(December 17, 2015 – Los Angeles, CA) – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released a list of 112 scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2015 that are in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 88th Academy Awards®. Two Canadian composers, both previous Academy Award® winners are on the list. The father and son team of Mychael and Jeff Danna made the list for their work on the Disney/Pixar animated feature The Good Dinosaur, which opened in Canada on November 25th. Mychael Danna, usually associated with the films of Atom Egoyan, won his first Oscar® for the 2012 film The Life of Pi. And Howard Shore, usually associated with David Cronenberg is on the list for his work on Spotlight, which costars Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Liev Schreiber. Shore won his second and third Academy Awards® for his score for The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and Best Song, Into the West, from the same film. In 2007 he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work on Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises.
The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:
“Adult Beginners,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“The Age of Adaline,” Rob Simonsen, composer
“Altered Minds,” Edmund Choi, composer
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
“Anomalisa,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Ant-Man,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Beasts of No Nation,” Dan Romer, composer
“The Big Short,” Nicholas Britell, composer
“Black Mass,” Tom Holkenborg, composer
“Bridge of Spies,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Brooklyn,” Michael Brook, composer
“Burnt,” Rob Simonsen, composer
“By the Sea,” Gabriel Yared, composer
“Carol,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Cartel Land,” H. Scott Salinas and Jackson Greenberg, composers
“Chi-Raq,” Terence Blanchard, composer
“Cinderella,” Patrick Doyle, composer
“Coming Home,” Qigang Chen, composer
“Concussion,” James Newton Howard, composer
“Creed,” Ludwig Goransson, composer
“The Danish Girl,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“The Divergent Series: Insurgent,” Joseph Trapanese, composer
“Dukhtar,” Peter Nashel, composer
“The End of the Tour,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Everest,” Dario Marianelli, composer
“Ex Machina,” Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, composers
“Far from the Madding Crowd,” Craig Armstrong, composer
“Fifty Shades of Grey,” Danny Elfman, composer
“5 Flights Up,” David Newman, composer
“Frame by Frame,” Patrick Jonsson, composer
“Freedom,” James Lavino, composer
“Furious Seven,” Brian Tyler, composer
“The Good Dinosaur,” Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna, composers
“Goosebumps,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Grandma,” Joel P. West, composer
“The Hateful Eight,” Ennio Morricone, composer
“He Named Me Malala,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Hot Pursuit,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Hot Tub Time Machine 2,” Christophe Beck, composer
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2,” James Newton Howard, composer
“The Hunting Ground,” Miriam Cutler, composer
“I Smile Back,” Zack Ryan, composer
“I’ll See You in My Dreams,” Keegan DeWitt, composer
“In the Heart of the Sea,” Roque Baños, composer
“Inside Out,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“The Intern,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
“It Follows,” Disasterpeace, composer
“Jalam,” Ouesppachan, composer
“Jurassic World,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet,” Gabriel Yared, composer
“Kingsman: The Secret Service,” Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson, composers
“Krampus,” Douglas Pipes, composer
“La Jaula de Oro,” Jacobo Lieberman and Leonardo Heiblum, composers
“The Lady in the Van,” George Fenton, composer
“The Last Witch Hunter,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
“Learning to Drive,” Dhani Harrison and Paul Hicks, composers
“Legend,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Little Accidents,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“The Longest Ride,” Mark Isham, composer
“Mad Max: Fury Road,” Tom Holkenborg, composer
“The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” Daniel Pemberton, composer
“The Martian,” Harry Gregson-Williams, composer
“Max,” Trevor Rabin, composer
“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” John Paesano, composer
“Meru,” J. Ralph, composer
“Minions,” Heitor Pereira, composer
“Mr. Holmes,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Mistress America,” Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, composers
“My All American,” John Paesano, composer
“Nachom-ia Kumpasar,” Ronnie Monsorate, composer
“99 Homes,” Antony Partos and Matteo Zingales, composers
“Our Brand Is Crisis,” David Wingo, composer
“Pan,” John Powell, composer
“Paper Towns,” Son Lux, composer
“Paranoid Girls,” Javier del Santo, composer
“Pawn Sacrifice,” James Newton Howard, composer
“The Peanuts Movie,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Pixels,” Henry Jackman, composer
“Poached,” Mark Orton, composer
“Pod,” Giona Ostinelli, composer
“Poltergeist,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer
“Racing Extinction,” J. Ralph, composer
“Room,” Stephen Rennicks, composer
“Salt Bridge,” Marciano Telese, composer
“San Andreas,” Andrew Lockington, composer
“The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Set Fire to the Stars,” Gruff Rhys, composer
“Shaun the Sheep Movie,” Ilan Eshkeri, composer
“Sicario,” Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
“Southpaw,” James Horner, composer
“Spectre,” Thomas Newman, composer
“The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water,” John Debney, composer
“Spotlight,” Howard Shore, composer
“Spy,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” John Williams, composer
“Steve Jobs,” Daniel Pemberton, composer
“Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans,” Jim Copperthwaite, composer
“Stonewall,” Rob Simonsen, composer
“Suffragette,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“Taken 3,” Nathaniel Mechaly, composer
“Ted 2,” Walter Murphy, composer
“Testament of Youth,” Max Richter, composer
“The 33,” James Horner, composer
“Tomorrowland,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“True Story,” Marco Beltrami, composer
“Trumbo,” Theodore Shapiro, composer
“Truth,” Brian Tyler, composer
“Victor Frankenstein,” Craig Armstrong, composer
“The Walk,” Alan Silvestri, composer
“The Water Diviner,” David Hirschfelder, composer
“Wolf Totem,” James Horner, composer
“Z for Zachariah,” Heather McIntosh, composer
A Reminder List of works submitted in the Original Score category will be made available with a nominations ballot to all members of the Music Branch, who shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements. The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award.
To be eligible, the original score must be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer. Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible.
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
