Interview: Double Lopez on "Into the Unknown"

by Eric Blume

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down to speak with Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, nominated for the Best Song Oscar for "Into the Unknown" for Frozen 2.  This talented duo has already won the Oscar twice in this category, for the megahit "Let It Go" from the original Frozen, and "Remember Me" from Coco.  They could not be more charming and charismatic, as witnessed here...

[This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity]

Eric: At what point in the process were you brought in on FROZEN 2?

KRISTEN: Very early on when it was like, 'I think we're going to do Frozen 2. We're thinking it's about change.' Jennifer Lee [Frozen 2's writer/director] called us, sort of tipped us off.

ROBERT: It needed to happen because, you know, the sounds in a musical are as integral as any dialogue and in fact, they have to bear a lot more weight. So we had to be there. We helped influence the story and they helped influence the songs...

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Is it (finally) Thomas Newman's time?

Just 15 days til Oscar. Here's Cláudio Alves on a 15 time nominee...

When we think of Hollywood royalty, our mind tends to go to those dynasties of movie stars or celebrity directors -- families like the Barrymores, the Hustons, the Fondas or the Coppolas. But not every tinsel town lineage is made up of those who sit on the director's chair or dazzle in front of the cameras.

The Newmans are a good example. With more than 90 collective nominations and many wins, they're the Academy Awards' most beloved family. Alfred Newman is the most Oscar-winning composer of all-time with a total of 43 nods and 9 victories. His son David Newman is a one time nominee and his brother, Lionel Newman, won the Oscar for adapting the score of Hello Dolly! and received 10 additional nominations. Emil Newman, another brother, was nominated for the score of 1941's Sun Valley Serenade. Their nephew, Randy Newman, has amassed 22 nods and 2 statuettes. 

And then there's Alfred's other Oscar-beloved son, Thomas Newman…

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22 days till Oscar. Randy Newman, again !

by Nathaniel R

image credit: Danny Moloshok

Scarlett Johansson and Cynthia Erivo got all the press for being double-nominees this year at the Oscars but they were hardly the only ones. Others include Sound engineer Mark Ulano (Ad Astra, Once Upon a Time...) and special effects supervisor Dominic Tuohy (1917, Rise of Skywalker).  Randy Newman, nominated for both Original Score (Marriage Story) and Original Song (Toy Story 4) also got the double bringing his grand total up to 22 career nominations. Oscar's music branch can't get enough of him and he's also won twice before...

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New Oscar Trivia courtesy of the fresh Oscar nominations

Here are some fresh statistics to ponder given the new round of Oscar nominations. If you can think of more records broken or equalled let us know in the comments so we can add them. Refresh your screens for updates!

ALL TIME RECORDS...

• Thelma Schoonmaker, received her 8th nomination for editing The Irishman. That's an all time record but she has to share it since Michael Kahn (who, like Thelma, is three time winner in the category: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan) has also received 8 nominations in his career, most recently with Lincoln (2012) when he broke their previous tie for "most nominated".
• Little Women (2019) is now the most nominated adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's book ever filmed...

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Women and Best Original Score

by Travis Cragg

Hildur Guðnadóttir already has an Emmy and a Globe. Is an Oscar next?Watching Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir walking up to receive her Golden Globe for Joker was one of the more interesting moments of last weekend's ceremony. My streaming service in Australia suddenly decided to log me out just as the presenter came on stage, so I was cursing the world and rebooting!  Once the anxiety was over, and Hildur was walking up to accept her trophy,  it was time to reflect on a woman winning the equivalent Oscar. The Globe win for Score doesn't always transfer to an Oscar win (sometimes the winner isn't even nominated -- as with All is Lost and First Man in recent years) but could Guðnadóttir repeat?

Has a woman ever won the Oscar for Best Original Score before? Turns out it has happened, but only with double-category caveats…

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