Riddle Me This

By now you've no doubt seen the news about the Oscar nominations, including the eight nods for "Brokeback Mountain," on one of our many sister sites.  It is indeed an impressive haul for the pokin' cowpokes.

But I was struck by one oversight: How can the winner of the Golden Globe for "Best Original Song" not even merit an Oscar nomination?

Gustavo Santaolalla and Bernie Taupin's gorgeous "A Love That Will Never Grow Old," hauntingly sung by Emmylou Harris, moved me more than any other movie song I heard last year.  And I hate country music.

Sure, maybe it wasn't everybody's cup of tea.  But how is it, then, that the Academy was able to find only the minimum three nominees for "Best Song" instead of the usual five?  Did they hear something that I didn't?

Comments

[DaveOinSF]

"A Love that Will Never Grow Old" was deemed ineligible for the Original Song Oscar. I believe the Academy ruled that its use in the film was not sufficiently prominent (It was playing very softly on the car radio when Jack was driving back to Texas after he made that impromptu drive up to Wyoming after learning that Ennis had gotten divorced).

Other awards will have different rules, but the Academy ruled it ineligible about a month ago.

[DaveOinSF]

"A Love That Will Never Grow Old," written by Gustavo Santaolalla and Bernie Taupin and performed by Emmylou Harris, was deemed ineligible because its use in "Brokeback Mountain" (it's heard playing on the radio) was partially obscured by dialogue. The Academy's rules require "clearly audible, intelligible and substantive rendition of both lyric and melody."

http://www.variety.com/ac2006_article/VR1117934742?nav=news&categoryid=1983&cs=1

[Martha]

All that really matters in the song category is that It's Hard Out There for a Pimp got nominated. I can't wait to see superwhitebread Tom Hanks (or someone equally bland) reading that title. It'll make my night.

[EssEm]

I used to hate country music and now, in the last four years, I have come to love it. My CD's consist of classical (Palestrina, Mozart, etc) and Country (Clint Black, Brad Paisley, etc) Quintessential America. And damn, Malco, how can you not listen to and see Tim McGraw singing and not perk up your ears (among other things)?!

[Malcontent]

Thanks, Dave, I knew I could count on someone to solve that riddle. Truth be told, I don't remember that song in "Brokeback Mountain" at all except perhaps in the closing credits, so maybe they have a point.

But I do still wonder why they could find only three songs among the hundreds of movies made in 2005 that merited nomination.

[Robbie]

The song's in the closing credits? If so, I don't see why it wasn't nominated. I believe Andrew Lloyd Webber won last year for "Learn to Be Lonely," which was solely in the closing credits of Phantom of the Opera. The only part of the song in the movie itself was about five bars played by a violin in the score during the Red Death segment.

I've come to like country over the past few years. Gary Allan's cover of "Best I've Ever Had" is one of my favorites at the moment.

[Malcontent]

Hmm. Maybe it's not in the closing credits, and I was just projecting it there after having downloaded and listened to it multiple times.

[Alan]

Rule Sixteen for Oscar eligibility states "An original song consists of words and music, both of which are original
and written specifically for the film. There must be a clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition (not necessarily visually presented) of both lyric and melody, used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits.

On this basis, apparently, "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" doesn't count because it wasn't substantive enough. Sadly for me, apparently neither does "The Maker Makes;" a song during the closing credits by Rufus Wainwright that is, for me, as haunting as the movie itself.

I was so looking forward to his performance of it during the Oscar show.

[DaveOinSF]

The song was not in the closing credits. It was on the radio when Jack was driving back to Texas. And it was quiet, obscured by dialogue, and lasted all of 30 seconds.

In any case, with Brokeback out of the running, that increases the odds for Dolly Parton. She was nominated for "Travelin' Thru", a fantastic song closing out "Transamerica".

[Sam]

My understanding is that because the song only played for a moment, it didn't meat the Academy's arcane criteria and wasn't considered. I'm very disappointed because it's a beautiful song.

[dick]

as far as being pushed out of the competition goes, Alanis Morrisette got disqualified as well as her song from Narnia was the 2nd song over the closing credits and only the first was eleigible.