Sunday, February 10, 2013

85th Academy Awards – 'Best Original Song’





As many of the previous categories, I am 2 for 3 for Best Original Song.

The rules for eligibility for this category is quite complicated and the voting is a bit different than other categories, so please take a look at last year’s post for an in-depth look:  84th Academy Awards – Best Original Song.

**********
Nominations:

·         Before My Time” from Chasing Ice
o   J. Ralph – 1st nomination.

J. Ralph is a self-taught songwriter/composer.  He does not read or write musical notes.


·         Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from Ted
o    Walter Murphy – 1st nomination.
o    Seth MacFarlane – 1st nomination.

MacFarlane isn’t just the mastermind behind Family Guy, he is also hosting the Oscars this year.


·         Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi
o    Mychael Danna – 1st nomination.
o    Bombay Jayashri – 1st nomination.

Danna is also nominated for composing the “Best Original Score” for Life of Pi.


·         Skyfall” from Skyfall
o   Adele – 1st nomination.
o   Paul Epworth – 1st nomination.

Adele and Epworth have already won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Golden Globe, Las Vegas Film Critics Society and nominated for the Phoenix Film Critics Award.

They are the clear front runners.


·         Suddenly” from Les Miserables
o   Claude-Michel Schonberg – 1st nomination.
o   Herbert Kretzmer – 1st nomination.
o   Alain Boublil – 1st nomination.

This team has won the Satellite Award, as was nominated for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and Golden Globe, losing to Skyfall both times.  They are also nominated for the Phoenix Film Critics Award.

**********
Snubs:

Many critics have claimed that Keith Urbans song “For You” from Act of Valor is a major snub.  Especially since it was also nominated for Broadcast Film Critics Association and Golden Globes, however, those organizations evaluate songs very differently. 

Would you believe Urban wasn’t even eligible for the Oscar?

As I mentioned at the beginning of my post, the nomination process for this category is very complicated.  And for a song to be eligible it must be played at some point during the body of the film.  And, songs are judged solely on the dramatic impact it adds to the scenes it is played.  This makes it very difficult for songs used as “credit rollers” to compete.  For a “credit roller” to be eligible, the song must start before the final scene of the film fades to black. 

In the case of Urban, “From You” does not start playing until after the film faded to black and the credits began to roll.  This is the exact same reason Mary J. Blige was not eligible for a nomination last year for the song she recorded for The Help.


**********
Oscar Trends:

Trends are almost non-existent for this category, however, Skyfall is the clear front runner… and I would have to say Les Miserables is a very close second.

**********
Prediction: 

1.      Skyfall
2.     Les Miserables
3.     Life of Pi
4.     Ted
5.     Chasing Ice

No comments:

Post a Comment