Last night, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), held its annual Film & TV Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Alexandre Desplat was honored with the Icon Award, which is bestowed on composers who have made significant contributions to the realm of film and television music. The composer who received his first Academy Award earlier this year for Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and whose other scoring credits include The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Godzilla, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Zero Dark Thirty and The Tree of Life was presented the award by the night’s hosts, BMI Vice President, Film/TV Relations, Doreen Ringer-Ross and BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill. Several of Desplat’s regular collaborators congratulated him via a tribute video, including Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen, Tamara Drewe), Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) and Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, The Fantastic Mr. Fox).
Additionally, Chris Montan was honored with the BMI Classic Contribution Award for his distinguished three decade career at Disney, including his current role as President of Walt Disney Music, a position he’s maintained for twenty years. Under his guidance, the Walt Disney Studios has garnered an unprecedented 42 Musical Academy Award nominations, and 16 Academy Awards in the “Best Song,” “Best Score,” and “Best Musical” categories for such films as The Lion King, Frozen, The Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Monsters Inc. and Aladdin. Several of his colleagues including composer Randy Newman (Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Cars), songwriter Phil Collins (Tarzan, Brother Bear) and Pixar/Disney Animation’s John Lasseter congratulated him via a tribute video.
In addition, the composers of music featured in the past year’s top-grossing films, top-rated primetime network television series and highest-ranking cable network programs were also celebrated. Among the composers who accepted their awards in person were Brian Tyler (Furious 7, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Scorpion, Hawaii Five-0), Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones, Person of Interest), Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game, Godzilla, Unbroken), Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy), Mark Mothersbaugh (22 Jump Street, Regular Show), Atticus Ross (Gone Girl), Michael Andrews (Tammy, Neighbors), Aaron Zigman (The Other Woman), Nathaniel Mechaly (Taken 3), Nick Urata (Paddington), Christopher Lennertz (Think Like a Man Too), Jake Monaco (Let’s Be Cops), Joseph S. DeBeasi (American Sniper), Andrew Kawczynski (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Snuffy Walden (Under the Dome), Rob Simonsen (Blue Bloods), Blake Neely (The Flash, The Mentalist), John Frizzell (Stalker), Nathan Barr (True Blood), Mike Post (Law & Order: SVU), Mark Isham (American Crime), Keith Power (Hawaii Five-O), Ben Decter (CSI: Cyber), Tony Morales (Scorpion), Fil Eisler (Empire), Brian Kirk (NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans), Rob Cairns (The Bachelor), Dino Meneghin (Teen Wolf), Alec Puro (The Fosters), Charlie Clouser (American Horror Story), Mac Quayle (American Horror Story), Chad Fischer (Scandal), Ed Shearmur (Devious Maids) and Gwendolyn Sanford & Regina Spektor (Orange Is the New Black). For the full list of winners, click here. Also in attendance at the event were previous BMI honorees Mychael Danna, David Newman, Cliff Martinez, George S. Clinton, Richard Sherman, Christopher Young and Lalo Schifrin. Check back on this page for video highlights from the event.
