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Dark Knight Composers Eligible Again; Still Getting The Shaft
By Scott Gwin: 2008-12-09 20:56:31
There's been buzz over the last several weeks over the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the score from The Dark Knight. For awhile it was looking like James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer's team of composers and artists wasn't going to qualify. This week sources are reporting that the score is back in the running.
The Academy has officially reversed its decision despite executive director Bruce Davis' statement last week. The LA Times quoted him as saying that he "sees this as an award, like cinematography or directing, where you want to award a single creator. This isn't like visual effects. Except for extraordinary circumstances, it's an award that should go to one person." Of course, he said that back when there were five names on the line. When that fact got the score excluded the folks at Warner Brothers scrambled to get all the little people to sign documents saying they didn't do all that much and that Zimmer and Howard really deserve the credit. Now that there are just the two of them it's apparently less of a problem. The score for The Dark Knight is a solid achievement, but if you ask me both Shore and Zimmer are getting the shaft. Their collaboration on Dark Knights' predecessor Batman Begins was eliminated in 2005 on a similar technicality that almost cost them this year, but there wasn't a fierce battle on their behalf at that point. Why not? I find the score to Batman Begins to be a superior achievement, both in how it fits with the film and as a stand alone composition. Where was the battle to get that score included in the running? Well, there wasn't general buzz around Batman Begins like there has been around Dark Knight and certainly way less talk of Oscars. This time around it feels like Warner Brothers is scrimping, pimping and fighting to get every scrap of Oscar gold it can. The fact that Howard and Zimmer are benefitting this time around is wonderful. The fact that they're only getting support because the studio is desperate for attention is depressing. I'll be honest: I don't think The Dark Knight is really all that Oscar worthy, though if there are any elements that deserve attention it's certainly in the technical and sound/score departments. Don't mistake me, I think it's a great movie, but the only really amazing achievement there is that someone is making comic books into movies that are more than just popcorn flicks. I know I'm probably in the minority on that, but it will be interesting to see what really makes the lists when the nominations roll out. I'm not expecting to see Howard and Zimmer up there, but I'll be happy to be wrong.
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