2015 was an exciting year of film music,
filled with plenty of good, a bit of bad, and some chunks of “Meh.” Naturally,
there’s lots to recognize, so here are my 2015 Awards. If you’re looking for
traditional awards like “Best Score” and “Best (insert given genre) Score,”
you’d do better with Callum’s 2015 awards. Here, you’ll find more offbeat awards to represent 2015 in a
different light. So sit back, sip some tea, have a laugh, have a rage, call me
names in the comments, question my judgement or your own, whatever you do when
you read “Best of” lists and articles, and enjoy.
The
James Newton Howard Award for Best Score to the Worst Film
- Jupiter Ascending, Michael Giacchino
- Pan, John Powell
- Pixels, Henry Jackman
- Taken 3, Nathaniel Mechaly
- United Passions, Jean-Paul Beintus
We kick things off with the James Newton
Howard Award, named after the man whose best work seems to come from subpar
films (Lady in the Water, The Last Airbender, Maleficent). Though Taken 3
made a hefty sum at the box office, it was panned by critics. However, Mechaly
turned in a surprisingly well-crafted and often emotional score to accompany
Liam Neeson’s latest hijinks. Few could argue with the putridness of FIFA’s
propaganda film United Passions,
partially because it grossed a paltry $918 in the United States. That’s right,
it didn’t even make back enough to pay for the catering. Despite this and a 0%
Rotten Tomatoes rating, United Passions
was blessed with a vibrant score from regular Desplat orchestrator Beintus. The
typically excellent director Joe Wright turned out a flop with Pan, which, following negative test
screenings, led to the replacement of Dario Marianelli’s score. Stepping in was
John Powell, who delivered quality swashbuckling music on short notice. Adam
Sandler’s video game/invasion/disaster failed to impress even his most loyal
fans, though it inspired composer Henry Jackman, resulting in a soundtrack
channeling both John Williams and Independence
Day-era David Arnold. However, few movies in 2015 were as reviled and fewer
scores to 2015 films of any quality were as good as Jupiter Ascending. I’m not sure what inspired Giacchino, but he can
now check off “grand space opera score” from his to-do list. Giacchino seized
the pole position for this award in mid-Dumpuary and held on to the end.
The
James Horner Award for Best Score to a Blockbuster Film ($1 billion+ box
office)
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens, John Williams
- Avengers: Age of Ultron, Danny Elfman/Brian Tyler
- Furious 7, Brian Tyler
- Jurassic World, Michael Giacchino
- Minions, Heitor Pereira
The Best Blockbuster Score award is named
after composer James Horner, who, at the time of this article’s writing, had
scored the two highest grossing films in history. This year, Brian Tyler placed
himself in a favorable position early on with two summer megablockbusters (can
we have Godzilla fight Mecha-BlockBuster next?), while Michael Giacchino
managed to beat his competition (mostly himself in Tomorrowland and Inside Out)
in Jurassic World’s massive success.
Pereira is a surprise nominee, his Minions
score a competent comedy entry. In the end, however, all must bow before the
O.G. of blockbusters and blockbuster scores, Star Wars and John Williams. The
Force Awakens snagged the title late in the year with another phenomenal
entry from the ageless maestro.
The
John Barry Award for Best Spy Score
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Joe Kraemer
- Bridge of Spies, Thomas Newman
- Kingsman: The Secret Service, Henry Jackman/Matthew Margeson
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Daniel Pemberton
- Spy, Theodore Shapiro
The spy genre had a plethora of films
released this year, so much so that 007, the franchise that made Barry this
award’s namesake, couldn’t even snag a nomination this year with Thomas
Newman’s Spectre. Both Kingsman and Spy’s extensive parody/homage of the James Bond franchise extended
into their music, Jackman, Margeson, and Shapiro all providing quality
imitations of both David Arnold and John Barry’s contributions to the venerated
spy franchise. Newman’s Bridge of Spies,
based on real events during the Cold War, took a more grounded, solemn
approach, but nonetheless featured a poignant conclusion brimming with
Americana and Newman-isms. Pemberton’s U.N.C.L.E.
and Kraemer’s Rogue Nation share a
number of similarities. Both are based off of TV shows, both feature a retro
60s spy sound, and both have wickedly delightful use of percussion, including
some inspired bass flute work on Pemberton’s part. However, Kraemer gets the
edge for adapting two of Lalo Schifrin’s themes for the original show, as well
as Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma,” into a fresh modern action score, resulting in
arguably (and ironically) the ballsiest score of 2015.
The
Alexandre Desplat Award for Best Period Piece (“A Long Time Ago…” does not
count)
- Far From the Madding Crowd, Craig Armstrong
- Cinderella, Patrick Doyle
- Crimson Peak, Fernando Velazquez
- The Hateful Eight, Ennio Morricone
- Muhammad: The Messenger of God, A.R. Rahman
Period pieces is a vague subset of films,
but still has certain conventions and stereotypes. One of these is generally
good music. Rahman’s score for Muhammad
employs Middle Eastern textures and a choir for an aptly grandiose and
religious score about the Muslim prophet. Interestingly, it is the only nominee
in this category that isn’t set in the 1800s. Meanwhile, Morricone returned to
the Western genre for Quentin Tarantino’s The
Hateful Eight, but sidestepped the spaghetti western sound he’s known for
in favor of a more sinister, almost Hermann-esque thriller score, heavily
emphasizing the low winds and percussion sections. The result is quite
inspired. Velazquez’s seamless blend of conventional horror concepts with
gothic romantic flavoring in Crimson Peak
wonderfully aided director Guillermo del Toro’s ghost story. Doyle returned to
the lush, wonderfully melodic sandbox of English period dramas where he made
his name, crafting beautiful music (and several waltzes and polkas) for Cinderella. In the end, however, he was
out English-ed, out period-ed, and out drama-ed by Craig Armstrong’s sweeping
violin-driven score for Far From the
Madding Crowd. At once dazzling and melancholy, Armstrong’s music is a
force to be reckoned with.
The
Trevor Rabin Award for Best Sports Score
- Creed, Ludwig Goransson
- Concussion, James Newton Howard
- My All-American, John Paesano
- Southpaw, James Horner
- United Passions, Jean-Paul Beintus
The sports film is one that frequently
depends on the quality of the score for its own success. Both Howard and
Horner’s scores utilized a strong electronic presence to explore darker themes
in their respective films. Beintus’ United
Passions brought energy and excitement to the soccer film (even though the
executives were portrayed as the heroes). This award comes down to Paesano’s My All-American, and Goransson’s Creed. In the former, Paesano channels
Jerry Goldsmith’s classics (namely Rudy
and Hoosiers) for a heroic, almost
noble Americana sound. In the latter, Goransson’s infusion of R&B into Bill
Conti’s established sound for the franchise gave Creed a modern, gritty atmosphere that proved
just as inspirational. I give the edge to Creed,
though it’s virtually a tossup, and there’s no analytical basis for the
decision; I just like one a little more than the other.
The
John Ottman Award for Best Adaptation of a Different Composer’s Music
- Creed, Ludwig Goransson
- Avengers: Age of Ultron, Danny Elfman/Brian Tyler
- Jurassic World, Michael Giacchino
- Krampus, Douglas Pipes
- Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Joe Kraemer
Stepping into the shoes of another
composer’s franchise is both a great burden and a great opportunity. One must
work within constraints set by his predecessors, but has the opportunity to
contribute something unique to the franchise. John Ottman’s Superman Returns is a perfect example of
when this goes successfully. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, wanting for
thematic continuity for years, Elfman and Tyler overcompensated, blending so
many previous themes that one might need an encyclopedia to keep track. The
best topping of Age of Ultron’s
everything pizza, however, was Elfman’s phenomenal reworking of Silvestri’s
theme for the Avengers. Rising star Pipes made a devilish potpourri of iconic
Christmas melodies into a thrilling horror score; I may never listen to “Silent
Night” quite the same way. Similar to Kraemer in Rogue Nation, Giacchino was tasked with handling an iconic
franchise theme and blended it admirably with his own material in Jurassic World. Ultimately, it was
Goransson’s handling of Bill Conti’s iconic themes from Rocky that stole the show, culminating in glorious counterpoint to
Goransson’s main theme in the fist-pumping “You’re a Creed.”
The
Last of the Egyptian Batman Run Award for Best Collaborative Score (2+ credited
composers)
- The Little Prince, Richard Harvey/Hans Zimmer
- Avengers: Age of Ultron, Danny Elfman/Brian Tyler
- The Boy Next Door, Nathan Barr/Randy Edelman
- Fantastic Four, Marco Beltrami/Philip Glass
- Kingsman: The Secret Service, Henry Jackman/Matthew Margeson
2015 was filled with an unusually high
number of prolific composer collaborations. It was kicked off by Barr and
Edelman’s team-up on The Boy Next Door,
billed by shameless advertisers as an “historic collaboration,” though it
turned out to be a fairly standard suspense/thriller score. Beltrami and
minimalist icon Philip Glass formed quite the odd couple for Fantastic Four, resulting in a competent
superhero soundtrack featuring both of their sensibilities. Earning another
nomination here is Kingsman with its
espionage bravura. In the end, two multi-composer efforts stood above the rest.
Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman, two of the most prolific composers for the
superhero genre, combined efforts for an excellent score to Age of Ultron. In a way, it’s poetic that
a superhero team-up film should warrant the ultimate composer team-up. While
Tyler and Elfman’s work was fantastic, each composer’s music was created
entirely independent of the other’s. Thus, the LEBR Award goes to The Little Prince. Hans Zimmer, no stranger
to the collaborative process, joined forces with longtime friend Richard Harvey
for the French animated film. Zimmer focused primarily on developing several
songs, while Harvey integrated the songs into the orchestral score, resulting
in a quite charming end product.
The Hamilton Award for Youngest, Scrappiest,
and Hungriest Composer
- Lorne Balfe
- Tom Holkenborg
- Daniel Pemberton
Named, of course, after the recent Broadway
hit musical, the Hamilton Award recognizes an up and coming composer who
displays a relentless work ethic. Pemberton arrived on the scene with two
excellent scores for The Man from
U.N.C.L.E. and Steve Jobs, while
Holkenborg delivered four scores, including one for the critically acclaimed Mad Max: Fury Road as well as a somber
score for the crime drama Black Mass.
But Balfe takes the cake, penning a whopping 12 scores during 2015 for a wide
variety of films with a wide variety of qualities, including the surprise
Dreamworks hit Home and a late
replacement score for Terminator: Genysis.
The Yeezus Award for Best Album Artwork
Ironically named after Kanye West’s most
recent album, which didn’t have a cover, the Yeezus Award goes to the score that also remembered that some
people pick things up based on the cover art. In a time when many covers are
mere cropping and rearrangement of the poster art, I feel this is something
worth cherishing. Inside Out and The Force Awakens both earn kudos for
their simple, throwback styles. The former displays an array of memories, each
with a different emotion, while also emulating the style of a 50s jazz record. The Force Awakens simply displays the
film’s logo over a star field, a nice nod to the cover art of the original Star Wars soundtrack album from 1977.
The cover of Wolf Totem conveys the
beauty, elegance, and majesty of Horner’s score with its landscape image of a
wolf on a rock formation. Macbeth may
be the cleverest of the bunch, arranging a number of its lead actors into an
outline of Scotland, set against a blood red backdrop. The Revenant, however, wins on the strength of a beautiful font
combined with a stunning, high-contrast image of stark desolation. Ironically,
the score, by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, and Bryce Dessner, is among my least
favorite of 2015. But that cover raised my expectations before I started
actually listening to it.
The
Pitchfork Award for Best Score You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
- Wolf Totem, James Horner
- Paper Planes, Nigel Westlake
- Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Robert Gulya
- The 33, James Horner
- Secrets of a Psychopath, Scott Glasgow
I want to take a moment to recognize music
from films that flew under most people’s radar, some of which is among the very
best of 2015. The main criteria is whether the film received a wide release in
the United States. If not, it’s likely that many of you haven’t even heard of
these films, let alone the music. James Horner, better known for a variety of
high-profile films throughout his career, began to work on smaller projects
before his tragic death in 2015, thus resulting in nominations for the
uplifting The 33 and the majestically
beautiful Wolf Totem, the latter of
which takes the prize here. Also nominated were Glasgow’s wonderfully creepy
score for the low-budget horror film Secrets
of a Psychopath and Robert Gulya’s folksy adventure music for an adaptation
of Mark Twain’s beloved novels. Following a long hiatus, Australian composer
Westlake for a flighty and occasionally Powell-esque soundtrack for Paper Planes (no M.I.A. to be found
here).
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