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The 79th Academy Awards


Mr. Breathmask

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I disagree, again. There's no agreement between 6,000 members that 'oh, well, I like the film, but I don't feel it deserves any real award, so I'll give it the best score'. People liked the music in that movie.

It has nothing to do with all 6,000 members meeting in a room somewhere and agreeing. It has to do with a majority of people filling out their ballots and voting for the winners in the same categories. Obviously a majority of members voted for both The Departed for Best Pic, Scorcese for Best Director, and Hudson for Best Supp. Actress (because they all won). Those voters would have noticed that they'd shut out Babel in the major categories and so they vote for it in a category like Best Score that, in a year like this where there is no clear winner like Star Wars or Jaws, they could care less about.

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I disagree, again. There's no agreement between 6,000 members that 'oh, well, I like the film, but I don't feel it deserves any real award, so I'll give it the best score'. People liked the music in that movie.

It has nothing to do with all 6,000 members meeting in a room somewhere and agreeing. It has to do with a majority of people filling out their ballots and voting for the winners in the same categories. Obviously a majority of members voted for both The Departed for Best Pic, Scorcese for Best Director, and Hudson for Best Supp. Actress (because they all won). Those voters would have noticed that they'd shut out Babel in the major categories and so they vote for it in a category like Best Score that, in a year like this where there is no clear winner like Star Wars or Jaws, they could care less about.

But, again, people liked Babel. I haven't heard a single enthusiastic word about any of the other nominees, except for maybe a couple for The Queen, while I've heard a surprising amount of pundits and critics talk about how much they love the music, and one guy about how many of his friends and family picked up the album after hearing his promo. I think this is a case closer to Star Wars than to Finding Neverland (Now that was a year no one seemed to particularly care for any of the scores).

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I disagree, again. There's no agreement between 6,000 members that 'oh, well, I like the film, but I don't feel it deserves any real award, so I'll give it the best score'. People liked the music in that movie.

It has nothing to do with all 6,000 members meeting in a room somewhere and agreeing. It has to do with a majority of people filling out their ballots and voting for the winners in the same categories. Obviously a majority of members voted for both The Departed for Best Pic, Scorcese for Best Director, and Hudson for Best Supp. Actress (because they all won). Those voters would have noticed that they'd shut out Babel in the major categories and so they vote for it in a category like Best Score that, in a year like this where there is no clear winner like Star Wars or Jaws, they could care less about.

But, again, people liked Babel. I haven't heard a single enthusiastic word about any of the other nominees, except for maybe a couple for The Queen, while I've heard a surprising amount of pundits and critics talk about how much they love the music, and one guy about how many of his friends and family picked up the album after hearing his promo. I think this is a case closer to Star Wars than to Finding Neverland (Now that was a year no one seemed to particularly care for any of the scores).

You might be right. I don't have any Hollywood connections so I have no clue what Academy members liked or didn't like. Maybe they all did love Babel. To be honest, I don't know too many people (in flesh and blood) who like film music (or have seen Babel for that matter) so it's hard for me to say who genuinely liked what. Personally, as someone who loves film music and movies, my vote and my heart are still with Desplat's The Queen.

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This paparazzi clip seems to show Santa ohlalala performing... another profession:

Just something to giggle about for those who just can't live with the fact that the guy has now more oscars than some of hollywood's greatest composers ever. But maybe you will see him on the beach during your next vacation trying to sell weird birds singing his oscar winning themes? You never know!

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Difference of opinions?

In this case, it's uninformed opinion versus passionate people and artists (often related to the film music industry) who know their stuff. Babel shouldn't have been nominated in the first place, it's my opinion that there was strong lobbying for it by some powers-that-be, perhaps corporative from a studio or a producing company, more powerful than the entire film music industry.

It should not have been eligible. Half the stuff isn't by him, and half the stuff by him wasn't composed for the movie!!! People voted for half the stuff not by him, and half of his stuff that wasn't composed by him, thinking it was all him.

It clearly violates the rules, if they aren't changed there is no legitimity to that category anymore.

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They should change them properly, though, because last time they imposed rules about pre-existing material it effectively ruled out all sequel scores (or rather, they made sure Two Towers didn't get a nomination - because it probably would have won).

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This paparazzi clip seems to show Santa ohlalala performing... another profession:

;)

Oh my God!!! That's sad and hilarious and creepy all at the same time. What is he doing?

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What is he doing?

Make a living?

Looks like he is selling some creatures singing simplistic melodies without any chord progressions at all while he constantly repeats his own last name. That's at least what i figured out so far. My spanish is bad though.

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He's a beach duck-toy seller. Nothing to do with Gustavo. They mention his name because the guy looks like him. The double L in Spanish is pronounced almost like an Y, so the La La La thing doesn't make any sense.

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You sure take these things very seriously ;)

Let's just pretend this is Santaolalla. At least it will help to make a lot of people feel much more comfortable. If you look closely you can actually see an oscar shaped bulge in his bag!

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You sure take these things very seriously ;)

Let's just pretend this is Santaolalla. At least it will help to make a lot of people feel much more comfortable. If you look closely you can actually see an oscar shaped bulge in his bag!

I know, I know. It's just I can't stand those La La La and Gia Pu Pu things. They're almost like an insult to other languages.

This said, I find the video really hilarious. That guy can make a more complex tune than Santaolalla.

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The voters don't care about the musical acomplishment, they'll vote for the score that resonated with them the most. We know that there's a world of difference between Santaolalla and Navarrette, Glass, Newman and Desplat. But we are a tiny minority, a tiny niche market, thast judging by most limited releases, has about 3000 core, card-carrying members world-wide. But to everyone else- they'll vote for the music they heard, felt and liked most. In this case, apparantly that was Babel. The only real question is why on earth the Music Branch, which should theoretically be more attuned to the specifics of each score, didn't see the shortcomings of this score.

I completely agree with you.

Regarding your question about the music branch, the connections I have tell me that most of them *do not understand* what Babel was doing here. My guess is that most composers voted for the other guys.

I guess only the Academy has an idea of how many votes each nominated composers got in the first round. And we all know the first round's winner is not necessarily the second round's.

Hellgi

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The Music Branch is a strange bunch. In the 1940's a song called "The Last Time I Saw Paris" was nominated and won for Best Song despite the fact that it was well known that the song had been composed and published years earlier and was therefore ineligible for even a nomination. Even the song's composer said he thought it wasn't fair and that he had voted for a different nominee that year. So it goes...

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The only relief I find is that there was no way Williams would have won last year due to the voters beeing completely tone deaf,not because they were snubbing Williams.It's now clear Williams had no chance even if he had been nominated only for Geisha.Williams can now share the humiliation of losing to a useless score with 8 other composers.

So how come Williams didn't win an Oscar for The Missouri Breaks or Stepmom.They are far superior to those Santaollala scores.

K.m.Who somehow succesfully double posted

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Kind of funny too that the Music Branch voted to rescind Nino Rota's nomination for The Godfather because it contained some music he'd written years earlier considering what won last night. I just wish they'd be consistent.

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They should change them properly, though, because last time they imposed rules about pre-existing material it effectively ruled out all sequel scores (or rather, they made sure Two Towers didn't get a nomination - because it probably would have won).

I doubt it would have won. That year, everyone loved film music, and five critically popular scores were nominated. Too bad they went with Frida, but that's not at all a bad score, just weaker than the others.

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I really wish they had the faces of all the composers onscreen when GS won. I always like seeing his expression. Well, maybe "like" isn't the right word. You can just see the disgust in his face. John Williams comes close.

I wonder what Thomas is doing next.

And one more thing about Thomas Newman: He's the best-looking composer on the planet. Not too wild about the hair, though.

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And one more thing about Thomas Newman: He's the best-looking composer on the planet. Not too wild about the hair, though.

Thats not exactly saying much...

Film Composers are not what I'ld call a handsome group of people.

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James Newton Howard is rather handsome. And Jerry always looked stylish with his poney-tail (after a long career of having rather terrible style in that department).

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And one more thing about Thomas Newman: He's the best-looking composer on the planet. Not too wild about the hair, though.

Thats not exactly saying much...

Film Composers are not what I'ld call a handsome group of people.

That's precisely my point. But the Newman clan has good genes. Even Randy was a looker in his prime.

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Ah, it's good to drop by here again and encounter some sane people whose views I can relate to and respect! Yes, G.S.'s Best 'Original' Score win was a travesty, compounded by the fact that this was his second in a row and greats such as Glass and Newman walk away with nothing. What particularly irks me is the fact that the most prominent aspect of G.S.'s score, the rambling guitar passage, was lifted almost entirely from his previous music in Amores Perros etc. What a joke. This was a pretty dud year for the Oscars all round, I gotta say.

CYPHER

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Thomas Newman is old! I didn't realize he was 51 already -- I always thought (if I thought about it at all) that he was in his late thirties or maybe early forties. It's kinda sad if you're over fifty, and still don't have an Oscar . . . John Williams got his first Oscar when he was 39 or 40.

James Newton Howard is old too -- he turns 56 this year. But at least he looks his age, and I mean that in a good way. I really wish he will win an Oscar before too long.

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It's kinda sad if you're over fifty, and still don't have an Oscar . . .

Yikes. Not winning an Oscar doesn't detract from his talent, or his work. It's not sad in any way.

Tim

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There are many more deserving people for this award. I'm disappointed in The Academy and all responsible for this decision. Sure, Morricone finally getting his Oscar is beautiful, but it doesn't make up for the fact that a sub-par score that shouldn't even qualify has received the highest honor a film score can. I feel it degrades the award.

Who is going to want to enter their scores they've worked so hard on when they know that the decision process is flawed and political? It's not fair to those who have worked so hard for so long, like Thomas Newman.

~JW

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It's kinda sad if you're over fifty, and still don't have an Oscar . . .

Yikes. Not winning an Oscar doesn't detract from his talent, or his work. It's not sad in any way.

Tim

Well, maybe not for you, but I get sad for TN. If you're never nominated at all it doesn't matter, I guess, but TN HAS been nominated plenty of times, and I'm getting tired of watching a close-up of his face as he is trying to hide his disappointment . . .

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