Varese Sarabande plans to announce a new CD Club release this coming Monday. They also plan to release a new CD in their Limited Edition series.

On February 18, the label will be releasing the LP tracks to the light-jazz soundtrack to Burt Reynolds' 1981 cop thriller SHARKY'S MACHINE, as well as the song albums from two Clint Eastwood films from the era, ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN and HONKYTONK MAN. On March 11 they will release Rachel Portman's score for THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG.

Next week La-La Land plans to release an expanded edition of John Carpenter and Shirley Walker's score for the 1996 sequel ESCAPE FROM L.A., and a new edition of one of Basil Poledouris' greatest scores, for Paul Verhoeven's underrated medieval adventure FLESH + BLOOD (featuring the same tracks as the out-of-print Intrada release). They will also be selling Bear McCreary's score for the fantasy comedy KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM from his Sparks & Shadows label.

Alexandre Desplat's Oscar-nominated score for Best Picture nominee PHILOMENA will finally receive a commercial CD release from February 25 on Decca, leaving Her as the only nominated score from this year to not receive a soundtrack release (the plausible theory is that Arcade Fire doesn't want it competing for sales with their latest album). Her is one of a handful of movies in Oscar history to receive nominations for Picture, Song and Scoring, and one of the few not to receive a soundtrack release (it took nearly five decades for a Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing soundtrack to be released). At the bottom of this column is a list of the films nominated in all three categories.

Quartet has announced four new, upcoming releases -- the first-ever release of Cliff Eiedelman's score for the 1991 comedy DELIRIOUS, starring John Candy as a TV writer who finds himself living in his own soap opera; Pierre Adenot's music for the new French version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, from director Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf, Silent Hill); a re-release of Ennio Morricone's score for the romantic drama A TIME OF DESTINY, starring William Hurt, Timothy Hutton and Melissa Leo; and Anton Garcia Abril's score for the 1974 Spanish comedy FIN DE SEMANA AL DESNUDO.

This year's score nominees for France's Cesar awards are:

ALCESTE A BICYCLETTE - Jorge Arriagada
CASSE TÊTE CHINOIS - Loïk Dury & Christophe ‘Disco’ Minck
L’ECUME DES JOURS - Etienne Charry
MICHAEL KOHLHAAS - Martin Wheeler
VENUS IN FUR - Alexandre Desplat

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released another statement explaining the reasons for rescinding the nomination for Bruce Broughton's Alone Yet Not Alone song:

The Board of Governors’ decision to rescind the Original Song nomination for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” music by Bruce Broughton, was made thoughtfully and after careful consideration.  The Academy takes very seriously anything that undermines the integrity of the Oscars® voting process. The Board regretfully concluded that Mr. Broughton’s actions did precisely that.

The nominating process for Original Song is intended to be anonymous, with each eligible song listed only by title and the name of the film in which it is used -- the idea being to prevent favoritism and promote unbiased voting.  It’s been a long-standing policy and practice of the Academy -- as well as a requirement of Rule 5.3 of the 86th Academy Awards® Rules -- ­­to omit composer and lyricist credits from the DVD of eligible songs that are sent to members of the Music Branch.  The Academy wants members to vote for nominees based solely on the achievement of a particular song in a movie, without regard to who may have written it.

Mr. Broughton sent an email to at least 70 of his fellow Music Branch members -- nearly one-third of the branch’s 240 members.  When he identified the song as track #57 as one he had composed, and asked voting branch members to listen to it, he took advantage of information that few other potential nominees are privy to.  As a former Academy Governor and current member of the Music Branch’s executive committee, Mr. Broughton should have been more cautious about acting in a way that made it appear as if he were taking advantage of his position to exert undue influence. At a minimum, his actions called into question whether the process was "fair and equitable," as the Academy's rules require. The Academy is dedicated to doing everything it can to ensure a level playing field for all potential Oscar® contenders -- including those who don’t enjoy the access, knowledge, and influence of a long-standing Academy insider.

CDS AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

The Anonymous Venetian - Stelvio Cipriani - Digitmovies
The Art of Travel/Guilty as Charged - Steve Bartek - Buysoundtrax
Atom Age Vampire/Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory - Armando Trovajoli - Digitmovies
The Best of Silent Hill - Akira Yamaoka - Perseverance
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit - Patrick Doyle - Varese Sarabande
Justice League: War - Kevin Kliesch - Watertower [CD-R]
Komodo - John Debney - Buysoundtrax
Last Angel - Stelvio Cipriani - Beat
Meteor - Laurence Rosenthal - Intrada Special Collection
The Monuments Men - Alexandre Desplat - Sony
Necessary Roughness - Bill Conti - Intrada Special Collection
RoboCop - Pedro Bromfman - Sony
Svezia, Inferno E Paradiso - Piero Umiliani - Beat/Digitmovies
Una Lucertola Con La Pelle Di Donna - Ennio Morricone - Beat

IN THEATERS TODAY

After the Dark - Nicholas O'Toole, Jonathan Korn - Score CD due March 4 on Varese Sarabande
Cavemen - Ronen Landa
A Fantastic Fear of Everything - Michael Price
A Field in England - James Williams
The Lego Movie - Mark Mothersbaugh - Score CD due Feb. 11 on Watertower
The Monuments Men - Alexandre Desplat - Score CD on Sony
The Outsider - Patrick Savage, Holeg Spies
7 Boxes - Fran Villalba
Vampire Academy - Rolfe Kent - Song CD on Universal
Welcome to the Jungle - Karl Preusser - Score CD due Feb. 25 on MovieScore Media/Kronos

COMING SOON

February 11
Escape from L.A. - John Carpenter, Shirley Walker - La-La Land
Flesh + Blood - Basil Poledouris - La-La Land
Knights of Badassdom - Bear McCreary - Sparks & Shadows
The Lego Movie - Mark Mothersbaugh - Watertower
Pit and the Pendulum - Richard Band - Perseverance
A Winter's Tale - Hans Zimmer, Rupert Gregson-Williams - Watertower
February 18
Roswell/Communion (re-recordings) - Elliot Goldenthal, Eric Clapton - Buysoundtrax
The Runner Stumbles - Ernest Gold - Buysoundtrax
Sharky's Machine - various - Varese Sarabande
That Awkward Moment - David Torn - Varese Sarabande
Tim's Vermeer - Conrad Pope - Milan
February 25
Philomena - Alexandre Desplat - Decca
Pompeii - Clinton Shorter - Milan
Welcome to the Jungle - Karl Presusser - MovieScore Media/Kronos
March 4
After the Dark - Nicholas O'Toole, Jonathan Korn - Varese Sarabande
The Grand Budapest Hotel - Alexandre Desplat - ABKCO
Mr. Peabody & Sherman - Danny Elfman - Relativity Music
Non-Stop - John Ottman - Varese Sarabande
300: Rise of an Empire - Junkie XL - Watertower
March 11
Enemy - Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans - Milan
Flash Gordon Vol. 1 - Michael Picton - Perseverance
The Right King of Wrong - Rachel Portman - Varese Sarabande
Date Unknown
An Adventure in Space and Time - Edmund Butt - Silva
Agguato Sul Bosforo - Stelvio Cipriani - GDM
Anton - Daniel Tjernberg, Mikael Tjernberg - Intermezzo
Beauty and the Beast - Pierre Adenot - Quartet
Delirious - Cliff Eidelman - Quartet
Demetrius and the Gladiators - Franz Waxman - Kritzrland
The Doll Squad - Nicholas Carras - Monstrous Movie Music
Fin De Semana Al Desnudo - Anton Garcia Abril - Quartet
Firefly: Music for Solo Piano - Greg Edmonson - Buysoundtrax
Ladyhawke - Andrew Powell - La-La Land
Patrick - Pino Donaggio - Quartet
Secret Sharer/Tsotsi - Guy Farley - Caldera
Three Days (of Hamlet) - Jonathan Beard - Buysoundtrax
A Time of Destiny - Ennio Morricone - Quartet
Una Vita Venduta - Ennio Morricone - GDM

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

February 7 - George Bassman born (1914)
February 7 - Laurie Johnson born (1927)
February 7 - Gottfried Huppertz died (1937)
February 7 - Jerry Fielding begins recording orchestral cues for Demon Seed (1977)
February 8 - John Williams born (1932)
February 8 - Joe Raposo born (1937)
February 8 - Johnny Mandel records his score for Drums of Africa (1963)
February 8 - Planet of the Apes released (1968)
February 8 - Lalo Schifrin begins recording his score for Earth II (1971)
February 8 - Akira Ifukube died (2006)
February 9 - Barry Mann born (1939)
February 10 - Larry Adler born (1914)
February 10 - Gordon Zahler born (1926)
February 10 - Jerry Goldsmith born (1929)
February 10 - Billy Goldenberg born (1936)
February 11 - The Adventures of Robin Hood released (1938)
February 11 - Recording sessions begin for Leigh Harline's score for The Desert Rats (1953)
February 11 - Heinz Roemheld died (1985)
February 12 - Howard Blake born (1938)
February 12 - George Antheil died (1959)
February 12 - Benjamin Frankel died (1973)
February 12 - Lalo Schifrin begins recording his score for Sky Riders (1976)
February 13 - Gerald Fried born (1928)
February 13 - Peter Gabriel born (1950)
February 13 - William Axt died (1959)
February 13 - Fred Myrow begins recording score to Soylent Green (1973)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

I, FRANKENSTEIN - Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek

"Director [Stuart] Beattie keeps his camera in constant motion throughout, though it’s sometimes unclear what effect he’s trying to produce. The relentlessly obtrusive score is matched in volume by the sound editing, which renders the rustling of clothes and the turning of pages in a book with floor-quaking resonance. The sets and other production design elements, however, are quite nice to look at when the camera holds still for long enough."

Andrew Barker, Variety

THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.

Screenings of older films, at the following L.A. movie theaters: AMPAS, American Cinematheque: Aero, American Cinematheque: Egyptian, LACMA, New Beverly, Nuart, Silent Movie Theater and UCLA.

February 7
BRIDESMAIDS (Michael Andrews) [Arclight Hollywood]
THE KID, A DOG'S LIFE [Silent Movie Theater]
KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS (Igo Kantor) [Silent Movie Theater]
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (Joe Hisaishi) [Nuart]
TROUBLE EVERY DAY (Tindersticks) [New Beverly]
THE WHALES OF AUGUST (Alan Price), NEVER APOLOGIZE [Cinematheque: Aero]

February 8
GOLDFINGER (John Barry), THUNDERBALL (John Barry) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
GRAVITY (Steven Price), Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN [Cinematheque: Aero]
TROUBLE EVERY DAY (Tindersticks) [New Beverly]

February 9
BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET [Arclight Hollywood]
CASABLANCA (Max Steiner) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
COONSKIN (Chico Hamilton) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Miklos Rozsa), THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (W. Frank Harling) [Cinematheque: Aero]
HE WALKED BY NIGHT (Leonid Raab), THE NAKED SPUR (Bronislau Kaper) [UCLA]

February 10
THE ACT OF KILLING [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (Franz Waxman) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]

February 11
DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT (Vlastimil Hala, Jan Rychlik) [Silent Movie Theater]
LAURA (David Raksin) [Arclight Hollywood]
MINNIE AND MOSKOWITZ (Bo Harwood) [LACMA]
THREE KINGS (Carter Burwell), FLIRTING WITH DISASTER (Stephen Endelman) [Cinematheque: Aero]

February 12
AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (Hugo Friedhofer) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
CASABLANCA (Max Steiner) [Arclight Hollywood]
DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT (Vlastimil Hala, Jan Rychlik) [Silent Movie Theater]

February 13
BLACKMAIL, PSYCHO (Bernard Herrmann) [Cinematheque: Aero]
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (Henry Mancini) [Arclight Sherman Oaks]
NINOTCHKA (Frederick Hollander), LOVE AFFAIR (Roy Webb) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (Franz Waxman) [Arclight Hollywood]

February 14
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (Henry Mancini) [Cinematheque: Aero]
CASABLANCA (Max Steiner) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
CITY LIGHTS (Charles Chaplin) [Silent Movie Theater]
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Jon Brion) [Silent Movie Theater]
HAROLD AND MAUDE (Cat Stevens) [Nuart]
MEN IN HER LIFE, LOVER COME BACK [UCLA]

February 15
ANNIE HALL [Silent Movie Theater]
THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (Nick Cave, Warren Ellis) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
AT BERKELEY [Cinematheque: Aero]
CITY LIGHTS (Charles Chaplin) [Silent Movie Theater]
WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW: SEEDIG BALE [UCLA]

February 16
ANNIE HALL [Silent Movie Theater]
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (John Barry), NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (Michel Legrand) [New Beverly]
SUNRISE [Cinematheque: Aero]
WHISPER OF THE HEART (Yuji Nomi), ONLY YESTERDAY (Katsu Hoji) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
YE-ZAI, PINOY SUNDAY (Yeo-Jen Tsai) [UCLA]

Films nominated for Picture, Song and Scoring:

THE GAY DIVORCEE
ALEXANDER’S RAGTIME BAND
THE WIZARD OF OZ
ANCHORS AWEIGH
THE BELLS OF ST. MARY’S
HIGH NOON
LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING
GIGI
THE ALAMO
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY
MARY POPPINS
DOCTOR DOLITTLE
FUNNY GIRL
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
A TOUCH OF CLASS
THE TOWERING INFERNO
THE COLOR PURPLE
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
GOOD WILL HUNTING
TITANIC
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
127 HOURS
LIFE OF PI
HER