Categories One-by-One: Best Original Score

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rolotomasi99
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Post by rolotomasi99 »

I share the sentiments of many here when I say, other than AVATAR, this year's crop of score nominees are pretty great.

My favorite of the year was the haunting and achingly beautiful score to A SINGLE MAN. I certainly wish it had been nominated over AVATAR.

Of the other four nominees, FANTASTIC MR. FOX is my favorite. Fun and beautiful.

However, my prediction is UP will take it. Also fun and beautiful, as well as wonderfully emotional.
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Post by Sabin »

Translation, please.

I'm working fourteen hour days. :p

I think of the score more than the songs. Usually it's the soundtrack more than the score, but in this Wes Anderson film I definitely think more about the Desplat score.
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Post by Zahveed »

Damien wrote:
Sabin wrote:I actually think of the score in Fantastic Mr. Fox more than the score itself.
???? :O

Translation, please.
More than the film itself?
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Post by Damien »

Sabin wrote:I actually think of the score in Fantastic Mr. Fox more than the score itself.
???? :O

Translation, please.
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Post by Sabin »

I actually think of the score in Fantastic Mr. Fox more than the score itself. And this is the first Wes Anderson in which I can say that. I guess it's fitting then that the first Best Original Score nomination for a Wes Anderson film comes for Alexandre Desplat instead of Mark Mothersbaugh's iconic Rushmore or The Royal Tenenbaums scores.

Predictions:
Avatar -- 35%
Fantastic Mr. Fox -- 15%
The Hurt Locker -- 5%
Sherlock Holmes -- 5%
Up -- 40%
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Post by Mister Tee »

I'm in agreement with Damien, that my first memory of Fantastic Mr. Fox is the songs, not the orchestral score. And I would prefer the way-overdue Desplat win for one of his more sweeping scores. His winning here would be on a par with Elmer Bernstein's only win being for Thoroughly Modern Millie.

I, like most, was surprised when The Hurt Locker was nominated, but I looked back at my notes from when I first saw the film and found I had cited it for score, so it must have made some sort of impression. Not enough, though, for a win.

Avatar is typical James Horner, which means I root against it.

Sherlock Holmes is, like the film, patchy -- parts I like, and parts seem wildly overblown. It wouldn't be a horrible winner, but Zimmer already has an Oscar.

Giacchino is due -- I love his work on The Incredibles and Lost, and am also quite taken by the Up themes. Unlike when Alan Menken won score year after year for his songs rather than his background music, Giacchino's work is very much in the spirit of the category, and (I hope) a deserving winner.

But of course this is a category that once a decade or so will pop a big surprise (A Little Romance, The Milagro Beanfield War, The Red Violin), so suspense remains.
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Post by Eric »

So long as Avatar doesn't win, I'll be fine.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is pretty solid, but it's no patch on some of the other great Desplat scores in recent memory.

Haven't really loved a Zimmer score, um, ever (Thin Red Line was serviceable at best, if memory serves) ... so I was shocked by how much I loved his raucous Sherlock Holmes work.
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Post by anonymous1980 »

Damien wrote:I hate Giacchino's work over the years -- his music for The Incredibles, Ratatouille, etc. is as awful as those goddamn cartoons themselves. He'll probably win this year for his schmaltz, but God I hope any of the other four prevail.
What--?!?!

Well, I'm sorry it's not as good as say, Alvin and the Chipmunks. :p
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Post by Damien »

Alexandre Desplat is probably the best composer working in pictures today, but when you think back on Mr. Fox, you recall the fun songs more tan the background music. He might have had a better chance if he had been nominated for Twilight or Coco Before Chanel.

Horner may well win for Avatar, as it is the Most score of the nominees. I haven't seen Up (yeah, like I'm gonna pay 12 bucks to endure a Pixar movie), but I have heard snippets of the score. I hate Giacchino's work over the years -- his music for The Incredibles, Ratatouille, etc. is as awful as those goddamn cartoons themselves. He'll probably win this year for his schmaltz, but God I hope any of the other four prevail.
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Post by Big Magilla »

The score for The Hurt Locker is deceptively simple. It underscores the tension without your noticing but voters are more apt to go for the very noticable lilting score for Up or the jaunty one for Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Sill, if they want to make a statement that The Hurt Locker is more than just an exercise in skillful direction, they could give the award here. For prediction purposes, though, I'll go with Up, which would also be my choice.
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Post by The Original BJ »

First of all, A Single Man deserved a nomination easily. No doubt about it.

The surprising (to me) nomination for The Hurt Locker possibly suggests some real momentum for the movie in the top categories, but I think it's pretty unlikely to win here. I thought the score was very haunting and effective, but minimalist scores don't usually win.

Avatar's score was one of its least impressive elements. (Good god, does James Horner just tack the same score on to nearly every movie he does?) It's loud, though, so it's not completely out of the running.

I'm not as crazy about the Sherlock Holmes score as some -- I thought it was some times fun, but also unnecessarily busy (my reaction to the movie as well.) It is catchy, though.

I love Alexandre Desplat and think his Fantastic Mr. Fox score is splendid, all the more so for sounding so unlike his usual style. (Watching the film, I was preparing to root for an Oscar nod for Mark Mothersbaugh, only to be stunned when I saw Desplat's name in the credits.) Plus, he's beyond due for a win.

But the Up score is hugely memorable -- all these months later I can still hum the main theme in my head. It's playful, touching, and imaginative. And Michael Giacchino has also racked up an impressive resume this decade (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, the J.J. Abrams tv shows). I'm rooting for him, and I also think he'll get it, simply because Up seems to trump the other candidates in the "hummability" department, usually the key factor in this race.
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Post by dws1982 »

I don't know if it was original or not, but the best music in any 2009 release was easily those beautiful guitar pieces in Still Walking. Krzysztof Penderecki's score for Katyn was also excellent, as were the scores for Invictus (score, not the songs) and 12.

I don't know what will win here. Up makes the most sense. But I could probably see a case for any of the nominees here.
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Post by Sabin »

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is the best group of nominees since 2001 saw A.I., A Beautiful Mind, The Fellowship of the Ring, Harry Potter, and Monsters Inc. up for the prize. I think it's safe to say that this race is between Avatar and Up, the anthemic vs. the melodic. The Hurt Locker is too much in the background. I personally prefer Fantastic Mr. Fox to Up and Sherlock Holmes to Avatar, but the winner is going to be either Horner or Giacchino. Giacchino's score is incredibly moving and incredibly integral to the storytelling, and I think it will be the first animated film to win Best Score since (sigh) Pocahontas.

In a perfect world, it would be Fantastic Mr. Fox. After listening to all the scores again, I think Alexandre Desplat deserved to win last year for Benjamin Button. It aids immeasurably in creating a very alien feel to a very strangely distant epic. If Benjamin Button is a supplemental triumph, then Fantastic Mr. Fox feels like the work of an artist cutting loose.
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Post by anonymous1980 »

The nominees are:
James Horner, Avatar
Alexandre Desplat, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, The Hurt Locker
Hans Zimmer, Sherlock Holmes
Michael Giacchino, Up

This is a solid category, IMO despite the disqualification of Carter Burwell and Karen O's Where the Wild Things Are score. I personally loved Michael Giacchino's beautiful score for Up. I've been a fan of his since his work on Alias and I would be ecstactic to see him duplicate his Globe win on Oscar night. As I said before his score is so reminiscent of scores from Charlie Chaplin films.

Though I wouldn't be too mad if Desplat or Zimmer wins, I think Michael Giacchino has this in the bag unless AMPAS goes crazy on Avatar.




Edited By anonymous on 1266214704
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