In Contention

Tag: We Belong Together

  • TECH SUPPORT: Final analysis, part two

    Yesterday we began our final look at the 10 crafts categories.  Check out part one here.  Today, the conclusion.  Meanwhile, you can find my final predictions in all categories here.

    Best Music (Original Score)

    Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, despite their atypical approach to film music composition, are very much contenders in this race. Having won the BFCA award and Golden Globe for their work on “The Social Network,” they must be taken seriously. The fact remains, however, that this is not a typical Oscar-winning score.

    Alexandre Desplat has had an amazing run since he broke onto the American scene in 2003 with “Girl With a Pearl Earring.” Four Oscar nominations later, it seems he is poised to win his first statuette for another Colin Firth film, “The King’s Speech.” Being behind the Best Picture frontrunner is a huge advantage. Moreover, its subtle elegance managed to win the BAFTA. Even so, a win is hardly assured as subtlety is actually not frequently awarded here.

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  • TECH SUPPORT INTERVIEW: ‘Toy Story 3’ composer and songwriter Randy Newman

    When the Oscar nominations were announced last month, composer Alan Menken almost tied Randy Newman for third-most nominations among living artists.  But Newman inched away, nabbing his own nomination for the song “We Belong Together” (listen) from “Toy Story 3” and thereby maintaining a firm grip on the designation.

    It was Newman’s 20th nomination to date, a healthy run by anyone’s measure.  But it was extra special given his recent history with Pixar Animation Studios, and the voice he has given to the “Toy Story” franchise since its 1995 beginnings.

    He was able to put a bow on the series in his own special way, and should he win the Oscar next weekend, it’ll be his second trophy.  His first also came for a Pixar entry, “Monsters, Inc.,” which netted him the gold in this very same category.

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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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  • Listen to Randy Newman’s ‘We Belong Together’ from ‘Toy Story 3’

    Randy Newman has been a fixture of the Pixar brand since day one.  He composed the score for 1995’s “Toy Story” and supplied the original songs, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” becoming the theme of the franchise.  After receiving 15 nominations without a win, he finally took home his Oscar in 2002 for the original song “If I Didn’t Have You” from “Monsters, Inc.”

    This year, Newman is back in the thick of the discussion as he has offered up a new original tune for “Toy Story 3,” namely, “We Belong Together.”  The song plays over the closing credits (though I could have sworn I remembered it in the context of the narrative), so that could make it tough.  But I have a hunch it’ll be fine.

    The song is standard Newman/Pixar fare.  There’s certainly no reinvention of the wheel going on here and the song is incredibly simplistic (as it would be in a film largely aimed at children).  But I don’t imagine all of that will really count against the track.  If nominated, it will be Newman’s 20th invitation to the dance.

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  • Calling all original song contenders

    As we get closer and closer to the film awards season, I thought maybe it was a good time to round up all the potential original song contenders.  It’s generally a good idea to keep track of these things, so let’s see what we have so far.

    One of the best bets is probably Randy Newman’s “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3.” As usual for Newman, it’s not the kind of song that dives too far beneath the surface, but it’s a delightful jingle that helped sum up one of the year’s biggest critical and popular hits, so it should be considered formidable.

    Speaking of animated films,“How to Train Your Dragon” has an original song, “Sticks & Stones,” from Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi Birgisson.  It’s a fast-paced bit of happiness that probably doesn’t have what it takes to push through to a nomination, but it’s in the field nevertheless.

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