Today we’ll look at the musical awards, Best Original Score and Best Original Song.
And the nominees are . . .
Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Original Song
"Down to Earth" from WALL-E
"Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire
"O Saya" from Slumdog Millionaire
The Lowdown:
These categories have their roots in the heyday of the movie musical. Nowadays, AMPAS loves to delude itself into thinking that the musical is not a moribund artifact of a vanished age (notable and wonderful exceptions like Chicago notwithstanding). So these awards often go to the most musical-like films.
For four years in the 90s, Original Score was split into two awards–one for Dramatic Score and one for Musical or Comedy Score. That was back when Disney was making a slew of successful animated musicals–The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, etc.–and dominated the Original Score category. When the Disney musicals stopped, as you knew they would–the musical being, you know, pretty much dead–the Academy went back to giving one award.
The closest thing we have to a musical this year is Slumdog Millionaire, what with that Bollywood dance number over the end credits. Its distinctive Indian flavor, along with the movie’s frontrunner status for Best Picture, should carry it to a win for its score. I think.
These days, Original Song is mostly a function of the soundtrack. But again, AMPAS likes to believe the musical is still alive and well, so this award often goes to a song that is actually performed in the movie, i.e., somewhere between the opening and closing credits. Case in point: Stephen Sonheim’s "(Sooner or Later) I Always Get My Man" (from Dick Tracy, performed by Madonna) beat Jon Bon Jovi’s "Blaze of Glory" (Young Guns II) at the 1990 Oscars, despite the fact that "Blaze of Glory" was a much bigger hit. "Sooner or Later" actually appeared as a musical interlude during the narrative part of the film. "Blaze of Glory?" That’s right–end credits.
No musicals this year. And although I see Slumdog taking Original Score, my guess is that the two nominated songs from the movie will cancel each other out, leaving Peter Gabriel’s "Down to Earth" sitting pretty.
(By the way, does anyone care to explain why Bruce Springsteen’s "The Wrestler" didn’t even get nominated here? Come on, AMPAS, where’s the love? Is it because you’ve already given Bruce one Oscar, for "Streets of Philadelphia?" What up?)
More Oscarology to come! (Aren’t you excited?)
