Crazy. Much like Jonny Greenwood’s “There Will Be Blood” score last year, Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s somber and atonal score to the “The Dark Knight” was disqualified last month due to regular AMPAS bullshit and technicalities (the cue sheet evidently listed five composers and apparently somewhere between 30% and 40% of the score was not written by Zimmer and Howard).
‘TDK’ fans freaked out, flipped over tables in outrage and even threatened David Edelstein’s life again just cause they could. Hell, even we were vexed, an Oscar for Best Score for “The Dark Knight” is not something we’d ever argue again and something we’d mostly champion.
However, Patrick Goldstein has it on good authority, that the decision has been reversed.
There’s nothing on the AMPAS site yet, but Goldstein says, he’s already seen “an Academy [press] release saying its music branch executive committee voted to change the decision last Friday.” This should be seen as sweet revenge, Zimmer and Howard, were also disqualified in 2005 for “Batman Begins” (though that score wasn’t as remarkable). Update: Variety has confirmed, the ‘TDK’ score is now officially eligible again.
Can’t get enough of their thrilling and cacophonous score? Good timing, the 2-disc special edition of The Dark Knight -Original Motion Picture Soundtrack comes out digitally and in stores tomorrow. The deluxe edition includes 14 new tracks not released on the original version. Wow, this is kind of unprecedented, cue the Dark Knight boogie-ing Zoolander boys for the celebration.