The executive committee that decides such matters has ruled that Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s score for The Dark Knight is ineligible for Oscar consideration. Apparently the problem is that five people (including a music editor, an “ambient music designer,†and an additional composer) are officially credited on the studio’s music cue sheet — even though Howard and Zimmer swear they’re responsible for more than 60 percent of the score — and the Academy apparently has some wacky allergy to multiple-composer collaborations, presumably because Oscar statues aren’t cheap these days and they can’t afford to give out too many. As you may recall, Jonny Greenwood’s excellent score for There Will Be Blood was disqualified last year on a similarly ridiculous technicality, which makes us wish either the committee in charge of overseeing Original Score nominations would loosen up, or the one in charge of the acting categories would be way more fastidious.
Academy disqualifies ‘Dark’ score [Variety]
Earlier: Jonny Greenwood Denied an Oscar Nomination for Some Stupid Reason