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Dark Knight Score Disqualified from Oscars
Looks like all those people who just gushed over the score in Dark Knight will still be able to enjoy it, but its composers will not be considered for an award at the Oscars.
Zimmer, Howard and the other three individuals — music editor Alex Gibson, ambient music designer Mel Wesson and composer Lorne Balfe — reportedly signed an affidavit stating that the score was primarily the work of Zimmer and Howard.That apparently wasn’t enough for the majority of the committee, which was also supplied with documentation indicating that more than 60%, but less than 70%, of the score was credited to Zimmer and Howard.
In a nutshell, there are rules that say that to be considered for an Original Score Oscar Award would be disqualified as this expressly excludes from eligibility all scores assembled from the music of more than one composer. (Academy Rule 16 B Part 5 Subsection F – no, I didn’t just make that up)
There are other rules that exclude collected tracks as a soundtrack, or scores used in other mediums etc. This has to be an original piece meant for this movie alone. And this was.
But within their rules, if there are too many cooks in the kitchen, no matter how good the meal, it cannot be recognized. Zimmer and Howard were even given express permission from those credited to take the full credit for the work and were still turfed.
Guess what they say is true. Nice guys finish last.
These guys try to give proper credit to the inspirations and collaborations that lead to their masterpeice and for it they are not recognized for their work? Amazing that “BEST PICTURE” is accomplished with every last hand, volunteer, employee, actor, director, and every other breathing soul that participated in that film, but for the score, if others help out you are considered less than worthy of recognition.
It’s a shame i really enjoy the score to, all well.
Thats bullshit! They give awards for best visual effects or director even thou their were other ppl involved in the process. I dont know how the awards things work for a group of ppl that made the film what it was. After all John Williams may have wrote it but what about the orcestra? Or the sound mixer? Audio tech? This too me sounds suspicious just like when Transformers was snubb for best special effects.
Makes you wonder what other kind of rules they have written for the Oscars.
That’s an excellent point in that last paragraph Rodney.
I’m a little bummed because I thought the score was one of the catergories it was sure to be nominated for, and deservedly so. It was a fantastic piece of work.
This is really dipressing since I think there music is one the things that really helps the emotion in the film.
this is terrible news, because they really need to be rewarded. the soundtrack is amazing
Yeah, they should eliminate TDK from every category because more than two people worked on it. So ridiculous!
Oscars are a joke when it comes to the musical score. Jonny greenwood (there will be blood)was disqualified last year because some of the material used was also put on a different indiependant movie. Yet Glen Hansard and the other one get best original song despite the fact he first recorded and released the song with his band the frames a year before that stupid movie came out. complete utter horse manoure…..
As long they don’t disqualify the film for Best Picture. But the score is fucking awesome, and it sucks it can’t be nominated.
So much for TDK breaking the record…
The score from the Burton movies was way better.
It probably wouldn’t have been nominated anyway because it’s not very good. Netwon Howard hasn’t written better scores in his sleep before.
They are really to strict with this stuff. Just like There Will Be Blood got disqualified.
I actually thought the older Batman movies had the better theme tune, although I love the mechanical almost Michael Mann style that weaves through TDK.
The Assassination of Jesse James had the most beautiful score last year, and it was disqualified too. Screw these awards.
I agree with Tarmac that the Assassination of Jesse James score last year was, by far, the best of last year (or IMO, the best in 5 years).
But I think the Dark Knight has a weaker score than Batman Begins and if they make a third film, they should just let James Newton Howard do the entire score because I’m tired of Zimmer’s synth crap. He’s been redoing the same stuff ever since Gladiator.
Boo Hoo Hoo, int’l friends.
I repeat: Boo Hoo Hoo.
First, as you could have already guessed, I entirely disagree with the int’l friends who say “Who cares about rules” blah blah blah. Yes, maybe there are so many it’s a chore to keep track of them all, but Best ORIGINAL score should mean just that.
Yes, there have been film scores in the past that are so great that didn’t so much as get a nomination in their respected years. Danny Elfman’s score for Burton’s Batman was mentioned–was that Oscar nominated? Nope. Should we take away the praises given to the films that were? No.
Is it even possible that the film scores that do get nominated may be better scores? You bet. In fact, I have to call it like I see it. The Dark Knight may have been a whopper of a film-but that film score wasn’t as impressive as Begins. Some material was even RECYCLED from Batman Begins. Now, in and of itself, it’s not a bad thing, far from it. But if it is included in “the film score”-than that score isn’t entirely “original” to that film.
There may in fact be even be better film scores nominated. We shall see…and besides, TDK will get a slew of other nominations.
The Oscars are nuts when it comes to this category. Last year there was some very good stuff disqualified from “There Will Be Blood” and “Into the Wild”. Not sure what their agenda is by being so exclusionary and anal with this category, but it’s kind of bizarre.
@ Darren J Seeley
So, your basically saying that it shouldn’t be nominated because it’s been used before?
Dude, ROTK won Best Original Score and it was the same score from the first two. If that can be nominated even after it was used before, TDK has that right as well.
@Dragonslayer, that is actually one of the other rules for an Original Score.
If its been used before it’s not original. (There are some allowances for titular themes in a franchise)
Otherwise the award would be called “Score”
Just sayin.
But didn’t TDK have new themes in it as well? Wouldn’t that count?
I don’t understand the Oscars.
@dragonslayer, you misunderstand…. DK wasn’t disqualified for not being an original score… it was disqualified because it was considered to be a collaboration of too many composers.
Its “original” status was not a concern, however in some of the examples given above some music was used in other productions which caused THOSE movies to be disqualified.
I don’t mean to repeat what someone else has said (if this has already been said), but I have to tell you guys what you should already know, because this HAS TO BE KNOWN…
Hans Zimmer DOES NOT compose the music he is credited for. He hardly EVER does. I’m not sure about Howard, but Zimmer works like this: He owns a huge studio for which he has a ton of employees who compose/create/edit/whatever and do everything that he was doing 20 years ago. He may come up with a motif or a melody on the piano which will go for 2 bars length (meaning its very short and probably shit!) and he’s going to hand this over to his ‘lackeys’ who will compose a score-cue and make it beautiful. Then he’ll listen to it the next day, say “It’s rubbish”, hit his man-servants around a bit, and then send the piece of music over to the director/producer.
How do I know all this? I work in and around this industry…and this is all information coming from people who have worked for and with him in the past. This man is a pretentious asshole. That being said, he absolutely deserves to be. He can act however the hell he wants in this industry, because he’s created some of the best scores in the history of film-audio.
Steven Jablonsky worked like this with/for Hans Zimmer. Or at least that’s what I’ve been told by people who’ve worked with him and/or met him.
anyone think there should be just a plain best score award?
A great example would be american psycho where 80’s music starts playing at exactly the right moment. If a there’s a song that can highlight a moment in the movie, who cares if it’s original or not, it works.
Okay. Thanks for clearing that up
Bottom line is, the only way to get an Oscar is to suck some cock. I guess Zimmer and Howard aren’t very good at that.
Zimmer hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar since 2000 I believe. Also Zimmer rarely does a score by himself. He usually have several people help write a lot of music with him.
Just a tid bit, but there have been several scores by composers who’s work wasn’t exactly 100% and they have been nominated and won for an Oscar. James Horner in particular.
TDK soundtrack was freaking breath taking! i loved it, towards the end it got better, as far as the soundtrack goes, but i loved it all. Zimmer is great
The score was amazing