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Listen to the Best Original Score Nominees
One of the better categories among this year’s Oscar nominees has to be that of Best Original Score. Sometimes, the composers are a bit finicky with their nominations, usually going the safer route and not expanding out of their comfort zones. However, there’s some truly astounding work on display in this particular crop.
If I was to do any voting in this category, I would definitely have to go with “The Social Network.” Reznor and Finch’s score is truly sublime, incorporating experimental electronic elements with traditional themes and modern beats. The music is innovative, pleasing and ultimately game-changing, much like the movie itself.
After that, my runners-up would be a close call between “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Inception.” Both films contain music that open your eyes and raise your heartbeat. I actually don’t think that there is an element of “HTTYD” that comes close to staying with me as strongly as the score. “Inception” gets a lot of bad word-of-mouth that Hans Zimmer simply recycled music from “The Dark Knight,” but I never thought of it that way. Zimmer’s music always follows similar tones and rhythms, but his work on “Inception” has the ability to stand on its own as a work of power and beauty.
As far as the Oscar goes, this is how I would rank the films’ chances of winning this particular award:
1. “The Social Network” – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
2. “The King’s Speech” – Alexandre Desplat
3. “Inception” – Hans Zimmer
4. “127 Hours” – A.R. Rahman
5. “How to Train Your Dragon” – John Powell
Ryan Adams at Awardsdaily has dug up this showcase of all five nominees. Check it out below and see for yourself.
Best Original Song Contenders
I’ve been waiting for this to show up for a while. At long last, the AMPAS have released the official list of songs that are eligible to compete for the Best Original Song Oscar. It’s nearly impossible to predict this award unless you have a list to choose from.
Here is the full list:
* “Alice” from “Alice in Wonderland”
* “Forever One Love” from “Black Tulip”
* “Freedom Song” from “Black Tulip”
* “Bound to You” from “Burlesque”
* “Welcome to Burlesque” from “Burlesque”
* “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from “Burlesque”
* “There’s a Place for Us” from “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”
* “Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
* “Me and Tennessee” from “Country Strong”
* “Despicable Me” from “Despicable Me”
* “Prettiest Girls” from “Despicable Me”
* “Dear Laughing Doubters” from “Dinner for Schmucks”
* “Better Days” from “Eat Pray Love”
* “If You Run” from “Going the Distance”
* “Darkness before the Dawn” from “Holy Rollers”
* “Sticks & Stones” from “How to Train Your Dragon”
* “Le Gris” from “Idiots and Angels”
* “Chanson Illusionist” from “The Illusionist”
* “Never Say Never” from “The Karate Kid”
* “To the Sky” from “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole”
* “What If” from “Letters to Juliet”
* “Life during Wartime” from “Life during Wartime”
* “Made in Dagenham” from “Made in Dagenham”
* “Little One” from “Mother and Child”
* “Be the One” from “The Next Three Days”
* “If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
* “When You See Forever” from “The Perfect Game”
* “I Remain” from “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
* “Dream Big” from “Pure Country 2: The Gift”
* “How I Love You” from “Ramona and Beezus”
* “Darling I Do” from “Shrek Forever After”
* “Noka Oi” from “Six Days in Paradise”
* “This Is a Low” from “Tamara Drewe”
* “I See the Light” from “Tangled”
* “Rise” from “3 Billion and Counting”
* “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3”
* “Eclipse: All Yours” from “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”
* “Nothing” from “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too”
* “A Better Life” from “Unbeaten”
* “Shine” from “Waiting for ‘Superman’”
* “The Reasons Why” from “Wretches & Jabberers”
After briefly viewing this list, I believe that my rough predictions would look something like this:
“You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from “Burlesque”
“Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
“I See the Light” from “Tangled”
“Shine” from “Waiting for ‘Superman’”
“Shine” is probably the most recognizable and publicized song on this list, so I would count it in. Plus, it has the whole cause tie-in which helped out “I Need to Wake Up” win for Guggenheim’s las big film “An Inconvenient Truth.” I would also go with “I See the Light,” as well as “If I Rise” due to the amount of pull that I’m sure Alan Menken and A.R. Rahman still have with the academy. Finally, I would pick at least one song from both “Burlesque” and “Country Strong,” because, well, they’re musicals.
Mike Fleming reports on the exact rules and regulations of how the songs are chosen at Deadline.com. Leave your thoughts or predictions, below, if you life.
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