brilliant, it's "johnwilliamenesque" - majestic. The main theme is one of the most beautiful melodies he has ever written. The "Tintin" score has good chances to get nominated as well. I don't know how the Academy will react. But it would be nice to see two John Williams scores in the same category like back in 2006.