In a nutshell: Oscar score nominees
An analysis of the five contenders
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Oscar pedigree:
One previous nom ("The Queen") Awards to date: Golden Globe, BAFTA, Broadcast
Film Critics noms Challenge:
"How do you manage on a long story -- the life of a man and all his
various encounters, sad or joyful or thrilling or dangerous -- to find
a musical path that progresses?" Resonance: "Instead of
overwhelming the soundtrack with music, you have to keep quiet, but
with very strong musical energy. Think lush chamber score." Advantage:
Charming, delicate orchestral score from rising French star keeps 2-hour,
45-minute epic afloat. Handicap: Restrained nature of music may keep casual
viewers from noticing.
JAMES NEWTON HOWARD"Defiance" More than one option(Film) Defiance1980 -
Jan-Michael Vincent, John Flynn(Film) DefianceJean Jennings, Armand
Weston(Film) DefianceBrent Huff, Terence M O\'KeefeOscar pedigree: Seven
previous noms (including "The Village") Awards to date: Golden Globe nom
Challenge:
"One has to be careful, handing a delicate situation such as the Nazis
and the Jews. Violin seemed to be the instrument that best related to
the soul of these people." Resonance: "I sometimes wrote
in a quasi-minimalist way, trying to keep the melody austere enough,
moving but hopefully not overly sentimental." Advantage: Dramatic symphonic
work featuring top classical violinist Joshua Bell. Handicap: Violin solos in
Holocaust movie may strike some as "Schindler's List" redux.
DANNY ELFMAN "Milk" More than one option(Film) MilkKudo Yukika, Edgar
Honetschlaeger(Film) MilkPhyllida Law, William Brookfield(Film) MilkOscar
pedigree: Three previous noms (including "Good Will Hunting") Awards to date:
Broadcast Film Critics nom Challenge: "Finding the right tone. Trying to find
the balance between pushing too hard and not pushing enough." Resonance:
"The most important thing was not to play the time and place, but the
interior side. Harvey's story is an American story and I really do
think of him as an American hero." Advantage: Quietly heroic theme clearly
helps film. Handicap: Score could be missed in the mix of all the '70s songs
A.R. RAHMAN "Slumdog Millionaire" Oscar pedigree: None Awards to date: Won
Golden Globe, Broadcast Critics awards; BAFTA nom Challenge:
"I knew that Danny (Boyle, the director) liked Indian stuff and he also
liked very edgy stuff. He didn't want any sentimental (music), except
for the love theme." Resonance: "It's acoustic
instruments, electronica, vintage Bollywood with futuristic elements.
Also, it's a score containing songs -- not as songs, but as score." Advantage:
Popular film, Acad's recent preference for world-music sounds Handicap: Heavy
contempo beat may sound more like source music than score
THOMAS NEWMAN "Wall-E"Oscar pedigree: Eight previous noms Awards to date:
BAFTA, Grammy noms Challenge:
"Inside Wall-E is the embodiment of humanity. ... How do I find a voice
for this without it sounding like third-rate John Williams?" Resonance:
"It became clear that there was an intimacy as well as massive scale. I
knew, ultimately, that I could make a difference in how you felt about
Wall-E as a character." Advantage: Magical score contributes to film's warmth
and humor, especially in many scenes without dialogue. Handicap: Of eight
previous Pixar films, six were nommed for score, and none won.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999869.html?categoryid=3275&cs=1
