MOVIE MUSIC UK

INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

JAMES NEWTON HOWARD AND HANS ZIMMER RECEIVE FOUR NOMINATIONS EACH; THREE WOMEN NOMINATED FOR BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER AWARD; SCORES FROM AUSTRALIA, CHINA, FINLAND, FRANCE, SPAIN, VYING FOR MAJOR AWARDS

FEBRUARY 3, 2022. The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of nominees for excellence in musical scoring in 2021, for the 18th annual IFMCA Awards. Composers James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer lead a very open field with the most number of nominations, both receiving a total of four. Composers Panu Aaltio, Nicholas Britell, Jonny Greenwood, Maurizio Malagnini, and Bear McCreary all received three nominations.

American composer Howard’s nominations are for his work on two films: the globe-trotting action-adventure “Jungle Cruise” starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, which is based on the popular Disney theme park ride; and the animated fantasy “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which follows the adventures of a young girl in an alternate universe version of South East Asia, as she tries to save her family by hunting for a mythical dragon. “Jungle Cruise” is nominated for Score of the Year and Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Score, “Raya and the Last Dragon” is nominated for Best Animation Score, and Howard is nominated for Composer of the Year.

IFMCA member Christian Clemmensen said that “Jungle Cruise” is a combination of “skittish comedy, sincere drama, breakneck adventure, romantic teasing, and flowing fantasy, all inhabiting one whirlwind of a score” and concluded that it “represents most of what his collectors love about Howard’s writing.” IFMCA member John Mansell described “Raya and the Last Dragon” as “a fully symphonic work … mysterious, with rich and lush musical moments that are filled with the romantic and the comedic, a varied and vibrant work that is bursting to capacity with haunting themes and edged with emotive and poignant tone poems.”

German composer Zimmer’s nominations are for his work on two of 2021’s most popular and acclaimed films: director Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” based on the groundbreaking science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, and the action-packed 25th James Bond film “No Time to Die,” which marks the end of actor Daniel Craig’s term playing the legendary British spy. “Dune” is nominated for Score of the Year and Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Horror Score, “No Time to Die” is nominated for Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Score, and Zimmer is nominated for Composer of the Year.

IFMCA member Jon Broxton wrote that there was “something timeless, ancient, epic, but also futuristic and progressive” about the music from “Dune,” and concluded that “when it works, and Zimmer really gets to the heart and soul of Frank Herbert’s story and Denis Villeneuve’s vision, it’s some of the most effective film music of 2021”. IFMCA member James Southall said that “No Time to Die” is “essentially the score that lots of Bond fans have wanted for a while, combining all the traditional musical elements you’d expect, and giving them a modern twist, along with the oft-requested deep interpolation of the song into the score,” and called it “entertaining from start to finish.” Read more…