Antony, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Lady Gaga Nominated For Oscars
We could see Antony Hegarty win an Oscar this year. When this year’s Oscar nominees were announced this morning, one of the big surprises was Antony. She and J. Ralph are nominated for “Manta Ray,” a song they contributed to the environmental documentary Racing Extinction. They’re up against the Weeknd, nominated for the 50 Shades Of Grey song “Earned It,” and Sam Smith, who already won a Golden Globe for his Bond theme “Writing’s On The Wall.” The other nominees are Lady Gaga’s “Til It Happens To You,” from The Hunting Ground, and David Lang’s “Simple Song #3,” from Youth.
In the Best Original Score category, the nomination list is heavy on legends. Ennio Morricone is nominated for The Hateful Eight, and John Williams is up for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. They’re facing off against Carter Burwell for Carol, Jóhann Jóhannsson for Sicario, and Thomas Newman for Bridge Of Spies. Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, and Bryce Dessner’s score for The Revenant was not nominated.
Meanwhile, there are a couple of music-focused movies up for Best Documentary Feature: Amy, about Amy Winehouse, and What Happened, Miss Simone, about Nina Simone. And Straight Outta Compton is a surprise nominee for Best Original Screenplay. And this isn’t specifically music-related, but Mad Max: Fury Road got a whole ton of nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, which is just fucking awesome.
The ceremony will air 2/28 on ABC.