# Skyfall Oscar nominated



## Christof (Jan 10, 2013)

Just read that Thomas Newmans Skyfall score is nominated for the oscars.
It is a good score, very well crafted, tons of patches we all have on our hard drives but very clever done.
It is perfect underscoring in my opinion but what I miss is a thematic element, except some Bond riffs and chords here and there but I can't fine one theme.
My top favourite of this score is the track 'SKYFALL' with this wonderful oboe solo.

What do you think, is this an oscar nomination for you?


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## Guy Bacos (Jan 10, 2013)

I have to agree, felt more like underscore, too subtle, I also missed some of the thematic element, and I wouldn't of mind a few more cliché Bond themes with the typical orchestration. Like The Godfather sequels without the great Nino Rota themes, it's not the same. I'm also one of the rare ones who feels this movie is way over rated, I thought the ending was very weak. I loved the effects thought, but without a good ending doesn't do it.


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## mushanga (Jan 10, 2013)

I was delighted to hear that Thomas Newman received an Oscar nomination for Skyfall. What is this - like, his 11th?! Whilst the score is not thematically strong, Adele and Epworth wrote the theme tune. The best Bond scores integrate the main tune throughout, but Newman wouldn't have really had a say in this as he wasn't involved in writing the tune. On the contrary, John Barry would work with the artists of the theme tune and implement thematic material heavily in his score (The Living Daylights and his collaboration with a-Ha and The Pretenders is a perfect example). Nonetheless in my opinion Newman thoroughly deserves to win this time. He should have won for *at the very least* one of either American Beauty, The Shawshank Redemption or Road To Perdition. The guy's been unlucky - you gotta give him that.

The only other film/score out of the nominated bunch that I have seen/heard is Argo and, whilst a great film and superbly directed, I cannot even remember Desplat's score sonically or musically. As for the other three - well I am yet to hear them and will probably get slated for dismissing them. What can I say, I'm a Newman fan :wink:


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## ysnyvz (Jan 10, 2013)

i agree about underscore and missing thematic elements
i also think T.Newman is not good enough at making eastern music
i mean it's mostly random phrases with perc rhythms
but A.Desplat did good job for Argo in my opinion
he made some good melodies and riffs with live ethnic instruments and vocal


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## jamwerks (Jan 10, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> I have to agree, felt more like underscore, too subtle, I also missed some of the thematic element, and I wouldn't of mind a few more cliché Bond themes with the typical orchestration. Like The Godfather sequels without the great Nino Rota themes, it's not the same. I'm also one of the rare ones who feels this movie is way over rated, I thought the ending was very weak. I loved the effects thought, but without a good ending doesn't do it.


+1


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## Christof (Jan 10, 2013)

I agree that he deserves his Oscar after all these years, but it will be hard to compete against John Williams' Lincoln score.


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## Consona (Jan 10, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> I'm also one of the rare ones who feels this movie is way over rated,


+2

For me Skyfall is one of the worst Bond films. Nice visuals, weak everything else. (And I consider Casino Royale (2006) to be the best one.)


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jan 10, 2013)

orchestranova @ 10/1/2013 said:


> Nonetheless in my opinion Newman thoroughly deserves to win this time. He should have won for *at the very least* one of either American Beauty, The Shawshank Redemption or Road To Perdition. The guy's been unlucky - you gotta give him that.



I agree completely, but hey, it's normal for the Oscars: Herrmann and Goldsmith = one statue each.


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## impressions (Jan 10, 2013)

I for one, enjoyed thoroughly from the score, i felt in the beginning it was abit "glued" but later on it really kicks in nicely and gave really nice ORIGINAL adaptations to the theme which everyone knows already.

I wouldn't give it an oscar, but it was very well done, and gave really nice vibe to a pretty medicore movie.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 10, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> I have to agree, felt more like underscore


I haven't seen the film but "underscore" is what the Oscar nominations are for.


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## Guy Bacos (Jan 10, 2013)

EastWest Lurker @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:
> 
> 
> > I have to agree, felt more like underscore
> ...



Oh, am I confused about something? It's not for the best film score his category, you mean?


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## Guy Rowland (Jan 10, 2013)

orchestranova @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> Whilst the score is not thematically strong, Adele and Epworth wrote the theme tune. The best Bond scores integrate the main tune throughout, but Newman wouldn't have really had a say in this as he wasn't involved in writing the tune. On the contrary, John Barry would work with the artists of the theme tune and implement thematic material heavily in his score (The Living Daylights and his collaboration with a-Ha and The Pretenders is a perfect example).



Excellent point. I really did like Skyfall as a movie and a score, but didn't actually love either. I think the song was weak and painfully derivative of Diamonds Are Forever (but there was a whole thread on that at the time), and did not connect with the rest of the film. The film itself was very well executed, it was good to see narrative coherance after the shambles of the previous movie and great to see a certain amount of fun return after the abject misery of the previous two. If it were up to me, I'd still have a lot more fun, mind - still Goldeneye holds the crown as most entertaining Bond movie of the post Connery / Moore era.

As for the Oscars generally, was overjoyed to see Silver Linings Playbook do so well, as the talk was that its star was waning. I think its a modern classic that has its cake and eats it - it earns honest laughs, has an indie sensibility yet has a terrific crowd-pleasing heart. I don't think it's found a tenth of the audience it deserves yet.

Haven't seen any of the other composer nom films.


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## krisol11 (Jan 10, 2013)

I like the music of Skyfall and I agree with that not appears any melodic themes, all is concentrated in hybrid background textures and some action themes. But I think Newman has worked well. 

I'm a fan of Bond films and the soundtracks too. I preffered David Arnold because for me, he continued the "sound" of John's Barry legacy. The essential sound for the Bond films. haha


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## passenger57 (Jan 10, 2013)

The best part of the movie was the Adele theme song/credit sequence. And the part where Bond jumps in the shower with that hot babe. I remember the score had a cue that sounded like something from Six Feet Under. Other than that I don't remember much...


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## Kejero (Jan 10, 2013)

Dude. You're on a forum with plenty of movie enthousiasts. Not a good place for spoilers.


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## TheUnfinished (Jan 10, 2013)

I actually remember laughing at how terrible the opening credits were. Fortunately the film picked up from there.

For me the score sounding like a bunch of people wrote it. Some really good underscore stuff with plenty of technique, but also some stuff that sounded like Heavyocity Evolve loops playing and a massively incongruous sub-par Zimmer knock-off at one point, that was quite embarrassing.

Oscar nomination? Er, no. And I really like Thomas Newman's work generally.


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## Jordan Gagne (Jan 10, 2013)

Christof @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> I agree that he deserves his Oscar after all these years, but it will be hard to compete against John Williams' Lincoln score.



I must have missed something, I thought the score for Lincoln was a bit meh.


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## FriFlo (Jan 10, 2013)

Jordan Gagne @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> Christof @ Thu Jan 10 said:
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> 
> > I agree that he deserves his Oscar after all these years, but it will be hard to compete against John Williams' Lincoln score.
> ...


Oh, blasphemy! 
Seriously, I don't consider Lincoln one of Williams' great scores either. In recent years, I really liked his jazz trips on Catch me if you can or recently in Tin Tin's Title sequence (I wish the rest of the film had these moments as well ...).
But Skyfall wasn't really great either, so I guess it's ok. Now I am going to watch the other films with oscar nomination. Maybe they really deserve an Oscar ..?!


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 10, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Thu Jan 10 said:
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> > Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:
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Yes but original "underscore" is what music that supports picture in films is called, as opposed to songs.


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## passenger57 (Jan 10, 2013)

Kejero - I deleted the spoiler for ya.
Lincoln score - I remember there was some piano in it - or JW improvising on piano a couple times. 
I remember the part where Lincoln gets shot - oops sorry there I go again with the spoilers. o[])


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## Guy Bacos (Jan 10, 2013)

EastWest Lurker @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:
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> > EastWest Lurker @ Thu Jan 10 said:
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Jay, I don't know what the hell you are talking about? Did I talk about the song?


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## mark812 (Jan 10, 2013)

TheUnfinished @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> I actually remember laughing at how terrible the opening credits were. Fortunately the film picked up from there.
> 
> For me the score sounding like a bunch of people wrote it. Some really good underscore stuff with plenty of technique, but also some stuff that sounded like Heavyocity Evolve loops playing and a massively incongruous sub-par Zimmer knock-off at one point, that was quite embarrassing.
> 
> Oscar nomination? Er, no. And I really like Thomas Newman's work generally.



I agree, and I love Newman's work generally. But ever since _Social Network_ score won, I stopped taking those nominations seriously..


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## Guy Bacos (Jan 10, 2013)

I don't know if Social Network should of won, but I thought it was a brilliantly scored.


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## mark812 (Jan 10, 2013)

_Inception_, _How to train your dragon_ (my favorite that year) and _King's Speech _were all much, much better scores imo.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 10, 2013)

Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> EastWest Lurker @ Thu Jan 10 said:
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> > Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:
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This is a language issue I fear. Unless the score is comprised of songs, the term film score= underscore, except for the Main Title and End Title. If it is music under either action or dialogue, it is underscore. I hope that clears it up, Guy.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 10, 2013)

mark812 @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> _Inception_, _How to train your dragon_ (my favorite that year) and _King's Speech _were all much, much better scores imo.



I misread, confused "Inception"with "The Social Network". :oops:


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## Guy Bacos (Jan 10, 2013)

EastWest Lurker @ Fri Jan 11 said:


> Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:
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Ah, ok. My terminology was a bit off. Sorry mate. Thanks.


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## David Story (Jan 10, 2013)

Let's mention all the nominees:

Original Score: "Anna Karenina," Dario Marianelli; "Argo," Alexandre Desplat; "Life of Pi," Mychael Danna; "Lincoln," John Williams; "Skyfall," Thomas Newman.

There's a lot of love for Life of Pi, but it's a fantasy. John improved Lincoln.

Skyfall the song is a great homage to Barry. And Adele is a star.


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## choc0thrax (Jan 11, 2013)

Interesting behind the scenes look at Thomas Newman's studio as he mocks up a piece before it goes to orchestra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtiAP8xMSPo


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## Ganvai (Jan 11, 2013)

Although all of these scores are very well made, I missed a really outstanding soundtrack this year.

The only Ass-rockin soundtrack for me this year was Dredd. Paul Leonard-Morgan did really a great job. This score kept me headbanging while watching the movie the first time. A great example for a score that really fits to the movie.

I'm still a little bit sorry for John Powell that he didn't win the Oscar for "How to train your dragon".

Mychael Danna did with "Life of Pi" a great job. He should win the Oscar. I like his style.


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## impressions (Jan 11, 2013)

choc0thrax @ Fri Jan 11 said:


> Interesting behind the scenes look at Thomas Newman's studio as he mocks up a piece before it goes to orchestra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtiAP8xMSPo



nice leeching of views, this is just bond played by 8 harddrives(which is idiotic IMO)


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## Kejero (Jan 11, 2013)

passenger57 @ Fri Jan 11 said:


> Kejero - I deleted the spoiler for ya.


Thanks. I've seen Skyfall myself, but I know I would've been pretty pissed if I hadn't!

I'd say in a year or two maybe you can edit your post and include it again 



> I remember the part where Lincoln gets shot - oops sorry there I go again with the spoilers.



Man! :shock:


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## Kejero (Jan 11, 2013)

Ganvai @ Fri Jan 11 said:


> I'm still a little bit sorry for John Powell that he didn't win the Oscar for "How to train your dragon".



Absolutely. HTTYD is an amazing score that was head and shoulders above all the other nominees. Powell really outdid himself, but I guess it was too "conventional" and the Academy wanted to show they're open to new approaches. I still get emotional about it 

The Social Network score has a nice sound to it and it's cool music, but it doesn't do much more than add some "coolness" to the picture. At times it's just a mess and doesn't serve the movie at all. But that's just my opinion.

I have similar feelings about Inception, except that Inception obviously does have a lot of (great!) ideas and choices that make sense. It's also an awesome sound and it mostly works great with the picture. My only problem with the music is that it's too much. There are a bunch of scenes in the movie where I feel the music should have let it breathe a little. Instead you get almost non-stop sonic tension.

This year I'm not really rooting for anyone. Generally speaking, all the nominations in all categories were pretty predictable. Little surprised not to see a single nomination for The Avengers or even The Dark Knight Rises though.


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## FriFlo (Jan 11, 2013)

Regarding the score vs. underscore: I think this is kind of a relict from the old days of hollywood, where half of the productions were kind of adapted broadway shows. These days even Disney rarely produces movies with actors singing! 
I think they should restructure their categories in music.
The word underscore implies the music being very much in the background. However, in great scores, there are alway moments, where the music plas an integral part of the picture and might often be mixed in the foreground.


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## mark812 (Jan 14, 2013)

I just watched _Lincoln_, and while I enjoyed Daniel Day-Lewis' performance, I must say that it's one of the Williams' most uninspired scores I've heard. Subtle trumpet and piano fiddling throughout..and that's it. I love both Williams' and Newman's work, but these two soundtracks are not Oscar-worthy at all. My favorite this year is Mychael Danna by far (well-deserved Golden Globe btw) - beautiful soundtrack for _Life of Pi_.


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 14, 2013)

FriFlo @ Fri Jan 11 said:


> The word underscore implies the music being very much in the background.



No, it does not, at least in America. "Psycho"is underscore. "Jaws" is underscore. Neither is anything any knowledgeable person would describe as "being very much in the background."


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## Jordan Gagne (Jan 15, 2013)

mark812 @ Mon Jan 14 said:


> I just watched _Lincoln_, and while I enjoyed Daniel Day-Lewis' performance, I must say that it's one of the Williams' most uninspired scores I've heard. Subtle trumpet and piano fiddling throughout..and that's it. I love both Williams' and Newman's work, but these two soundtracks are not Oscar-worthy at all. My favorite this year is Mychael Danna by far (well-deserved Golden Globe btw) - beautiful soundtrack for _Life of Pi_.



Agree with you 100% on Lincoln. At this point I think JW is just getting nominated because he's JW ... And I thought the Skyfall score served the movie well even though I personally don't think there were any memorable cues. Am I way off in thinking this but don't Oscar noms for Best Score appear to be -- moreso than any other category -- based on who you are instead of what you wrote?


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## composeradrian (Jan 17, 2013)

For my money, I would of loved to see Nathan Johnson's score to Looper get some recognition. I mean, I know the Oscars is a popularity contest and we come to expect the titans like Williams, Newman to be on the leader board. But Nathan really created something interwoven with the film and took chances with some ideas that don't always see the light of day with mainstream audiences. Some of that stuff he did I expect to hear more within the confides of an university setting (i.e. manipulated prerecorded sounds). However, it does help to present it with the parameters of a techno-beat setting. So not REALLY out there, but I still dug the soundtrack.

Either way, I'm a sucker for Newman and glad for once to hear him do some real action cues!


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## David Soltany (Jan 18, 2013)

Thomas Newman deserves an oscar, now is it worthy having one with an OK score or one that really makes you shine ?
I hope this wonderful composer will get one sooner or later, but I think winning one with Skyfall would be a bittersweet victory.


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## Ed (Jan 18, 2013)

Consona @ Thu Jan 10 said:


> Guy Bacos @ Thu Jan 10 said:
> 
> 
> > I'm also one of the rare ones who feels this movie is way over rated,
> ...



Really? I thought it was one of the best Bond films, a real return to form. Loved all the references to previous Bonds. Even though the music was at times wallpaper and lacked a solid cohesive element there were some really cool moments that brought a unique vibe to the whole thing that was refreshing for me


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## mark812 (Jan 18, 2013)

Jordan Gagne @ Tue Jan 15 said:


> mark812 @ Mon Jan 14 said:
> 
> 
> > I just watched _Lincoln_, and while I enjoyed Daniel Day-Lewis' performance, I must say that it's one of the Williams' most uninspired scores I've heard. Subtle trumpet and piano fiddling throughout..and that's it. I love both Williams' and Newman's work, but these two soundtracks are not Oscar-worthy at all. My favorite this year is Mychael Danna by far (well-deserved Golden Globe btw) - beautiful soundtrack for _Life of Pi_.
> ...



Exactly. Desplat's _Argo_ score was pretty awful too.


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## mark812 (Feb 21, 2013)

[flash width=400 height=100 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http://soundcloud.com/watertowermusic/22-the-cloud-atlas-sextet-1[/flash]

..and this wasn't nominated.

Amazing, virtuoso pieces.


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## George Caplan (Feb 24, 2013)

bought the dvd of sky fall yesterday and watched it. awful movie. terrible. no character development and i didnt care who lived or died. no good at all.


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## sherief83 (Feb 24, 2013)

I feel Skyfall was the most well scored film, Lincoln as the best score album of the year and life of pi's score as interesting. I wouldn't be upset if any of the three wins. 

I'm hoping desplate will slow down a bit on his projects and focus on quality, both zero dark and argo were not what we've come to expect from him.


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