Karen O Disqualified, Eno and Burnett Did Not Submit

Steve Pond reports on the eligible scores for this year:

Eno‚Äôs score for ‚ÄúThe Lovely Bones,‚Äù a haunting and effective use of the composer‚Äôs music both new and old, was not submitted to the Academy for consideration. Neither was Burnett’s and Stephen Bruton’s score to “Crazy Heart,” which had been singled out by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Yeah Yeah Yeah’s frontwoman Karen O, and Burwell, who co-wrote the music for “Where the Wild Things Are,” both submitted their work to the Academy but were disqualified by the music branch.

Notable scores have been disqualified in the past by the Academy’s music branch, which has strict rules for qualifying in the category. In 2007, for instance, Warren Ellis’ score to “There Will Be Blood” was eliminated from contention for containing too much pre-existing music, including compositions by Brahms and Arvo Pärt.

One section of the rules reads as follows:

“[S]cores 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 Academy does make an exception if “two composers function as equal collaborators in producing the score, each contributing a substantial amount of original music for the film.”)

MEH.

Pond includes a list of eligible films. Check it out.