“Green Book,” “The Other Side of the Wind,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and “Mandy” make for odd bedfellows. You see, if you were asked to tell someone the one thing that each of those four films shared in common, you’d probably be stumped. Well, if you guessed “All films that have their respective scores deemed ineligible for Oscar consideration by the Academy,” then you’re right!
For a variety of reasons, the scores for four of this year’s biggest films, from some of the best composers around (including one from a two-time Oscar nominee and another from a three-time Oscar winner) are not going to be able to compete for the coveted award in early 2019, according to a new report from Variety.
First, and foremost (at least in my eyes), is the exclusion of “Mandy.” While the AMPAS is probably not likely to include “Mandy” in any major categories come Oscar time, the Nic Cage film (that ranked highly on our Best of 2018 list) featured the final score from two-time nominee Jóhann Jóhannsson. The composer is probably best known for his scores for films like “Sicario,” “The Theory of Everything,” and “Arrival.” Sadly, Jóhannsson passed away, and his final composition was on the Panos Cosmatos film, “Mandy.” However, due to the Academy rules on releases, with “Mandy” debuting on VOD before its theatrical run, the film (and thus Jóhannsson’s score) are now ineligible. That being said, do yourself a favor and check it out.
Next up, we have the most recent “Star Wars” film, ‘Solo.’ The film, which was scored by John Powell, using previous themes from John Williams, was a box office disappointment, but the music was worthwhile. However, the film’s music won’t be up for consideration since the score was submitted after the November 15th deadline.
“Green Book,” which is set to have a pretty major awards season haul, won’t include a Best Score Oscar in its winnings. This is due to the film’s use of Don Shirley’s piano compositions, as well as the score written by Kris Bowers. Due to the amount of previously released material, “Green Book’s” score is now ineligible.
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A similar reason is why Orson Welles’ posthumously released film “The Other Side of the Wind” won’t find itself with a Best Score nomination. Even though composer Michel Legrand composed over two hours worth of music for the film, only 40 minutes was used. This means the 60 minutes of music that was featured in the film from outside sources outweighs the three-time Oscar-winning composers original work. Thus, no more Oscar love for Legrand.
All in all, even though its sad that the music from these films won’t be considered for Oscar glory, this can be seen as a perfect excuse to celebrate the composers’ works and listen to the scores as soon as possible.
