Out of the 15 original scores shortlisted for 2022, which of the Oscar’s music departments will you choose as the final five contenders for this category?
A group as diverse as the chapter has ever been, both in terms of composers and the nature of their music. The composer is from seven different countries. Two are women and five are people of color.
Five are past Oscar winners and five are past Oscar nominees, but what seems to be getting the most attention in the final days before nomination voting begins on Thursday is the Oscar race. I am a newcomer.
Their music ranges from traditional orchestral works to elaborate choral works, electronic sounds to experimental compositional techniques. Approximately 390 music chapter voters (all composers, songwriters or music editors) are eligible to vote.
Guide to Candidate List Candidates:
“The Fabermans”
Topping the list is 90-year-old John Williams, director Steven Spielberg’s 29th film, the final in an unprecedented collaboration spanning more than 50 years. The most honored composer to date (five statuettes and 52 total nominations), he is known for his warm, nostalgic, and sometimes melancholy music for characters who effectively play Spielberg’s parents. It seems likely that he will win the 53rd nod.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
Swedish composer Ludwig Goransson, the only composer to win for a Marvel film (2018’s “Black Panther”), may score again for the sequel. His bold and complex soundscapes of African and post-Mayan music for Kingdom are impressive.
“Talking Women”
Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir (“Joker” 2019 winner) is touted for his pastoral, mostly guitar-based compositions for Sarah Polley’s powerful drama Women Talking. (The composer’s other award-season favorite, “Tár,” was disqualified for having too little audible original music compared to the abundance of classical music excerpts.)
“Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro”
Also poised to enter its final five is French composer Alexandre Desplat (two-time winner of 2014’s “Grand Budapest Hotel” and 2017’s “Shape of Water”) and Del Toro’s We designed a captivating score for the critically acclaimed stop-motion animated film. It’s almost entirely for wooden instruments, befitting the character of the title. Interestingly, Desplat is one of his four shortlisted composers who are also on the shortlist for the song, in this case the charming “Ciao Papa.”
“Babylon”
Don’t count past winner Justin Hurwitz (2016’s La La Land double for song and score). His jazzy styling and daring approach of rich orchestral flourishes drove viewers through Damien Chazelle’s controversial his 1920s Hollywood anything-goes era. Great work. He spent three years on the project, including writing all the music for the band on screen.
“Queen”
Two-time nominee Terrence Blanchard (“Da 5 Bloods,” “BlacKkKlansman”) deserves what could be the most ambitious score yet. He utilized a choir of African-American opera singers, legendary jazz singer Diane Reeves, and a symphony orchestra in a West African historical play.
“Quiet on the Western Front”
German composer Volker Bertelmann (previously nominated for “Lion”) augmented the orchestra with anomalous sounds of turn-of-the-century harmonium for Edward Berger’s German, a war film of drums and brass. eliminated most of the clichés. World War I epic.
“Banshee of Inishelin”
Smaller ensembles are in the order of the day for other past Oscar nominees, such as Martin McDonagh’s black comedy Carter Burwell (Carol, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). bottom. The composer eschewed the traditional “Irish” sound of films set in 1920s Ireland, instead opting for a fairytale-like sound for the deranged protagonist of Colin He Farrell. The sound of celeste, harp and bells, augmented by a flute and just his fifteen string players.
“she said”
Another past nominee, Nicholas Britell (“Moonlight,” “If Beale Street Could Talk”), is a two-time New York Times writer who tracks the story of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault. We tackled the reporter’s factual story. The cello (played by his wife, Kaitlyn Sullivan) took center stage in an unusual playing technique, adding a small ensemble of New York string players when necessary.
“Darling, don’t worry”
Another previous nominee, British composer John Powell (“How to Train a Dragon”), provided a compelling score for Olivia Wilde’s film. The oppression of women by men in communities like in the movie The Stepford Wives.
“No”
Jordan Peele’s resident composer Michael Abels (“Get Out,” “Us”) has yet to be nominated, but could score Peele’s horror sci-fi film. With his 75-piece orchestra and his 32-person silent choir, he succeeded in capturing the awe and subsequent horror of extraterrestrial visitors.
“dedication”
Chanda Dancy may make history as the first black woman nominated for this category.She composed a Korean War story about a heroic fighter pilot with the 109-piece Nashville Orchestra. Classically trained, Dancy was hired prior to filming and wrote throughout production, watching dailies and coming up with themes for director JD Dillard. With three women nominated for her in the last six years, Dancy could be the pick as the spotlight is on some of the rapidly expanding music communities.
“Avatar: Path of Water”
Another British composer, Simon Franglen, has done an enviable job of following in the footsteps of longtime collaborator James Horner with a massive score at the box office. Although he worked with Horner on the original to come up with the colorful sounds of the exotic planet Pandora, the many new characters and environments required an entirely new mix of orchestras, voices, synths and various world music elements. I realized that I needed a A three-hour sequel to James Cameron.
“Glass Onion”
Nathan Johnson, a cousin of ‘Glass Onion’ director Rian Johnson (and composer of last year’s del Toro film ‘Nightmare Alley’), was cited for the first time in the music for the ‘Knives Out’ sequel. .Against the backdrop of the harpsichord and elegant orchestra, the past
“All at once”
Perhaps the biggest question mark is whether or not a branch nominates an experimental locking group. Son Lux composed the lengthy score for “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, highlighting multiple themes and multiverse madness with a mixture of orchestra, voices and virtual instruments. Son Lux is a trio of musicians, and only six times in its history has the Oscar nominated a team of composers for a dramatic score (although one such team, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste won for his 2020 “Soul”).
