Thomas Newman: A Rough Guide to Those Zero Oscars (and 15 Scores That Were Not Even Nominated)

When the brand new film by Sam Mendes, 1917, was screened for the first time, the critics went bananas. As they lauded pretty much everything about the gripping World War I drama, the music by Thomas Newman was several times predicted with orchestral gusto that he would finally win an Academy Award, after fourteen prior nods without a single win for Best Original Score.

Newman’s marvel of a score “veers from low, ominous drones to majestic orchestral surges.” said Justin Chang from Los Angeles Times. The Oscar bridesmaid, and son of master film composer, Alfred Newman, was “turning in his boldest and best work yet, a never sentimental and wholly original entry into the pantheon of war movie scores.” according to IndieWire’s Kate Erbland. And Variety’s Jazz Tangcay was another overly impressed with Newman’s work on 1917, saying it was “searing with every moment. It’s as intense as every moment where you have no idea what lies around the corner for the soldiers.”

Now available on Spotify (I waited until the clock struck midnight and have hardly turned it off since), everyone can revel in the beauty of Thomas Newman’s score for 1917. The rise and fall of the score’s many layers is incredible. In places, it feels like a hundred classic compositions from the history of cinema. Every nuance perfectly fitting to the vision of Sam Mendes and Roger Deakins. “The Night Window” in particular plays like it was conceived and created by a genius at the peak of his passion, and someone who knew they would be handed gold.

So is Thomas Newman winning with his fifteenth attempt? The answer is yes. It just feels written. Listen to the glory and the pain of the 1917 music and try to disagree.

Thomas Newman has been my go to composer so many times as I’ve written screenplays. He is the soundtrack to my creative process on so many occasions. His sounds and tones and horns and pianos and on and on have shaped so much of not just the stories I have told but me as a person too.

Have a listen now (plenty to choose from), while I give you a rough guide to how Mr Newman has so far left the auditorium empty-handed in the last twenty-five years. And on that road you’ll find 15 of his film scores that were not even nominated (a lot of which really hurt).

NOT Nominated #1 – 60th Academy Awards – 1987

Less Than Zero

NOT Nominated #2 – 64th Academy Awards – 1991

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

NOT Nominated #3 – 66th Academy Awards – 1993

Flesh and Bone

Nominated – 67th Academy Awards – 1994

The also great Hans Zimmer took this Oscar for The Lion King, on his own journey to Academy neglect for terrific work to come. League-leader Forrest Gump was nominated almost everywhere (except Sally Field – what?!) so it was natural Alan Silvestri would make the list. And Elliot Goldenthal was nominated for the could-have-done-better Interview with the Vampire. Oscar new kid on the block, Thomas Newman, was nominated twice for Best Original Score. One for the grand literary composition for Little Women (1) and the haunting, glorious music for The Shawshank Redemption (2). As any composers found out at that time, you ain’t beating Disney. But Shawshank should have won this one. And Cinematography for Roger Deakins.

NOT Nominated #4 – 68th Academy Awards – 1995

How to Make an American Quilt

Nominated – 68th Academy Awards – 1995

Disney strikes again in 1995, with Alan Menken returning for Pocahontas. A rather mediocre selection it has to be said – back in the day when they had two music categories. Best Original Musical or Comedy Score also consisted of Marc Shaiman for The American President, and John Williams for Sabrina – the latter would have been nominated for whistling in an elevator. Unstrung Heroes (3) was Thomas Newman’s addition to the fray, a relatively unknown film and score. Even for his fans. The Newman cousin, Randy, perhaps ought to have won his own first Academy Award for Toy Story. Hindsight is a funny thing.

NOT Nominated #5 – 71st Academy Awards – 1998

Meet Joe Black

NOT Nominated #6 – 71st Academy Awards – 1998

The Horse Whisperer Editor’s Pick

Nominated – 72nd Academy Awards – 1999

Given his well established reputation and cluster of marvelous scores around the turn of the century (more on this soon), Thomas Newman rode the quest of a wave with American Beauty (4) on its way to the Best Picture win at a canter. Newman’s score was unique, even for him, and was surely the favorite to win given its addictive melodies. John Williams was back with Angela’s Ashes, as was Gabriel Yared for The Talented Mr. Ripley – both had won before. Making a late surge for the big awards was The Cider House Rules, where Rachel Portman’s deliciously sentimental score was rightly nominated. Considered a surprise (but by no means undeserved), the Oscar went to John Corigliano for The Red Violin.

NOT Nominated #7 – 72nd Academy Awards – 1999

The Green Mile * Editor’s Pick *

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiGKR0qn0X0&list=PLVR8sevR0A0JFCywV-CM2IzhHD_gfxiTc

NOT Nominated #8 – 83rd Academy Awards – 2000

Erin Brockovich

NOT Nominated #9 – 74th Academy Awards – 2001

In the Bedroom

https://open.spotify.com/album/28mXDXM0d50WqJpLG52iuv

NOT Nominated #10 – 75th Academy Awards – 2002

White Oleander

Nominated – 75th Academy Awards – 2002

Elliot Goldenthal won the Oscar for Frida, which was on the cards late in the game. The other nominees belonged very much to Best-Picture-nominee-near-misses. John Williams was somehow still showing the range he was capable of with Catch Me If You Can. The sumptuous Far from Heaven got Elmer Bernstein in contention. And the only Best Picture nominee of the bunch, The Hours, earned Philip Glass a well deserved nod – though the score would be disqualified these days for using previously composed music. Road to Perdition (5), from director Sam Mendes again, was and is a film that is perceived to have been a far greater part of the Oscar race that year. And it is certainly one of Thomas Newman’s very best. The late Conrad L. Hall won Cinematography again for Perdition. Rightly so.

Nominated – 76th Academy Awards – 2003

As varied and vivid as the Best Original Score selections were in 2003 – what with Big Fish (Danny Elfman) and Cold Mountain (Gabriel Yared) making the cut for films that were snubbed elsewhere – there was always going to be one winner. As it steamrolled through awards night, if The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was nominated, it would win. So Howard Shore would pick up his second Oscar for the Rings trilogy. Has to be said, were it not for the debt to Peter Jackson’s film, Thomas Newman would have won for Finding Nemo (6). For me, James Horner’s stunning score for House of Sand and Fog was the pick of the pack.

Nominated – 77th Academy Awards – 2004

Considered a surprise nomination because the film was not well received, James Newton Howard’s infectious score and Hilary Hahn’s majestic violin on The Village made that the composition of the year. Thomas Newman was nominated for the seventh time for what was also something of a surprise, for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (7). But its an acquired taste, and demonstrated Newman’s fascinating range. John Williams earned his trillionth nomination for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, while John Debney brought real emotional power to Mel Gibson’s controversial The Passion of the Christ. It was the meek Best Picture nominee, Finding Neverland, that won for Polish composer Jan A. P. Kaczmarek. His 2002 score for Unfaithful is much better.

NOT Nominated #11 – 78th Academy Awards – 2005

Cinderella Man

NOT Nominated #12 – 79th Academy Awards – 2006

Little Children

Nominated – 79th Academy Awards – 2006

The Good German (8) was one of Thomas Newman’s strangest and un-Thomas-Newmany scores. His nomination in 2006 may well have signified him as a major player on any given year, but he was never winning here. Philip Glass was back with another solid score for Notes on a Scandal, but he was also not winning. The film that made us over-estimate the love the Academy had for it, Pan’s Labyrinth, earned a nod for Javier Navarrete. But like Best Foreign Language Film, it would not win. And Alexandre Desplat had far better compositions than The Queen. So it is over to Gustavo Santaolalla to win his second consecutive Oscar for Babel.

Nominated – 81st Academy Awards – 2008

Many in the Oscars game saw Slumdog Millionaire over-achieve in 2008 as it pretty much swept the evening. In the Best Original Score category, it was the only first-timer in the shortlist than took gold – A. R. Rahman. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Alexandre Desplat) and Defiance (James Newton Howard) marked two composers heading for six nominations without a win. Though Desplat has two now. And Danny Elfman (Milk) added this to the four Academy Award nominations he would get and not win. Thomas Newman’s brilliant work on WALL-E (9) was another of his oh-so-closes. He even managed to add a Best Original Song nomination credit to his Oscar bridesmaid status.

NOT Nominated #13 – 81st Academy Awards – 2008

Revolutionary Road

NOT Nominated #14 – 84th Academy Awards – 2011

The Help

Nominated – 85th Academy Awards – 2012

Thomas Newman returned in 2012 with Sam Mendes again, and the James Bond venture, Skyfall (10) – which ironically won Best Original Song. In one of the most haphazard of Oscar races, Mychael Danna would win the Oscar for Life of Pi. Anna Karenina‘s Dario Marianelli was on the list, who won in 2007 for another Joe Wright fancy drama, Atonement. And Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln would garner John Williams another Academy Award invitation. Alexandre Desplat’s day was getting closer, but his nod for Argo seemed to come with the turf of the film’s momentum, given he also composed better works the very same year with Zero Dark Thirty, Moonrise Kingdom and Rust and Bone.

Nominated – 86th Academy Awards – 2013

Steven Price was the favorite to take gold for a long time, like many of Gravity’s eventual Oscars. It was a pleasant addition to see Her nominated here, with Arcade Fire’s Will Butler and Owen Pallett. And that John Williams was back with The Book Thief. Equally a household name at the Academy Awards these days, Alexandre Desplat earned himself a well-deserved mention for Philomena. Meanwhile, Saving Mr. Banks (11) was fading from potential contender status to almost-forgotten – Thomas Newman’s nomination felt more like a formality than a merit.

NOT Nominated #15 – 88th Academy Awards – 2015

He Named Me Malala

Nominated – 88th Academy Awards – 2015

The 2015 Oscar for Best Original Score went to a Quentin Tarantino film. Having borrowed his music for so long, the filmmaker managed to get the legendary Ennio Morricone an invite and path to glory, for The Hateful Eight. Incredibly, this was only the Italian’s sixth Academy Award nomination, when he should have been competing with the likes of John Williams. Who incidentally made the cut yet again for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Carol’s Carter Burwell and Sicario’s Jóhann Jóhannsson were first time nominees. Striking out once more with Bridge of Spies (12), Thomas Newman was now just one away from unlucky thirteen. Yikes.

Nominated – 89th Academy Awards – 2016

And that thirteenth nomination for Thomas Newman was more bemusing than down to luck. I remember the gasps when his name was revealed for Passengers (13). Largely due to the film’s poor reception, as its actually a fine score. Also in the mix was Mica Levi’s intoxicating music on Jackie, Hauschka and Dustin O’Halloran for the late-breaker, Lion, and Nicholas Britell’s subtle, hypnotic score for Best Picture Moonlight. There would be no opening the wrong envelope here though for La La Land as composer Justin Hurwitz was a sure bet.