The 89th Academy Awards ceremony was held last night. Among the music-related highlights was Justin Hurwitz receiving his first two Oscars for his music for La La Land and lyricists Benj Pasek & Justin Paul receiving the award for the song City of Stars from Damien Chazelle’s musical. Check out the backstage press room interview with the composer/songwriters after the jump. The acceptance speeches will be added to this posting later. Also embedded are the live performances of all the nominated songs, City of Stars and Audition from La La Land by John Legend, Can’t Stop the Feeling from Trolls by Justin Timberlake, The Empty Chair from Jim: The James Foley Story by Sting and How Far I’ll Go from Moana by & Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Tag: Academy Awards
Justin Hurwitz Wins Oscar for ‘La La Land’
Justin Hurwitz has received the Academy Award for his score for Damien Chazelle’s La La Land. The other nominated composers in the Best Original Score category were Mica Levi (Jackie), Dustin O’Halloran & Hauschka (Lion), Nicholas Britell (Moonlight) and Thomas Newman (Passengers). Hurwitz also received a second Oscar for the original song City of Stars from the movie musical and shared the honor with lyricists Justin Paul and Benj Pasek.
Harold Wheeler to Return as Oscar Music Director
Academy Awards producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd today announced that Harold Wheeler was selected as music director for this year’s 89th Oscars. He returns for his fourth Oscar telecast, his second as music director following last year’s ceremony. Wheeler is best known as an orchestrator, composer, conductor, arranger and record producer and has received numerous Emmy and Tony Award nominations. His television credits include the People’s Choice Awards, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and the AFI’s 100 Years… series.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sting, Justin Timberlake & John Legend to Perform at 89th Oscars Ceremony
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sting, Justin Timberlake and 2014 Oscar winner John Legend will perform at the 89th Oscars ceremony, show producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd announced today. Auli’i Cravalho will join Miranda to perform his Oscar-nominated song How Far I’ll Go written for Moana. Sting will perform The Empty Chair from Jim: The James Foley Story, the Oscar nominated song he co-wrote with three-time Oscar nominee J. Ralph. Timberlake will perform his Oscar-nominated song Can’t Stop The Feeling from the movie Trolls and Legend will perform both Audition (The Fools Who Dream) and City of Stars from La La Land, music by Justin Hurwitz; lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
89th Academy Awards Nominations Announced
Best Original Score:
- Jackie – Mica Levi
- La La Land – Justin Hurwitz
- Lion – Dustin O’Halloran & Hauschka
- Moonlight – Nicholas Britell
- Passengers – Thomas Newman
Academy Announces 91 Original Songs in Oscar Race
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the short list of 91 songs that are in contention for nominations in the Original Song category for the 89th Academy Awards.During the nominations process, all voting members of the Music Branch will receive a Reminder List of works submitted in the category and a compilation of the song clips. Members will be asked to watch the clips and then vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements in the category. The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award. A maximum of two songs may be nominated from any one film. The nominations will be announced on January 24, 2017.
The Academy Celebrates the Music of Movies
The Academy Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced three programs to take place in August that will highlight the art of film music. On Wednesday, August 17, Academy governor Michael Giacchino (Up, Star Trek, Inside Out) and animation director David Silverman will host the West Coast restoration premiere of the 1930 classic King of Jazz at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Click here for more information. On Monday, August 29, the Academy will celebrate the life and legacy of Prince with a screening of Purple Rain in 35mm, also at the organization’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Laura Karpman Elected to Academy Music Branch Board
Composer Laura Karpman has been elected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 2016–17 Board of Governors. She joins Charles Bernstein and Michael Giacchino who are the other two governors of the branch. It will mark her first term serving on the music branch board. Karpman’s scoring credits include the 2009 feature The Tournament, 2013’s Black Nativity, the Steven Spielberg-produced mini-series Taken and WGN America’s Underground. The Academy’s 17 branches are each represented by three governors, who may serve up to three consecutive three-year terms.
Fernando Velazquez, Shigeru Umebayashi, Marcelo Zarvos, Antonio Pinto & More Invited to Join Academy
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 683 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures to join the organization. Among the invited artists this year a number of film composers, including Fernando Velazquez (Crimson Peak, The Impossible, The Orphanage), Marcelo Zarvos (The Good Shepherd, Enough Said, The Door in the Floor), Shigeru Umebayashi (House of Flying Daggers, The Grandmasters, 2046), Antonio Pinto (City of God, Lord of War, Amy), Joseph Trapanese (Oblivion, Straight Outta Compton, Insurgent), Deborah Lurie (Dear John, 9, An Unfinished Life), Marcus Miller (About Last Night, Boomerang, I Think I Love My Wife), Raphael Saadiq (Black Nativity), Lesley Barber (Manchester by the Sea). Heather McIntosh (Z for Zachariah, Compliance), Kathryn Bostick (Dear White People), Carl Davis (The Understudy), Kathryn Bostick (Dear White People), Carl Davis (The Understudy), Fitzgerald Diggs (RZA) (The Man with the Iron Fists), Germaine Franco (Dope), Wendy Blackstone (Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger) and Peter Golub (Frozen River, The Great Debaters).
Video Highlights from the 88th Academy Awards
The 88th Academy Awards ceremony was held last night. Among the music-related highlights was Ennio Morricone receiving his first competitive Oscar for his music for The Hateful Eight and Sam Smith & Jimmy Napes who won the award for the song Writing’s on the Wall from Spectre. Check out the acceptance speeches by the winners, as well as a backstage press room interview with Smith & Napes after the jump. Also embedded are the live performances of the winning song by Smith, and two of the other nominated songs, Til It Happens to You from The Hunting Ground by Lady Gaga, and Earned It from Fifty Shades of Grey by The Weeknd.