Winners Announced! You Guess the Cue Contest

So isn't it time YOU won something?


The 2006 Cue Awards are over and so the four winners of the YOU GUESS THE CUE CONTEST can be announced. Find out if you are one of the winners of the GHOST RIDER soundtracks by Christopher Young or of ROBOTECH: SHADOW CHRONICLES by Scott Glasgow.

See if you are one of the winners!

Oscar Thoughts

Well...that was long....

It wasn't the strongest year for the Academy and the show, while conjurring up a few laughs from the host, was a little on the bland side.

First off, let me get the WTHs out fo the way:

Congrats to Gustavo Santaolalla, but WTH? That was the nominee that I would have picked last to win. Thomas Newman's little clip before the award show turned out to be right on. In a year with some pretty weak co-nominees, Thomas had a good shot.

WTH? A little too much Al Gore on Oscar night for me. But all fine fine...we're all green. I get it.

Now for the good stuff...

As much of a dud as I thought this particular show was, the tribute to composer Ennio Morricone was fantastic! It was likely the best tribute of the night and he sure did get from his balcony to the stage in a hurry. The foreign film tribute was also also enjoyable.

Congrats to Martin Scorcese. Even more than the Oscar win...it was great to see George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Francis Coppola and Scorcese on the stage together.

The best acceptance speech of the night has to go to Forest Whitaker. He was so grateful...yet looked like he was just about ready to fight someone as he walked off-stage!

And with that, the award season is pretty much over. Now, we can all sit back and anticipate what wonders will be displayed at the very special 80th Academy Awards in 2008....provided that there are some decent flicks this year...and that the Academy has enough clarity to nominate them.

Final Cue Award: Most Memorable Theme of 2006

And the moment you have patiently been waiting for has arrived...

Most Memorable Theme of the Year

Main Theme – X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)Dark Phoenix Theme – X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)
Charlotte's Theme – Charlotte's Web (Danny Elfman)Main Theme – We are Marshall (Christophe Beck)
Power of the Sun Theme – Superman Returns (John Ottman)
Main Theme – Eragon (Patrick Doyle)
Captain Jack – Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (Hans Zimmer)
Neckin' on the Swing – Clerks II (James L. Venable)
Lady in the Water (James Newton Howard)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

Just because the last award has been given out, doesn't mean things are over! The After-party kicks in and you're all invited! Ok...so there's no after-party...but THE BIG WRAP UP is still to come and you are all invited to that. Come and find out who the big winners were, the big-almosts, and the voters personal notes on the awards this year!

Technical Difficulties - Alien interference!

Hello all

I'm having some strange difficulties in updating the site with the final Cue Award. Figures. In the meantime, I came across this interview with JOHN FRIZZELL regarding his work for ALIEN RESURRECTION. Some good stuff....

Enjoy!

2006 Cue Awards - Disappearing Composer and Outstanding Composer of the Year

Our final two Composer Awards...

For Disappearing Composer of the Year

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER



And for Outstanding Composer of the Year,

This year's nominees were:

John Powell
Trevor Rabin
James Horner
Klaus Badelt

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

Only one Cue left to give out...Most Memorable Theme of the Year!

Pan's Labyrinth by Javier Navarette

Magical Mayhem
Review by Cap Stewart

Genre blending can be a tricky business, even for the most skilled filmmakers. Movies with multiple personalities don’t usually receive universal critical acclaim. 2006’s exception to that rule was PAN'S LABYRINTH, a story best described as a gothic fairy tale.

The narrative centers on Ofelia, a young girl struggling to survive in war-torn Spain while also embarking on a quest into a literal world of fantasy. Though it may sound thematically similar to the Narnia series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this is not. Appropriate only for adults, the film incorporates fantastical elements like fauns and fairies, as well as much blood, violence—and even torture. Truth be told, even the fantasy elements of the film are steeped in darkness. Both worlds Ofelia inhabits are sinister, coming together in an effective climax (though whether the ending is cathartic or not will largely depend on the emotional state of the viewer).

In his musical score to the film, Javier Navarrete has accomplished the difficult task of incorporating elements of fantasy, suspense, and horror. Instead of throwing everything into a disjointed, jumbled mess, Navarrete has managed to weave numerous musical genres into an enjoyable tapestry.


READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

THE NUMBER 23 by Harry Gregson-Williams

The Sound a Number Makes
Review by Christopher Coleman

I wonder what sound a number would make. Would a "1" be a single, high pitched note going on for eternity? Would a "2" be consonant or dissonant? What about a "3?" Both the potential for beautiful harmonies and ear splitting instability would exist for a number like 3, I suppose. What about the number 23? It could be a variety of tonal arrangements or a cavalcade of discord. And if a number could have a sound, perhaps it could have its own music. And if a number could have it's own music, who would be best to compose that music?


READ THE FULL REVIEW OF THE NUMBER 23

Best Dramatic Score and Breakout Composer of the Year - 2006 Cue Award Winners

It's a Two-fer Friday at the 2006 Cue Awards. We're winding down folks. With these two announcements, we only have three more categories to announce. Well, let's get to it...

Best Score for a Dramatic Film:

This year's nominees were:

The Da Vinci Code (Hans Zimmer)
World Trade Center (Craig Armstrong)
Blood Diamond (James Newton Howard)
The Fountain (Clint Mansell)
Lady in the Water (James Newton Howard)
The Nativity Story (Mychael Danna)
We are Marshall (Christophe Beck)
United 93 (John Powell)


CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER


Best Score for a Dramatic Film:

This year's nominees were:

Alexander Desplat
Christophe Beck
Danny Elfman


CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOMES by MIKLOS ROZSA

COMING SOON FROM Tadlow Music

RELEASED ON APRIL 18th, 100 YEARS SINCE THE BIRTH OF MIKLOS ROZSA
“Father was extremely overjoyed at the prospect of scoring the life of Holmes. As he says in his autobiography, Double Life,“the script had the wit, the imagination and the charm of Wilder’s best films, and I was certain that this was going to be thebest of them all….as to the music, I enjoyed adapting my Concerto”.This really was a wonderful opportunity for my father to join his two musical “lives” together. His score would have appeal tonot only the aficionados of film music but to the more “sophisticated” concert goer. This World Première recording producedby James Fitzpatrick brings to life his beautiful, captivating and enchanting score and in addition gives us a wonderful bonus oflistening to the music that father composed for the film that was cut out of the final version. This truly is a wonderful tributeto my father’s centennial! Thank you.“

Juliet Rózsa,
Beverly Hills, California , February 2007

The World Premiere Recording of the Complete Film Score from the Billy Wilder Film of 1970 THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Composed byMIKLOS ROZSA.

Special Limited Collector's Edition • Spectacular New Digital Recording
• Mastered in• Over 77 Minutes of Music
• Scores Reconstructed, Orchestrated and Conducted by Rozsa expert Nic Raine
• One of the Finest Scores from the Legendary Hollywood Composer of BEN-HUR, EL CID,DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE LOST WEEKEND, LUST FOR LIFE,KING OF KINGS and SPELLBOUND
• Music Performed by the Acclaimed City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
• Stunning Solo Violin Performance by the Exciting New Violin Virtuoso Lucie Svehlova
• Score based on Rozsa's brilliant Concerto for Violin, Opus 24 (original written for Jascha Heifetz)
• Includes "Gabrielle", one of the most haunting themes ever composed for Violin and Orchestra.

BONUS MATERIAL includes over 20 Minutes of Music Composed for Scenes Cut from the Final Print of this Classic Billy Wilder Film.

A MAIL ORDER / INTERNET ONLY RELEASE
World Premiere Recording THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
Composed by MIKLOS ROZSA
New Release from Tadlow Music
April 2007
Mail Order : www.tadlowmusic.com


The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted byNic Raine
Solo Violin: Lucie Svehlova
Produced by James Fitzpatrick

2006 Cue Awards - Best Score for an Action Film

Lights...Camera...

Best Score for an ACTION Film...

This year's nominees were:

X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)
Superman Returns (John Ottman)
Mission Impossible III (Michael Giacchino)
Eragon (Patrick Doyle)
Night at the Museum (Alan Silvestri)
Casino Royale (David Arnold)



CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

2006 Cue Awards - Best Score for an Animated Film

Today's daily Cue Award Announcement is

For Best Score for an Animated Film

This year's nominees were:

Happy Feet (John Powell)
Over the Hedge (Rupert Gregson-Williams)
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (John Powell)
Tales of Earthsea (Terashima Tamiya)
Arthur and the Invisibles (Eric Serra)


CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

33rd Saturn Awards - Best Music Nominees

Looks like everyone is getting into the act! Now some sci-fi association thinks they can delve out awards too. ;-) I even heard there some other award show next weekend. *sigh*

THE 33RD SATURN AWARD NOMINEES have just been posted. In the category for BEST MUSIC, the nominees are:

DAVID ARNOLD (Casino Royale) (Sony / MGM)
JOHN OTTMAN (Superman Returns) (Warner Bros.)
DOUGLAS PIPES (Monster House) (Sony)
JOHN POWELL (X-Men: The Last Stand) (20th Century Fox)
TREVOR RABIN (Flyboys) (MGM)
TOM TYKWERJOHNNY KLIMEKREINHOLD HEIL (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) (DreamWorks / Paramount)


I'd take these over the OSCAR noms, that's for sure!

To see the rest of this years SATURN NOMINEES go here

2006 Cue Awards: Best Scores for Video Game and Television

Yesterday, we announced the winner

For Best Score for a Video Game

This year's nominees were:

Call of Duty 3 (Joel Goldsmith)
Black (Chris Tilton/ M. Giacchino)
Soul of the Ultimate Nation (Howard Shore)
Hitman: Blood Money (Jesper Kyd)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

And today we announce the winner for Best Score for Television,

This year's nominees were:

Battlestar Galactica Season 2 (Bear McCreary)
24 Seasons 5 (Sean Callery)
Lost Season 2 (Michael Giacchino)
Path to 9/11 (John Cameron)
Heroes Season 1 (Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

2006 Cue Awards: Best Score on Album and Best Score in Film

Two more Cue Awards to delve out. With the awards for "Best Cue" handed it out, it's time to move into the "Best Score" categories.

For Best Score as Heard in Film

This year's nominees were:

Lady in the Water (James Newton Howard)
Charlotte’s Web (Danny Elfman)
Superman Returns (John Ottman/John Williams)
X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)
The Da Vinci Code (Hans Zimmer)
Flyboys (Trevor Rabin)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

And for Best Score as Heard on Album,

This year's nominees were:

X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)
Superman Returns (John Ottman/John Williams)
The Da Vinci Code (Hans Zimmer)
Eragon (Patrick Doyle)
The Fountain (Clint Mansell)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

Tracksounds Diet

Well, notorious for being one of the "fattest" (maybe "phattest" too) ;-) soundtrack sites around, Tracksounds has gone on a wee bit of a diet. You'll see the trimming down on the home page and popping up throughout the site over the next few weeks. With any luck those of you wading your way through the net will not choke so much when it comes to our bandwith-behemoth as much. Heck...it even renders properly in Firefox 2...mostly.

Hopefully a thinner Tracksounds is a happy Tracksounds.

Let us know your thoughts on the design tweakage.

Christopher

Open Range by Michael Kamen

Home on the Range
Review by Christopher Coleman

"It's probably one of the things that strikes you the most in a Western - the music. Whether it's "The Big Country" or "The Magnificent Seven" ... the great westerns have that great music. It immediately launches you...places you." Kevin Costner.


For a film that almost didn't see the light of a movie projector, OPEN RANGE, was one of the finest films of 2003...and one of the finest westerns I've ever seen. For all of his critics, Kevin Costner, as a director, does hit one out of the park every once in a while. Featured in Costner's 2003 tale of a rag-tag-group of freegrazers and their struggles against the powers-that-be in a nearby town, is composer Michael Kamen's engaging score. Filled with grand themes, intimate instrumentation, and his own signature sounds, OPEN RANGE is one of composer Michael Kamen's most memorable works.

Read the full review here

Two Cue Awards - Best on Album and Best in Film

Today, we hand out two Cue Awards! For Best Cue as Heard in Film

This year's nominees were:

The Plan Begins - Charlotte’s Web
The Great Eatlon – Lady in the Water
Hello Beastie – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The Name's Bond...James Bond – Casino Royale
Dark Phoenix Tragedy – X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

And for Best Cue as Heard in Film,

This year's nominees were:

The Plan Begins (Charlotte’s Web)
Prologue (Lady in the Water)
CheValiers De Sangreal (The Da Vinci Code)
Memories (Superman Returns)
Goodbyes (Blood Diamond)
Battle for Varden (Eragon)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

Best Soundtrack Cover Art - 2006 Cue Award

It's one of those things. We seem to only take notice when it isn't there...or when it's done poorly. Cover art (not liner notes) on our favorite soundtrack releases does have its marketing value but beyond that it's nice to have a cover that is evokes memories of the film, show, or game. It's the only visual connection the owner has, so the cover art shouldn't be skimped upon.

Which soundtrack cover brings home the 2006 Cue Award?

This year's nominees were:

The Fountain
Blood Diamond
The Promise
Night at the Museum
United 93
Snakes on a Plane
Pan's Labyrinth

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

Record Label of the Year - 2006 Cue Award Winner

In 2006, soundtracks became more "available" and "accessible" than ever. Downloading music touched the soundtrack genre through avenues like newcomer, Moviescore Media, and titan, iTunes. Another traditional label that had an exellent year was Milan records, but what label ended up garnering the prize this year?

This year's nominees were:

Moviescore Media
Varese Sarabande
Milan Records
Decca Records
Sony Classical
iTunes


CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

Best Trailer Music: 2006 Cue Award

Ah trailer music. The goal is to cram as much emotion into 30 seconds to a minute's worth of screen-time. This effort causes trailer producers to match up some truly evocative music cues to images of an upcoming film. When it's done right, the end result is more tickets sold.

2006 saw some inventive uses of previously released film score. Whether it was John Williams' "Krypton" from Superman: The Movie or Hans Zimmer's "Spectres in the Fog" from The Last Samurai, trailer producers musically tagged their trailers effectively, but what trailer/music combo worked best?

This year's nominees were:

World Trade Center trailer - The Life of David Gale
The Da Vinci Code trailer - Constantine
The Painted Veil – The Last Samurai
Superman Returns - “Krypton” from Superman
Miami Vice - “Numb Encore
”Meet the Robinsons – Main theme from Sky Captain


CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

Most Unobtrusive Song on a Score Album: 2006 Cue Award

An ill-placed pop song can ruin an otherwise enthralling musical score album. It has happened time and time again. Labels have gotten smarter about seperating the two genres onto two seperate soundtrack releases or at least grouping all of the score tracks and then pop tracks on a single release. At Other times there is just a track or two relegated to the pop genre.

There were no shortage of such combo-soundtracks for 2006, and Tracksounds honors that specific pop track that works the best with its surrounding score tracks.


This year's nominees were:

Keep Holding On (Eragon)
Once in Every Lifetime (Eragon)
Ordinary Miracle (Charlotte’s Web)
Still (Over the Hedge)
Route 66 (Cars)
Chaiyya Chaiyya Bollywood Joint (The Inside Man)
Cry Me A River
(V for Vendetta)
Baai (Blood Diamond)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

2006 Cue Awards: Best Score Missed by Oscar

"And the Cue Award for BEST SCORE MISSED BY OSCAR goes to... "

In what has been called "not one of the strongest years for the Best Original Score category," Tracksounds awards the score that was single biggest travesty committed this year by our friends at the Academy.

Despite the Academy's list of nominees, 2006 was full of exceptional scores that certainly deserve more recognition than they have gotten. So, to all of our nominees, "Cheers!"

This year's nominees were:

The Fountain (Clint Mansell)
Lady in the Water (James Newton Howard)
The Promise (Klaus Badelt)
Apocalypto (James Horner)
The Da Vinci Code (Hans Zimmer)
X-Men The Last Stand (John Powell)
The Nativity Story (Mychael Danna)

CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS YEAR'S WINNER

CHASING GHOSTS (Soundtrack) by Scott Glasgow

The Unusual Suspects
Review by Christopher Coleman

Over the last couple of years, newcomer-label, MovieScore Media has been behind the release of a number of listen-worthy soundtracks that might not have otherwise seen the light of day. Into MovieScore Media's growing catalog comes CHASING GHOSTS by Scott Glasgow.

CHASING GHOSTS, the film, isn't really a supernatural-thriller as much as it is another cop-with-a-painful-unresolved-past-story. Even if the story is a bit of a rehash a la mishmash, bearing a strong similarity to the work of director David Fincher, CHASING GHOSTS, does offer some visual appeal. While DVD buyers and renters may take a passing look at the film, it might be well worth the film-music-inclined to have a pause when it comes to Scott Glasgow's score for CHASING GHOSTS.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Surprise of the Year & Disappointment of the Year Cue Awards

The show has begun. Sorry, no great opening number by Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, or Whoopi Goldberg. We just get right to our first awards: SURPRISE OF THE YEAR and DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR.

The nominees for Surprise of the Year:

Perfume (Simon Rattle)
Tales of Earthsea (Tamiya Terishima)
We are Marshall (Christophe Beck)
Night at the Museum (Alan Silvestri)
The Da Vinci Code (Hans Zimmer)
Over the Hedge (Rupert Gregson-Williams)
Superman Returns (John Ottman/John Williams)
Nanny McPhee (Patrick Doyle)
The Fountain (Clint Mansell)

The Nominees for Disappointment of the Year

Flags of Our Fathers (Eastwood/ Niehaus)
The Prestige (David Julyan)
Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Bryan Tyler)
Poseidon (Klaus Badelt)
Cars (Randy Newman)


And the Cues Go To....

YOU GUESS THE CUE CONTEST ENDING SOON!

You chance to be 1 of 4 winners of either: GHOST RIDER by Christopher Young or ROBOTECH: SHADOW CHRONICLES by Scott Glasgow comes to a close tonight, 12 midnight ET!

Enter the contest, while there's still time!

THE PAINTED VEIL by Alexander Desplat

Subtly Satisfying
Review By Christopher Coleman

Slipping under the 2006-Awards-wire, came the Warner Independent film THE PAINTED VEIL. The film being adapted from the 1925 book by W. Somerset Maugham, tells the tale of one Kitty Fane and her journey of self-discovery - a journey which took her from England to Hong Kong and back again. On the way, she learns of the pains of love, of life and of death. Aside from the clear abilities of stars and produdcers Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, the talents of screewriter, Ron Nyswaner, director John Curran, and composer Alexander Desplat combined to deliver one of 2006's finest films. Another fine film mysteriously and totally ignored by The Academy.

Read the full review here

Paramount Announces - Indiana Jones 4

The Return of the Whip and Fedora!

According to boxofficemojo.com, Paramount Pictures has announced that there will be an INDIANA JONES 4 movie...to release May 2008! Spielberg, Lucas, Ford...and maybe Connery? It all sounds good.

It even looks as though composer John Williams has signed onto the project. Sounds good....I think.

Still, is Harrison Ford too old to be the Indy we all know and love? Should John Williams give up the reigns as these type of films don't seem to be his cup 'o tea any longer?

YOU GUESS THE CUE Contest Rules Updated

The rules have been updated! Two major changes:

1) Winners must be USA RESIDENTS or have a USA address for the prize to be shipped to. Winners will be contacted by email and if no USA address is provided then they will be disqualified and another winner chosen.

2) Participants only have to submit your NAME and EMAIL ADDRESS.

ENTER THE CONTEST!

2006 Cue Award Nominees Announced!

The Nominees for the 2006 Cue Awards (Presented by Tracksounds) have announced!

Take a peak at all the nominees for the 20 award categories!

Starting February 11, 2007, the winners will start to be announced!

YOU GUESS THE CUE CONTEST

Also, you can enter to win either the GHOST RIDER Original Soundtrack by CHRISTOPHER YOUNG or ROBOTECH: SHADOW CHRONICLES by Scott Glasgow. Check out the YOU GUESS THE CUE CONTEST today! (contest ends 2/10/07, so hurry!)

Get the contest details here!

Win the Soundtrack to PAN'S LABYRINTH!

Participate in this month’s contest for a chance to win a copy of the soundtrack "Pan's Labyrinth" by Javier Navarrete.

Check out the contest rules HERE. Enter the contest HERE.