mary posted it at OscarWatch:

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117916591&categoryid=13
Posted: Wed., Jan. 19, 2005, 10:00pm PT

Inside Moves: Acad shoots down 'Aviator' music

Acadamy muffles tuners hopefuls

By JON BURLINGAME

Howard Shore's music for The Aviator, which has already won Golden Globe and Broadcast Film Critics Assn. awards and has been shortlisted in the BAFTA race, will be missing from Tuesday's Academy Award nominations.
Shore's score is one of several that have been disqualified by the Academy's music branch executive committee under Oscar rules, which are more restrictive than those of the other organizations.

Also failing to make the Oscar cut are Craig Armstrong's score for Ray, Harry Gregson-Williams' music for Shrek 2, James Newton Howard's score for Collateral and director Clint Eastwood's music for his Million Dollar Baby. None was among the 81 films on a reminder list sent to the approximately 240 branch members for voting.

Nomination ballots are due back by Saturday.

Academy officials wouldn't comment on the record, but committee sources confirmed "Aviator's" score ran afoul of music rule B.5.(d): "scores diluted by the use of tracked or pre-existing music."

Shore's half-hour of original score constitutes between one-third and one-fourth of the film's total music, which includes classical selections and many period songs chosen by director Martin Scorsese, similar to the musical collage he fashioned for "Gangs of New York."

Reached after his Golden Globe win, Shore said he respects the committee and accepts its decision. Shore's "Aviator" music also won Chicago and Seattle critics prizes.

"Ray" was eliminated based on music rule B.5.(e): "scores diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs." "Shrek 2" reportedly was dropped because much of the material was based on the first "Shrek" score. "Collateral" was another case of the director using a variety of music and not primarily the work of a single composer.

Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" score failed to qualify because the paperwork was submitted too late for committee consideration.

One music branch committee member said the group screened the films in question with cue sheets (detailed breakdowns of the music) in hand and debated each decision to ensure strict adherence to the rulebook.

Over the years, the rules have been tweaked to ensure that only original scores -- by Academy definition, "a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film" and not a group of songs or a compilation of music from various sources -- can be nominated.

These are some weird reasons for disqualification. "scores diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs."? Failed to file paperwork in time? What do we have left? I guess The Incredibles, Finding Neverland, The Terminal, maybe even Eternal Sunshine, Sideways, or Hotel Rwanda, or Birth?

Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" score failed to qualify because the paperwork was submitted too late for committee consideration.

Oh wtf, thats some bs. Oh well gives more of a chance for James Newton Howard score in The Village, which is the best score I heard this year imo.

You mean Collateral? That's disqualified as well.

"Collateral" was another case of the director using a variety of music and not primarily the work of a single composer.

No Collateral deserves to be disqualified, Howards score in The Village deserves to be nominated. Sorry for not mentioning what movie I was talking about, he works on alot of movies.

Let's disqualify Jamie Foxx because his performance was diminished in impact by the predominant use of Ray Charles movements...

This is a bullshit academy rule that disqualifies the best scores. This is now officially a pity category

Okay...hmmm....that's really weird, but what do you expect of an institution like this one :???:

Wow this sucks. There absolutely NEEDS to be a "best adapted score" award at the Oscars if they are going to pull this shit.

What's left this year?

John Williams and The Terminal is definately in (someone at Oscarwatch said that it would be silly to nominate Harry Potter, a sequel, when so many films are being ejected for adapted scores.)

The Incredibles is definately in.

Finding Neverland is a lock. Sideways maybe.

What else? Foreign films?

So the best score (The Aviator) and one of the best (Million Dollar Baby) are out. What a ridiculous category.

The Passion of the Christ is also in IMO...

Yeah Libs. I'm completely pissed about this.

Finding Neverland
The Incredibles
The Passion of the Christ
Sideways
The Terminal

The fact that Finding Neverland and Sideways are basically pre-ordained as nominated for score makes me ill to my tummy.

Great,even better chances for TPOTC.
=D> :rock:

Team America

Well, I'm not too surprised by this rule, but then again it is original score. Maybe they do need to make an adapted score category? Sounds a little weird, but it it would help with this. I hope this helps HP3 get a nod, because it was the best score of the year, imo. I see no reason why ROTK can win and HP3 cannot just because it's a sequel? ROTK was too, and wasn't TTT nominated as well?

No, TTT was ruled ineligible.

Then why wasn't ROTK?

Not the slightest idea.

You can be nominated for a sequel but not two years in a row. They had the choice to either declare TTT or ROTK ineligible. That's also why HP2 was ineligible, but HP3 is eligible

Ridiculous .

I would say this opens the door for what is easily the best score of the year - The Village - , but I know better than to think they would actually look past the great divide on this movie to see its obvious excellence in this category.

Whatever.

Thanks! I hope HP3 gets nominated, then.

What kind of stupid rules are those?!

You are ALL wrong, The Two Towers was eligible for Oscar Score.

http://www.calendarlive.com/printeditio ... 2Dcalendar

It just wasn't nominated. 2002 was a fantastic year for Scores. The Hours? Frida? Far From Heaven? Catch Me If You Can? Road to Perdition? Those 5 are all incredible.

The rule about "not nominating two years in a row" is bunk.

The only rule is that the score must have a certain amount of new material.

Harry Potter 2 didn't get nominated because John Williams never gets more than one nomination a year, and he's there for Catch Me if You Can.

The reason I said that about Harry Potter 3 (like it had no chance) because the Academy obviously seems to be on a witch hunt for film scores that use pre-existing music, and it would be a bit suspicious to nominated a sequel when they are throwing out other films from using different cues. Get it?

Although Harry Potter's is also one of the best scores of the year (and better than The Terminal).

I thought HP3's score was a lot different than the first two. Maybe it was just me?

I can't believe how much some of you are whining!


These rules have been around since forever it's not like they decided The Aviator was probably gonna get too many nomination so they figured they'd keep it form etting a score nod to keep it form earning more than it need. And Shrek 2, too.

Million Dollar Baby...again, been around forever. they knew they had a deadline. It's like you're a student and have a paper due, and you know its due, you end up writing a great paper...late, and you expect it to be taken cause its great. Come on!!!


It's the best ORIGINAl. Orrrrrrrrrrriginalllllllllll score. OK? :wink:


I agree the best adapted score is needed.

No, these rules are not in place since forever. They invented it to prevent Disney's animated movies to sweep the category every year...