In Contention

Tag: Alan Menken

  • ‘Captain America’ keeps the summer sizzling

    So, “Captain America: The First Avenger” wraps up the summer’s superhero slate this week. Yes, we have “Cowboys & Aliens” on the way to keep the general comic book flow going, but Marvel’s other bookend to the summer hits Friday, and, well, I thought it was just (yankee doodle) dandy.

    “Robust” is the word that kept coming to mind while watching the film. You get a lot of bang for your buck here, with action set pieces galore, beefy production values (which might as well include Chris Evans’s physique) and a generous splash of pulp 40s fun to keep it unique throughout.

    I always thought Joe Johnston was the most interesting choice of Marvel’s stable of directors leading up to “The Avengers” next summer. He’s kept an even genre keel all of his career and “The Rocketeer” (20 years old and getting the anniversary treatment soon) is probably the nostalgia hook that really cinched it as a nice call.

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  • Listen to Alan Menken’s ‘Star Spangled Man’ from ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’

    When Alan Menken was tapped last year to provide an original song for Joe Johnston’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” I had no idea how that made any sense. Not that Menken isn’t able to branch out of his typical milieu, but it just didn’t really compute for this material.

    When I finally saw the film (more when the embargo lifts tomorrow), it all clicked perfectly. “Star Spangled Man” is a rah-rah U.S.O. tune akin to something like “Over There” or what have you, and it’s right up Menken’s alley. So, as it turned out, they wanted him for what he’s best at: song and dance numbers.

    The song — which could earn Menken a record-tying 20th Oscar nomination if the Academy’s music branch thinks it’s deserving — plays over a montage in the film and, given that, will be a stand-out exhibition when they screen the eligible tracks in the context of the various films at year’s end. So, watch out.

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  • Best Original Song performances are back

    The Academy’s Twitter feed just noted the following:

    You heard it 1st: Best Song performances are back for 83rd #Oscars! Gwyneth Paltrow set to sing…more on the way.

    To which I say: Great.  It was grossly disrespectful, I thought, to suddenly jerk them from the telecast last year (and if you heard some of the things being said of the nominees — by the telecast’s producers — behind the scenes last year, you might have been riled up a bit, too).  I think Ryan Bingham missed out on a great opportunity to reach a global audience with one of the best winners in that category in some time.

    But anyway, obviously they see having someone like Gwyneth Paltrow perform on the show (as she did recently on the CMT awards) as a ratings asset.  Ditto Mandy Moore (who will be performing “I See the Light” with Zachary Levi and Alan Menken).  A.R. Rahman will do “If I Rise” with Florence + the Machine (no Dido) and Randy Newman will be there to belt out “We Belong Together.”

    Check out the Oscar Guide to Best Original Song here.

    [Photo: Screen Gems]

  • OSCAR GUIDE: Best Music (Original Song)

    The music branch’s process of nominating in the Best Original Song category changed a few years ago.  Members now screen clips and view contenders as used within the context of their films.  It generally means music used organically has a better shot than the usual closing credits fluff of yore.

    That rule change has also, I think, altered the perception of the award on the annual Oscar telecast.  Last year performances of the contenders were scrapped from the show early on, largely because they weren’t popular hits and the show is all about nailing down a viewership.  Could it happen again?  This year’s line-up is diverse if underwhelming, but now that I think about it, that seems to frequently be the case.

    The nominees are:

    “Coming Home” from “Country Strong” (Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey)
    “If I Rise” from “127 Hours” (Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong)
    “I See the Light” from “Tangled” (Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Glenn Slater)
    “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3” (Music and Lyric by Randy Newman)

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Final analysis, part one

    It seems hard to believe that it’s been more than six months since I wrote this year’s introductory Tech Support column ( a dissection of the art direction race). Much has changed since then, naturally, as we are less than a week away from the big day when we find out the nominees for the Oscars this year. Today, I take a final look at the music categories, sound categories and the two categories that have been narrowed down to seven finalists – Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup.

    BEST MAKEUP

    In this utterly bizarre category, virtually any combination of the seven finalists would fail to surprise me as the final three. That said, I’ve had the same top two predicted all year and see no reason to change now: “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Wolfman.” The former had massive box office and very noticeable makeup, whereas the latter is exactly the sort of movie that tends to score here and nowhere else.

    Logic may put “True Grit” or “The Fighter” next in line due to their Best Picture contender status. But as much as these films are loved, they don’t have as showy makeup as the other finalists, and this is a category that often doesn’t care how films are received overall.

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  • TECH SUPPORT: Best Original Song

    I guess I’ve been pretty hard on the Best Original Song category this year. It’s not like any given year tends to have a deluge of impressive fodder up for consideration or anything, but on the whole, outside of a concentration of contenders that have a fighting chance at recognition, it just seems to be an uninspired lot of tracks in the mix for 2010.

    Before diving into the fray, some quick reminding. The music branch’s rules are always in flux and over the last couple of years they have shifted, perhaps rightly, into a frame of assessing songs as they are used within the context of a given film. Let’s look at the official language from the Academy’s rules and eligibility literature:

    An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the motion picture. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the motion picture or as the first music cue in the end credits.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Holiday cheer and seasonal grousing

    • Calmed by the holiday spirit, this week’s Off the Carpet column took stock of the season, and gave thanks where appropriate.

    • The Long Shot looked at the number of one-time rebel auteurs in this year’s Oscar race, and wondered if awards glory comes at the expense of creative edge.

    • Life Without Oscar highlighted a pair of mid-90s majors, one from a filmmaker who wouldn’t go unacknowledged by the Academy for long.

    • We interviewed Jeremy Renner, still basking in the glow of his first Oscar nod, and shooting for a second with “The Town.”

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  • INTERVIEW: ‘Tangled’ composer Alan Menken

    Sitting at the Four Seasons’ Culina Restaurant with a tomato juice in hand, politely asking to turn the heaters up on a fair weather day, composer Alan Menken recalls the afternoon before, when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    “That was a trip,” he says. “I didn’t know how much to make of it or not to make of it. It’s not a moment where someone says, ‘You’ve won this because you accomplished this.’ It’s a moment in time when someone says, ‘You know what? You should have a star.’”

    And it’s not the most out-of-line observation, given what Menken has meant to filmmaking, particularly animated filmmaking over the past two decades. It seems surprising that, however political an honor such as this may be, that he didn’t have one. But like he seems to take most praise, Menken was politely appreciative and didn’t quite know what else to make of it.

    “It was almost a little like going to a funeral. Because they have the thing covered up and you’re standing there and then they uncover it. And then I went back later in the day to visit my star and it’s a little strange, your star is still there and you’re walking away. On cold nights I can picture homeless guys peeing on it.”

    The star rests on the sidewalk outside of Disney’s El Capitan Theatre, a fitting place given Menken’s undeniable contribution to the studio’s legacy over the last 21 years.

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  • 11/15 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Oscar’s shortest perf, gauging 16 animated submissions, Menken and Moore on ‘Tangled’

    • John Lopez talks to “The Way Back” star and Best Supporting Actor hopeful Ed Harris. [Little Gold Men]

    • From last year, Stinkylulu writes up the shortest performance ever nominated for an Oscar: Herminone Baddeley’s 2 minutes and 26 seconds in 1959’s “Room at the Top.” [Stinkylulu]

    • Scott Feinberg smartly tracks down the HBO doc “High on Crack Street,” featuring prominently in “The Fighter.” [ScottFeinberg.com]

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  • Gwyneth Paltrow performs ‘Country Strong’ at CMAs, only one original song will be submitted from ‘Tangled’

    A little event dropped at last night’s Country Music Association Awards: Gwyneth Paltrow took to the stage to perform “Country Strong,” the title track from the upcoming Screen Gems release, with a little help from country star Vince Gill.

    I haven’t seen the film yet, but depending on how the original songs are used in the film, we could be looking at a nominee in, say, “Me and Tennessee” or “Coming Home.”  I’ve been going back and forth on something from that or something from “Burlesque,” both Screen Gems releases.  But I’ve felt compelled to list two tracks from “Tangled” all this time.  Turns out we can nix the idea of multiple songs making it from that Disney effort, though.

    One nugget I turned up during my interview with composer Alan Menken this afternoon is that only one song from the film — “I See the Light” — will be submitted for Oscar consideration.  It was a collective decision, and the reason, he freely admitted, was calculation.

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  • Alan Menken gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

    Monday we featured the original song “I See the Light” from Disney’s “Tangled” as part of our “listen to” series.  The original music for the track, and for the film, was composed by Alan Menken, who it’s safe to say, has been there, done that with Oscar.  (His eight statues are a record for living recipients.)

    I’ll be sitting down with Menken to talk “Tangled” and his illustrious career tomorrow afternoon, but it’s worth noting today that he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Fittingly, the ceremony took place out in front of The El Capitan Theatre, where a number of Disney classics screen throughout the year, many of them featuring Menken’s work.  (Not long ago there was a sing-along version of “The Little Mermaid.” I was so there.)

    So congratulations to him for getting this recognition (however political such things may be).  It’s a bit surprising that the guy who wrote tunes like “Kiss the Girl,” “Under the Sea,” “Be Our Guest,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “A Whole New World,” etc., etc. didn’t have his own slice of the Walk.  Well, now he does.

    [Photo: Broadway World]

  • Listen to Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi’s ‘I See the Light’ from ‘Tangled’

    Disney always does well in the Best Original Song category and this year should be no different.  We’ve already covered Randy Newman’s latest entry from the “Toy Story” franchise but today we showcase one of the many tracks from the upcoming film “Tangled.”

    When I wrote up the film last month I noted that the strongest play at a nomination would have to be “I See the Light,” and I still feel the same.  In classic Disney form, the film fits a certain parameter, coming toward the end of the second act just as our heroes (voiced by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, who also sing the song) begin to connect romantically.

    It’s a lovely tune, well-used.  But it’s obviously worth noting the presence of Alan Menken on this film.  The 18-time nominee (and eight-time winner) was last recognized in 2007 for three songs from “Enchanted” and he’ll get at least one nod, maybe a couple, for “Tangled.”

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