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Movie Music UK Awards 2021
I said that 2020 has been, by far, the strangest year in living memory for both films and film music – but 2021 almost matched it. Although the rampant COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the film industry across around the world, there was still a terrific amount of excellent music that came out this year, as mainstream studio tentpoles delayed from 2020 finally hit cinemas, and competed with a number of outstanding indie and international features.
Ultimately three of my five nominees for Score of the Year came from obscure sources – the Netherlands, Spain, and Finland – with one well-regarded indie, and just one major studio film from an established Hollywood A-Lister. Quite a change from the usual set of names. Not only that, as you go further and further down the list you will find numerous unexpected choices, including a medieval comedy from Germany, a sweeping historical drama from China, an outdoor adventure from Australia, an animated TV series from Japan, and so much more – even a special award from a TV extravaganza from Egypt! So, without further ado, here are my choices… Read more…
Golden Globe Winners 2021
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) have announced the winners of the 79th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2021.
In the Best Original Score category composer Hans Zimmer won the award for his work on the epic science fiction blockbuster Dune, based on the classic novel by Frank Herbert. This is the third Golden Globe for Zimmer, who previously won the award for The Lion King in 1995 and for Gladiator in 2000.
As there was no Golden Globes ceremony in 2021 – a combination of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 persisting in Los Angeles, and the on-going controversy surrounding the HFPA for its lack of diversity among its members, which led to the show being dropped by broadcaster NBC – Zimmer did not make an in-person acceptance speech.
The other nominees were Alexandre Desplat for The French Dispatch, Germaine Franco for Encanto, Jonny Greenwood for The Power of the Dog, and Alberto Iglesias for Parallel Mothers.
In the Best Original Song category, the winners were Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell for their song “No Time to Die” from the James Bond film No Time to Die.
The other nominees were Carole King, Jennifer Hudson, and Jamie Hartman for “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from Respect; Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Dixson for “Be Alive” from King Richard; Lin-Manuel Miranda for “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto; and Van Morrison for “Down to Joy” from Belfast.
Marilyn Bergman, 1928-2022
Lyricist and songwriter Marilyn Bergman died at her home in Los Angeles on January 8, 2022, at the age of 93, from respiratory failure related to COVID-19.
For more than six decades she worked almost inseparably with her husband Alan Bergman, forming one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in Hollywood history. Together they won three Academy Awards, four Emmys and two Grammys, creating enduring film songs including “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “The Way We Were” and the song score for Yentl.
Marilyn Keith was born in Brooklyn on November 10, 1928, remarkably in the same hospital where Alan Bergman had been born three years earlier. She studied music at New York’s High School of Music and Art and later psychology and English at New York University. After moving to Los Angeles she began writing lyrics professionally and met Alan while both were collaborating separately with composer Lew Spence. They married in 1958 and thereafter wrote almost exclusively as a team.
Their early successes included “Yellow Bird” and Frank Sinatra’s “Nice ‘n’ Easy,” but cinema soon became central to their careers. They supplied lyrics to Quincy Jones’s title song for In the Heat of the Night (1967), performed by Ray Charles, before achieving their first Academy Award with Michel Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). The Bergmans’ intricate, circular lyrics perfectly matched Legrand’s melody and helped make the song one of the most distinctive movie themes of its era. Read more…
SCL Award Nominations 2021
The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) has announced the nominations for the third annual SCL Awards, honoring the best in film and television music in 2021. The SCL is the premier professional trade group for composers, lyricists, and songwriters working in the motion picture, television, and game music industry, and is headquartered in Los Angeles. The nominees are:
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A STUDIO FILM
- NICHOLAS BRITELL for Don’t Look Up
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The French Dispatch
- GERMAINE FRANCO for Encanto
- JONNY GREENWOOD for The Power of the Dog
- HANS ZIMMER for Dune
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN INDEPENDENT FILM
- JONNY GREENWOOD for Spencer
- DANIEL HART for The Green Knight
- ALBERTO IGLESIAS for Parallel Mothers
- RACHEL PORTMAN for Julia
- KUBILAY UNER for American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally
Golden Globe Nominations 2021
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has announced the nominations for the 79th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2021.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The French Dispatch
- GERMAINE FRANCO for Encanto
- JONNY GREENWOOD for The Power of the Dog
- ALBERTO IGLESIAS for Parallel Mothers
- HANS ZIMMER for Dune
This is the 13th nomination for Desplat, who previously won Globes for The Painted Veil in 2006 and The Shape of Water in 2017; the second nomination for Greenwood; the second nomination for Iglesias; and the 15th nomination for Zimmer, who won the award for The Lion King in 1995 and for Gladiator in 2000. The sole debutante is Germaine Franco.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- BILLIE EILISH and FINNEAS O’CONNELL for “No Time to Die” from No Time to Die
- CAROLE KING, JENNIFER HUDSON, and JAMIE HARTMAN for “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from Respect
- BEYONCÉ KNOWLES-CARTER and DARIUS SCOTT (DIXSON) for “Be Alive” from King Richard
- LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA for “Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto
- VAN MORRISON for “Down to Joy” from Belfast
The winners of the 79th Golden Globe Awards will be announced on January 9, 2022.
Stephen Sondheim, 1930-2021
Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim died at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, on November 26, 2021, at the age of 91, of of cardiovascular disease.
Widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of American musical theatre, Sondheim transformed Broadway with works of extraordinary psychological and musical sophistication. His direct involvement with cinema was comparatively limited, but included the scores for Stavisky and Reds, songs for Dick Tracy, and numerous celebrated film adaptations of his stage musicals.
Sondheim was born in New York City on March 22, 1930. After his parents divorced he became close to family friend Oscar Hammerstein II, who served as his mentor and taught him the fundamentals of writing for the theatre. Following studies at Williams College, Sondheim achieved his first major Broadway success as lyricist for Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story in 1957, followed by Jule Styne’s Gypsy in 1959. He soon established himself as both composer and lyricist with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and subsequently created Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods and Passion.
His first substantial original film score came with Alain Resnais’s Stavisky (1974), starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as the notorious French financier and confidence trickster Serge Alexandre Stavisky. Sondheim’s elegant orchestral music deliberately evokes the sophistication of 1930s Paris, combining graceful waltzes and lyrical themes with darker undertones that anticipate the protagonist’s downfall. Unusually lush compared with much of Sondheim’s theatre writing, Stavisky demonstrated that his melodic and dramatic instincts translated naturally to the screen, and remains his most substantial work as a conventional film composer. Read more…
Leslie Bricusse, 1931-2021
Composer, lyricist and playwright Leslie Bricusse died at his home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, on October 19, 2021, at the age of 90.
One of the most successful British songwriters of the twentieth century, Bricusse enjoyed a career spanning more than six decades across cinema, Broadway and the West End. He won two Academy Awards and a Grammy, and wrote or co-wrote such enduring film songs as “Goldfinger,” “You Only Live Twice,” “Talk to the Animals,” “Pure Imagination” and “The Candy Man.”
Leslie Charles Bricusse was born in London on January 29, 1931, and studied at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he became president of the Footlights Revue Club and founded the Musical Comedy Club. His first student productions transferred to the West End, and after initially performing as well as writing, Bricusse increasingly concentrated on songwriting.
His most important early partnership was with Anthony Newley. Together they created the stage musicals Stop the World – I Want to Get Off and The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd, producing standards including “What Kind of Fool Am I?”, “Once in a Lifetime,” “Who Can I Turn To?” and “Feeling Good.” Their work quickly attracted Hollywood’s attention, and Bricusse developed a parallel career writing songs specifically for films. Read more…
Celebrating the Online Film Music Critic – an IFMCA YouTube Livestream Event!
25 years ago, when the internet was in its infancy, a handful of film music review websites were established, pioneering online film music criticism with a new generation of writers and broadcasters who were taking advantage of this new medium for the first time.
Now, a quarter of a century later, the International Film Music Critics Association is delighted to announce a special event celebrating the dedication and longevity of five of these critics, with an anniversary round table looking back at the history of online film music criticism.
Moderated by IFMCA member Tim Burden, the event will feature a live and interactive conversation between five of these forerunners: Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK, Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks, Christopher Coleman of Tracksounds, James Southall of Movie Wave, and Erik Woods of Cinematic Sound Radio.
Join us on Sunday October 3rd 2021 at 1:00pm EST (10:00am PST, 6:00pm BST) via the live stream on the IFMCA Youtube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/InternationalFilmMusicCriticsAssociation, where you can watch the celebration, post questions to the panel, and more!
Mikis Theodorakis, 1925-2021
Composer, songwriter and political activist Mikis Theodorakis died in Athens, Greece, on September 2, 2021, at the age of 96.
One of the most important figures in modern Greek music, Theodorakis wrote more than a thousand works encompassing songs, symphonies, operas, ballets and film scores. Internationally, however, he remains best known for the music of Zorba the Greek, Z and Serpico, which brought the sound of modern Greece to audiences around the world.
Michail Theodorakis was born on the Greek island of Chios on July 29, 1925. He began composing as a teenager and studied at the Athens Conservatory before continuing his education at the Paris Conservatoire. His early concert music showed the influence of European modernism, but Theodorakis increasingly sought to combine classical technique with Greek folk traditions, Byzantine music and popular song.
His first film scores were written for Greek productions during the early 1950s, and he soon began working internationally. Among his early credits were Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s Ill Met by Moonlight (1957), Jules Dassin’s Phaedra (1962), Anatole Litvak’s Five Miles to Midnight (1962), and Michael Cacoyannis’s Electra (1962). The latter began one of his most important director-composer relationships and established the intensely Greek musical language that would soon make him internationally famous. Read more…
Welcome new reviewer Christopher Garner
Movie Music UK is delighted to welcome a new reviewer to its writing staff: Christopher Garner.
Chris has been passionate about music for decades. He started learning to play the piano at age 9, and began collecting film scores in 1995 with Braveheart, Glory, and Apollo 13. He’s an ardent fan of film and film music and has listened to and analyzed thousands of films scores. He studied the piano for 10 years, including one year under a professor at Weber State University, where he also studied ear training and sight-singing in their music program. He transferred to BYU, and though he got his bachelor’s degree in history, he wrote his senior thesis about composer Aaron Copland. He received a master’s degree and doctorate from Utah State University.
Professionally Chris was a religious educator for 10 years in southern Nevada, and currently works as a curriculum writer for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He performs as a pianist and vocalist, and accompanies instrumental and vocal soloists and choirs as often as occasion permits. He lives in Layton, Utah with his wife, Krista, and four children who only recently learned that not all music comes from movies.
Chris will be writing about current, mainstream film scores across all styles and genres, and we hope his taste, expertise, and critical eye will grace Movie Music UK for years to come!
Academy Award Winners 2020
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the winners of the 93rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2020.
In the Best Original Score category composers Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste won the award for their score for the Pixar existential animated film Soul. With this win Reznor and Ross double their Oscar tally, having previously won for The Social Network in 2010. Accepting the award for the trio, Batiste said:
“Hello! Hello! Man, you know what’s deep is that… God gave us twelve notes. It’s the same twelve notes Duke Ellington had. Bach had. It’s the same twelve, Nina Simone. And all the nominees. I just wanna first point out that every gift is special. Every contribution with music that comes from the divine, into the instruments, into the film, into the minds and hearts and souls of every person who hears it, the stories that happen when you listen to it and watch it, and the stories you share, the moments you create, the memories you make… man. It’s just so incredibly special, and I just want to first recognize the nominees and say that I’m incredibly – I speak for all of us – we are incredibly humbled and grateful to the Academy for this recognition, and I’m just thankful to God for those twelve notes, man. That’s so dope. Thank you to my parents, Sulaika for your support and love, for coming here with me, flew on a plane for the first time a year. My parents took me around clubs in New Orleans when I was ten years old, put me in piano lessons with Miss Shirley William. Hahaaa! The Vibe! Just so much, so much has happened, this moment is a culmination of a series of miracles, and I just can’t go into all of them, we don’t have that much time, but it’s just so incredibly powerful to be standing here in the lineage that we come from and the lineage in this film.
The collaborators on this film are the best that you could have ever asked for, the most generous, rigorously visionary collaborators. Pete Doctor is a… I love this man. Pete Doctor, he’s a genius and a visionary. Dana Murray, Kent Powers, Tom MacDougall at Disney, thank you for welcoming us to the family with open arms. This was so much of a true collaborative process. My team, thank you for just dealing with me because I get ideas all the time, I’m changing direction, y’all are holding me down. Michael, Chris, Adam, all the people. And thank you all for doing what y’all do, putting it on the line, putting yourself out there. It’s hard to put yourself out there, just thank you for putting yourself out there, I’m a fan of, like, everybody here. So, much love, much light to you, I love you even if I don’t know ya! Lay it on!”
Later, in comments made backstage, Reznor said “Well, I would like to thank my wife and my awesome kids, for providing the energy and the spirituality and the engine that allows me to tap in to… and just to be happy and alive. Thank you Academy for the recognition. It really means a lot, thank you”. Ross followed by saying “I’d like to thank the Academy, and most of all I’d like to thank my wife Claudia and my children. I love them, and thank you”.
The other nominees were Terence Blanchard for Da 5 Bloods, James Newton Howard for News of the World, Emile Mosseri for Minari, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Mank.
In the Best Original Song category, the winners were Dernst Emile II, Gabriella Wilson (H.E.R.), and Tiara Thomas for “Fight For You” from Judas and the Black Messiah, the biopic about the founder of the Black Panthers, Fred Hampton.
The other nominees were Savan Kotecha, Max Grahn (Fat Max Gsus), and Rickard Göransson for “Húsavík” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga; Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth for “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami; Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite for “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7; and Diane Warren and Laura Pausini for “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead.
BAFTA Winners 2020
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have announced the winners of the 74th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2020.
In the Best Original Music category, the winners were Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste, who won the award for their work on the Pixar animated film Soul. Accepting the award on behalf of the trio via Zoom, British composer Atticus Ross said:
“Wow, thank you BAFTA. First off I’d like to celebrate the incredible talent of my musical partners, Trent Reznor and Jon Batiste. For me, the message of Soul is to embrace the moment, so in this crazy moment I’d like to embrace everyone at Pixar, especially Pete Docter, Kent Powers, Dana Murray, and Tom McDougall. I know that Trent and Jon would want me to thank their families. I’d like to thank my wife Claudia. You endlessly amaze me. My children – come! – I love you! Thank you BAFTAs, this means so much to all of us.”
The other nominees were James Newton Howard for News of the World, Emile Mosseri for Minari, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Mank, and Anthony Willis for Promising Young Woman.
Academy Award Nominations 2020
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2020.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- TERENCE BLANCHARD for Da 5 Bloods
- JAMES NEWTON HOWARD for News of the World
- EMILE MOSSERI for Minari
- TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS for Mank
- TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS, and JON BATISTE for Soul
These are the first Oscar nominations for Mosseri and Batiste. It is the second nomination for Blanchard, the seventh Best Score nomination for Howard (in addition to his two nominations for Best Song), and the second and third nominations respectively for Reznor and Ross, who previously won for The Social Network in 2010.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- SAVAN KOTECHA, MAX GRAHN (FAT MAX GSUS), and RICKARD GÖRANSSON for “Húsavík” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
- LESLIE ODOM JR. and SAM ASHWORTH for “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami
- DANIEL PEMBERTON and CELESTE WAITE for “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7
- DIANE WARREN and LAURA PAUSINI for “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead
- GABRIELLA WILSON (H.E.R.), DERNST EMILE II (D’MILE), and TIARA THOMAS for “Fight For You” from Judas and the Black Messiah
The winners of the 93rd Academy Awards will be announced on April 25, 2021.
BAFTA Nominations 2020
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 74th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2020.
In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:
- JAMES NEWTON HOWARD for News of the World
- EMILE MOSSERI for Minari
- TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS for Mank
- TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS, and JON BATISTE for Soul
- ANTHONY WILLIS for Promising Young Woman
This is the second BAFTA nomination for Howard, who was previously nominated for “The Dark Knight” in 2008, and the second and third nominations each for both Reznor and Ross, who were previously nominated for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” in 2011. It is the first nomination for Mosseri, Batiste, and Willis.
The winners of the 74th BAFTA Awards will be announced on 11 April, 2021.
SCL Award Winners 2020
The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) has announced the winners of the second annual SCL Awards, honoring the best in film and television music in 2020. The SCL is the premier professional trade group for composers, lyricists, and songwriters working in the motion picture, television, and game music industry, and is headquartered in Los Angeles. The winners are:
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A STUDIO FILM
- TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS, and JON BATISTE for Soul
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN INDEPENDENT FILM
- LOLITA RITMANIS for Blizzard of Souls
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION OR STREAMING PRODUCTION
- CARLOS RAFAEL RIVERA for The Queen’s Gambit
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG FOR VISUAL MEDIA
- SAVAN KOTECHA, MAX “FAT MAX GSUS” GRAHN, and RICKARD GÖRANSSON for “Húsavík” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
- GARRY SCHYMAN and MIKOLAI STROINSKI for Metamorphosos
SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION AWARD
- SPIKE LEE and TERENCE BLANCHARD
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