There Will Be Blood Score Disqualified From Oscars

Shortly after posting the Oscar nominations, I got a couple of emails from people outraged that Jonny Greenwood’s original score for “There Will Be Blood” wasn’t even nominated, when some people thought it might be a lock to win the award. However… QUALITY isn’t the issue here. It appears the reason you don’t see the score on the nominee list has more to do with legality. Greenwood’s music was disqualified from Oscar contention at the last minute.

My buddy Kris over at Variety’s “Red Carpet District” gives us this:

The disqualification has been attributed to a designation within Rule 16 of the Academy’s Special Rules for Music Awards (5d under “Eligibility”), which excludes “scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other pre-existing music.”

Greenwood’s score contains roughly 35 minutes of original recordings and roughly 46 minutes of pre-existing work (including selections from the works of Arvo Pärt, as well as pieces in the public domain, such as Johannes Brahms’ “Concerto in D Major”). Peripheral augmentation to the score included sporadic but minimal useage (15 minutes) of the artist’s 2006 composition “Popcorn Superhet Receiver.”

Well, as saddened as I am that the nomination didn’t go through (if it had, There Will Be Blood would have had the most nominations of any film this year, instead it’s tied with No Country For Old Men with 8 nods each), rules are rules. And if the sound track for Blood is out of bounds with the rules of the Academy, then it shouldn’t be included. Shame though… I loved that soundtrack.

Share this Story
Load More Related Articles
  • Movie Reviews

    Review: Django Unchained

      Director: Quentin Tarantino Written by: Quentin Tarantino Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo Dicaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson Genre: ...
  • Movie Reviews

    Review: The Hobbit

        Director: Peter Jackson Written by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo Del Toro, Peter Jackson Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, ...
  • Movie Reviews

    Review: Breaking Dawn Part 2

      Director: Bill Condon Written by:  Melissa Rosenberg, Stephanie Meyer Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Maggie Grace, Michael Sheen, ...
  • Skyfall
    Movie Reviews

    Review: Skyfall

      Director: Sam Mendes Written by:  Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice ...
  • Movie Reviews

    Review: Sinister

      Director: Scott Derrickson Written by: C. Robert Cargill Starring: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Fred Thompson, James Ransone, Clare Foley, Michael Hall D’Addario Genre: Horror, Music MPAA: R (for disturbing ...
  • Movie News Chat

    The Movie Blog’s Top 10 Films of 2009

    Well, it’s that time of year again. I have to say that despite the fact that 2009 was not a fantastic ...
Load More By John Campea
Load More In Movie News Chat

Check Also

Review: Django Unchained

  Director: Quentin Tarantino Written by: Quentin Tarantino ...