Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

I'm more interested in his score for The Dark Knight Rises. He's using fan submitted chants for one of the pieces.

I'm sure the studio would push him to campaign...now he can only listen to them bitch that he didn't submit.

Jim20 wrote:If I recall correctly, Randy Newman did this last year as well for Toy Story 3.

True but he still competed in Original Song.

I don't understand why Hans Zimmer is going to withdraw altogether. He could just not campaign or not attend but allow himself to be on the ballot and be nominated just for the film.

If I recall correctly, Randy Newman did this last year as well for Toy Story 3.

It's a rule unique to the music branch.

Go here:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawa ... ule16.html

I admit I don't have perfect recall when it comes to the more intricate rules of the Oscar race, but not submitting your own name is a new one on me. I thought it was the studios who submitted the names. Can anyone decide to 'opt out', even in the acting categories?

If he's so tired of the campaign game or of being woken at 5 in the morning, why doesn't he submit his name for contention and then... I don't know, keep the phone off the hook? Hasn't he ever heard of voice-mail?

Well, I'd thought Rango an Original Score possibility until now.


Hans Zimmer bows out of this year's Oscar race
'Rango' will not be eligible in the original score category

Sunday, Oct 23
Guy Lodge
HitFix

Hans Zimmer's score for "Rango" will not be competing for the Oscar.

Here's some news to create a bit of breathing room in an already stacked Oscar race for Best Original Score: whatever happens, nine-time nominee Hans Zimmer will not be in it. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that the German-born composer, nominated the last two years running for "Sharlock Holmes" and "Inception," has opted to sit out this year's derby by refusing to personally enter any of his 2011 scores for consideration -- as Academy rules require hopefuls in the category to do.

That'll some as a surprise to the many pundits who were predicting a nomination for his playful, genre-referencing work on surefire Best Animated Feature nominee "Rango." It also rules out the chance of further recognition for his jangly, gypsy-influenced sounds for the "Sherlock Holmes" franchise. (Ditto "Kung Fu Panda 2," "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" and "The Dilemma," but I don't think the Oscar race is drastically altered for their absence.)

So, why is Zimmer choosing to pass on a potential tenth trip to the ball (and second Oscar statuette)? Well, as he tells the Reporter, he simply doesn't feel up to it:

As soon as you get nominated, and I don’t care who you are — there are certainly people of better character than me — it all goes crazy... You get the phone call at five o’clock and after that you have to do the interviews and then do the parties and meet all these people and do all these things. It’s disruptive, and I think it would be more interesting to observe it for a year. It does worry me that we have to stay relevant. Times are changing, very rapidly. Usually what I do when things are changing rapidly is stand still and observe.

Fair enough, though he seems to be thinking of awards as being for individuals, rather than for films -- I'm sure the team behind "Rango," for example, would be glad of any recognition the film can get, so Zimmer's decision seems slightly hard on them. It would, of course, be quite possible to enter one's work in the race and then not campaign at all. (Mo'Nique recently proved that you needn't play the game to reap the rewards.)

Zimmer, in particular, is the kind of esteemed name in the branch who could get away with a silent campaign, though perhaps he doesn't wish to risk being seen as a default nominee either. Anyway, here's hoping he regains his taste for the race by the time "The Dark Knight Rises" (for which, he teases THR, he has composed much new material) rolls around.