# Oscar Nominations (congrats Hans!)



## Richard Wilkinson (Jan 15, 2015)

Namechecking Hans specifically as he posts here. And because everyone I know who's seen Interstellar has raved about how effective the score was.

I was lucky enough to see Alexandre Desplat conducting the LSO in December and heard snippets from both of his nominated scores. He seems very modest and down to earth, a genuinely humble chap, so I'm happy for his double nomination.

No John Powell though? Does someone high up in Hollywood really hate him?


*Alexandre Desplat *- Grand Budapest Hotel

*Alexandre Desplat* - The Immitation Game

*Hans Zimmer* - Interstellar

*Jóhann Jóhannsson* - Theory Of Everything

*Gary Yershon *- Mr Turner


Thoughts?


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## Guy Rowland (Jan 15, 2015)

I think there was some talk that sequels can be not eligible, hence the lack of John Powell. Also ruled out was the Birdman score, so two of what should have been frontrunners are conspicuous by their absence.

Three horrible errors in other categories for me - Lego Movie never got a nomination for best animated film or best screenplay (the former is simply perverse). And - sorry I have to say this - Interstellar for sound mixing? So much for the Academy not liking controversy I guess.

It's an interesting brace of films this year. Rare to see a comedy doing so well with Grand Budapest Hotel, though it seems prove the rule that the Academy can only vote for comedies if they aren't funny. Birdman and Boyhood are both one-of-a-kind films. The Imitation Game and Theory Of Everything are both British and classic Oscar-bait - not seen the latter yet, but absolutely adored the former, so that's where my heart is for Best Picture. I see Foxcatcher didn't get a Best Picture nom, but both Whiplash and American Sniper both did well - not seen any of them yet. The Whiplash trailer looks terribly over-wrought. Great to see Marion Cotillard getting recognised, Two Days One Night is very much on my have-to-watch list.


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## Anders Wall (Jan 15, 2015)

Hey Wilx!
I think we should also add Alexandre Desplat, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Gary Yershon to the congrats 

/Anders


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jan 15, 2015)

Good choices, to which I might add a couple:

*Sqürl *- Only Lovers Left Alive

*Reznor & Ross* - Gone Girl

Rob Simonsen wrote some beautiful cues for Foxcatcher as well.

I think what's sad is that it should be easy to come up with 20 or more scores, but it's not, at least not for me. Are there fewer movies or fewer scores by one composer or two only?


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## bryla (Jan 15, 2015)

Having worked with Jóhann previously I'm super excited for his nomination and Golden Globe. It is well deserved for a man that is constantly working and constantly working to be creative in every way. He's an inspiration to me!


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## Richard Wilkinson (Jan 15, 2015)

WallofSound @ Thu Jan 15 said:


> Hey Wilx!
> I think we should also add Alexandre Desplat, Jóhann Jóhannsson and Gary Yershon to the congrats
> 
> /Anders



Of course! As I said in the original post, I mentioned Hans specifically as he's a member of this forum, but congrats are due to all the nominees. I need to check out Jóhann's score as I haven't heard that one yet, but people are liking it! 

Sounds like Under The Skin and Inherent Vice have some fab scores also. Someone always has to miss out, unfortunately.


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## Vin (Jan 15, 2015)

wilx @ 15/1/2015 said:


> No John Powell though? Does someone high up in Hollywood really hate him?



No more than Christopher Nolan and Leonardo DiCaprio, I suppose.

Regarding nominations, for the big part it was what I expected, with some WTFs:

*1.)* _American Sniper_? Really? There are so many better choices like _Nightcrawler_, _Interstellar_ etc. I love earlier Eastwood, but this is just Riefenstalesque.

*2.)* Bradley Cooper instead of Jake Gylenhaal or Ralph Fiennes

*3.)* Gillian Flynn not nominated for Adapted Screenplay (didn't like the film, but it's surprising)

*4.)* Reznor & Ross not nominated. Probably their weakest score yet, but the Academy really loves them.

*5.)* Hoyte Van Hoytema not nominated.

Haven't seen _Birdman_ yet, but _Whiplash_, _Boyhood _and _The Grand Budapest Hotel _are all great films.

Congrats to Mr. Zimmer, Mr. Desplat (x2 :D), Mr. Jóhannsson & Mr. Yershon. _Interstellar_ is by far my favorite score of the year 2014.


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## Guy Rowland (Jan 15, 2015)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Thu Jan 15 said:


> I think what's sad is that it should be easy to come up with 20 or more scores, but it's not, at least not for me. Are there fewer movies or fewer scores by one composer or two only?



Some films with great scores just get ignored. Paddington is a good example - that score was simply perfect for the movie. Historically family and kids films tend to be overlooked, ditto genre pictures. Score a serious grown up film (preferably historical or at least with weighty subject matter) and you're in with a shout, regardless of the quality of the music relative to other kinds of films.


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## AlexandreSafi (Jan 15, 2015)

This is purely from my limited and subjective point of view being born in 1990, but i'm quite sad that, *Interstellar*, being the greatest movie experience i ever had in a cinema in my 20 + years and whose message resonated so much, all thanks to each person in the WHOLE cast & crew, did not get acknowledged as an ensemble. --In the end--, anyways i guess as artists, one has to focus with as much love on the next page or canvas to fill and try never get too attached on "labels" put on the work, especially when it's in the past...

Big congrats to all 4 composers!...


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## AC986 (Jan 15, 2015)

I just listened to the opening title theme to all the films nominated.

The two that stand out for me are

Interstellar by Hans Z. Very poignant sound. Haven't seen the film.

and

Theory Of Everything by Jóhann Jóhannsson. A very good sound in the minimalist style. Haven't seen the film.

The other one I like is Mr Turner and they are all very interesting.


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## Black Light Recordings (Jan 15, 2015)

Absolutely love what Joel McNeely did with "A Million Ways to Die in the West". Won't ever see the movie, but that's composition and traditional chops that we don't see a lot of these days. 
I likes JNH's work on Maleficent as well.


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## Felipe Opazo (Jan 15, 2015)

Black Light Recordings @ Thu Jan 15 said:


> Absolutely love what Joel McNeely did with "A Million Ways to Die in the West". Won't ever see the movie, but that's composition and traditional chops that we don't see a lot of these days.
> I likes JNH's work on Maleficent as well.



That was also my favourite score this year. Also, Joel McNeely wrote some wonderful arrangements for Seth Macfarlane's christmas record. Great year for him


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## Dave Connor (Jan 15, 2015)

Fantastic!! HZ!!


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## AR (Jan 15, 2015)

Congrats to all nominees


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## Dryden.Chambers (Jan 16, 2015)

Same here. One of my favorites Jóhannsson, much respect for HZ always, and good time to start discovering Monsieur Desplat.

After I seen Trent say Gone Girl was very fragmented and done in very little spare time, I think I figured out why I just haven't connected with that score. I hope he and Atticus have more time for scores in the future.



AR @ Fri Jan 16 said:


> Congrats to all nominees


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## Hans Adamson (Jan 16, 2015)

My favorite is Hans Zimmer's score for Interstellar. Unbelievably organic and supportive of the visuals and plot - unusual, inventive and mystic. Just wonderful how the score makes a three hour movie feel half the length, gluing it all together.
~o)


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## Vin (Jan 18, 2015)

Just watched _The Imitation Game_, very average movie, definitely not Oscar worthy imo. It's like a much more flat version of _A Beautiful Mind_.

_The Grand Budapest Hotel_ soundtrack was really great, but not sure why the nominated Desplat again for this one, it's pretty generic. JNH for _Maleficient_ or _Nightcrawler_, Reznor & Ross for _Gone Girl_, John Powell for _HTTYD 2_ or maybe Mica Levi for _Under The Skin_ would be much better choices in my opinion.


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## Guy Rowland (Jan 18, 2015)

Vin @ Sun Jan 18 said:


> Just watched _The Imitation Game_, very average movie, definitely not Oscar worthy imo. It's like a much more flat version of _A Beautiful Mind_.



Blimey, REALLY? I felt exactly the opposite - didn't much care for Beautiful Mind, while Imitation Game was edge-of-seat gripping and moving in equal measure. And actually very different films, despite both featuring mathematical geniuses working for government - something abut Beautful Mind never rang true for me, it felt Hollywooded up (I mostly blame Akiva Goldsman, who I also blame for about a dozen other underwhelming movies - check out his writer's credits on IMDb for a gallery of shame).

To be fair, I do know one other person who I respect very much who didn't go for Imitation Game, claiming it was "ordinary", and I'm looking forward to arguing with him at length about why he is wrong  But I've been pleased to see how popular it's been overall with critics and audiences. Passionately think it is a story worth telling, and really did like Desplat's score.

In general I think the nominations list for 2014 reflects an unusually high quotient of terrible choices. For a few years they seemed to get things more right than historically has been the case, but there are some real howlers this year. I'm still a long way from being over The Lego Movie's snub, it sort of negates the entire ceremony for me.


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## AC986 (Jan 18, 2015)

Part of the problem with Beautiful Mind is Jennifer Connelly. She can't really act.


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## patrick76 (Jan 18, 2015)

Hans Adamson @ Fri Jan 16 said:


> My favorite is Hans Zimmer's score for Interstellar. Unbelievably organic and supportive of the visuals and plot - unusual, inventive and mystic. Just wonderful how the score makes a three hour movie feel half the length, gluing it all together.
> ~o)



Totally agree. I would say it is the most important character in the film. I loved how it was featured in the mix. Kudos to Nolan for doing that. A really great score... it does everything right.


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## Mike Connelly (Jan 19, 2015)

Guy Rowland @ Thu Jan 15 said:


> Paddington



Paddington was just released in the USA so it would be eligible for nominations next year.


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## givemenoughrope (Jan 19, 2015)

adriancook @ Sun Jan 18 said:


> Part of the problem with Beautiful Mind is Jennifer Connelly. She can't really act.



No, you're thinking of Scarlet Johannsen. That made her perfect for Under The Skin actually. I saw a John Nash doc just before that film came out and it was actually gripping and suspenseful. Russell Crowe mumbling about a necktie being some kind secret puzzle of of the gods was dumb. 

I actually thought Theory of Everything was one of the more ridiculous things Ive seen in a long time; like a big budget Lifetime network crybaby fest/unintentional comedy; really terrible actually. I was waiting for Hugh Grant to show up. The Alan Turing flick pounces on it with ease.


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## José Herring (Jan 19, 2015)

Black Light Recordings @ Thu Jan 15 said:


> Absolutely love what Joel McNeely did with "A Million Ways to Die in the West". Won't ever see the movie, but that's composition and traditional chops that we don't see a lot of these days.
> I likes JNH's work on Maleficent as well.



Joel is one of those rare overlooked composers that completely kicks ass. 

HZ score is mesmerizing. Like a single sonic color that is forever flowing. Nobody else could have done it.

This is the first academy award nomination for best score in a long while that didn't have me rolling my eyes after reading the list. Though I would have liked to see JW The Book Thief over anything that Desplat does and JNH Maleficent on the list as well. JW I understand, how many academy awards and nominations can one guy get in a lifetime?! But, JNH is just a fantastic oversight this year. What a wonderful and powerful score.

One other thing, every nominated composer except Johann is a relative geezer. Gives me hope for my future. Yes, my midlife crisis continues :lol:


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## Black Light Recordings (Jan 21, 2015)

[/quote]

One other thing, every nominated composer except Johann is a relative geezer. Gives me hope for my future. Yes, my midlife crisis continues :lol:[/quote]

There hope for us all. Mike Verta pointed out that JW wasn't JW until he was in his forties. You can be an up and coming composer in your fifties. o/~ An up and coming rapper....not so much. /\~O


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## Tanuj Tiku (Jan 22, 2015)

So far, I have seen The Grand Budapest Hotel, Interstellar and The Imitation game. 

All three are quite good but Interstellar would be my pick any day. 

I still have to watch The Theory of Everything and Mr. Turner. 

As far as Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are concerned, I thought the score was more functional than something that carried the picture or did something very different. 

I also heard a few tracks from Maleficent from JNH on Youtube - definitely a beautiful score. I have not heard everything else but certainly it could have easily been nominated. A very powerful and beautiful score from JNH. 


Tanuj.


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## givemenoughrope (Apr 7, 2015)

wilx @ Thu Jan 15 said:


> *Gary Yershon *- Mr Turner
> 
> 
> Thoughts?



I don't know why I didn't think to check this out before. The mere fact that this got nominated is totally awesome. I'm sorry, way more interesting than anything that has won or even been nominated in years imho. And the instrumentation...amazing.


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