The-OscarsThe Oscars are a little over two months away, and with so many fantastic films released throughout this year, the anticipation surrounding the announcement of the nominations next month is running on high.

So far, we’ve had the shortlists for the Best Animated Feature, the Best Visual Effects, and the Best Documentary categories.

Now the Academy has announced the list of 104 films that are eligible in the Best Original Score category, and it’s going to be very interesting to see what makes the final cut come nominations time next month.

I think Hans Zimmer’s score for The Dark Knight Rises is, hopefully, a lock, because it is amazing. I also loved James Horner’s score for The Amazing Spider-Man, but can’t decide whether or not I think it will earn a nomination.

Alexandre Desplat has three films in the running this year, with Argo, Rise of the Guardians, and Zero Dark Thirty, and with four nominations to his name already, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him nominated next month.

Thomas Newman is in the running with two films – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Skyfall. Like Desplat, Newman has a long history with the Academy, with an ever more impressive ten nominations throughout his career, and I think there’s a good chance Skyfall could be his eleventh.

Universal are giving James Newton Howard’s score for Snow White and the Huntsman an Oscar push in their campaign for the film, and the composer also has two more in eligibility for Darling Companion and The Hunger Games.

Ryan Miller’s score for Safety Not Guaranteed is brilliantly composed, matching the film perfectly, and it’s nice to see the Academy recognising up-and-coming composers like Miller, whose experience is largely more in the music industry than the film, as the lead singer for the band, Guster.

Rian Johnson’s Looper has an immaculate score from the director’s brother, Nathan Johnson, and I absolutely love what the latter brought to the table for the film’s music. A brilliant companion to an amazing film, and I’d love to see Johnson get recognised for it next month.

And of course, we can’t forget Howard Shore’s score for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Shore won Best Original Score for the first and third films from The Lords of the Rings, and it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise to see his name on the final list next month.

The Academy will be announcing the final list of nominations on 10th January, which will include five films in the Best Original Score category. The Oscars themselves will then be held the following month on 24th February. You can be sure that we’ll be following events as they happen on the night, and we’d love for you to join us.

 

  • “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” Henry Jackman, composer
  • “After the Wizard,” Stephen Main, composer
  • “Alex Cross,” John Debney and Sebastian Morton, composers
  • “The Amazing Spider-Man,” James Horner, composer
  • “Anna Karenina,” Dario Marianelli, composer
  • “Argo,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
  • “Battleship,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
  • “The Bay,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
  • “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin, composers
  • “Being Flynn,” Damon Gough, composer
  • “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” Thomas Newman, composer
  • “Big Miracle,” Cliff Eidelman, composer
  • “Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story,” David Cieri, composer
  • “Brave,” Patrick Doyle, composer
  • “Brooklyn Castle,” B. Satz, composer
  • “Chasing Ice,” J. Ralph, composer
  • “Chasing Mavericks,” Chad Fischer, composer
  • “Chicken with Plums,” Olivier Bernet, composer
  • “Chimpanzee,” Nicholas Hooper, composer
  • “Cloud Atlas,” Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek, composers
  • “Compliance,” Heather McIntosh, composer
  • “Contraband,” Clinton Shorter, composer
  • “The Dark Knight Rises,” Hans Zimmer, composer
  • “Dark Shadows,” Danny Elfman, composer
  • “Darling Companion,” James Newton Howard, composer
  • “Deadfall,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers
  • “The Dictator,” Erran Baron Cohen, composer
  • “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” John Powell, composer
  • “End of Watch,” David Sardy, composer
  • “Ethel,” Miriam Cutler, composer
  • “Flight,” Alan Silvestri, composer
  • “For a Good Time, Call…” John Swihart, composer
  • “For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada,” James Horner, composer
  • “Frankenweenie,” Danny Elfman, composer
  • “Fun Size,” Deborah Lurie, composer
  • “Girl in Progress,” Christopher Lennertz, composer
  • “The Grey,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer
  • “The Guilt Trip,” Christophe Beck, composer
  • “Hidden Moon,” Luis Bacalov, composer
  • “Hitchcock,” Danny Elfman, composer
  • “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” Howard Shore, composer
  • “Hotel Transylvania,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
  • “House at the End of the Street,” Theo Green, composer
  • “The Hunger Games,” James Newton Howard, composer
  • “Hyde Park on Hudson,” Jeremy Sams, composer
  • “Ice Age Continental Drift,” John Powell, composer
  • “The Impossible,” Fernando Velázquez, composer
  • “Jack Reacher,” Joe Kraemer, composer
  • “John Carter,” Michael Giacchino, composer
  • “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” Andrew Lockington, composer
  • “Lawless,” Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, composers
  • “Life of Pi,” Mychael Danna, composer
  • “Lincoln,” John Williams, composer
  • “Lola Versus,” Will Bates and Philip Mossman, composers
  • “Looper,” Nathan Johnson, composer
  • “The Lucky One,” Mark Isham, composer
  • “LUV,” Nuno Malo, composer
  • “The Man with the Iron Fists,” RZA and Howard Drossin, composers
  • “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Alan Silvestri, composer
  • “The Master,” Jonny Greenwood, composer
  • “Men in Black 3,” Danny Elfman, composer
  • “Middle of Nowhere,” Kathryn Bostic, composer
  • “Mirror Mirror,” Alan Menken, composer
  • “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” Geoff Zanelli, composer
  • “On the Road,” Gustavo Santaolalla, composer
  • “The Pardon,” Ashley Irwin, composer
  • “Parental Guidance,” Marc Shaiman, composer
  • “People Like Us,” A.R. Rahman, composer
  • “The Possession,” Anton Sanko, composer
  • “Prometheus,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer
  • “Promised Land,” Danny Elfman, composer
  • “The Raid: Redemption,” Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese, composers
  • “Red Tails,” Terence Blanchard, composer
  • “Rise of the Guardians,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
  • “Ruby Sparks,” Nick Urata, composer
  • “Safe House,” Ramin Djawadi, composer
  • “Safety Not Guaranteed,” Ryan Miller, composer
  • “Saint Dracula,” Sreevalsan J. Menon, composer
  • “Savages,” Adam Peters, composer
  • “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” Rob Simonsen and Jonathan Sadoff, composers
  • “The Sessions,” Marco Beltrami, composer
  • “Sinister,” Christopher Young, composer
  • “Skyfall,” Thomas Newman, composer
  • “Smashed,” Eric D. Johnson and Andy Cabic, composers
  • “Snow White and the Huntsman,” James Newton Howard, composer
  • “Taken 2,” Nathaniel Mechaly, composer
  • “Ted,” Walter Murphy, composer
  • “Think Like a Man,” Christopher Lennertz, composer
  • “This Means War,” Christophe Beck, composer
  • “A Thousand Words,” John Debney, composer
  • “The Three Stooges,” John Debney, composer
  • “Trashed,” Vangelis, composer
  • “Trouble with the Curve,” Marco Beltrami, composer
  • “21 Jump Street,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
  • “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2,” Carter Burwell, composer
  • “Until They Are Home,” Jamie Dunlap, composer
  • “War of the Worlds The True Story,” Jamie Hall, composer
  • “The Watch,” Christophe Beck, composer
  • “West of Memphis,” Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, composers
  • “Where Do We Go Now?” Khaled Mouzanar, composer
  • “Won’t Back Down,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
  • “The Words,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
  • “Wreck-It Ralph,” Henry Jackman, composer
  • “Zero Dark Thirty,” Alexandre Desplat, composer