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 Print this article FMS FEATURE...  February 29, 2016 Morricone Wins Oscar Music Gold At Last Bond song earns victory for Sam Smith, Jimmy Napes by Jon Burlingame  Ennio Morricone The Italian maestro, who was nominated five times previously and received an honorary career-achievement Oscar in 2007, won for his music from Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. Through an interpreter, he thanked Tarantino and producer Harvey Weinstein, and also singled out "the esteemed John Williams" among his fellow nominees. As the award was announced by music-business giants Quincy Jones and Pharrell Williams to a lengthy standing ovation, viewers were able to glimpse four of the original-score nominees who were present, seated together in a box at the Dolby, including Williams, nominated for Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Carter Burwell, for Carol; and Thomas Newman, for Bridge of Spies. Sicario composer Johann Johannsson was working in Australia and unable to attend.  (Left to right) John Williams reaches to embrace Ennio Morricone as Carter Burwell and Thomas Newman look on.  Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith win for "Writing's on the Wall." The Spectre win was unexpected, as the Diane Warren-Lady Gaga song "Til It Happens to You," from the documentary The Hunting Ground (exposing an epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses), was widely considered the favorite to bring home the statue. Gaga's impassioned performance of the anthem, surrounded by 50 survivors of campus rape, drew a standing ovation from the audience. She was introduced by Vice President Joe Biden. Later, Gaga expressed thanks to the survivors for their bravery and "relentless determination."  Lady Gaga performs "Til it Happens to You," an anthem for college campus rape survivors which she co-wrote with Diane Warren. Williams was briefly saluted at the 90-minute point of the show when robots C-3P0, R2-D2 and BB-8 emerged from the wings. Said C-3P0, citing the composer's 50th nomination for his seventh Star Wars score: "I always enjoy hearing his music. He is so very talented... for a human, that is." Other musical aspects of the three-hour, 37-minute telecast: Dave Grohl played and sang Paul McCartney's "Blackbird" as the backdrop to the In Memoriam segment, which included Titanic composer James Horner, who was killed in a plane crash last June; and actor-songwriter David Bowie, who died in January. Danny Elfman composed the music for the animated opening of the show, "Making of an Oscar"; and the music documentary Amy, about the life and death of British singer Amy Winehouse, won the award for Best Documentary Feature. Music director Harold Wheeler conducted the Oscar orchestra in the Dolby Theatre, after several years of being located several blocks away at Capitol Records. But the evening's sometimes strange musical choices left many scratching their heads. Chief among them was the repeated use of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" to play off winners – including remarks by director Laszlo Nemes, who had just won Best Foreign Language film for his Holocaust drama Son of Saul. The famously anti-Semitic Wagner was one of Hitler's favorite composers. On Saturday, approximately 300 members of the Society of Composers & Lyricists honored the music-branch nominees at its annual Oscar reception at La Boheme in West Hollywood.  (Left to right) J. Ralph, John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Stephan Moccio, Carter Burwell, Diane Warren, David Lang, Thomas Newman On Friday, Morricone was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 7065  Ennio Morricone receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Italian flutist Andrea Griminelli performed a theme from Morricone's The Mission, while LA Italia festival founder Pascal Vicedomini called the event "the most emotional day of my life." Also attending, and taking photos with the maestro, was actor Franco Nero, whose own resume includes more than a dozen films with Morricone scores. ©2016 Jon Burlingame  |
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