The International Film Music Critics Association 2009 Nominees for Scoring Excellence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION (IFMCA) ANNOUNCES ITS 2009 NOMINEES FOR SCORING EXCELLENCE

MICHAEL GIACCHINO RECEIVES A RECORD NINE NOMINATIONS FOR 2009

JANUARY 29, 2010-- The International Film Music Critics Association announces its list of excellence in musical scoring for 2009 with composer Michael Giacchino receiving nine individual nominations, the most for any composer in a given year since the Association began issuing awards in 2004. Along with multiple mentions for his score to the Disney Pixar movie UP and JJ Abrams’ reinvented STAR TREK, Giacchino receives nominations for his scores to the TV series LOST as well as the documentary EARTH DAYS. Giacchino is also nominated for Composer of the Year along with Alexandre Desplat, James Horner, Christopher Young and Brian Tyler.

Both UP and STAR TREK are nominated for Score of the Year, along with James Horner’s score to the worldwide blockbuster AVATAR and Christopher Young’s score to Sam Raimi’s DRAG ME TO HELL. These film scores are tied with the most nominations this year at four noms each. Alexandre Desplat’s score to THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON rounds out category.

In the category of Breakout Composer, the Association took notice of scores by up-and-coming composers Henry Jackman (MONSTERS VS ALIENS), Abel Korzeniowski (A SINGLE MAN and BATTLE FOR TERRA), James Peterson (THE RED CANVAS), Clinton Shorter (DISTRICT 9) and Austin Wintory (CAPTAIN ABU RAED, GRACE, MAKE THE YULETIDE GAY).

The nominations by the IMFCA, which has members from around the world, reflect the Association’s global perspective. International nominees include Alejandro Amenábar’s latest movie AGORA with a score by Oscar winner Dario Marianelli; Giuseppe Tornatore’s semi-autobiographical BAARÌA with a score by Ennio Morricone; Australian composer Christopher Gordon’s score to Bruce Beresford’s MAO’S LAST DANCER, about ballet dancer Li Cunxin; as well as the Spanish documentary GARBO: EL ESPÍA with a score by Fernando Velázquez.

The International Film Music Critics will announce the winners of its Sixth Annual Awards on February 26, 2010.

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International Film Music Critics Association Awards - Nominations 2009

FILM CATEGORIES:

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
• AVATAR, music by James Horner
• DRAG ME TO HELL, music by Christopher Young
• STAR TREK, music by Michael Giacchino
• THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, music by Alexandre Desplat
• UP, music by Michael Giacchino

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• Alexandre Desplat
• Michael Giacchino
• James Horner
• Brian Tyler
• Christopher Young

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
• Henry Jackman
• Abel Korzeniowski
• James Peterson
• Clinton Shorter
• Austin Wintory

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
• AGORA, music by Dario Marianelli
• BAARÌA, music by Ennio Morricone
• CREATION, music by Christopher Young
• MAO’S LAST DANCER, music by Christopher Gordon
• A SINGLE MAN, music by Abel Korzeniowski

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
• COUPLES RETREAT, music by A.R. Rahman
• DUPLICITY, music by James Newton Howard
• THE INFORMANT!, music by Marvin Hamlisch
• JULIE & JULIA, music by Alexandre Desplat
• LESBIAN VAMPIRE KILLERS, music by Debbie Wiseman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
• G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, music by Alan Silvestri
• LUCKY LUKE, music by Bruno Coulais
• THE RED CANVAS, music by James Peterson
• SHERLOCK HOLMES, music by Hans Zimmer
• UNDER THE MOUNTAIN, music by Victoria Kelly

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
• AVATAR, music by James Horner
• THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS, music by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna
• KNOWING, music by Marco Beltrami
• STAR TREK, music by Michael Giacchino
• THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, music by Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
• DRAG ME TO HELL, music by Christopher Young
• IMAGO MORTIS, music by Zacarías M. de la Riva
• IN THE ELECTRIC MIST, music by Marco Beltrami
• THE KILLING ROOM, music by Brian Tyler
• TRICK ‘R TREAT, music by Douglas Pipes

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
• A CHRISTMAS CAROL, music by Alan Silvestri
• CORALINE, music by Bruno Coulais
• FANTASTIC MR. FOX, music by Alexandre Desplat
• THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, music by Randy Newman
• UP, music by Michael Giacchino

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
• BROTHERS AT WAR, music by Lee Holdridge
• EARTH DAYS, music by Michael Giacchino
• GARBO: EL ESPÍA, music by Fernando Velázquez
• HOME, music by Armand Amar
• UNDER THE SEA 3D, music by Micky Erbe and Maribeth Solomon

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
• AVATAR – “War,” music by James Horner
• DRAG ME TO HELL – “Concerto to Hell,” music by Christopher Young
• THE RED CANVAS – “Ballet for Brawlers,” music by James Peterson
• STAR TREK – “Enterprising Young Men,” music by Michael Giacchino
• UP – “Married Life,” music by Michael Giacchino

OTHER CATEGORIES:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
• BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON 4.5, music by Bear McCreary
• CAPRICA, music by Bear McCreary
• LIFE, music by George Fenton
• LOST SEASON 5, music by Michael Giacchino
• YELLOWSTONE, music by Edmund Butt

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
• ASSASSIN’S CREED II, music by Jesper Kyd
• CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2, music by Lorne Balfe and Hans Zimmer
• HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE, music by James Hannigan
• NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN, music by Chris Tilton
• SPORE HERO, music by Winifred Phillips

BEST NEW RELEASE/RE-RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• BACK TO THE FUTURE, music by Alan Silvestri; Douglass Fake, producer (Intrada)
• INNERSPACE, music by Jerry Goldsmith; M.V. Gerhard and Mike Matessino, producers (La-La Land)
• THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN, music by James Horner; James Horner, Simon Rhodes and Douglass Fake, producers (Intrada)
• STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, music by James Horner; Lukas Kendall, producer (Film Score Monthly)
• TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, music by Jerry Goldsmith; Bruce Botnick, Lukas Kendall and Mike Matessino, producers (Film Score Monthly)

BEST RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
• THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, music by Max Steiner, cond. William Stromberg; Anna Bonn, John Morgan and William Stromberg, producers (Tribute Film Classics)
• EXODUS, music by Ernest Gold, cond. Nic Raine; James Fitzpatrick, producer (Tadlow)
• THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, cond. William Stromberg; Anna Bonn, John Morgan and William Stromberg, producers (Tribute Film Classics)

BEST FILM MUSIC COMPILATION ALBUM OR BOX SET
• 40 BANDES ORIGINALES POUR 40 FILMS, music by Vladimir Cosma; Vladimir Cosma, producer (Larghetto Music)
• DAVID RAKSIN AT M-G-M, music by David Raksin; Lukas Kendall, producer (Film Score Monthly)
• THE FILM MUSIC OF MISCHA SPOLIANSKY, music by Mischa Spoliansky; Philip Lane, Ralph Couzens and Neil Varley, producers (Chandos)
• HOWARD SHORE: COLLECTOR’S EDITION Vol.1, music by Howard Shore; Jonathan Schultz, producer (Howe)
• NORTHWEST PASSAGE: CLASSIC WESTERN SCORES FROM M-G-M Vol.2 (1940-1974), music by Various; Lukas Kendall, producer (Film Score Monthly)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
• Film Score Monthly
• Intrada
• La-La Land Records
• MovieScore Media
• Varèse Sarabande

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The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.

The IFMCA was originally formed in the late 1990s as the now-defunct “Film Music Critics Jury” by editor and journalist Mikael Carlsson, a regular contributor to filmmusicradio.com and filmmusicmag.com, and the owner of the Swedish independent film music label MovieScore Media.

Since its inception, the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 50 members from countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Alexandre Desplat’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON in 2008, Dario Marianelli’s ATONEMENT in 2007, James Newton Howard’s LADY IN THE WATER in 2006, John Williams’ MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s THE INCREDIBLES in 2004.

The IFMCA strives to encompass and champion all genres of musical scoring and the composers who excel in them. Running the gamut of writing for theatrical movies to music for video games, composers all have the same job and that is to enhance the vision of their project with music. As such, the IFMCA acknowledges the broad spectrum of ways in which artists can write unique and varied music for their medium.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association, its members and the list of past awards, please visit http://www.filmmusiccritics.org or contact press@filmmusiccritics.org.