The 2015 Oscar nominations were announced this morning, including five nominations for Best Original Score. The nominees are The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat), The Imitation Game (also Desplat), Interstellar (Hans Zimmer), Mr. Turner (Gary Yershon), and The Theory of Everything (Johann Johannsson).
It's not an unexpected list — and there are the notable absences of Birdman (for controversial reasons) and Whiplash (ditto) — but with many terrific scores from the year absent, it's also striking to see two nominations for a single composer.
It's also significant that all nominees are male — as is the case with many of the brackets this year. Many of the scores are also very classic in their sensibility; Zimmer's work is the most experimental of the nominated scores, and that score is anchored by a church organ. Essentially, these scores sound like what you'd expect Oscar-nominated film scores to sound like.
Both of Desplat's nominated scores are very much in the French composer's signature style, with his classically-informed flair. Each score is strong in its own right, but it's tough to argue that they're distinct enough either to merit two of the precious five slots.
Hans Zimmer received a nod for his divisive work with Interstellar; the film also earned nominations for sound mixing and editing, suggesting that the Academy is rejecting the argument that the film was poorly mixed. It's interesting, in fact, that it's precisely the most controversial aspects of the film that were rewarded by the Academy: Interstellar was shut out of the major award categories.
Gary Yershon received a nod for his terrific score for Mr. Turner. The outlier of the crew if only in stature and recognition, this work is a great addition to the list. Yershon's sound is much older than the other nominees', as the film is a timepiece. Yershon's use of wind instruments and strings gives the film a rich and organic flair.
Rounding out the list is Johann Johannsson, whose score for The Theory of Everything already took the Golden Globe and may be a favorite to win. With the last few years proving to be quite fruitful, he's made one of his strongest works to date. It's a stunningly beautiful achievement, and one of the most uplifting and life-affirming scores of his career.
Which scores were left out? Check out my list of 2014's best film scores for my favorites. This year's Oscars will be presented in Hollywood on Feb. 22.
Garrett Tiedemann is a writer, filmmaker and composer who owns the multimedia lab CyNar Pictures and its record label American Residue Records.
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