Academy Awards
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In the 96-year history of the Academy Awards, just 15 films have won eight or more Oscars. Oppenheimer has a good chance of joining them when the 2024 Oscars are presented at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday (March 10). The three-hour drama is expected to win eight awards, including best picture, best director […]
The creative team behind the 2024 Oscars is lifting an idea from the 2009 Oscars, when they had five past winners in each of the four acting categories pay tribute to the current nominees before announcing this year’s winner.
In a press conference Wednesday (March 6) on Zoom, four days before the Oscars telecast on March 10, Raj Kapoor, executive producer and showrunner of the Oscars, said “I think one of the things we’re most excited about is what we call Fab Five. We did a deep dive into so many of the past Oscar shows, and even though we’ve been a part of previous shows, even though I think all of us have watched the show since we were kids, we always feel like we learn.
“So, we went back, we did a deep dive into Oscars history, and one of the best moments that we loved, and has not been repeated till this year, was the year that Bill Condon [screenwriter of Gods and Monsters and Chicago] did it, and it was this lovely storytelling. And, again, it came down to connection. It was past winners speaking to present nominees, and just that lovely connection and that human interaction.
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“And so we thought we’d love to try it again. So, we tasked Erin [Irwin], who is one of our other producers, and she’s done an amazing job. … And so during the show in our acting categories, five former winners will present to the five nominees, and we think it’s just going to be a great piece of storytelling and connection at home that you will maybe get to hear these personal stories and these personal interactions, and you get to root for your favorite actor or actress in this really personal way. So, we’re really excited to have that come to life.”
If you missed the 2009 show, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Anjelica Huston, Eva Marie Saint and Tilda Swinton presented the nominees for best supporting actress.
Alan Arkin, Cuba Gooding Jr., Joel Grey, Kevin Kline and Christopher Walken presented the nominees for best supporting actor.
Halle Berry, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren and Shirley MacLaine presented the nominees for best actress.
Adrien Brody, Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley presented the nominees for best actor.
While the Academy has not yet announced who will be presenting which awards this year, these announced presenters have won in these categories. (Jessica Lange and Al Pacino have won in both lead and support. We put them where they seemed likeliest to land on Sunday).
Best actress: Sally Field, Charlize Theron, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Yeoh
Best actor: Ben Kingsley, Forest Whitaker, Nicolas Cage, Brendan Fraser, Matthew McConaughey
Best supporting actress: Mary Steenburgen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Regina King, Rita Moreno, Lupita Nyong’o, Octavia Spencer
Best supporting actor: Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Ke Huy Quan, Sam Rockwell, Al Pacino
In addition, the show has booked Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, stars of the upcoming film Wicked, as presenters. It’s a good bet they’ll do something together.
Rickey Minor, who is serving as music director of the Oscars for the fourth time in the past six years, was also on the panel. He was asked how he picks the music to play on the show, and explained some of the obvious factors – looking for a range of emotions and a diversity of source material. “But it’s about the energy of the room,” he said. “So, we have a plan, but I’ll call an audible just like that. You know, if I feel the audience needs something that needs to pump them up, I’ve got it right in the pocket. And so the band’s always ready. And I think they love it, too, because they never know what’s coming.”
Kapoor added, “This year, the orchestra is live on our stage. So, we are celebrating 42 incredible musicians that will be seen throughout the evening. … And we are treating the music performances very different. Sometimes, it’s full orchestration. Sometimes, they may be a little bit more intimate. And that will lend itself when we get to the In Memoriam performance.”
In response to a question from the session’s moderator, Rotten Tomatoes’ awards editor Jacqueline Coley, Kapoor spoke highly of Jimmy Kimmel, who is hosting the Oscars for the fourth time.
“I could not speak more highly of anybody than Jimmy,” he said. “He’s been an amazing partner, and he has just been so involved from the very beginning in the summer. He’s involved in all our creative decisions, from the presenters to pairings to the pace of the show to musical performances. Like, Jimmy’s touch, he is a producer on this show. He is one of our partners, and he has a really strong creative vision. And I think what makes him so great is just his investment. We don’t just get him for rehearsals this week. We get him for months before.”
The panelists were asked which was their favorite Oscar show they had worked on. Molly McNearney, executive producer of the Oscar telecast and an executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, had a surprising answer – the show seven years ago that was capped by the biggest debacle in Oscar history, when La La Land was named best picture before the award was presented to the rightful winner, Moonlight.
“This might be an unpopular answer, but when there was the mix-up with the envelope, I actually enjoyed the spontaneity of a moment because when Jimmy is in an uncomfortable situation, that’s where he’s most comfortable,” McNearney said. “And I think that when there’s moments you don’t expect in a live television broadcast, I think we’re in really great hands with this team.”
McNearney also spoke to the process of writing the monologue. “You know, the monologue is scripted,” she said. “It gets reworked up until the very last minute. He will obsess now over every joke. He has pages and pages and pages. He has a rough outline of the monologue that I read this morning that I think is brilliant. I know it will change six more times before Sunday. But then there are those moments in the show that are completely unscripted. There have been several in every show he’s ever hosted. And those are the moments I love the most because we get to be surprised.”
Katy Mullan, executive producer, spoke to an interactive portion on this year’s show involving a QR code. “One of the really successful parts of last year’s show was profiles of a lot of the nominees, and they got huge, huge views from global audiences. So, at the end of each act, there will be a QR code, and people can scan that and go to the Academy website where they can watch profiles of a ton of the people that are nominated. They’re beautifully made by The Academy team and really insightful.”
“And there’s also an ability to go and watch the speeches from the Governors Awards, which happened earlier this year. … It was a really, really memorable night. So, if you want to go and do a deep dive during the commercial breaks or after the Oscars, all of that content will be there.”
Rickey Minor has been busy lately, serving as music director of the Kennedy Center Honors in December and the Primetime Emmys in January, but there was never any question that he’d say yes to serving as music director of the 96th Oscars, which are set for Sunday (March 10).
“This is the crème de la crème,” he says of the Oscars. “We’re closing in on 100 years of this, so for me, this is an honor. Before me, there were many [music directors] and there will be many more after, but for now I am basking in the opportunity to create and to add value however I can.”
This will be the fourth time in six years that Minor has served as the Oscars’ music director. In the pandemic year of 2021, when a scaled-down show was held at Union Station in Los Angeles, Questlove took over as music director. The following year, Adam Blackstone got the nod, owing to a long-standing relationship he had with that year’s producers, Will Packer and Shayla Cowan.
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In addition to the Kennedy Center Honors and Primetime Emmys, Minor recently worked on the Governor’s Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the In Memoriam spot on the Grammys. His main contribution to the Grammy segment was the spot in which Stevie Wonder paid tribute to Tony Bennett. As he mentions Bennett, whom he calls “my hero,” Minor pulls a Bennett poster off the wall of his office to serve as a visual aid.
“Now that the strike is over, the year just kind of exploded,” Minor says of all this work, adding, “It’s a good problem to have.”
So, after these back-to-back-back shows, if he got another offer for a job after the Oscars, would he decline and say he needs a break? Don’t count on it. “I will show up at the opening of an envelope,” he says with a smile.
“I love this business and I love making music. So, I literally just drop everything and go and do it. For me, it’s a gift. Most people don’t get to wake up every day and do what they love.”
Asked what other music directors he learned the most from, Minor immediately mentions Quincy Jones, whose many trailblazing achievements include being the first Black music director on the Oscars.
“To see what he has done, and then for him to take me on and mentor me and help me through the business part of it [means a lot]. I would play for free because I love it so much,” he raves. “He said, ‘Don’t ever say that again. That’s the first rule.’ Now when people call me and say, ‘Hey, I’m just checking to see are you free on this day,’ I say ‘I’m never free. I’m available but I’m never free.’ He taught me the ins-and-outs of the business and how to prepare.
“There are so many more, including Harold Wheeler,” Minor continues. “As a young bass player, I did a lot of awards shows. When I became music director for Whitney Houston, I didn’t know what to ask for or how deals were done, so he helped me find an attorney to do the deal. I didn’t know the business side.”
Minor also credits Bill Ross and Bill Conti. “All those guys I worked under and really learned from watching.”
Minor learned that he had the job on the Oscars in October, but his appointment wasn’t announced until Feb. 9, as part of a larger announcement of this year’s Oscar team.
As music director, Minor takes charge of finding walk-on music for people booked on the show and music leading into and out of commercials. “We have some pieces from France, from Africa — from all over the world,” he says. Minor is trying to work in some songs that are new for the Oscars, as well as favorite pieces by such composers as Henry Mancini, Jones and Lalo Schifrin.
This year’s Oscars will include performances of all five nominated songs. Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson will perform “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie. Billie Eilish and Finneas will perform “What Was I Made For? From Barbie. Becky G will perform “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot. Jon Batiste will perform “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony. Scott George and The Osage Singers will perform “Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon.
In addition, Ariana Grande, Bad Bunny and Zendaya have been announced as presenters, among others. Asked if Grande will also sing on the program, Minor is coy. “I want to hear her sing always,” Minor said. “She can sing the phone book and she’ll get your attention.”
Minor has received 15 Emmy Award nominations for outstanding music direction, winning twice. He has been nominated three times for his work on the Oscars, three times for The Kennedy Center Honors, twice for the Grammy Awards and twice for “Grammy Salutes” specials to the Bee Gees and Aretha Franklin. He has also been nominated for the following specials: Genius: A Night for Ray Charles, An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Chaka Khan, Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles: In Performance at the White House, Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America and Celebrating America – An Inauguration Night Special.
The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC, and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
Foreigner is having a moment. The band, which is currently nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, is also being saluted in an ad promoting the Oscars, which are set for March 10. The ad tweaks the title of Foreigner’s 1977 breakthrough hit “Feels Like the First Time” with the copy […]
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That’s a fast turnaround, but one songwriting team and one individual songwriter did even better, winning back-to-back Oscars.
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Diane Warren has entered rarified Oscar territory. On Jan. 23, she was nominated for best original song for the seventh year in a row, for her song “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot. That’s the longest continuous streak of nominations in this category since Sammy Cahn was nominated eight years in a row from 1954-61. […]
Barbie director Greta Gerwig and star Margot Robbie were famously snubbed in the 2024 Oscar nominations, which were announced on Tuesday (Jan. 23). On Wednesday, they heard from a woman who knows a thing or two about having to deal with a crushing disappointment: Hillary Clinton. “Greta and Margot,” Clinton began her message to her […]
For the most part, the nominations for the 2024 Oscars went as expected. Oppenheimer and Barbie received best picture nods, as did such favorites as The Holdovers, Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon. Two songs from Barbie were nominated for best original song – “I’m Just Ken” (written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt) […]
They’re both floating on cloud nine! Billie Eilish and brother Finneas‘ “What Was I Made For?” from the Barbie soundtrack earned a 2024 Academy Award nomination for best original song on Tuesday (Jan. 23), and the siblings are delighted by the honor. “We are so incredibly honored to receive a nomination for ‘What Was I […]
Two songs from Barbie were nominated for best original song on Tuesday (Jan. 23) – “I’m Just Ken” (written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt) and “What Was I Made For?” (written by Billie Eilish and Finneas). A third song from the blockbuster film, “Dance the Night” (on which Ronson and Wyatt collaborated with Dua Lipa and Caroline Ailin) failed to advance to the finals. (Based on a 2008 rule change, no more than two songs from a film can be nominated.)
Barbie is the first film to spawn two best song nominees since La La Land seven years ago. “City of Stars” and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” were both nominated. “City of Stars” went on to win. Unlike with Barbie, both songs were written by the same team – composer Justin Hurwitz and lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
“What Was I Made For?” is also a Grammy nominee for song of the year.
Oscar perennial Diane Warren was nominated with “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot. This is her 15th best original song nomination, a benchmark that only five songwriters have reached. This is the seventh consecutive year in which Warren has been nominated, the longest streak in this category since Sammy Cahn was nominated eight years running, from 1954 to 1961.
Warren has yet to win a competitive Oscar. She is one of just five people in Oscar history to amass so many nominations without a win. She joins sound mixer Greg P. Russell (16 nods), the late art director Roland Anderson (15), composer Thomas Newman (15) and the late composer Alex North (15).
Jon Batiste, who won an Oscar three years ago for collaborating on the Soul score with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, landed his first best original song nod for “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony, a documentary about a year in his life. Batiste co-wrote the song with Dan Wilson. The pair also have a Grammy song of the year nomination, but for a different song, “Butterfly.” American Symphony was passed over for a nod for best documentary feature.
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon was a surprise nominee. The song is credited to The Osage Tribe. Many expected Lenny Kravitz’s “Road to Freedom” to be nominated, but it fell short.
In the best original score category, Ludwig Göransson was nominated for his score for Oppenheimer. The Swedish composer won in this category five years ago for scoring Black Panther. He was nominated for an Oscar last year for co-writing a song for the sequel.
John Williams was nominated for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. This is Williams’ record-extending 49th nod in a scoring category and his fourth for a film in the Indiana Jones franchise. In total, it is Williams’ 54th Oscar nomination (the other five are for best original song), which pulls him closer to Walt Disney’s all-time record of 59 for an individual.
The late Robbie Robertson was nominated for Killers of the Flower Moon. This was the 12th and last Martin Scorsese film that Robertson worked on. Robertson, who died in June at age 80, is the first composer to be nominated in this category posthumously since the legendary Bernard Herrmann was cited in 1976 for both Obsession and Taxi Driver.
Laura Karpman received her first Oscar nod for American Fiction. Karpman is the fifth woman to receive a nomination in this category in the last 25 years, following Rachel Portman (The Cider House Rules and Chocolat), Mica Levi (Jackie), Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker), Germaine Franco (Encanto). Note: Levi, who was shortlisted this year for her score for The Zone of Interest, came out as non-binary subsequent to her nod for Jackie.
English musician Jerskin Fendrix landed his first Oscar nod for scoring Poor Things. Scores expected to make the cut that fell short were Daniel Pemberton’s Spider Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Anthony Willis’ Saltburn.
The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, and will be televised live on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel is hosting for the fourth time.
Here’s a complete list of the songs that were nominated for best original song, followed by a complete list of the shortlisted songs that were not nominated.
Nominated Songs
“It Never Went Away”Jon Batiste, Dan WilsonAmerican Symphony, Netflix
“I’m Just Ken”Mark Ronson, Andrew WyattBarbie, Warner Bros.
“What Was I Made For?”Billie Eilish, FINNEASBarbie, Warner Bros.
“The Fire Inside”Diane WarrenFlamin’ Hot, Hulu/Searchlight Pictures
“Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)”The Osage TribeKillers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films/Paramount Pictures)
Shortlisted Songs That Were Not Nominated
“Dear Alien (Who Art in Heaven)”Jarvis Cocker, Richard Hawley, Wes AndersonAsteroid City, Focus Features
“Dance the Night”Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson, Andrew WyattBarbie, Warner Bros.
“Keep It Movin’”Halle Bailey, Denisia Andrews, Brittany Coney, Morten RistorpThe Color Purple, Warner Bros.
“Superpower (I)”The-DreamThe Color Purple, Warner Bros.
“High Life”Gary Clark, John Carney, Eve HewsonFlora and Son, Apple
“Meet in the Middle”Gary Clark, John Carney, Eve Hewson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John ArdiffFlora and Son, Apple
“Can’t Catch Me Now”Dan Nigro, Olivia RodrigoThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Lionsgate
“Quiet Eyes”Zach Dawes, Sharon Von EttenPast Lives, A24
“Road to Freedom”Lenny KravitzRustin, Netflix
“Am I Dreaming”A$AP Rocky, Metro Boomin, Michael Dean, Peter Lee Johnson, Roisee, ScriptpluggSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures
Here’s a complete list of the scores that were nominated for best original score, followed by a list of the shortlisted scores that were not nominated.
Nominated Scores
American Fiction (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM)Laura Karpman
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Disney)John Williams
Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple)Robbie Robertson
Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)Ludwig Göransson
Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures)Jerskin Fendrix
Shortlisted Scores That Were Not Nominated
American Symphony (Netflix)Jon Batiste
Barbie (Warner Bros.)Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt
The Boy and the Heron (GKids)Joe Hisaishi
The Color Purple (Warner Bros.)Kris Bowers
Elemental (Pixar)Thomas Newman
The Holdovers (Focus Features)Mark Orton
Saltburn (Amazon/MGM)Anthony Willis
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)Daniel Pemberton
Society of the Snow (Netflix)Michael Giacchino
The Zone of Interest (A24)Mica Levi