March 6th, 2006
Oscar’s music? Lazy voting
I was disappointed with best score and best song at last night’s Academy Awards Ceremony. OK, there was slim pickings in the best song category, but what an embarassment to hear that Three 6 Mafia’s song, “It’s Hard out there for a Pimp” was the best song. Oh pullleeaaase! Dumb melody, dumb words, no harmony, and not even a good rap song. Yuk!
And the score for Brokeback Mountain? The whole score was a variant on the opening three chords for the Beatles “Blackbird” and THAT was it! The score was an ok sonic backdrop, but what were voters thinking? What an insult to John Williams. Ok, John is the first multi-billion dollar composer (details, details) and has already won awards, but the score to Brokeback Mountain did NOT deserve an award. If people based it on the soundtrack, they should have given the award to Rufus Wainwright for the song that played right at the end of the end credits, “The Maker Makes.”
Lazy, lazy voting. Those two awards brought the whole event down in my book. I was thrilled that “Crash” won best picture. I liked Brokeback, but in terms of gay specific films, it is just another “the queer gets killed in the end” type film, which isn’t really that much progress in terms of gay acceptance in the media. I was also happy to see Ang Lee won best director: hats off for Ang taking a risk on this story.
And as long as I’m slinging mud, let’s let Bill Conti move gracefully into retirement and let someone else breathe some new life into the show’s orchestral accompaniment. Hell, bring in John Mauceri.
March 6th, 2006 at 9:18 am
PS: Lazy nominations too! Do your work you Hollywood types: you get free pre-release DVDs for a reason.
March 6th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
Bravo Roger on your thoughtful commentary. I’m no expert but I think the whole sound/music aspect of the Oscars is a feeeble shackled derivative of the “primo” awards that it will rarely ever be about its own merit. Composers may be the only hope to free this award into a realm of its own honesty. Imagine what the nomineess would be if this were an academy program devoted to film music/sound only. Only the composers can pull rank and demand a change of standards. Everyone else will be silenced by the truth that they aren’t in control of the money. - OUTpost
February 27th, 2007 at 9:18 am
[...] Despite many friends saying to NOT go and watch BABEL, I went, trying not to be prejudiced against Gustavo Santaolalla, the guitarist, er, composer, who won the Best Original Score Oscar last year for BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. You may remember my groaning about that choice last year. Gustavo’s extremely sparse oud playing was peppered throughout, just as sparse as his “Blackbird” rip-off music for BB Mountain. Well, he got yet another Academy Award for Best Score. Give me a break. [...]