Academy Award Fraud

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by mousepod

(I hope GD isn't listening)

Danny Elfman

Meh, I swallowed that pill long ago. He's gone the way of Burton in terms of his scoring. Such is life.

But I agree with iSm that there's a difference between John Williams reusing some 3-note sequence at the end of a some refrain in a new score vs. a copy and paste of the whole melody.

But, the key rule is 5-d and the definition of "diluted". Is using it once, but during a pivotal moment, enough to brand whole score, beginning to end, as "diluted"?

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

But, the key rule is 5-d and the definition of "diluted". Is using it once, but during a pivotal moment, enough to brand whole score, beginning to end, as "diluted"?

Well, if one cue is from Deadwood and another (as per mousepod) from The Insider, I'd say Santaolallo's score for Babel is sufficiently diluted by his earlier compositions to be disqualified from Oscar competition.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Well, if one cue is from Deadwood and another (as per mousepod) from The Insider, I'd say Santaolallo's score for Babel is sufficiently diluted by his earlier compositions to be disqualified from Oscar competition.

If he had used Happy Birthday instead, would that have been enough to dilute it? That's been used in thousands of different places, but is 2 minutes of re-used music in a 120 minute score enough to disqualify it? If not, what's the dividing line? Obviously changing one note of a score isn't enough to be original and reusing 3 notes isn't enough to be not original. Is the pivotal-ness of the scene a factor or not?

In the end, it's a judgment call on the Academy's part. They obviously felt that one segment of recognizable music did not invalidate the entire 120 minutes as being a original work "as a whole". You obviously disagree and feel that the prominent use of the pre-existing music is enough to taint the whole. I've seen neither Deadwood nor Babel (nor The Insider), so I have no point of reference. But in terms of blatant rule violation, I don't see one as it's a subjective definition.


(ETA: The cue from The Insider is the same one that we're talking about. It's in all three)

[mousepod]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

The cue from The Insider is the same one that we're talking about. It's in all three

That makes it even funnier.

[Not Afraid]

I'm with you on Elfman, too.

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

I'm with you on Elfman, too.

I loved Eflman scores from Pee Wee's Big Adventure up through Batman. Then he lost me, which is sad, I thought some of his work was just great. He lifted up the Burton films (which always seem to crap out and lose focus and steam about 2/3 way through them)

I'm a big Howard Shore fan and don't get me started on the old classic film composers, gosh but some of the scores are just great.

I've not seen Babel yet and as for Brokeback, all I can remember is the basic theme and that is from it being drilled into my head from watching all the trailer parodies last year

But, if the rules are such as iSm spells out, then I agree the award is not deserved. So I guess you blame the nominating committee?

Korngold, Steiner, Tiomkin, Hermann, Rozsa and Waxman all had a unique (to them) style and sound. But I can remember almost none of them borrowing or using themes from an earlier score.

[Gemini Cricket]

I thought he deserved two Oscars for Brokeback alone. Haunting, unforgettable...

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

I thought he deserved two Oscars for Brokeback alone. Haunting, unforgettable...

Really? I'll be damned if I can remember that score and I saw it well after the theatrical run

[Gemini Cricket]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

Really? I'll be damned if I can remember that score and I saw it well after the theatrical run

I'm not surprised. It was all over the TV: the ads, the parodies, the clips for awards shows... But since you don't watch TV...
And, of course, there's the Tony Moran remixed club version. I have that one. It makes me laugh.

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by Gemini Cricket

And, of course, there's the Tony Moran remixed club version. I have that one. It makes me laugh.

Is this online somewhere?