The Academy Reverses Ruling On 'The Dark Knight' Score
Filed under: Action, Music & Musicals, Awards, Warner Brothers, Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Good news! The Dark Knight is in the running for Best Soundtrack again. You might remember William Goss' story last month that reported it had been disqualified due to it having "too many composers." According to the Patrick Goldstein on The Big Picture, the Academy reversed the decision last Friday. It's a surprising move, because mere days ago Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy, was still defending the decision. arguing that the music branch "sees this as an award, like cinematography or directing, where you want to award a single creator. This isn't like visual effects. Except for extraordinary circumstances, it's an award that should go to one person."
Well, you may want to, but that doesn't always mean you should. Shouldn't we honor collaborative effort? Isn't that where the whole "There's no I in team!" phrase comes from? Nothing about a film is created in a vacuum.
While it the decision has yet to be officially confirmed, it will certainly be a pretty nice victory for Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, since they were also disqualified in 2005 for Batman Begins. While it's a small step for The Dark Knight, let's hope it's a greater one for film in general. The Academy often gets so hung up on their rules and regulations that they forget the point of their existence is to recognize cinematic achievement.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-09-2008 @ 9:33AM
Matthew said...
After a three month run, I finally pulled TDK soundtrack out of my car CD player - only to jam it back in this morning to get amped for the home release. This post pretty much solidies it, 12/9/08 is the new Christmas. Academy Rule Changing Miracles FTW!
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12-09-2008 @ 11:34AM
David said...
Perhaps the Academy needs to be reminded that in 1987, "The Last Emperor" WON the Oscar for Best Original Score, with THREE composers -- Ryuichi Sakamoto, Cong Su, and David Byrne. That same year, the score for "Cry Freedom" was nominated with TWO composers. I'm sure I can track down some more, but really -- "you want to award a single creator"? Come ON.
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12-09-2008 @ 10:20PM
GL said...
How completely silly of the Academy.
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12-10-2008 @ 8:46AM
Movie_Dearest said...
The award is for "Original Score", not "Soundtrack". 2 different things.
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