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Film Music Contests

Contest winners and questions, including the Annual Oscar Music Contests.

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A Guide to Film Music - Scores and Songs  (2nd edition, PineTree Press, 2002)

This informative illustrated guide was written by film music historian Roger Hall.

It includes a timeline of film music highlights from 1926 to 2001; a chapter on suggestions for listening to film music; a complete list of Academy Award film music from 1934 to 2000, and also the Sammy Awards; Top 100 Scores of the 20th Century; and an extensive bibliography and discography.

Throughout the guide are many illustrations of composer autographs, such as:  Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Max Steiner and Dimitri Tiomkin.  There are many songwriter autographs as well, including Sammy Cahn, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Jay Livingston, and others.

The title page of the guide has a rare score page from the end credits of E.T.,  signed by John Williams.

This film music guide will be numbered and signed by the author.

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 Music Titles from PineTree Press

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Fourth Annual Oscar Music Contest (Deadline: 15 March 2003)

If you pick the composer that receives the Best Score Oscar, you'll receive a Free CDR of film scores.  

If you pick the Best Song Oscar correctly, you'll get a Free CDR of film songs.

If you pick both the Best Score and Song correctly, you'll get Two Free CDRs with over two hours of film scores and songs.

These are the music nominations:

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) -

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (John Williams - 42nd nomination)

FAR FROM HEAVEN (Elmer Bernstein - 14th nomination)

FRIDA (Eliot Goldenthal - 4th nomination)

THE HOURS (Philip Glass - 2nd nomination)

ROAD TO PERDITION (Thomas Newman - 5th nomination)

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) -

"Burn It Blue" from FRIDA (music by Eliot Goldenthal; lyrics by Julie Taymor)

"Father and Daughter" from THE WILD THORNBURYS MOVIE (music & lyrics by Paul Simon)

"The Hands That Built America" from GANGS OF NEW YORK (music & lyrics by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen)

"I Move On" from CHICAGO (music by John Kander; lyrics by Fred Ebb)

"Lose Yourself" from 8 MILE (music by Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto; lyrics by Eminem)

Note:  Last year's winners are not eligible for this year's Oscar contest.  

Remember to send  in your Oscar picks by 15 March 2003.

Send them to:

Film Music Review

The contest winners (if any) will be announced after the Oscars telecast on 23 March 2003.

Third Annual Oscar Music Contest (2002)

Here are the current winners of the Oscar Music Contest for 2002:

Michael Bryan - 2 Free CDs

Kevin Moran (who also won last year) - 2 Free CDs

Addalena Smith (the only three time winner - also win the 2000 and 2001 contests) - 1 Free CD

Jim Syta (who also won last year) - 2 Free CDs

Congratulations to all the winners!  

Here are the three questions with the answers:

(1) Which of this year's Oscar nominated scores will be named Best Original Score?

A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (John Williams)

A BEAUTIFUL MIND (James Horner)

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (John Williams)

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS (Howard Shore) (Oscar winner)

MONSTERS, INC. (Randy Newman)

(2)  Which of this year's nominated songs will be named Best Original Song?

"If I Didn't Have You" (from MONSTERS, INC.) - Randy Newman (Oscar winner)

"May It Be" (from THE LORD OF THE RINGS) - Enya, Nicky Ryan, Roma Ryan

"There'll You'll Be" (from PEARL HARBOR) - Diane Warren

"Until" (from KATE & LEOPOLD) - Sting

"Vanilla Sky" (from VANILLA SKY) - Paul McCartney

Bonus Question:

(3)  What well known film composer received two Oscars for his score and song from 1952?

        Answer:  Dimtri Tiomkin, who won for his score to HIGH NOON and also for the title song, with lyrics by Ned Washington.

Tiomkin's song and score are discussed in the new 2nd edition of  A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC - Songs and Scores

Here are the winners of the contest:

Kevin Moran - 4 Free CDs

Addalena Smith (who also won in March 2000 contest) - 1 Free CD

Sam Stewart - 4 Free CDs

Jim Syta - 4 Free CDs

Congratulations to all of them!

These are the answers to the four Oscar contest questions:

*Which score will win the Oscar for 2000?

       Answer:  CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (music by Tan Dun)

*Which song will win the Oscar for 2000?

       Answer:  "Things Have Changed" (words & music by Bob Dylan)

* Bonus Question No. 1:  What film composer from the past received the most Oscars?

       Answer:  Alfred Newman ( he received 9 Oscars)

*Bonus Question No. 2:  Who is the only composer or songwriter whose first name is Oscar ever to win an Oscar award?

      Answer:  Oscar Hammerstein II (he won in 1945 for co-writing "It Might As Well Be Spring" from STATE FAIR)

Congratulations to Tom Donoho, winner of the June contest, which because of technical difficulties was extended into July.  

He wins a Free CD of "Mega Movies," courtesy of Telarc Records.

This was the question for the contest:

One of the tracks on "Mega Movies" is music from MIGHTY JOE YOUNG.  Who wrote the score for this remake and who wrote the score for the 1949 original?  You must name both composers.   

   Answer:  James Horner did the remake score for MIGHTY JOE YOUNG and Roy Webb did the original 1949 score.

Film Music Contest (May 2000)

To celebrate the second anniversary of this film music page, there were two questions to answer  - one for film composer and the other for songwriters.  

There were three winners for the May contest:

Doug Lacey, Alan J. Lasky, and Martin Nadeau.

Congratulations to all three winners!  They each will receive two Free CDs.

Here are the two questions for this month's contest:

Question 1:  What is the name of the composer who  became the first to be awarded an posthumous Academy Award (Oscar) in 1956, and what is the name of the film?

Question 2:  What are the names of the two songwriters (composer & lyricist) who received an Oscar in 1965 for best song, and what is the name of the film?

And here are the...

Answers -

Question 1:  Victor Young was the composer and AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS was the film.

Question 2:  The two songwriters are - Johnny Mandel and Paul Francis Webster for "The Shadow of Your Smile."  The film is THE SANDPIPER.

Film Music Contest (April 2000)

Congratulations to Dave Bula - the only one to answer both questions correctly.  He wins two Free CDs.  Way to go, Dave!

Here are the two questions, with the answers given below in smaller typeface.

Question 1:  Who was the first classical composer to win an Oscar for best film score, and what is the name of the film and what year was the Oscar awarded?

Question 2:   What two songwriters were the first to win back-to-back Oscars for best song, and for what films released in what two years?

Answers -

Question 1:  Aaron Copland was the first classical composer (not known for film music) to win an Oscar for his score to THE HEIRESS in 1949.

Question 2:  Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for their songs, "Moon River" in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S in 1961; and "Days of Wine and Roses" from THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES in 1962.   

First Annual Oscar Music Contest (March 2000)

Thanks to all those who entered the Oscar music contest.  Most people picked either Thomas Newman's AMERICAN BEAUTY or Rachel Portman's THE CIDER HOUSE RULES for best score.  Neither of those scores won the Oscar.  The same thing happened with the song, where most people picked Randy Newman's "When She Loved Me" - who should have won, IMO.

To read my reflections about this year's Oscar winners and over the past 50 years, go to:  Oscar Film Music Tributes 

There were two winners of the Oscar music contest for March:

Addalena Smith  - the only one to correctly pick BOTH the best score (THE RED VIOLIN) and song ("You'll Be In My Heart").  She won two free CDs.  Nice going, Addalena!

David Syta - correctly identified the best song.  He won one free CD.

Congratulations to both winners.

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