“The Dark Knight” score was disqualified by Oscar AMPAS technicalities and geeks and snobs jeered equally. Then the Oscars did an about face, reversed their decision, and made the Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard-written score eligible for Academy gold once again and everyone collectively cheered.
Patrick Goldstein who broke the story that the score decision was to be reversed, spoke to Zimmer on the phone yesterday.
As you’ll recall one of the reasons the score was initially disqualified is because there were Academy had initially disqualified the score, saying there were too many composers listed on the music cue sheet.
But the composers listed their music editor, sound designer and arranger as a means of giving props and rewards to those that assisted with the music and helped bring it to life. But Zimmer insisted that he and Howard wrote everything. The composer first sent a letter to an Academy executive director to illustrate his disappointment with the decision and then showed up in person to make his case.
“My basic argument was–composers are honest human beings. If we’re telling you that we, and we alone, wrote the score, why don’t you believe us? We were very candid. We said, ‘Why would we lie? And if you don’t believe us, go ask Christopher Nolan, the film’s director. He saw who did the work.’ “
Who did what?
“It’s very stylistically cohesive–it wasn’t done by committee. James and I divided everything up. I thought the Joker character should have have a singular voice, so I [did the score] for him and James basically became the Harvey Dent character and did his score.”
Zimmer admitted that the Academy is saddled with too many rigid rules that are sometimes arcane and backwards.
“Look, I’ve won an Oscar and it meant something, because it wasn’t just from my peers, but from people I really look up to. But I think the value of the Oscars is being erased by the narrowness and nitpicking of all the academy rules and regulations. The executive committee shouldn’t be excluding people’s work because of technicalities. Especially today, with all the new work methods and new technology, the academy needs to change–they have to keep pace if they want to stay relevant.”
Either way, the human touch of his explaining his case. “The Dark Knight” score is now eligible for an Oscar again and we think they have a super strong case of not only scoring a nomination, but winning the Award outright.