Original Score Oscar Finalists: Listen to the Soundtracks

By Abe Friedtanzer

The fifteen finalists for Best Original Score are here, and I always enjoy this time of year because I have a constant playlist going whenever I’m not watching something so that I can familiarize myself with all the cited scores. I had hoped Benedetta (listen to this track) would make the finalist list, and also thought that Last Night in Soho (here’s the main theme) would be here, but overall it’s a decent list and worth indulging in to choose your five favourites. But for now, check out a track from (almost) every shortlisted film as well as some relevant stats for the composer behind them. For reference: a composer appearing twice on this list is not uncommon. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross beat themselves last year, triumphing for Soul (with Jon Batiste) over Mank...

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Oscar Finalist List Predictions!

by Nathaniel R

On Monday (December 21st) we'll be hearing the Oscar finalists list in the 10 categories that use that process to winnow down the vast array of possibilities before nomination balloting. There were 9 previously but Oscar has added Sound into the mix this year. That category has had quite a rollercoaster of late, given that it was two categories just two years ago, it was conjoined for 2020, and now it joins the "bakeoff" groups; in short it's getting smaller and smaller each year! After Monday's massive reveal we can really dig in to each Oscar race (and closely revamp each Oscar chart) individually. Isn't it strange that the finalist lists in these 10 categories are coming so much earlier than the actual nomination ballots (which don't go out for another 5 and a 1/2 weeks.

Anyway, let's quickly predict the finalist lists, shall we? You can use this cheat sheet to laugh at me or praise me later, depending on my success rate. If there's a link we've previously written about the picture...

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Middleburg Honorees: Ann Dowd, Dakota Johnson, and more...

by Nathaniel R

We previously reported on the six films getting major attention at Middleburg Film Festival and now we know some of the stars who will be attending given the honors & conversations scheduled: 

Agnes Varda Trailbazing Film Artist: Ann Dowd (Mass)
Actor Spotlight: Dakota Johnson (The Lost Daughter)
Director Spotlight: Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)
International Spotlight: Paolo Sorrentino (The Hand of God)
Ensemble Cast Spotlight: Simon Rex and cast (Red Rocket)
Distingued Cinematographer: Ari Wegner (Power of the Dog)
Conversation: Hair and Makeup artist Donald Mowat (Dune)
Conversation: Songwriters Kathryn Bostic, Amie Doherty, Lesley Barber, and Diane Warren

Which of these talents would you most like us to interview? More after the jump including our own panel plus our favourite annual Middleburg event...

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Oscar Predictions: Visuals, Score, Animation, and Sound

by Nathaniel R

The Oscar charts are finally going up. Best Animated Feature was the first a month ago but it's been tweaked to reflect Belle, rising, post its special Cannes screening, as well as Disney's stingy release of Luca. We're saving Cinematography and Costume Design for their own posts tomorrow but for now the rest of the Visual charts as well as Score and Sound are up. Yes, we're predicting a strong showing for House of Gucci, Dune, and Eternals in craft categories. Take a look and sound off in the comments. 

Best Original Score: Take a Listen

by Eurocheese on the eve of the Oscars...

A simple exercise: I sat down with each of the five scores from this year, gave them my full attention and wrote down any descriptors that came to mind. They may be a little jumbled, but I’m glad I took the time to give them a listen. Looking at my list, I picked the descriptor that the felt like the best summary for each. My terms and overall ranking below...

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