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The OSCAR Thread


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I found it interesting that they played the theme for one of Spielberg's most critically unsuccessful films when he came up, TLW.

Wait a second? Spielberg was there?

What did he do? Present the Best Director Oscar?

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A.R. Rahman - 2 Oscars, G. Santaolalla - 2 Oscars, Jerry Goldsmith - 1 Oscar, Danny Elfman - 0.

There is NO comparison ROTFLMAO

But it shows that the Academy aren't racist. Oh, hang on a minute...

Seriously though, I'm glad Winslet finally got her Oscar. It makes her episode of "Extras" all the better :)

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I found it interesting that they played the theme for one of Spielberg's most critically unsuccessful films when he came up, TLW.

Wait a second? Spielberg was there?

What did he do? Present the Best Director Oscar?

Best Picture.

And the excerpt was a rich, lush and amusingly ominous performance of The Lost World Main Theme -- I couldn't think of a more bizarre choice from Giacchino. (Maybe a big fan of the score?) Just like we heard Williams' music right before Obama's swearing-in, we hear it again right before Best Picture's announcement.

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and hooray for two appearances of Roar!

Indeed!

Unfortunately, after 3 crap choices in a row, the Best Score Oscar has no credibility left.

Atonement is a crap choice? It's a real score by a real composer.

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I think John's referring to the Santa-Rahman trio. Atonement is a forgiveable blip in between - as you said it is at least a real score.

I'm sure Rahman is a competent composer, and I do enjoy two scores cues from it, but unless a viewing of the film reveals a miracle in context, I still think it's riding on the popularity of the film.

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and hooray for two appearances of Roar!

it was played at least 4 times, Giacchino is a w*h*o*r*e

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I think the Amazon quote in richuk's signature says it all about how underscore is perceived in present day. Remember the the body of the academy comprises actors (many of them musical morons), directors, producers, editors, cinematographers, costumers, etc. What training or background would they have in the field of music to know how music affects a film? Mostly, they do not. The Oscars are a popularity contest and a good majority of those who vote are people who dig Coldplay and would not know who even won Best Score in 1977 much less remember that awesome music.

this is the reason I do not watch any awards shows. The mere fact that Williams has 5 oscars is not because he's a brilliant composer but more that his music accompanied popular films. Now we all know that HIS music had a big hand in making those films popular and successful but to the average bloke, they would not know him to see him. This is partly why Goldsmith never garnered more than 1 Oscar and the one he won it for was, for me, much lesser of an effort than PotA, Patton, Papillon, Islands in the Stream, Boys From Brazil, First Blood, ST:TMP, etc. etc.

At least we can take comfort in knowing that Desplat, Elfman, Howard, and Newman are all solid composers whose work will stand the test of time while many "fad composers" like Rahman (at least for his Slumdog score) and Santaolalla will fade into the woodwork or will be dated in a time period like Gorgio Moroder's Midnight Express or whomever composed Fame.

EDIT- Back in the Golden Era of Hollywood, actors and actresses were trained in a variety of entertainment skills including song & dance. I believe this helped them gain some perspective on the contribution of music in film and as such, they were better informed when they voted. And music back then was just plain better in many ways- at least as far as orchestral underscore went. Hell, Herrmann's use of electronics was pretty damned great too!

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I have not seen Slumdog, but I doubt it is as great as they say. Best film of the year? From what I know about it, it is faux Indian film by Brits, a typical rags to riches story, and shows a poor guy getting lots of money on a gameshow so that he can gain his destiny love of his life. On paper, and from clips I've seen, and from the score I've heard, it is your typical prepackaged, studio engineered, late year, Oscar bait "sleeper". But is it really the best film of the year in anyone's opinion here?

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I have not seen Slumdog, but I doubt it is as great as they say. Best film of the year? From what I know about it, it is faux Indian film by Brits, a typical rags to riches story, and shows a poor guy getting lots of money on a gameshow so that he can gain his destiny love of his life. On paper, and from clips I've seen, and from the score I've heard, it is your typical prepackaged, studio engineered, late year, Oscar bait "sleeper". But is it really the best film of the year in anyone's opinion here?

Oscar needed a "feel good" movie to win everything this year because of the awful economic times we are in and the fact that No Country For Old Men won Best Picture last year which was a downer of a film (insofar as its message went). Personally, Oscar has not got it right for many years. I thought There Will Be Blood was a far superior film in its technique and execution. I thought Williams' Memoirs of a Geisha was far and away the Best Score in 2005. Goodfellas was a better film than Dances With Wolves in 1990 (although I liked DWW quite a bit). Scorsese should have won Best Director in 1990 and 2004 for Goodfellas and the Aviator. Goldsmith ought to have won in 1997 for LA Confidential and in 1998 for Mulan (Best Score for Comedy/Animated film) while Williams should have won for Private Ryan (IMO).

Fact is, Oscars are a political popularity contest- like an overhyped over exaggerated high school prom. Years later no one remembers nor gives a crap who was the prom Queen except for the washed up hag herself.

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I think the Amazon quote in richuk's signature says it all about how underscore is perceived in present day. Remember the the body of the academy comprises actors (many of them musical morons), directors, producers, editors, cinematographers, costumers, etc. What training or background would they have in the field of music to know how music affects a film? Mostly, they do not. The Oscars are a popularity contest and a good majority of those who vote are people who dig Coldplay and would not know who even won Best Score in 1977 much less remember that awesome music.

this is the reason I do not watch any awards shows. The mere fact that Williams has 5 oscars is not because he's a brilliant composer but more that his music accompanied popular films. Now we all know that HIS music had a big hand in making those films popular and successful but to the average bloke, they would not know him to see him. This is partly why Goldsmith never garnered more than 1 Oscar and the one he won it for was, for me, much lesser of an effort than PotA, Patton, Papillon, Islands in the Stream, Boys From Brazil, First Blood, ST:TMP, etc. etc.

At least we can take comfort in knowing that Desplat, Elfman, Howard, and Newman are all solid composers whose work will stand the test of time while many "fad composers" like Rahman (at least for his Slumdog score) and Santaolalla will fade into the woodwork or will be dated in a time period like Gorgio Moroder's Midnight Express or whomever composed Fame.

EDIT- Back in the Golden Era of Hollywood, actors and actresses were trained in a variety of entertainment skills including song & dance. I believe this helped them gain some perspective on the contribution of music in film and as such, they were better informed when they voted. And music back then was just plain better in many ways- at least as far as orchestral underscore went. Hell, Herrmann's use of electronics was pretty damned great too!

That's why I believe that all special awards like that should be voted upon by their respective branches of the Academy - people that should actually know what they are doing..

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It was a rather dreary show. Hugh Jackman nailed it though. He was a unique choice that paid off rather well.

One of the reviews mentioned that the segments with the 5 previous winners presenting the actor/actresses awards was so heavy it felt like they were going to sentence the winner to the Phantom Zone with General Zod.

"Guilty...Guilty...Guilty....Guilty.......Guilty!"

It was nice to see Jerry Lewis looking much thinner and healthier, even at 82.

I wonder if Giacchino played TLW for Spielberg as a thank you, since TLW video game was his first major composing job.

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I think the Amazon quote in richuk's signature says it all about how underscore is perceived in present day. Remember the the body of the academy comprises actors (many of them musical morons), directors, producers, editors, cinematographers, costumers, etc. What training or background would they have in the field of music to know how music affects a film? Mostly, they do not. The Oscars are a popularity contest and a good majority of those who vote are people who dig Coldplay and would not know who even won Best Score in 1977 much less remember that awesome music.

this is the reason I do not watch any awards shows. The mere fact that Williams has 5 oscars is not because he's a brilliant composer but more that his music accompanied popular films. Now we all know that HIS music had a big hand in making those films popular and successful but to the average bloke, they would not know him to see him. This is partly why Goldsmith never garnered more than 1 Oscar and the one he won it for was, for me, much lesser of an effort than PotA, Patton, Papillon, Islands in the Stream, Boys From Brazil, First Blood, ST:TMP, etc. etc.

At least we can take comfort in knowing that Desplat, Elfman, Howard, and Newman are all solid composers whose work will stand the test of time while many "fad composers" like Rahman (at least for his Slumdog score) and Santaolalla will fade into the woodwork or will be dated in a time period like Gorgio Moroder's Midnight Express or whomever composed Fame.

EDIT- Back in the Golden Era of Hollywood, actors and actresses were trained in a variety of entertainment skills including song & dance. I believe this helped them gain some perspective on the contribution of music in film and as such, they were better informed when they voted. And music back then was just plain better in many ways- at least as far as orchestral underscore went. Hell, Herrmann's use of electronics was pretty damned great too!

I completely agree, and what you say about the Oscars being a popularity contest is spot on true. I'm sure (and I've only listened to three out of the five best score nominees) that not many academy members came out of watching Button, Defiance, Wall-e or Milk remembering their scores or humming the music that accompanied the movie.

I am completely sure on the other hand (and I haven't seen Slumdog yet, only listened to the score) that A LOT of people, whether we like it or not, came out singing Jai Ho and the rest of the music from Slumdog after watching the movie, and that's the difference between voting something for best score or not.

So even though the other scores nominated may be more technically elaborate, there's no denying that they weren't as popular as Slumdog has been this year.

I wonder if Giacchino played TLW for Spielberg as a thank you, since TLW video game was his first major composing job.

I had no idea about that but I did think it was kind of an odd choice of music, so that may very well be the reason why he played it.

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I wonder if Giacchino played TLW for Spielberg as a thank you, since TLW video game was his first major composing job.

I also think that. It really has no other factible explanation, since there are many more Williams tunes to relate to spielberg than this one.

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There wasn't much original music created for Slumdog but what was there was excellent and more importantly, serviced the film the best. I enjoy the score and really noticed when I saw the movie the second time around, how well it works with the film. Even better than a separate listen.

What? I thought all of the score was original save for "Paper Planes" and source music like the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? theme.

I have not seen Slumdog, but I doubt it is as great as they say. Best film of the year? From what I know about it, it is faux Indian film by Brits, a typical rags to riches story, and shows a poor guy getting lots of money on a gameshow so that he can gain his destiny love of his life. On paper, and from clips I've seen, and from the score I've heard, it is your typical prepackaged, studio engineered, late year, Oscar bait "sleeper". But is it really the best film of the year in anyone's opinion here?

That's exactly what it is, but it's done so, so well.

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and hooray for two appearances of Roar!

Indeed!

Unfortunately, after 3 crap choices in a row, the Best Score Oscar has no credibility left.

Atonement is a crap choice? It's a real score by a real composer.

I think John's referring to the Santa-Rahman trio. Atonement is a forgiveable blip in between - as you said it is at least a real score.

Right, my bad.

One of the reviews mentioned that the segments with the 5 previous winners presenting the actor/actresses awards was so heavy it felt like they were going to sentence the winner to the Phantom Zone with General Zod.

"Guilty...Guilty...Guilty....Guilty.......Guilty!"

Guilty.

The chat was fun.

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I hope this isn't going to happen the entire show with 5 damn people presenting each Oscar.

I thought it was a nice touch. Came across more heartfelt and sincere than what I usually expect from the Academy.

Jackman and Giacchino were cool, Roar! was a pleasant surprise. I just hope Slumdog Millionaire (which hasn't screened here yet) is half as good as it's made out to be. I like Boyle, but I still can't really imagine this film.

Hmmm, does anyone else think that the special effects of Indy 4 or the Dark Knight was MUCH better than the special effects of Benjamin Button?

No.

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And the excerpt was a rich, lush and amusingly ominous performance of The Lost World Main Theme -- I couldn't think of a more bizarre choice from Giacchino. (Maybe a big fan of the score?)

It was a great inside joke! :)

One of the first works by Giacchino was the music for The Lost World: Jurassic Park computer game. Game was produced by Dreamworks and he's career started when Steven Spielberg invited him to compose music for the game.

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Thanks Hugh Jackman! Now I can pronounce Giacchino! JAH-KEE-NO Yay!

It always sounds like it's pronounced "juh-kee-no" in interviews, but I've always said "gee-a-kee-no."

There wasn't much original music created for Slumdog but what was there was excellent and more importantly, serviced the film the best. I enjoy the score and really noticed when I saw the movie the second time around, how well it works with the film. Even better than a separate listen.

What? I thought all of the score was original save for "Paper Planes" and source music like the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? theme.

Most of it was original. Paper Planes and I think one other song on the soundtrack were unoriginal.

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And no congrats to Penn?

I suppose so, but I'm yet to see Milk, hence why I didn't mention him.

Oh and all this fuss about Slumdog winning best score, even though the Academy's definition of what constitutes as a score is all wrong, I still think it's great that it won. People need to chill out a bit.

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but I've always said "gee-a-kee-no."

That's how i say it, and how an italian would say it.

But i think Erik woods siad Giacchino himself said it in other way.

Oh i forgot:

:mrgreen: Penelope, oh yes Penelope!

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Predictable winners. One of the night's biggest travesties was Ben Burtt's work for Wall-E not winning. Then again, last night was not about awarding quality, was it?

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And no congrats to Penn?

I suppose so, but I'm yet to see Milk, hence why I didn't mention him.

Haven't seen it either. Penn is cool, but I would've liked Pitt to get the Oscar. I'm happy with Winslet getting one (though I haven't seen that movie either).

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Well, with that list of films, quality was hard to find. I thought Tina Fey and Steve Martin were funny. Jack Black, too. I liked the acting awards presentation. Really liked it. And tough I'm not a Slumdog fan, it was nice to see someone win who is honestly happy and grateful. The costume design winner was also very grateful to be there. First person he thanked was Rachel Portman, for her score.

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I totally fail to see the appeal of Jonathan Ross.

Period pieces always win for costume design.

Generally true. However, more to the point, it's been a recent trend to give that award to a film that otherwise wins no other, one that doesn't even seem to have a chance to win anything (the previous two winners were Elizabeth 2 and Marie Antoinette), which is the case this year as well.

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Oh, were the Oscars last night? Oh dear, between the NASCAR race and my computer game, I must've forgot. Shucks.

Neither of these sentences will ever be uttered or typed by me in my lifetime. It makes me shudder just to read it.

This was the best show I've seen in a very long time. A very long time. The past actors coming out to shower present nominees with praise was beautiful, though I didn't like Cuba Gooding Jr. I think, though, it would have been cool for Anthony Hopkins to address Frank Langella...one Nixon to another.

Anywy, am I the only one who got a lump in his throat when Thomas Newman lost twice? Poor guy. I thought this would be his year. But then again, cousin Randy had to wait for nomination No. 13.

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The past actors coming out to shower present nominees with praise was beautiful.

Uh, no. It was boring. I don't want someone to explain why they were nominated, just show the clip and let the people watching see for themselves.

Anywy, am I the only one who got a lump in his throat when Thomas Newman lost twice? Poor guy. I thought this would be his year. But then again, cousin Randy had to wait for nomination No. 13.

Thomas Newman has been nominated 10 times. He even made a joke about never winning at the 79th Academy Awards. So, I'm sure he's used to it :P

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