‘Wicked,’ ‘Moana 2’ and 143 More Film Scores Eligible for the Oscar as Shortlist Voting Begins (EXCLUSIVE)
The scores from “Wicked,” “Moana 2” and “Emilia Perez” are among the 89 songs and 145 scores eligible for music Oscars this year.
As predicted, “Dune: Part Two” is not among them. Composer Hans Zimmer’s music for director Denis Villeneuve’s second half of the Frank Herbert sci-fi novel is believed to have run afoul of the Academy’s strict rule about music in sequels: “The score must not use more than 20 percent of pre-existing themes and music borrowed from previous scores in the franchise.”
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Zimmer has said that he disagrees with the rule and contends that the music for the two films is one giant canvas. As he recently told Variety: “The Oscars are important, and you’re influencing the way we can create art… We should have the freedom to find ways to create whatever comes to us. Denis made the right choice by splitting a heavy-duty book into two parts.”
Zimmer’s music for the first “Dune” movie won the 2021 Oscar; it was his second, after his 1994 win for “The Lion King.” Zimmer’s score for “Blitz,” however, is eligible for this year’s awards. Interestingly, Zimmer’s “Dune Two” score was nominated for a Golden Globe.
Scores from all of this year’s major musicals were declared eligible, however, unlike past years when their dramatic scores were routinely disqualified as “diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs,” per Academy rules.
That means that the scores for “Wicked” (by Stephen Schwartz and John Powell), “Emilia Perez” (by Clement Ducol and Camille) and “Moana 2” (by Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa’i) are eligible to compete in this year’s Oscar derby.
Oscar rules state that while as many as three songs per film can be submitted, only two can make the shortlist and no more than two can be nominated. Two films entered three songs (“Dandelion” and “The End”) and 13 others entered two (including “Emilia Perez,” “Moana 2,” “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Twisters”).
The number of eligible films in the music categories is down slightly from last year’s lists, which included 94 songs and 149 scores.
Beyond the “Dune 2” disqualification, there were no real surprises on the lists for songs and scores. Voting began this morning and ends at 5 p.m. Friday. According to the Motion Picture Academy, there were 403 voting members in the Music branch.
Music branch members are deciding which 20 scores and 15 songs will make this year’s shortlists, which will be announced Dec. 17. The score shortlist has been expanded from the previous 15, in order “to cast a wider net, to bring awareness to more scores before nominations voting,” an Academy insider told Variety.
Nominations voting will take place starting Jan. 8, with the nominees to be announced Jan. 17.
Eligible songs:
“Albany Road” and “Built for This” from “Albany Road”
“Am I Racist?” and “Do the Work” from “Am I Racist?”
“Pain Has a Purpose” from “Americans With No Address”
“Electric Energy” from “Argylle”
“Leash” from “Babygirl”
“Song for Amy” from “Back to Black”
“Ishq Walla Daku” from “Band of Maharajas”
“Forbidden Road” from “Better Man”
“A Country Dance” from “Between the Temples”
“Winter Coat” from “Blitz”
“Then I Will” from “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin”
“Nazarene” from “The Book of Clarence”
“Dare to Be” from “Cabrini”
“El Baile de los Zanganos” and “Mi Amor” from “Captain Avispa”
“Whoever You Are” from “Celebrating Laughter: The Life and Films of Colin Higgins”
“Compress / Repress” from “Challengers”
“City of Dreams” from “City of Dreams”
“Custer Park,” “Honey” and “Thin Elephant” from “Dandelion”
“Double Life” from “Despicable Me 4”
“You Are Never Far Away” from “Don’t Say It”
“Never Too Late” from “Elton John: Never Too Late”
“El Mal” and “Mi Camino” from “Emilia Perez”
“Alone,” “The Big Blue Sky” and “Catch Fire” from “The End”
“Bricks” from “Exhibiting Forgiveness”
“Ezra” from “Ezra”
“The Peace That You Are Missing” from “Fighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain’s Journey”
“Not on My Watch” from “Following Harry”
“Panorama” from “Embers”
“The Good Life” and “Let It Roll” from “The Garfield Movie”
“What We Wanna Be” from “Glitter and Doom”
“Istigfar” and “Puthu Mazha” from “The Goat Life”
“Never Lost” from “The Greatest Hits”
“In Time” from “His Three Daughters”
“Made for You” from “The Hopeful”
“Claw Machine” and “Starburned and Unkissed” from “I Saw the TV Glow”
“The Idea of You” from “The Idea of You”
“Nothing’s Impossible” from “The Imaginary”
“Folie a Deux” from “Joker: Folie a Deux”
“Sick in the Head” from “Kneecap”
“Beautiful That Way” from “The Last Showgirl”
“Between the Lines” and “One of Us” from “Left Behind”
“The Rider” from “Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim”
“Freedom” from “Lovely Jackson”
“Not My Fault” from “Mean Girls”
“My Pledge” from “Megalopolis”
“Beyond” and “Can I Get a Chee Hoo” from “Moana 2”
“I Always Wanted a Brother” and “Tell Me Its You” from “Mufasa: The Lion King”
“The Neon Highway” from “The Neon Highway”
“Summer Blue” from “Nightbitch”
“Black Truck” and “Callin’ Angels” from “The Other, Gold”
“Piece by Piece” from “Piece by Piece”
“Huele a Fraude” from “Problemista”
“Iti Maa” from “Putul”
“Emotional” from “Ray of Hope”
“Christmas Magic” from “Red One”
“Creatures of Nature” from “Sasquatch Sunset”
“Why I’m Here” from “Shirley”
“Like a Bird” from “Sing Sing”
“The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight”
“New Brain” from “Smile 2”
“Run It” from “Sonic the Hedgehog 3”
“The Way It Was Before” from “Spellbound”
“Better the Devil” from “Strange Darling”
“Under the Tree” from “That Christmas”
“Just As You Are” from “Thelma the Unicorn”
“If I Fall” from “Transformers One”
“Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” and “Out of Oklahoma” from “Twisters”
“No Better” from “Ultraman: Rising”
“On a Corner at the Center of the World” from “Veselka”
“Kiss the Sky” from “The Wild Robot”
“Harper and Will Go West” from “Will & Harper”
“Little Miss Polka Dot” and “My Stranger” from “Your Monster”
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