Golden Globe Nominations

Yes...well you've probably seen the nominees for the 66th Golden Globies, but here are the major movie categories along with my pick of what I think WILL (in italics) win and also which I think SHOULD win (in bold).

Best Motion Picture - Drama

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

The Reader

Revolutionary Road

Slumdog Millionaire



Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Anne Hathaway – Rachel Getting Married

Angelina Jolie – Changeling

Meryl Streep – Doubt

Kristin Scott Thomas – I've Loved You So Long

Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road



Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Leonardo DiCaprio – Revolutionary Road

Frank Langella – Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn – Milk

Brad Pitt – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler



Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Burn After Reading

Happy-Go-Lucky

In Bruges

Mamma Mia!

Vicky Cristina Barcelona



Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

Rebecca Hall – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky

Frances McDormand – Burn After Reading

Meryl Streep – Mamma Mia!

Emma Thompson – Last Chance Harvey



Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy

Javier Bardem – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Colin Farrell – In Bruges

James Franco – Pineapple Express

Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges

Dustin Hoffman – Last Chance Harvey



Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Amy Adams – Doubt

Penélope Cruz – Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis – Doubt

Marisa Tomei – The Wrestler

Kate Winslet – The Reader



Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Tom Cruise – Tropic Thunder

Robert Downey Jr. – Tropic Thunder

Ralph Fiennes – The Duchess

Philip Seymour Hoffman – Doubt

Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight




Best Animated Feature Film

Bolt


Kung Fu Panda


Wall-E



Best Foreign Language Film

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)

Everlasting Moments (Sweden, Denmark)

Gomorrah (Italy)

I've Loved You So Long (France)

Waltz With Bashir (Israel)



Best Director - Motion Picture

Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

Stephen Daldry – The Reader

David Fincher – The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon

Sam Mendes – Revolutionary Road


Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Written by Eric Roth

Doubt
Written by John Patrick Shanley

Frost/Nixon
Written by Peter Morgan

The Reader
Written by David Hare

Slumdog Millionaire
Written by Simon Beaufoy



Best Original Score - Motion Picture

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Composed by Alexandre Desplat

Changeling
Composed by Clint Eastwood

Defiance
Composed by James Newton Howard

Slumdog Millionaire
Composed by A. R. Rahman

Frost/Nixon
Composed by Hans Zimmer




Best Original Song - Motion Picture

"Down To Earth" – Wall-E
Music By: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel

"Gran Torino" – Gran Torino
Music By: Clint Eastwood, Jamie Cullum, Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens
Lyrics By: Jamie Cullum

"I Thought I Lost You" – Bolt
Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele

"Once In A Lifetime" – Cadillac Records
Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarmon, Ian Dench, James Dring and Jody Street

"The Wrestler" – The Wrestler
Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen


You can read the very full list at the official site

Austin Wintory's Win's Best New Film Composer

If you have not heard of AUSTIN WINTORY, you better keep an ear open. He has recently won the “Best New Film Composer” award at the first annual Hollywood Music Awards. Also his recent project, CAPTAIN ABU RAED won the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic. If you need some convincing of his talents, just check out his official site where there are a few pieces from his award winning effort (plus a whole lot more.) Below is the official press release:

“Best New Film Composer”

Austin Wintory scores Captain Abu Raed

Winner of the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic


Los Angeles, CA – Film composer Austin Wintory scores the award-winning feature film, Captain Abu Raed, from director Amin Matalqa. The film, Jordan’s first-ever entry in the Academy Awards’ foreign language film category, premiered in the U.S. at the Sundance Film Festival, where it received the World Cinema Audience Award. In addition, it earned Wintory the title of “Best New Film Composer” at the first annual Hollywood Music Awards. In describing the score, Wintory said, “It's meant to feel like a fable that could be told by any culture on earth, and so the orchestra seemed the best route to accomplish that.”

For Captain Abu Raed, Austin Wintory wanted the score to have a universal appeal. He achieved that by balancing traditional Arabic instruments, such as kanun and tablas, with a rich orchestral palette and Western instruments like sleigh bells and castanets. He recorded with the Hollywood Studio Symphony and world-renowned vocalist Lisbeth Scott (Passion of the Christ, The Chronicles of Narnia). In addition to earning the “Best New Film Composer” award, Wintory’s score has been recognized as an Oscar contender by the Los Angeles Times.

Austin Wintory’s love of film scores began at the age of ten in Denver, Colo., when he first listened to Jerry Goldsmith’s classic scores for Patton and A Patch of Blue. In high school, he taught himself to compose, orchestrate and conduct, before studying at both New York University and the University of Southern California. Wintory, at the young age of 26, has received accolades for his scores to feature films, short films and videogames, including fl0w, for which he received a BAFTA nomination. He has several upcoming film projects, including the comedy Knuckle Dragger, holiday film Make the Yuletide Gay and dark drama The Sunset Sky.

Captain Abu Raed tells the story of a lonely airport janitor (Nadim Sawalha) whose life changes after he finds a discarded captain’s hat at work and wears it home. When the poor neighborhood children assume he is a real pilot, he forms a friendship with them by weaving fictional stories about the world outside of Amman, Jordan, based on books he has read. As he attempts to make a difference in their lives, Abu Raed faces attacks from Murad (Hussein Al-Sous), a young boy who calls him a liar, and develops a relationship with Nour (Rana Sultan), a real female pilot with troubles of her own. Captain Abu Raed is a story of dreams, friendship, forgiveness, and sacrifice.

Most Anticipated Movie Score of December? Vote

December is ending up being one of the best months of the year when it comes to "must see" movies. Along with them are a number of decent scores to make your "season bright." So which of the following movie scores are you most looking forward to hearing this December?

the Day the Earth Stood Still - Caption Contest Winner Announcement

Congrats to Caption Contest participant, YALLWAYS, for submitting the winning caption:

"Hey honey. Remember where we parked the orb."


Other finalists:

"And then, Keanu won an Oscar, and the earth imploded." by PirateYoshi

"Wow, objects really are bigger than they appear in the mirror. " by agent31

"Distracted by YouTube, Gary completely forgot he was refilling the waterbed." by darkislandcs


Thanks all for submitting your great captions!

---------
Prize sponsored by Varese Sarabande Records
*winners must contact scoreman@tracksounds.com with their shipping address

Interview with Valkyrie Composer John Ottman

Just prior to the soundtrack release of VALKYRIE and the feature film release on December 25, 2008, composer and editor JOHN OTTMAN shares about his ongoing work-relationship with director BRYAN SINGER. He also speaks about the unique challenges posed by both editing and scoring VALKYRIE, his thoughts on the idea of being involved with the much rumored SUPERMAN sequel, THE MAN OF STEEL, and even Mark Milar's reboot-trilogy idea for the Superman franchise.


Check out the full interview here + 3 sounclips from the original score

Critics Choice Award Nominees Announced!

The nomination season is underway and The Broadcast Film Critics Association has just announced their list of nominees. I'm happy to see that a good number of my submitted nominees made the list. In year that seemed like it was going to be truly underwhelming overall, there has been a great flurry of good movies to come out here in these final days of the year...and some decent film scores to go with them. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON and MILK are leading the way with 8 nominations a piece. Please check out the official list of nominees below.

= = =

MILK AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON LEAD WITH EIGHT NOMINATIONS FOR THE 14TH ANNUAL CRITICS' CHOICE AWARDS

THE DARK KNIGHT, DOUBT AND SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE GARNER SIX NODS

CLINT EASTWOOD RECEIVES TWO NOMINATIONS - BEST ACTOR (GRAN TORINO) AND BEST COMPOSER (CHANGELING)

VH1 TO BROADCAST THE AWARDS CEREMONY LIVE ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009 AT 9:00 PM (ET/PT)

New York, NY - December 9, 2008 - The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced the nominees for the 14th annual Critics' Choice Awards. The winners will be announced at the Critics' Choice Awards gala on Thursday, January 8, 2009 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. VH1 will again broadcast this year's ceremony Live at 9:00 PM (ET/PT).

Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button lead the pack with eight nominations for the 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards. Milk received nominations for Best Picture, a Best Actor nod for Sean Penn, two Best Supporting Actor nominations for James Franco and Josh Brolin, Best Director for Gus Van Sant, Best Writer for Dustin Lance Black, and Best Composer for Danny Elfman. The eight nominations for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button are for Best Picture, a Best Actor nomination for Brad Pitt, Best Actress for Cate Blanchett, Best Supporting Actress for Taraji P. Henson, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director for David Fincher, Best Writer for Eric Roth, and Best Composer for Alexandre Desplat.

The Dark Knight, Doubt and Slumdog Millionaire all tied with six nominations, each including a Best Picture nod. (Listed below)

Clint Eastwood received a Best Actor nomination for Gr an Torino and a Best Composer nomination for Changeling, which added two nominations for Best Picture and Best Actress (Angelina Jolie)

The BFCA, the largest film critics' organization with more than 200 members in the United States and Canada, representing television, radio and online critics, selected nominees in each of the 17 categories. The Critics' Choice Awards were created by the BFCA to recognize excellence in cinematic achievement. Eligible films were released in 2008. The accounting firm of Gregory A. Mogab tallied the written ballots. Historically, the Critics' Choice Awards are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.

The nominees were announced this morning by Academy Award® nominated actress Rosie Perez, "At the Movies" hosts Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz and VH1 President Tom Calderone in a press conference at the MTV Network studios in Times Square that aired live on VH1. To view or download broadcast quality f ile formats of today's nomination press conference please visit http://www.epk.tv.

A complete list of nominees is available at http://criticschoice.vh1.com. VH1's "Critics' Choice Awards" site, which launches today, will be home to detailed information about the awards and will provide a forum for both the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) critics and users to comment on this year's nominees. VH1 will expand elements of the show online at VH1.com. Exclusive video footage from the event will include celebrity interviews, red carpet footage and more. Additional multiplatform plans will be announced in the coming weeks.

Counting down to the LIVE premiere of the Critics' Choice Awards, VH1 will air the "14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards Red Carpet Premiere Featuring Maria Menounos" pre-show LIVE on Thursday, January 8 at 8pm (ET/PT) and will also stream it LIVE on VH1.com. Covering the excitement of the celebrity arrivals on the red carpet will be "KTLA Mornin g News" entertainment reporter Sam Rubin and No Good TV's Carrie Keagan. Interspersed throughout the red carpet arrivals will be pre-taped interviews with NBC and Access Hollywood's Maria Menounos as she sits down and speaks with some of today's hottest stars.

The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards are sponsored by Walmart, AT&T and Crest Whitening Expressions.

The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards is executive produced by Bob Bain for Bob Bain Productions, Joey Berlin for Berlin Entertainment and Lee Rolontz for VH1.

NOMINEES FOR THE 14TH ANNUAL CRITICS' CHOICE AWARDS

Top Nods Go to:

Milk (Eight Nominations)
Best Picture, Best Actor, Two Best Supporting Actor Nominations, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director, Best Writer, and Best Composer

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Eight Nominations)
Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director, Best Writer, and Best Composer

The Dark Knight (Six Nominations)
Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director, Best Action Movie, and Best Composer

Doubt (Six Nominations)
Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Acting Ensemble and Best Writer

Slumdog Millionaire (Six Nominations)
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Young Actor/Actress, Best Song, and Best Composer

BEST PICTURE
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
Wall-E
The Wrestler

BEST ACTOR
Clint Eastwood - Gran Torino
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS
Kate Beckinsale - Nothing But the Truth
Cate Blanchett - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
James Franco - Milk

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Vera Farmiga - Nothing But the Truth
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
Kate Winslet - The Reader

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Doubt
Milk
Rachel Getting Married

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant - Milk

BEST WRITER (Original or Adapted Screenplay)
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Wall-E
Waltz With Bashir

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS (Under 21)
Dakota Fanning - The Secret Life of Bees
David Kross - The Reader
Dev Petal - Slumdog Millionaire
Brandon Walters - Australia

BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Quantum of Solace
Wanted

BEST COMEDY MOVIE
Burn After Reading
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Role Models
Tropic Thunder
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
John Adams
Recount
Coco Chanel

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Christmas Tale
Gomorrah
I've Loved You So Long
Let the Right One In
Mongol
Waltz With Bashir

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
I.O.U.S.A.
Man On Wire
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Standard Operating Procedure
Young At Heart

BEST SONG
"Another Way to Die" (performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys, written by Jack White) - Quantum of Solace
"Down to Earth" (performed by Peter Gabriel, written by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman) - Wall-E
"I Thought I Lost You" (performed Miley Cyrus and John Travolta, written by Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele) - Bolt
"Jaiho" (performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar) - Slumdog Millionaire
"The Wrestler" (performed by Bruce Springsteen, written by Bruce Springsteen) - The Wrestler

BEST COMPOSER
Alexandre Desp lat - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Clint Eastwood - Changeling
Danny Elfman - Milk
Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard - The Dark Knight
A.R. Rahman - Slumdog Millionaire

Return of The Dark Knight - Score Back in Oscar Contention

Well, well. The Academy has reconsidered their decision regarding the disqualification of THE DARK KNIGHT original score by HANS ZIMMER and JAMES NEWTON HOWARD. One composer on the committee stated to me that their decision was originally correct by the established rules. I'm just pleased to see that the Academy was willing to look at this situation and adjust accordingly. Hopefully, they will modify the rules so collaborative efforts beyond 2 composers will be acceptable.

You can read the brief story at Variety.com.

The Dark Campaign - Join the Movement

As you know Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's score for THE DARK KNIGHT was, as the rules dictated, disqualified from contention for an Oscar this year. There isn't anything anyone can do about that....BUT...

A crafty and cool group have put together a new site, THE DARK CAMPAIGN, to help lift the Oscar buzz for THE DARK KNIGHT in many other categories. If you feel so inclined, join the movement and see if you can help the film grab some hardware. It's certainly grabbed all the cash already.

Get all the deets here.