Oscars 2023: Best Original Score Predictions

We’ll be updating all of our Oscar predictions throughout the season, so stay tuned to IndieWire for the latest news on the 2023 Oscar race. The nomination round of voting will take place between January 12 and January 17, 2023, with the official Oscar nominations announced on January 24, 2023. The final vote will take place between March 2 and 7, 2023. Finally the 95. Oscar Award The telecast will air on Sunday, March 12th and live on ABC at 8:00 PM ET/ 5:00 PM PT.

Check out our initial thoughts on what to expect at the 95th anniversary Oscars here.

State of the species

The Oscar nominations for best original picture were led by 90-year-old John Williams on Tuesday, who received his 53rd nomination for Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans.” The rest of the field includes two-time “La La Land” winner (music and original song) Justin Hurwitz for “Babylon,” three-time nominee Carter Burwell for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” two-time nominee Volker Bertelmann. for ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and newcomer Son Lux for ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.

Connected

Connected

The nomination for experimental rock trio Rafiq Bhatia, Ryan Lott and Ian Chang is a rare distinction for a branch that tends to honor scores by unique composers. Bhatia and Chang’s nominations preserve some of the diversity reflected in the Best Original Score shortlist — which included two women (Hildur Guðnadóttir and Chanda Dancy) and three black composers (Dancy, Michael Abels and Terence Blanchard) — but otherwise lack . from the final list of candidates. Also shortlisted but missing the final cut: Ludwig Göransson, who won’t be repeating his “Black Panther” win in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and Alexandre Desplat, a two-time winner responsible for the score of “Guillermo del.” Toro’s Pinocchio.”

Hurwitz was the perceived front-runner, but the dynamic has changed significantly as voting now shifts to the Academy. “EEAAO” has suddenly become a Best Picture favorite and is riding a wave of momentum with 11 nominations — and Son Lux , which perfectly captures the mood of the multiverse with its wildly unusual score, could ride the wave all the way to the Oscars. But there’s also the emotional factor of Williams to consider. He could still get his sixth Oscar even if he canceled his plans to retire. “All Quiet” — the wild card — is riding its momentum with nine nominations (including six artisans, with “Elvis” as co-lead). Bertelmann’s score captures the horrors of war in a very fresh and compelling way, and a sweep of ‘All Quiet’ would be useful. Burwell’s score for “Banshees” is haunting and transportive, but may be overlooked for being too meditative. Which brings us back to Hurwitz, who, despite the divisive response to “Babylon,” may still win. His timeless jazz score is the key and was a vital part of the editing strategy.

“Babylon” is the fifth collaboration between composer Hurwitz and Damien Chazelle, which takes viewers back to the wild west days of Hollywood in the late 20s. The composer wanted to give “Babylon” its own musical universe: a sound that would not be so anachronistic as to make anyone stand out from the ’20s, but at the same time far from the strange jazz of the time. It consisted of wailing trumpets, screaming saxophones, hints of rock ‘n’ roll riffs and modern house beats. Some cues are scored to a band led by Jovan Adepo’s character Sidney, others to a manic 100-piece band – some scenes are even backed by circus sounds.

For “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Son Lux created a wall-to-wall, genre-bending score—from synth beats to Chinese opera, yet still coalescing into a cohesive whole. The key was connecting the intimate moments with everything else, as well as avoiding a sense of musical monotony during lengthy fight sequences, including experimenting with Chinese drums and tuned gongs. Lott is also nominated for Best Original Song, with the Son Lux/David Byrne/Mitski team, ‘This is A Life’ featuring Top 40 heavyweights Rihanna and Lady Gaga, perennial nominee Diane Warren and the worldwide smash ‘Naatu’ . Naatu’ from ‘RRR’.

In “The Fabelmans,” Williams — historically and actively the most nominated composer — capitalized on his very personal collaboration with Spielberg (29 films over 50 years). Although the film relies heavily on the source music, Williams, who knew the director and his late mother very well, inspired him to compose one of his most beautiful piano-based themes, built around the strong bond between aspiring director Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) and his recreational film. enthusiastic mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams), who was a talented concert pianist. In addition, the composer sprinkled in period nods during the making of Sammy’s films (including piano rag and surf guitar).

As McDonagh’s favorite composer, Burwell brought a fairytale feel to “The Banshees of Inisherin,” set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland in 1923 and involving two lifelong friends, Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm. (Brendan Gleeson), whose sudden breakup has dire consequences. This choice of music plays off Pádraic’s childish nature, makes the physical violence more allegorical, and makes the island and its inhabitants mystical. While the director did not want stereotypical ‘Irish’ music, Burwell adopted deep wind instruments such as bass flute and clarinet to help convey the windswept island of Inisherin.

As Berger’s favorite composer, Bertelmann provided almost atonal music that reflects the harrowing emotional state of young soldier Paul (Felix Kammerer) in the final months of World War I, as well as the horrors of the war itself. Bertelmann uses acute, staccato drumbeats as well as ominous spare chords, building the entire score around a prominent bass. He also makes excellent use of the vibrating metal reeds of his great-grandmother’s renovated harmonium.

Below is a list of the candidates in order of probability of victory:

Son Lux (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
John Williams (“The Fabelmans”)
Volker Bertelmann (“Quiet on the Western Front”)
Justin Hurwitz (“Babylon”)
Carter Burwell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)

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