Voyage Home Score Nomination

[CoveTom]

As you all I'm sure know, there have been only two Star Trek films nominated for Academy Awards for best original score -- The Motion Picture and The Voyage Home.

Given the almost universal praise TMP receives for its score, I think the reasons for that one are obvious. But my experience is that people have very mixed, often very negative, views of the TVH score.

Why do you think TVH got that nomination when the other fine scores by Horner, Goldsmith, etc. did not?

 

[Tosk]

IMO, it was simply because TVH was a crossover movie, noticed and enjoyed by non-Trekkies.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Well, according to the wikipedia page for the nominations/winners for best original score:

Academy Award for Best Original Score - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.

So I guess that would rule out the Williams score since cues were written by at least two others composers.

And Goldsmith did get an Oscar nomination, for Hoosiers that year.

But while Rosenman provided a fine score -- albeit with little to nothing original (ideas, motifs, orchestrations, writing -- basically a Hodge-podge of everything he's done before), it's maddening to see that Ennio Morricone didn't win for his score to The Mission, but Round Midight (Herbie Hancock) did!

Just as maddening to see what won the next year -- a year that had The Untouchables in it!

 

[Tosk]

So I guess that would rule out the Williams score since cues were written by at least two others composers.

AFAIK, incorporating cues written previously by other people doesn't automatically disqualify you from an Oscar nom. In an article about Zimmer not being eligible for Dune Part Two, they say that "According to these guidelines, a film’s score must make up at least 35% of the total music in the movie. For sequels and franchises, no more than 20% of the score can include pre-existing themes and music from previous installments."

In examples from recent years, Alien Romulus was a shortlist finalist and it contains material written by Goldsmith, Horner, and Harry Gregson-Williams. Similarly, Avatar: The Shape of Water got on the shortlist and it contains Horner material. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was nominated.

 

[Mr. Spook]

AFAIK, incorporating cues written previously by other people doesn't automatically disqualify you from an Oscar nom. In an article about Zimmer not being eligible for Dune Part Two, they say that "According to these guidelines, a film’s score must make up at least 35% of the total music in the movie. For sequels and franchises, no more than 20% of the score can include pre-existing themes and music from previous installments."

In examples from recent years, Alien Romulus was a shortlist finalist and it contains material written by Goldsmith, Horner, and Harry Gregson-Williams. Similarly, Avatar: The Shape of Water got on the shortlist and it contains Horner material. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was nominated.

Yes. And it is/was typical for a composer to submit a "For Your Consideration" CD to the academy with all the new music written by the composer for the film. I have a number of them and for John Williams' Star Wars scores, they often omit the Star Wars theme if it wasn't a new recording for the film in question.

 

[CoveTom]

I was actually not thinking in terms of why other composers weren't nominated in that sams year, by why the scores for other Trek films which seem much more widely respected -- like Wrath of Khan and First Contact -- were not nominated while Voyage Home, the score for which many people dislike, was.

Regarding previously used material, Wrath of Khan hardly uses any, save for the Alexander Courage fanfare and Amazing Grace at Spock's funeral. First Contact uses the TMP theme, of course, but does it rather sparingly, and had a brand new main theme for the opening credits. I think the only other thing reused in that one is a brief use of the TMP Klingon theme. But a good 95% of that score is brand new.

 

[Gore-ac]

The Oscars are dumb. The American movie industry made them up to create a false sense prestige about a consumer product: movies. And an exaggerated sense of importance to the people who work in the movies.

The Academy is as phoney as the movies they give prizes too. Of course that's just my opinion (which is all the prizes given by the Academy are too - someone elses opinion on what's good;
best actor = employee of the month).

 

[Mr. Spook]

I was actually not thinking in terms of why other composers weren't nominated in that sams year, by why the scores for other Trek films which seem much more widely respected -- like Wrath of Khan and First Contact -- were not nominated while Voyage Home, the score for which many people dislike, was.

Regarding previously used material, Wrath of Khan hardly uses any, save for the Alexander Courage fanfare and Amazing Grace at Spock's funeral. First Contact uses the TMP theme, of course, but does it rather sparingly, and had a brand new main theme for the opening credits. I think the only other thing reused in that one is a brief use of the TMP Klingon theme. But a good 95% of that score is brand new.

Not sure if it makes a difference, but the FC score was split up between Jerry and Joel Goldsmith. I forgot what the percentage was, but while the majority is Jerry, a lot of it is Joel. The "First Contact" theme by Jerry is lovely but the crown jewel of the score is "Flight of the Phoenix" which is Joel's. I suppose they could have won together, I'm just spitballing.