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Best Original Song is a category that is deeply significant to the Oscars, whether they want to admit it or not.
A long-standing category since the 7th Oscars, it provides a lot. It recognises that films are a medium beyond the visual. It embraces the fact that movies can have an impact beyond the silver screen and instead on wider culture. It allows musical stars to appear at the Oscars that would never otherwise. Performances of Best Original Song nominees provide structure variety to an Oscars broadcast that would otherwise just be speeches and skits.
This sounds good, right? But I have heard increasing arguments from both some Oscar watchers and some jaded viewers that maybe Best Original Song isn’t a good category and shouldn’t exist.
I don’t think the category is the fault, I just think the choices are ass. But what cemented my opinion was looking at just how better the Golden Globes nominations have been for this category. Through a combination of a voting body more willing to reward big celebrities to its detriment and benefit, less strict qualification rules, and a sense of populism, amazing songs that have slipped past the Oscar voter’s grasp have gotten nominations and even wins! Note that qualification rules are very different, so some films were simply ineligible whereas others were snubbed. Both taste and rules are a problem IMO for the Oscars.
While they aren’t perfect, especially for choosing winners, I nonetheless think a thread talking about this list offers answers and questions alike that are worth examining for future Oscars analysis.
A highlight excerpt list of some significant Globe nominees not nominated at the Oscar. I bold the ones I really love and adore personally.
- 1964 – From Russia With Love: From Russia With Love
- 1972 – Duelling Banjos: Deliverance (I find this a hilarious nominee)
- 1972 – Money, Money and Mein Herr: Cabaret
- 1976 – Car Wash: Car Wash
- 1977 – How Deep Is Your Love: Saturday Night Fever
- 1978 – Grease and You’re The One I Want: Grease
- 1979 – The Rose: The Rose
- 1980 – Call Me: American Gigolo
- 1982 – Cat People (Putting Out Fire): Cat People
- 1984 – When Doves Cry: Purple Rain
- 1985 – A View To A Kill: A View T0 A Kill
- 1987 – Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now: Mannequin
- 1988 – Kokomo: Cocktail (maybe the Oscars got it right)
- 1988 – Why Should I Worry?: Oliver and Company
- 1992 – Prince Ali: Aladdin
- 1992 – This Used To Be My Playground: A League of Their Own
- 1993 – You Made Me The Thief of Your Heart: In The Name Of The Father
- 1995 – Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me: Batman Forever
- 1997 – Tomorrow Never Dies – Tomorrow Never Dies
- 1998 – Reflection: Mulan
- 1998 – Uninvited: City of Angels
- 1999 – Beautiful Stranger: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
- 2002 – Die Another Day: Die Another Day
- 2003 – The Heart of Every Girl: Mona Lisa Smile
- 2004 – Million Voices: Hotel Rwanda
- 2oo4 – Old Habits Die Hard: Alfie
- 2005 – A Love That Will Never Grow Old: Brokeback Mountain
- 2006 – Song Of The Heart: Prince
- 2007 – Despedida: Shakira
- 2008 – The Wrestler: The Wrestler
- 2008 – I Thought I Lost You: Bolt
- 2009 – I See You: Avatar
- 2009 – Winter: Brothers
- 2010 – You Haven’t Seen The Last Of Me, Bound To You: Burlesque
- 2011 – The Living Proof: The Help
- 2011 – Hello, Hello: Gnomeo and Juliet
- 2012 – Safe And Sound: The Hunger Games
- 2013 – Please Mr. Kennedy: Inside Llewyn Davis
- 2014 – Big Eyes: Big Eyes
- 2014 – Yellow Flicker Beat: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
- 2015 – See You Again: Furious 7
- 2015 – Love Me Like You Do: Fifty Shades of Grey
- 2018 – Revelation: Boy Erased
- 2018 – Girl In The Movies: Dumplin’
- 2019 – Spirit: The Lion King
- 2019 – Beautiful Ghosts: Cats
ReplyFor Your Consideration:
Best Picture: Parasite
As a Taylor fan I always wondered why she was never taken in consideration for an Original Song nom at the Oscars. She had THREE golden globes nods over the years (Sweeter Than Fiction, Beautiful Ghosts and Safe And Sound, with the latter winning a Grammy for Best Song Written For Visual Media), so i always found strange that none of this songs, especially BG and SAS, never cracked the oscar nominations.
ReplyCopy URLAs a Taylor fan I always wondered why she was never taken in consideration for an Original Song nom at the Oscars. She had THREE golden globes nods over the years (Sweeter Than Fiction, Beautiful Ghosts and Safe And Sound, with the latter winning a Grammy for Best Song Written For Visual Media), so i always found strange that none of this songs, especially BG and SAS, never cracked the oscar nominations.
Beautiful Ghosts and Safe & Sound weren’t eligible, the former never made the final 15 shortlist and the latter was the second song in the end credits and was rendered inegligible due to newly implemented end credit rules (the first piece of music playing as the credits start is eligible — Arcade Fire’s “Abraham’s Daughter” was the hunger games song that was eligible)
ReplyCopy URLRE: Grease, they could only submit ONE song for the Oscars, and “Hopelessly Devoted To You” was their Oscar submission.
That makes sense considering ONJ only signed on to the film if Sandy got a solo song, and torch ballad country song is more “respectable” of an Oscar nominee than a sex duet.
ReplyCopy URLI can’t believe even the globes snubbed Young and Beautiful from The Great Gatsby
There was a claim that the song was stolen or something like that. Hence it wasn’t recognized in any shape or form
Regarding Taylor, she was eligible for the Oscar’s 4 times now but even if she is big enough she doesn’t have a narrative or a movie big enough to carry her to a nomination. Safe and Sound wasn’t eligible because of the rule that only the first song of the credits is eligible, I’m not sure what happened to Sweeter than Fiction but it never made it to the Oscar’s, IDWLF was the closest she got to a nom since it made the shortlist but never got a nom, Beautiful Ghosts was hurt by Cats, I’m 100% sure that the Academy wanted nothing to do with that movie, the release date of the song also hurt but nobody wanted anything to do with the movie. She just needs a good and big enough movie to carry her to a nomination and a win the same way it happened to Gaga.
ReplyCopy URLShe just needs a good and big enough movie to carry her to a nomination and a win the same way it happened to Gaga.
So she needs to star in BP nominee, become a favourite to win actress and have the song became a global #1 hit.
Guess it’s time for a remake of Yentyl with a splash of Country Strong.
ReplyCopy URLSo she needs to star in BP nominee, become a favourite to win actress and have the song became a global #1 hit. Guess it’s time for a remake of Yentyl with a splash of Country Strong.
Not what I meant but Gaga is one of the few pop stars to get an oscar so she was the only example I could think of. Although if she writes a song for a Disney movie or any big movie she could coattail.
But if talks for a Joni Mitchell movie happen again she could be in it since she was supposed to star in one a few years ago.
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