There are 141 scores eligible for Best Original Score this year.
As I do every year, I list them all, then just rip right through an eliminate 75% of them right off the bat. Because let’s be serious — you know what the contenders are and what the contenders aren’t. This is not the most surprising category.
Last year, there were 145 eligible scores. So we’re right in line with that. Only like a quarter of them really stand any legitimate chance at the nomination anyhow.
Here are the all the eligible scores for this year:
Alien: Covenant, Jed Kurzel
All I See Is You, Marc Streitenfeld
All the Money in the World, Daniel Pemberton
Annabelle: Creation, Benjamin Wallfisch
Band Aid, Lucius
Battle of the Sexes, Nicholas Britell
Baywatch, Christopher Lennertz
Beauty and the Beast, Alan Menken
The Big Sick, Michael Andrews
Blade Runner 2049, Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer
The Book of Henry, Michael Giacchino
Born in China, Barnaby Taylor
The Boss Baby, Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro
Boston, Jeff Beal
Brad’s Status, Mark Mothersbaugh
Brawl in Cell Block 99, Jeff Herriott and S. Craig Zahler
The Breadwinner, Mychael Danna and Jeff Dannas
Breathe, Nitin Sawhney
Brigsby Bear, David Wingo
Brimstone & Glory, Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin
Captain Underpants The First Epic Movie, Theodore Shapiro
Cars 3, Randy Newman
The Circle, Danny Elfman
Coco, Michael Giacchino
Cries from Syria, Martin Tillman
A Cure for Wellness, Benjamin Wallfisch
Darkest Hour, Dario Marianelli
Despicable Me 3, Heitor Pereira
The Disaster Artist, Dave Porter
A Dog’s Purpose, Rachel Portman
Downsizing, Rolfe Kent
Drawing Home, Ben Holiday
Dunkirk, Hans Zimmer
Earth: One Amazing Day, Alex Heffes
A Fantastic Woman, Matthew Herbert
The Fate of the Furious, Brian Tyler
Father Figures, Rob Simonsen
Ferdinand, John Powell
Fifty Shades Darker, Danny Elfman
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, J. Ralph
First They Killed My Father, Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Get Out, Michael Abels
A Ghost Story, Daniel Hart
Gifted, Rob Simonsen
The Glass Castle, Joel P. West
Going in Style, Rob Simonsen
Good Time, Daniel Lopatin
Goodbye Christopher Robin, Carter Burwell
Gook, Roger Suen
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Tyler Bates
The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Atli Ӧrvarsson
Hostiles, Max Richter
Human Flow, Karsten Fundal
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Jeff Beal
It, Benjamin Wallfisch
Jane, Philip Glass
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Henry Jackman
Justice League, Danny Elfman
Kepler’s Dream, Patrick Neil Doyle
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Daniel Pemberton
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson
Kong: Skull Island, Henry Jackman
LA 92, Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
LBJ, Marc Shaiman
Lady Bird, Jon Brion
Lake of Fire, Qutub-E-Kripa
Last Flag Flying, Graham Reynolds
The Lego Batman Movie, Lorne Balfe
The Lego Ninjago Movie, Mark Mothersbaugh
The Leisure Seeker, Carlo Virzì
Let It Fall, Mark Isham
Life, Jon Ekstrand
Logan, Marco Beltrami
The Lost City of Z, Christopher Spelman
Loveless, Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine
Loving Vincent, Clint Mansell
The Man Who Invented Christmas, Mychael Danna
Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, Daniel Pemberton
Marshall, Marcus Miller
Mary and the Witch’s Flower, Takatsugu Muramatsu
Maudie, Michael Timmins
Molly’s Game, Daniel Pemberton
Moomins and the Winter Wonderland, Łukasz Targosz
The Mountain Between Us, Ramin Djawadi
Mudbound, Tamar-kali
The Mummy, Brian Tyler
Murder on the Orient Express, Patrick Doyle
My Cousin Rachel, Rael Jones
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Jun Miyake
Okja, Jaeil Jung
Oklahoma City, David Cieri
The Only Living Boy in New York, Rob Simonsen
Only the Brave, Joseph Trapanese
Our Souls at Night, Elliot Goldenthal
Paris Can Wait, Laura Karpman
Patti Cake$, Geremy Jasper and Jason Binnick
Phantom Thread, Jonny Greenwood
The Pirates of Somalia, Andrew Feltenstein and John Nau
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Geoff Zanelli
The Post, John Williams
Power Rangers, Brian Tyler
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Tom Howe
The Promise, Gabriel Yared
Pulimurugan, Gopi Sundar
Raw, Jim Williams
Roman J. Israel, Esq., James Newton Howard
Same Kind of Different as Me, John Paesano
The Second Coming of Christ, Navid Hejazi, Ramin Kousha and Silvia Leonetti
Served Like a Girl, Michael A. Levine
The Shack, Aaron Zigman
The Shape of Water, Alexandre Desplat
Slipaway, Tao Liu
Smurfs: The Lost Village, Christopher Lennertz
Spider-Man: Homecoming, Michael Giacchino
Split, West Dylan Thordson
The Star, John Paesano
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, John Williams
Step, Laura Karpman and Raphael Saadiq
Stronger, Michael Brook
Suburbicon, Alexandre Desplat
Swing Away, Tao Zervas
Thank You for Your Service, Thomas Newman
Their Finest, Rachel Portman
Thelma, Ola Fløttum
Thor: Ragnarok, Mark Mothersbaugh
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Carter Burwell
Tickling Giants, Paul Tyan
Tommy’s Honour, Christian Henson
Trafficked, David Das
Transformers: The Last Knight, Steve Jablonsky
XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Brian Tyler and Robert Lydecker
Victoria & Abdul, Thomas Newman
Voice from the Stone, Michael Wandmacher
Wakefield, Aaron Zigman
War for the Planet of the Apes, Michael Giacchino
Wilson, Jon Brion
Wind River, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Wonder, Marcelo Zarvos
Wonder Woman, Rupert Gregson-Williams
Wonderstruck, Carter Burwell
Year by the Sea, Alexander Janko
– – – – – – – – – – –
Nothing really feels like it’s missing. Then again, I didn’t look that closely. I don’t think I heard about any major disqualifications. The one I was looking out for was Jonny Greenwood, but there he is. So I think we’re good. I’m sure one will pop up at some point. But even then, it’s not like there’s some lush score that everyone remembers that isn’t here. I think we’re good.
To whittle this down, as I do every year — the scores that you can throw out immediately, because they’ll never be nominated, are:
Alien: Covenant, Jed Kurzel
All I See Is You, Marc Streitenfeld
Annabelle: Creation, Benjamin Wallfisch
Band Aid, Lucius
Baywatch, Christopher Lennertz
The Book of Henry, Michael Giacchino
Born in China, Barnaby Taylor
The Boss Baby, Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaros
Boston, Jeff Beal
Brad’s Status, Mark Mothersbaugh
Brawl in Cell Block 99, Jeff Herriott and S. Craig Zahler
Brigsby Bear, David Wingo
Brimstone & Glory, Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlins
Captain Underpants The First Epic Movie, Theodore Shapiro
Cars 3, Randy Newman
The Circle, Danny Elfman
Cries from Syria, Martin Tillman
A Cure for Wellness, Benjamin Wallfisch
Despicable Me 3, Heitor Pereira
The Disaster Artist, Dave Porter
A Dog’s Purpose, Rachel Portman
Drawing Home, Ben Holiday
Earth: One Amazing Day, Alex Heffes
A Fantastic Woman, Matthew Herbert
The Fate of the Furious, Brian Tyler
Father Figures, Rob Simonsen
Ferdinand, John Powell
Fifty Shades Darker, Danny Elfman
Gifted, Rob Simonsen
The Glass Castle, Joel P. West
Going in Style, Rob Simonsen
Gook, Roger Suen
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Tyler Bates
The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Atli Ӧrvarsson
Human Flow, Karsten Fundal
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, Jeff Beal
It, Benjamin Wallfisch
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Henry Jackman
Kepler’s Dream, Patrick Neil Doyle
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Daniel Pemberton
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Henry Jackman and Matthew Margesons
Kong: Skull Island, Henry Jackman
LA 92, Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaanss
LBJ, Marc Shaiman
Lake of Fire, Qutub-E-Kripa
Last Flag Flying, Graham Reynolds
The Lego Batman Movie, Lorne Balfe
The Lego Ninjago Movie, Mark Mothersbaugh
The Leisure Seeker, Carlo Virzì
Let It Fall, Mark Isham
Life, Jon Ekstrand
Loveless, Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperines
Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, Daniel Pemberton
Marshall, Marcus Miller
Mary and the Witch’s Flower, Takatsugu Muramatsu
Maudie, Michael Timmins
Moomins and the Winter Wonderland, Łukasz Targosz
The Mountain Between Us, Ramin Djawadi
The Mummy, Brian Tyler
My Cousin Rachel, Rael Jones
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Jun Miyake
Okja, Jaeil Jung
Oklahoma City, David Cieri
The Only Living Boy in New York, Rob Simonsen
Only the Brave, Joseph Trapanese
Our Souls at Night, Elliot Goldenthal
Paris Can Wait, Laura Karpman
Patti Cake$, Geremy Jasper and Jason Binnicks
The Pirates of Somalia, Andrew Feltenstein and John Naus
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Geoff Zanelli
Power Rangers, Brian Tyler
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, Tom Howe
The Promise, Gabriel Yared
Pulimurugan, Gopi Sundar
Raw, Jim Williams
Roman J. Israel, Esq., James Newton Howard
Same Kind of Different as Me, John Paesano
The Second Coming of Christ, Navid Hejazi, Ramin Kousha and Silvia Leonettis
Served Like a Girl, Michael A. Levine
The Shack, Aaron Zigman
Slipaway, Tao Liu
Smurfs: The Lost Village, Christopher Lennertz
Spider-Man: Homecoming, Michael Giacchino
Split, West Dylan Thordson
The Star, John Paesano
Step, Laura Karpman and Raphael Saadiqs
Stronger, Michael Brook
Swing Away, Tao Zervas
Their Finest, Rachel Portman
Thelma, Ola Fløttum
Thor: Ragnarok, Mark Mothersbaugh
Tickling Giants, Paul Tyan
Tommy’s Honour, Christian Henson
Trafficked, David Das
Transformers: The Last Knight, Steve Jablonsky
XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Brian Tyler and Robert Lydeckers
Voice from the Stone, Michael Wandmacher
Wakefield, Aaron Zigman
Wilson, Jon Brion
Wonder, Marcelo Zarvos
Year by the Sea, Alexander Janko
That’s 101 right there. Leaving us with 40, which is still a big number. But I put anything I feel has even remotely a chance (though if one of those documentaries gets on, there’s really no way for me to call that one).
Of the 40 that are left, I’ll try to eliminate as many as I can as ‘pseudo-contenders’. That is — I guess they could make it on, but I wouldn’t spend my time and effort trying to envision a way in which that happens.
All the Money in the World, Daniel Pemberton
Battle of the Sexes, Nicholas Britell
The Big Sick, Michael Andrews
The Breadwinner, Mychael Danna and Jeff Dannas
Downsizing, Rolfe Kent
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, J. Ralph
Get Out, Michael Abels
A Ghost Story, Daniel Hart
Good Time, Daniel Lopatin
Justice League, Danny Elfman
Lady Bird, Jon Brion
The Lost City of Z, Christopher Spelman
Molly’s Game, Daniel Pemberton
War for the Planet of the Apes, Michael Giacchino
Wind River, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
That’s 15. Mainly people who have either never been nominated before, or stuff that just doesn’t feel like they’d go there. I’ll give you a few justifications:
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis — never nominated, despite a great Assassination of Jesse James score. No one really remembers the Wind River score, and I wouldn’t think they’d go there. Giacchino has never been nominated outside of Pixar, and he has a Pixar this year, so it’s folly to look past that. Lost City of Z sounds like a contender, but Christopher Spelman hasn’t been nominated before, and the movie doesn’t have the profile of something that would get on.
Look — here’s going back to 2010 at the nominations:
- Social Network, 127 Hours, How to Train Your Dragon, Inception, The King’s Speech
- The Artist, Tintin, Hugo, Tinker Tailor, War Horse
- Life of Pi, Anna Karenina, Argo, Lincoln, Skyfall
- Gravity, Book Thief, Her, Philomena, Saving Mr. Banks
- Grand Budapest, Imitation Game, Interstellar, Mr. Turner, Theory of Everything
- Hateful Eight, Bridge of Spies, Carol, Sicario, Force Awakens
- La La Land, Jackie, Lion, Moonlight, Passengers
Take off Best Picture contenders. Take off famous composers (Book Thief is Zimmer, Passengers/Mr. Banks/Skyfall are all Thomas Newman), what are the outliers? How to Train Your Dragon is kind of one, but that’s animated, and people loved that score. That was firmly a contender all through that year. Tinker Tailor maybe? But even then we saw that coming, and it was in the race. The only tother two that jump out to me are Mr. Turner — Mike Leigh (auteur), who usually gets stuff nominated, and firmly in the race, with like three other nominations — and Sicario, which, yeah. So I’m not wasting my time on stuff that doesn’t fit what I’m used to. I’d rather just be wrong. You can’t nominate everything.
So now we’re left with 25. Of those — I like to have 20 that I count down from, so we’ll eliminate five more. Shouldn’t be difficult.
Beauty and the Beast, Alan Menken
Hostiles, Max Richter
Loving Vincent, Clint Mansell
The Man Who Invented Christmas, Mychael Danna
Thank You for Your Service, Thomas Newman
Thank You For Your Service is Thomas Newman, and if there’s anything I’ve learned — they get him on. I figure, if anything is gonna get on from him this year, it’s Victoria & Abdul, so I’ll put all my eggs in that basket. Otherwise, Mychael Danna has only been nominated once, for Life of Pi, and I don’t expect that movie to make it on. Hostiles — Max Richter hasn’t been nominated, and that movie has no profile at all in the race, despite them being somewhat partial to westerns. Including it feels like a red herring. Beauty and the Beast — ehh. He won for the score for the original and is basically adapting his own stuff. Can’t see them going there. None of the other Disney reboots made it, even though I’m sure we considered most of them, down to Jungle Book. I’d rather just take my chances and let them nominate it. Then, we’re left with Loving Vincent. Clint Mansell has never been nominated, the film doesn’t seem like something that’ll get anything but an Animated Feature nomination, and there’s nothing that makes me think they jump up and nominate it. Happy to be wrong, since the score was great, but I see no reason to consider it outside of the score being great. I’d rather spend my time on things that are generally in the race, or stuff that feels more like them.
We’re left with 20 scores. Many of these won’t be nominated, and once we get our final list, some of these might look dumb. But
20. Breathe, Nitin Sawhney
I’m calling this a contender because the film is floating around the race, the score sounds nice, and because it’s one of those classical-type Oscar scores. However, Sawhney hasn’t been on their radar, and it’s rare for first time composers to get on for something other than a major contender. I’ll mention him, but I wouldn’t put too much stock in this actually happening at this juncture.
19. First They Killed My Father, Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Beltrami is a two-time nominee. The Hurt Locker and 3:10 to Yuma. They like these exotic, foreign type scores, typically (remember The Kite Runner?). This movie is just in the race enough to consider this a possibility. Not gonna guess it at all, but it should be mentioned because this fits the mold of ‘surprise nominee’.
18. Logan, Marco Beltrami
Speaking of Marco Beltrami. This is the higher profile of his two contenders, but I’d be really surprised if a superhero movie made it on (more on that in a minute). I’ll consider him, but I sure as hell am not saying Logan gets a Score nomination.
17. Suburbicon, Alexandre Desplat
Desplat is always a contender, but he’s got a surefire nominee this year, and with this being the disappointment it was, I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting him much higher for it on the list. Is it possible? Sure. But what are the odds he gets this nomination over The Shape of Water? Especially in a year where John Williams is (again) likely to have multiple nominees.
16. Goodbye Christopher Robin, Carter Burwell
Burwell’s only got one nomination to his name, and I don’t think this will be #2. This feels more like a BAFTA nomination than anything.
15. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Carter Burwell
Only because it’s such a contender elsewhere. I feel like I must reiterate — Carter Burwell has only been nominated once, for Carol, despite years of Coen brothers scores. Which — this score in particular sounds a lot like a more pared down version of his True Grit score (which should have won that year). This feels like it would be a pull for them to nominate. They’ve done stranger things, but I feel like Burwell has a more ‘them’ kind of score coming up.
14. Murder on the Orient Express, Patrick Doyle
Great score, doesn’t feel like them. The film is right in the mold of tech contender, which puts it right in line for a nomination like this. But the year is too strong at the top and I don’t think the amount of open spots that will be left will allow for him to sneak on. Doyle is a two-time nominee, though, but they both came over 20 years ago. Seems unlikely.
13. Mudbound, Tamar-kali
I feel weird even putting it this high. This will be an interesting case study. Based on everything I know, this shouldn’t come close to a nomination. Yet, conventional wisdom says this is a major contender. Here’s the deal: Mudbound. Film thought of as a surefire contender based on how the last few years have gone. Positive to rave reviews. Potential Screenplay nomination and possible Supporting Actress nomination. Dee Rees, up-and-coming filmmaker. However, Netflix. They’ve basically shut this out of all previous nominations list probably because of that. And, a composer working on her first film, who the guild doesn’t really know. There’s a lot going on here. The first-time composer thing isn’t that big a deal, if the film is such a major contender they’d vote for it no matter what. But are they? I don’t know. I feel comfortable keeping this in the 11-15 range and seeing what they’re gonna do. I suspect that none of the supposed ‘Oscar handicappers’ (I say supposed because — none of us truly know what the fuck we’re doing. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise) will put this on their lists because one one really knows what to make of it. I’m gonna be up front about that. Unless I see some momentum on this going forward, I’m not gonna consider it much of a contender. BAFTA looms large here. It’s rare for something to miss the Globes, BFCA and BAFTA and make it on. Right now, it might have to do just that.
12. Wonder Woman, Rupert Gregson-Williams
The only thing really going for it is how beloved Wonder Woman is. But let’s not pretend like it’ll get a shitload of Oscar nominations because of that. You know how many blockbuster superhero movies have been nominated here since 2000? None. Not even Dark Knight. There’s only three movies that remotely fit the model that this is — Force Awakens (which, John Williams, Star Wars. That shit is grandfathered in), Skyfall (Thomas Newman) and Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer). You might say Inception, at which point I would say again, Hans Zimmer. Or Christopher Nolan. Holmes is closer just because it’s more action-adventure oriented and not an auteur thing. Still, very unlikely this makes it on. The score is very nice, but thinking logically — they just don’t go here. I would be very surprised if they somehow dropped their high standards for this.
11. Jane, Philip Glass
I’d nominate this. Philip Glass is a genius. But they don’t tend to go documentary in this category. You know how far back you have to go to see a documentary nominated for Score? Ever. That’s how far back. It’s never happened. So don’t hold your breath on this one, as much as it would be nice to see that trend broken for this score in particular. I’ll keep it outside the top ten for that reason, but root for it hardcore to get on.
10. Wonderstruck, Carter Burwell
If a Carter Burwell score is gonna make it on this year, this is the one. He was nominated for his previous Todd Haynes film, and this is based on a book by the guy who wrote Hugo, which also was nominated for Score. Though between this and Three Billboards, they might go that way instead because of the profile. That happens. Still, I think if he gets on at all (which history says won’t happen), this should be the one. It’s a silent film score for part of the movie! How can they straight up ignore that?
9. Victoria & Abdul, Thomas Newman
This should jump out at you. Because you’re gonna go, “Wait, what?” I know. But there’s reason for this. Thomas Newman has been nominated for 14 Oscars. Never won. He’s been nominated — 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016. He missed 2014 because his two scores were The Judge and Get On Up. Now, I’m pretty sure that this will also be a year he misses. But then again, I didn’t think he’d be nominated for Passengers last year. So don’t rule anything out. I’m sure I will — yet again — not guess him and he’ll be nominated. All of my instincts say this can’t happen. But they also said that for Passengers. So who the hell knows. Personally, I’d put him outside of the top ten. But I’ve done that before. So we’ll inch him closer and see if they truly will nominate him for anything.
8. Coco, Michael Giacchino
Giacchino is one of the most liked composers out there. Fans more so than Academy, apparently. Since he’s only been nominated twice, and they were for Up and Ratatouille. Stands to reason that if he’s gonna get nominated again, Coco is a good bet. But Inside Out was not nominated, and that, to me, was a far better score than this was. Though this score is quite lovely too. They tend to not go animated here, so while I’ll consider him a contender, I doubt he’ll be on my final list.
7. Blade Runner 2049, Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer
This will definitely be in the conversation. It might even be nominated. Though it’s gonna be tough, nominating Zimmer twice. And I think we all know which of his two scores is more likely. So I could see it, but it doesn’t seem like something I would call a lock by any stretch. The original film wasn’t nominated, so let’s not pretend like this score is sacred or anything and has to get on there. Take the subjective out of the equation. Why would they nominate this over the other six choices they have? Right now, I don’t see it. Then again, I also have this in the top 7, so you see how much respect I have for it as a contender. Right now, I don’t think it does, but I also think it definitely could, very easily.
6. Phantom Thread, Jonny Greenwood
I wasn’t sure, upon seeing the movie, how much of the score was Greenwood’s and how much was classical. But they seem to have gone out of their way this time to get him the nomination, since there were articles talking about how much of his score was in the movie, etc. etc. I think he’s definitely a major contender here. The only question is whether or not they leave him off for any of these other five.
5. Darkest Hour, Dario Marianelli
The minute Darkest Hour was announced, you probably penciled it in for Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Score and maybe Makeup, depending on the shortlist. It’s still got a chance at Best Picture. Of course this is a major contender. Marianelli was nominated for both Atonement and Anna Karenina. He won for Atonement. There’s no way this isn’t in the top five. Between him and Greenwood, he’s been nominated before for Joe Wright movies. That’s the tiebreaker.
4. Dunkirk, Hans Zimmer
It’s Hans Zimmer doing a Christopher Nolan score. Interstellar was nominated and Inception was nominated. I can’t imagine they will leave this off. Just like Marianelli, you gotta consider him a lock until he isn’t.
3. The Shape of Water, Alexandre Desplat
Desplat does it again. What a beautiful score. How can they ignore this? This is exactly what the category is made for. The usual caveat, since Guillermo movies have lovely scores, is that they don’t always get nominated. However, Pan’s Labyrinth was nominated, and this is the closest thing he’s had to that since then. I’m thinking this gets on. But again, we’re looking at 6, maybe 7 contenders for five spots. So on the one hand, our job feels easier, since it would be a bit of a stretch going outside of that zone with such great options, but it also makes our job harder, trying to figure out what they’re gonna leave off.
2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, John Williams
If there’s a score in the top 5 they could leave off, this is the one. Force Awakens got on because it’s John Williams and Star Wars. Do they continue the trend just cause? Because Williams is about to also be #1 on this list too. Will they nominate him twice? They’ve done it before. They’re very comfortable doing that. In an ideal world, he gets on, Desplat, Zimmer, Marianelli and Greenwood get on and everyone’s pretty much happy. But if he gets on twice, then someone gets left off. And what do you do then? You can never leave a John Williams Star Wars score outside the top seven. Ever. The only question is whether or not it will happen. They ignored all the prequels (which is nuts, since “Duel of Fates”). Maybe Force Awakens was just the explosion of “holy shit, Star Wars” like we all had. Only way to know is to wait until nominations. If BAFTA ignores this, maybe he gets left off for this. We shall see.
1. The Post, John Williams
It’s John Williams for a Spielberg movie. The only time in the last 40 years I think he was left off for one of these was BFG last year. And before that was like, 1941 (the movie, not the year). I would be shocked if this didn’t happen. I’d be shocked if John Williams didn’t get at least one nomination this year. Don’t ever not consider the Maestro a favorite.
– – – – – – – – –
That’s my gut right now. If I had to pick a category, I would say:
Darkest Hour, Dario Marianelli
Dunkirk, Hans Zimmer
The Post, John Williams
The Shape of Water, Alexandre Desplat
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, John Williams
I could be convinced to take off Star Wars and put on Phantom Thread. But right now, over a month out, I’m sticking with that.
– – – – – – – – – –
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