The Force Awakens John Williams Receives 50th Oscar Nomination for 'The Force Awakens'

[TownerFan 4,983]

2 hours ago, Thor said:

Does anyone remember a photo with Morricone & Williams, taken some time during the 80s or early 90s at an ASCAP or BMI event or something? If you know where I can find it, let me know.

 

Here it is:

 

 

[nightscape94 965]

He's so flirty.

[Incanus 5,713]

5 minutes ago, nightscape94 said:

He's so flirty.

He's got the mojo angel baby, yeah!

[Thor 7,465]

2 hours ago, KK. said:

Walt Disney was a man, and it was that man who received 59 nominations. No one really counts nominations by studios.

 

Absolutely. He set a record that will probably never be beaten.

 

Unfortunately, Williams is not likely to be the most-winning Oscar composer either. Still a way up to Alfred Newman's 9 and even Alan Menken's 8 (if you count songs, which I think one should). But hey -- 50 nominations! That's pretty amazing right there.

18 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

 

Here it is:

 

 

 

Thank you so much!!

[mrbellamy 6,272]

1 hour ago, nightscape94 said:

This is probably the first time in a while that I'm okay with him simply being nominated without any chance of actually winning.  That number 50 is a cool milestone and I'm thrilled that it came with Star Wars.  It's a nice encapsulation of one of the best careers in the history of film.

 

I'm pretty sure everyone on the board is more or less rooting early for The BFG to be a more serious contender for him to take home another trophy.

 

Even if he loses the Oscar, don't forget Hollywood and the AFI will be making up for it with an hour long John Williams circlejerk in the summer. 

[Uni 306]

I briefly attempted to assess his chances of winning this year . . . then remembered how impossibly unpredictable this category has proven over the years. It's not like it has a long record of awarding the Oscar to the most worthy or deserving nominee. It's entirely possible John could win simply because the voters love the idea of casting for a Star Wars score. He may have no chance of winning because Morricone could prove the sentimental favorite. It could go to Newman for no better reason than he was stepping into Williams's shoes for BOS. Johann could take it home just because the voters will seem smarter if they rally around the guy with the coolest "composer" name. Or maybe Carter gets his first because . . . just because. (I guess you could make a good argument that this is perennially one of the most exciting categories because you never really know who's going to win until they open the envelope.)

 

Whatever happens, though, it's a great milestone for the Maestro, and so fitting that it does come for a score that's part of the franchise that gave him the opportunity to bring the big orchestra back to the big screen and influence the next couple of generations of film scores and film lovers. Congratulations!

[nightscape94 965]

 

23 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

 

1 hour ago, nightscape94 said:

This is probably the first time in a while that I'm okay with him simply being nominated without any chance of actually winning.  That number 50 is a cool milestone and I'm thrilled that it came with Star Wars.  It's a nice encapsulation of one of the best careers in the history of film.

 

I'm pretty sure everyone on the board is more or less rooting early for The BFG to be a more serious contender for him to take home another trophy.

 

Even if he loses the Oscar, don't forget Hollywood and the AFI will be making up for it with an hour long John Williams circlejerk in the summer.

 

I'm also curious about a possible lifetime achievement Oscar.  His awarded history notwithstanding it would seem weird not to give him recognition for his body of work and impact on film and film music.

[Uni 306]

5 minutes ago, nightscape94 said:

I'm also curious about a possible lifetime achievement Oscar.  His awarded history notwithstanding it would seem weird not to give him recognition for his body of work and impact on film and film music.

 

I've thought about this a lot over the last few years as well. A Lifetime Achievement Award isn't something they give to just any artist, no matter how prolific or popular. But there's no overlooking the massive effect his work has had on the film industry over the last 40 years. It's not an overstatement in the least to say that we wouldn't have a lot of the music we love today if he hadn't incentivized directors, producers, and studios to push for bigger music scores for their large-scale movies. Jaws was the first summer blockbuster, meaning he was the first summer blockbuster composer. He showed (or, at the very least, reminded) everyone how to do it. He was central to defining the sound and presentation of film music in the last quarter of the 20th century.

 

If that sort of effort and repertoire doesn't deserve this award, what does. . . ?

[karelm 2,903]

19 minutes ago, nightscape94 said:

 

 

I'm also curious about a possible lifetime achievement Oscar.  His awarded history notwithstanding it would seem weird not to give him recognition for his body of work and impact on film and film music.

 

And he needs a Hollywood star too!

[mrbellamy 6,272]

18 minutes ago, nightscape94 said:

 

 

I'm also curious about a possible lifetime achievement Oscar.  His awarded history notwithstanding it would seem weird not to give him recognition for his body of work and impact on film and film music.

 

It would be a lovely gesture, but I assume they feel like his 5 wins and ever-increasing nomination totals sort of speak for themselves when there are a plethora of cinematic legends that are still left completely unrecognized.

 

I imagine he'll get a Hollywood star at some point, even if it's posthumous.

[Crimson Nagus 43]

I was really hoping that Inside Out would get a nomination, I thought it was one of the years best scores.

 

I hope TFA can bring another statue home for Williams but, it feels like this will be Morricone's year to finally grab a win.  Although I enjoy Morricone scores, H8 just didn't do much for me, it's a fine score but I guess I was just expecting something else.

[Balahkay 627]

Awesome! Well deserved nomination.  He's 5 for 5 in nominations for his 2010's output so far.

 

I look forward to The BFG... less than 6 months now.

[Thor 7,465]

I feel fairly confident that SICARIO will win, Jóhannsson snubbing the prize right out from under the noses of the more established composers. This would be in Oscar tradition for several reasons. Which is OK. The score was cool in the movie. Not so much alone, though (it's FAR inferior to Jóhannsson's gorgeous PRISONERS from a couple of years ago, his masterpiece thus far).

[JasonTHX 21]

My three favorite composers (Williams, Morricone, Newman) all nominated in the same year. Has this happened before? Boy, It's a good day.

 

Burwell is no slouch either. His scores for Rob Roy and True Grit are absolute standouts. I wouldn't be surprised if he grabs the prize from Morricone.

[Richard Penna 3,670]

I think it will be either Johansson or Morricone.

 

But regardless, it will have nothing to do with the actual music.

[Trumpeteer 302]

I saw "The Hateful Eight" yesterday. I was going only to hear the score. I was not disappointed. The main title music is an awesome crescendo into the action of the film, and the major theme (as well as its orchestration) was memorable from the start. I knew it would win an Oscar, if it were to get nominated. Even though the film is being criticized for being over the top and too bloody, the music Morricone wrote was the best of the year. After the film, I ducked into a "Star Wars" screening and watched the scene where Rey flies the Millenium Falcon for the first time. After the scene, I thought, "One minute of Morricone's music is better than 10 minutes of Williams' music." That's something I thought I would never say.

 

Plus, Morricone is 87 years old. Though the final ballots will not list the composers' names, the Academy voters will know who they are voting for in the score category. I have read a lot of articles that go on and on about Morricone's age. How many people can get out of bed at 87 years old, much less write action music?

 

Of course, the same could be said of Williams, and they might want to give him an Oscar to make up for not giving him anything for Empire or Jedi, and to offer up an apology for not nominating him for the prequels.

 

Either way, it'll be an old guy on the stage to accept the Original Score Oscar.

[Thor 7,465]

3 hours ago, TownerFan said:

 

Here it is:

 

 

 

 

Going back to that photo again (sorry, I can't quite let it go), it just occured to me the woman Williams is greeting looks like Morricone's wife -- who, incidentally, was instrumental in her husband accepting THE HATEFUL EIGHT.

 

Also, you can spot Douglass Fake and Laurence Rosenthal in the background.

[Taikomochi 1,136]

Williams should have taken her out right there to pave the way to a win for TFA.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

16 minutes ago, Thor said:

Going back to that photo again (sorry, I can't quite let it go), it just occured to me the woman Williams is greeting looks like Morricone's wife -- who, incidentally, was instrumental in her husband accepting THE HATEFUL EIGHT.

 

I suppose you think that's funny?

[TownerFan 4,983]

11 minutes ago, Thor said:

 

 

Going back to that photo again (sorry, I can't quite let it go), it just occured to me the woman Williams is greeting looks like Morricone's wife -- who, incidentally, was instrumental in her husband accepting THE HATEFUL EIGHT.

 

She's not Morricone's wife Maria, but more likely the chaperon translator who was with him at the time. This pic was taken during the Society of Preservation for Film Music gala tribute for Morricone held in 1994 in Los Angeles.

 

As for the Oscars, it's 99% fair bet that Morricone will take the prize. Despite the Honorary award given in 2007, he's been snubbed just too many times in Oscars history and this is the perfect chance for the Academy to repair the situation. In addition to that, there's a big campaign for the score to win by the Weinstein company and they're gonna push even further the momentum. Plus, it's a very good score.

[Thor 7,465]

29 minutes ago, TownerFan said:

 

She's not Morricone's wife Maria, but more likely the chaperon translator who was with him at the time. This pic was taken during the Society of Preservation for Film Music gala tribute for Morricone held in 1994 in Los Angeles.

 

Thanks for the extra info. I had forgotten all about the circumstances. Yeah, that she's the translator makes more sense. But she looks kinda like Maria in profile.

 

In any case, I just love this link between the two giants of film music, which is now more current than ever -- and any similar situation where their path has crossed in the past. I've been searching YT for some footage of Williams conducting Morricone's music, but so far I've only found the CINEMA PARADISO theme, which was composed by Ennio's son Andrea. I know that he's also done THE MISSION with the Pops.

[Lewya 360]

4 hours ago, Thor said:

Unfortunately, Williams is not likely to be the most-winning Oscar composer either. Still a way up to Alfred Newman's 9 and even Alan Menken's 8 (if you count songs, which I think one should). But hey -- 50 nominations! That's pretty amazing right there.

If he wins this one somehow (I know it won't happen though), writes a song for The BFG and then wins both score and song next year, that's 8 Oscars.

 

If we are being more realistic, I do think it is still possible even if I doubt it. Williams needs to live to at least 90 and do at the very least one movie a year, preferably two and preferably write a song or two to still have a chance. Walt Disney must be defeated and he needs 10 Oscars (and a honorary one). Menken would still be dangerous though, he is "only" in his 60's and could very win a couple more Oscars. Williams' 6 year break might have ruined his chance of beating Disney and have a good shot at getting the most-winning Oscar composer. Also bad timing on some works.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

14 minutes ago, Lewya said:

If he wins this one somehow (I know it won't happen though), writes a song for The BFG and then wins both score and song next year, that's 8 Oscars.

 

Whizzpoppers!  

[nightscape94 965]

24 minutes ago, Lewya said:

...writes a song for The BFG...

 

Biiiiig Fuuuuuucking GIIIIIAAAAANT

 

[Thor 7,465]

48 minutes ago, Lewya said:

If he wins this one somehow (I know it won't happen though), writes a song for The BFG and then wins both score and song next year, that's 8 Oscars.

 

If we are being more realistic, I do think it is still possible even if I doubt it. Williams needs to live to at least 90 and do at the very least one movie a year, preferably two and preferably write a song or two to still have a chance. Walt Disney must be defeated and he needs 10 Oscars (and a honorary one). Menken would still be dangerous though, he is "only" in his 60's and could very win a couple more Oscars. Williams' 6 year break might have ruined his chance of beating Disney and have a good shot at getting the most-winning Oscar composer. Also bad timing on some works.

 

I admire your optimism, but he needs more than 10 actual awards to beat Disney in that department. He needs 22 more!  But yeah -- he "only" has 10 more to go to beat his nomination record.

 

And even if he will never pass Newman and Menken as most-winning composer, he beat them in the nomination department a long time ago. So does that -- in fact -- make Williams one of the biggest "losers" in Oscar history, relatively speaking?

[Loert 2,510]

7 hours ago, Indianagirl said:

I could be wrong but I would like to think that if John Williams is on the fence about doing Episode 8 this could be just the thing needed to cause him to say yes. 

 

Or maybe Williams decided some time ago that when he'll reach his 50th nomination he will retire...

[Marian Schedenig 8,173]

34 minutes ago, Thor said:

And even if he will never pass Newman and Menken as most-winning composer, he beat them in the nomination department a long time ago. So does that -- in fact -- make Williams one of the biggest "losers" in Oscar history, relatively speaking?

 

Good catch. Has there been anyone who has "lost" an Oscar nomination more than 44 times?

 

Also, what are the records for double nominations (and for doubly nominated people winning and thus beating themselves)?

[Will 2,215]

Statement from Williams about the nomination (https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-nominated-for-15-academy-awards/):

 

Quote

Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned nods in five categories, including Visual Effects and Original Score. “I’m deeply honored and grateful to the Academy for this recognition. It’s been a privilege and a joy to revisit the Star Wars galaxy and to work with the brilliant director J.J. Abrams on this very special film,” composer John Williams said upon receiving the nomination—his 50th.

 

 

[igger6 894]

Wow. Whether he wins or not, Williams has now earned as many Oscar nominations from 2011-15 as he did from 1975-80. Who would have predicted that five years ago?

[crumbs 14,300]

Oh no! In his statement, he used the vague term "revisit" rather than "return permanently" to the saga.

 

EVERYONE PANIC!!!!!!!11!!!!1

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

sadface.jpg

[That_Bloke 115]

More the once it's been mentioned that the score for Mad Max: Fury Road should have been nominated. I don't know if the posters are being sarcastic or sincere, but I didn't think much of the music. Actually I didn't think much of the film, though I enjoyed some of the stunt work and one or two sassy visuals. Vive le difference.

 

I really liked Giacchino's Jupiter Ascending. I also liked the film (though I think I was the only one in the universe who did). However, given the film's reception, and Giacchino's high-profile with scores this past year, I don't think the score had a chance.

 

[Jay 37,287]

2 hours ago, igger6 said:

Wow. Whether he wins or not, Williams has now earned as many Oscar nominations from 2011-15 as he did from 1975-80. Who would have predicted that five years ago?

 

Woah.

[Red 75]

This was a strong year for film scores, looking at that lineup. Any year with Williams and Morricone is an exceptional one indeed.

[Ludwig 1,120]

4 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Also, what are the records for double nominations (and for doubly nominated people winning and thus beating themselves)?

 

Double nominations in the Best Original Score category have occurred 13 times in Oscar history since 1946, when they reduced the number of nominees down to five (before that, there were twenty, so it doesn't mean the same thing). Only twice have these doubly-nominated composers actually won - Williams, of course for Star Wars in 1977 (beating his nomination for Close Encounters), and Desplat last year for Grand Budapest Hotel (beating his nomination for The Imitation Game). Ironically, though, Williams has lost 7 times in years when he was double nominated, most recently in 2011 for War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin.

 

I've decided that, per se, I don't think a double nomination means a damn thing in terms of decreasing a composer's chance of winning. It seems to me that, apart from other circumstances (like past snubs, a sympathy vote, etc.), the Academy does not vote based on the composer, but rather their perception of the music in the film and the prestige of the film it's attached to. I say this because in the vast majority of cases, the film containing the winning score is nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, or very often both. And since I started analyzing the nominees in detail in 2013, I can say that the winners were definitely scores that were, in one way or another, extremely memorable.

[King Mark 3,625]

Hateful Eight isn't nominated for anything important and nobody's talking about the movie. Theres' absolutely no reason for Morricone to win except a sympathy vote. Lets hope the current Star Wars fever favors Williams.

 

If they're gonna give Star Wars something it may be best score , best visuals and best sound or whatever. Hopefully he'll win his first Oscar in JWfan history

 

 

[publicist 4,643]

2 hours ago, king mark said:

 Theres' absolutely no reason for Morricone to win except a sympathy vote.

 

Which in 98% of the cases is exactly what the Oscars are.

[That_Bloke 115]

23 hours ago, KK. said:

Walt Disney was a man, and it was that man who received 59 nominations. No one really counts nominations by studios.

Yes I know Walt Disney was an actual person, and he was also head of his own studio.

 

I was querying whether or not he received all his 59 noms because of his individual effort (as Williams has), or whether the rules at the time were such that studio heads took the nomination on behalf of their creative terms in certain categories. If the latter, then Walt Disney's noms could have come from his own efforts, and the efforts of his employees.

 

Anyone know?

 

Edit my typo: "creative teams" not "creative terms"

[Josh500 1,615]

Congrats!!

 

 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Walt Disney wasn't a real person. 

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

I was hoping against hope that Morricone was snubbed. What a pity he got nominated. Now the stupid general voters will vote for him.

 

I think if Morricone was not here, JW would be the favorite. The rest are just filler and never going to win.

[TownerFan 4,983]

8 minutes ago, That_Bloke said:

Yes I know Walt Disney was an actual person, and he was also head of his own studio.

 

I was querying whether or not he received all his 59 noms because of his individual effort (as Williams has), or whether the rules at the time were such that studio heads took the nomination on behalf of their creative terms in certain categories. If the latter, then Walt Disney's noms could have come from his own efforts, and the efforts of his employees.

 

Anyone know?

 

A lot of Walt Disney's nominations were given to him mainly as director of animated shorts and as director/producer for the series of nature/wildlife documentaries he made between the 1950s and 1960s. So technically they were all individual efforts.

 

About the split vote--contrary to what is generally believed, it's difficult that a composer automatically loses because he has a double nomination in the same category. Keep in mind that the ballot card has just the film title in the tech categories, so vote tendencies are generally mostly about the film. A category where the split vote is much more likely is usually the Best Original Song slot, because voters simply check the box with the film title and it can happen that there are multiple songs nominated from the same movie, such as musicals or animated films.

 

FYI, Morricone already told to Italian press he won't attend the Oscar night because he recently had a small medical procedure and doctors dissuaded him to make long trips.

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

Most of his Disney's noms were as producer, not director. As head of the studio, he basically just put his name as producer on everything Disney made and thus got a lot of nominations.

 

 

[TownerFan 4,983]

4 hours ago, king mark said:

Hateful Eight isn't nominated for anything important and nobody's talking about the movie. Theres' absolutely no reason for Morricone to win except a sympathy vote. Lets hope the current Star Wars fever favors Williams.

 

If they're gonna give Star Wars something it may be best score , best visuals and best sound or whatever. Hopefully he'll win his first Oscar in JWfan history

 

Chances for Williams are downright to zero, imho. The buzz around Morricone's score is just too strong. Star Wars may be popular among some voters, but it's not strong enough. The only category where it could likely win is Visual Effects. All the others are going to Mad Max.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Maurizio, maybe in Italy the buzz is strong. A bit less so anywhere else.

[TownerFan 4,983]

It's strong pretty much everywhere, especially in US as well. Every film website and their mother is cheering for Morricone. The score has been dutifully celebrated by film critics and movie audiences. After the Golden Globe it's likely gonna win the BAFTA and other secondary awards as well (Broadcast Film Critics, etc.) and the buzz for the Oscar is gonna get stronger from here to Oscar Night.

[publicist 4,643]

1 hour ago, TheUlyssesian said:

I was hoping against hope that Morricone was snubbed. What a pity he got nominated. Now the stupid general voters will vote for him.

 

I think if Morricone was not here, JW would be the favorite. The rest are just filler and never going to win.

 

Well, stupid general voters fucking stupid fanboys again. It's a conspiracy of epic proportions!

 

[Jacck 23]

Congrats, Johnny, baby!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

 

2 hours ago, TownerFan said:

FYI, Morricone already told to Italian press he won't attend the Oscar night because he recently had a small medical procedure and doctors dissuaded him to make long trips.

 

Pacemaker?