The 2016 Oscars are over, and in a few months we’re going to forget who won. For the record, the surprise Best Picture winner was Spotlight. But there still seems to be a lingering debate about race and racial sensitivity in the Academy, as well as in the film industry in general. A group of 25 Asian and Asian-American Academy members (including Oscar-winner Ang Lee) wrote a letter on March 9, 2016 to the Academy, decrying the fact that after host Ch

As we all tend to our Star Wars: The Force Awakens hangovers and enjoy the rest of the holiday season, the Music Branch of the Academy is (hopefully) taking a serious look at the scores of the 2015 to select the five most worthy of an Oscar nomination. In the December issue of FSMO, I provide an analysis of this race and lay out th

Is this the year of Alexandre Desplat’s first Oscar win? Read my full analysis of the Oscar score and song conversation for 2014 in the magazine. In the meantime, here are my predictions and recommendations:
 
Best Original Score

Most Likely
Alexandre Desplat—The Imitation Game
Alexandre Des

Every year, I write a memo to the Music Branch of the Academy to highlight scores that I think have the best chance to get a nomination, and to suggest other scores that are flying below the radar. To read my in-depth analysis of the music categories, check out this month’s column in FSM Online. But here is a listing of my score predictions and suggestions for the film year 2013:

Most Likely

Here are the breakdowns from Cary Wong’s annual Memo to the Music Branch of the Academy from the current issue of Film Score Monthly Online, including his predictions and suggestions in the categories of Best Score and Song. Last Year, Cary was 4 for 5 in the “Most Likely to Be Nominated” category, with the fifth candidate

Final 2005 Wrap-Up

Now that the Oscar nominees have been announced and the year in movies is about to conclude, I figured I would do one last look back at 2005.

Nominated Composers: three foreign borns (previous nominations - combined: 0) and 2 John Williams (previous nominations of Mr. Williams: 31)

Thomas Newman breaks his th

Ballet Review: Raise the Red Lantern

Philip Glass Concert Review

Memo to the Music Branch of the Academy 2005

CD Review: The Little Prince Opera