Score, Sound, and Songs ~ April Foolish Oscar Predix
Wednesday, April 12, 2017 at 1:40PM by Nathaniel R
It's April which means April Foolish Oscar Predictions as we throw up the new Oscar charts. Today we're talking Sound Categories.
ORIGINAL SCORE
Dare we hope that last year's anomalous Original Score list, comprised of nearly all newcomers, happens again? We can hope it but it would be foolish to predict given that the music branch is notoriously insular and a lot of the big name composers have high profile films this year...
50 time nominee John Williams is doing Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 10 time nominee Hans Zimmer is doing Dunkirk, and 8 time nominee Alexandre Desplat is doing multiple films including Guillermo del Toro's Shape of Water. The thing this pundit is most curious about this year is whether 2 time nominee Johann Johannson, who was deemed ineligible for his amazing work on Arrival last season because too many pre-existing tracks were used, can hop back into the shortlist via either Blade Runner 2049 or Darren Aronofsky's mother!
P.S. In a possibly surprising about-face, freshly nominated composer Nicholas Britell (Moonlight) is actually scoring the sports bio Battle of the Sexes. Can't wait to hear it!
Hugh Jackman on day one of The Greatest ShowmanORIGINAL SONG
The big story this year might be whether or not Pasek & Paul, the songwriting duo who roared to fame last year with the one-two punch of Dear Evan Hansen on stage and La La Land in movie theaters can do an Oscar repeat with their songs from the new Hugh Jackman musical The Greatest Showman. That's the only story really at this early stage but it generally takes a long while before we know the eligible options in this category. Have you heard any rumors as to which movies might have original songs?
SOUND MIXING and SOUND EDITING
Because there are two sound categories, sound technicians tend to ring up high nomination tallies. Last season Kevin O'Connell finally won the Oscar (for Hacksaw Ridge) on his 21st nomination. The other most prominent 'always a bridesmaid' Greg P Russell had his 17th nomination (for 13 Hours) revoked due to telephone campaigning. They both could be back again this year (though I'm not banking on it) since O'Connell is mixing Spider-Man: Homecoming and Russell is doing Transformers: The Last Knight. But my guess is newer franchises, Best Picture contenders, musicals, and war films will be the usual preferred flavors.
Previous first stabs at new Oscar predictions
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS, BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Reader Comments (11)
Was there a Celine Dion song I heard over the end credits fo BEauty and the Beast? If so, I think that could be in the running for Best Original Song
I'm also a little surprised Beauty and the Beast was left off your Original Song predictions. I'm with you and didn't particularly care for the film, but I think it's possible "How Does a Moment Last Forever" or "Evermore" may make the cut. (I was actually a big fan of "Evermore" which I know is an unpopular opinion amongst most reviews I've read. I felt it was the only part of the film which resonated with me perhaps because it was one of the few moments of the remake that was at least original.)
The Post will no doubt have an A-list composer, whether it's John Williams or someone else.
JHR -- well i didn't list any contenders just 5 predictions. but yeah, it could definitely get a nom there. thanks for the reminder.
Animated films are always a good bet in trying to guess which will have original songs. "Coco" is supposedly a musical and Pixar has an impressive track record in that record. Randy Newman is writing the score for Cars 3, so absolutely expect him to pen a song, too.
Ferdinand will probably have an original song somewhere and I guess Pharrell Williams will try to repeat the success of "Happy" with Despicable Me 3.
Original song will be "Visions Of Gideon" by Sufjan Stevens from "Call Me By Your Name", one of its five total Oscars.
For Original Song, there's also "Friends Are Family" from "The LEGO Batman Movie".
YEY for that photo here :) I really think the Greatest Showman can go very far in the Oscar race this year. Looks spectacular and Hugh is perfect for this role
J RALPH! He could become the Meryl Streep of the Original Song category!
Glenn Dunks: Please tell us who J Ralph is!
They could kill two birds with one stone if they nominate "How Does a Moment Last Forever"... it could easily be performed during the "In Memoriam" segment.