One Category at a Time: Original Score

Along with Best Art Direction, this is the only other craft category that I think we can assume is locked up. And I have to say that I rather like the lineup, myself. Even with the silly disqualification of Drive and the inevitable snubs of Hanna and The Ides of March, the music branch still managed to pin down five of the year's best scores.

CAS nominees

The Cinema Audio Society nominees for 2011 are:

Hanna (Roland Winke, Christopher Scarabosio, Craig Berkey, Andrew Dudman)
Hugo (John Midgley, Tom Fleischman, Simon Rhodes)
Moneyball (Ed Novick, Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco, Brad Haenel)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Lee Orloff, Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes, Alan Meyerson)
Super 8 (Mark Ulano, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Dan Wallin)

We can usually count on the CAS to throw a curveball into the Best Sound Mixing race. Last year, they nominated Shutter Island when no one was looking, correlative to this year's surprise nominations for Moneyball and Joe Wright's Hanna.

Transformers shafted by CAS. Bumblebee doesn't like the sound of that.

But the surprise inclusions aren't nearly as informative as the surprise snubs. Transformers' unjustifiable omission is a discouraging sign. Last year, the guild prompted minor outrage by ignoring TRON Legacy's sensational mix, a film which then proceeded to be blanked by the Academy (although it did pop up in Sound Editing).
It may be that Transformers is on the bubble here more than I would have imagined.

Instead, the critically trashed blockbuster they decided to go with was the fourth Pirates installment, which gives me an uneasy vibe. Something's been tickling my mind these last couple of weeks that Pirates might end up with an unexpectedly strong showing in the Sound/Sound/Effects categories. It already feels like a threat to swipe a vfx nomination, and this mention for its sound only scaffolds its hopes. The Motion Picture Sound Editors announce their nominees tomorrow, perhaps lending some clarity to this murky situation.

My Awards nominations: Original Score

My options for the best Original Score of the year:

The Adventures of Tintin (John Williams):

Busy orchestrations with lots of jazzy ornaments mixed in for distinction, actually making it a closer cousin of Williams' Catch Me If You Can than Indiana Jones, but still with loads of exciting fast-paced compositions.

The Artist (Ludovic Bource):

Hard not to enjoy the romantic swells and antiquated whimsy of Bource's music. He has to become the voice of the entire picture, and he takes up the challenge with aplomb.

Hanna (The Chemical Brothers):

The hypnotic electronic rhythms are a key aural element to this stylized actioner, lending a unique sonic flavour to each scene in which it is used. Another notch on the belt of progressive scoring.

The Ides of March (Alexandre Desplat):

Quietly dissonant background strings masked by more obvious stoccatic beats, kinda like how the drama of dirty campaign managing is masked by the frontdrop posters, platforms, and politics.

War Horse (John Williams):

A sweeping, old school Williams score with melodious themes and robust arrangements. It basically comes down to whether or not you like old school Williams scores, and I do. I really do.

Just missed:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hugo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

More 2011 Reviews

Some more miniature reviews to add to the pile.