Oscars Whittle Down Best Song Contenders: Vedder, Lerche and 'Dewey Cox' Get a Shot
The Oscars might be inviting some cool kids - Marshall Crenshaw, Eddie Vedder, Sondre Lerche and Adam Schlesinger - to their party for song trophies.
Fifty-nine songs are being considered for the 80th Academy Awards,among them three Vedder tunes for "Into the Wild," Schlesinger's centerpiece from "Music and Lyrics" and three from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.”
Only one film has four contenders - “August Rush” - while Lerche's tunes in "Dan in Real Life," “56 Drops of Blood,” Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz's "Enchanted" and “Good Luck Chuck” (songs by the Flaming Lips, Dandy Warhols and Aidan Hawken) joined “Into the Wild” and "Dewey Cox" with three competitors.
The music-centric pic "Once" has two of the songs from the Frames' Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (“Falling Slowly” and “If You Want Me”) up for consideration.
Naturally, the new tune composed for "Hairspray," “Come So Far (Got So Far to Go),” is in the mix as is “China Doll,” the tune John Sayles and Mason Darling wrote for “Honeydripper.”
"Walk Hard's" three contenders are "Beautiful Ride” by Dan Bern and Mike Viola; “Walk Hard” by Marshall Crenshaw, John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan; and “Let’s Duet” by Charlie Wadhams and Benji Hughes.
Other pop and rock musicians being considered: Aimee Mann, John Legend, John Mayer, Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Roger Waters, Rob Thomas, Rufus Wainwright and the Eels.
On Jan. 15, the Academy will screen clips featuring each song, in random order, for voting members of the Music Branch in both Beverly Hills and New York City. Following the screenings, members will vote to determine which three, four or five songs become nominees in the category.
The list of original songs is after the jump:
“Do You Feel Me” from “American Gangster”
“At the Edge of the World” from “Arctic Tale”
“Someday” from “August Rush”
“This Time” from “August Rush”
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
“Break” from “August Rush”
“Nothing’s There” from “Badland”
“The Devil’s Lonely Fire” from “Badland”
“A Hero Comes Home” from “Beowulf”
“The Stars of Orion” from “Berkeley”
“Say” from “The Bucket List”
“To Be Surprised” from “Dan in Real Life”
“My Hands Are Shaking” from “Dan in Real Life”
“I’ll Be OK” from “Dan in Real Life”
“December Boys” from “December Boys”
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
“Atkozott Egy Elet” from “56 Drops of Blood”
“O, Atyam!” from “56 Drops of Blood”
“Eleg!” from “56 Drops of Blood”
“A Dream” from “Freedom Writers”
“Lyra” from “The Golden Compass”
“Good Luck Chuck” from “Good Luck Chuck”
“Shut Me Out” from “Good Luck Chuck”
“I Was Zapped by the Lucky Super Rainbow” from “Good Luck Chuck”
“Grace Is Gone” from “Grace Is Gone”
“Lullabye for Wyatt” from “Grace Is Gone”
“Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)” from “Hairspray”
“The Tale of the Horny Frog” from “The Heartbreak Kid”
“China Doll” from “Honeydripper”
“It Will Stay With Us” from “The Hottest State”
“Never See You” from “The Hottest State”
“Society” from “Into the Wild”
“Guaranteed” from “Into the Wild”
“Rise” from “Into the Wild”
“First Amendment Blues” from “Larry Flynt: The Right To Be Left Alone”
“Hello (I Love You)” from “The Last Mimzy”
“Despedida” from “Love in the Time of Cholera”
“Huck’s Tune” from “Lucky You”
“Little Wonders” from “Meet the Robinsons”
“Another Believer” from “Meet the Robinsons”
“Way Back into Love” from “Music and Lyrics”
“PoP! Goes My Heart” from “Music and Lyrics”
“Ordinary People” from “Music Within”
“Pretty Much Amazing” from “Nancy Drew”
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
“If You Want Me” from “Once”
“Le Festin” from “Ratatouille”
“Land of Quiet Poems” from “Resurrecting the Champ”
“Love Will Still Be There” from “September Dawn”
“Royal Pain” from “Shrek the Third”
“Rule the World” from “Stardust”
“Before It’s Too Late (Sam and Mikaela’s Theme)” from “Transformers”
“Baby Don’t You Cry” from “Waitress”
“Beautiful Ride” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”
“Walk Hard” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”
“Let’s Duet” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story”
“Back Where You Belong” from “The Water Horse”
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If "Falling Slowly" and "If You Want Me" are not nominated, then I'll be immensely upset. "Once" is one of the best films of the year, and certainly these songs deserve merit.
Posted by: Brad | December 12, 2007 at 09:41 PM
If "Falling Slowly" and "If You Want Me" are not nominated, then I'll be immensely upset. "Once" is one of the best films of the year, and certainly these songs deserve merit.
Posted by: Brad | December 12, 2007 at 09:42 PM
This would actually be a helpful list if you bothered to tell us WHO each of these songs was done by.
Posted by: Tom | December 13, 2007 at 06:50 AM
I saw just one movie in the theatre twice-- and that was ONCE. Bought the CD too. My favorite movie of the year & I want to see Hansard/Irglova perform (& win!) on Oscar night!!!
Posted by: Scott | December 13, 2007 at 07:50 AM
Nothing from "Knocked Up" is being considered? This is another one of the great crimes of the Academy Awards process for these "smaller" categories. Loudon Wainwright and Joe Henry put together the best soundtrack album of the year, and while most of the songs on it couldn't be considered because they don't actually appear in the movie as songs (just instrumentals) there are at least a couple that should. "Grey in L.A." is one of the best songs ever written about Los Angeles and is heard in the film.
Posted by: Andy | December 13, 2007 at 11:37 AM
Time for Dylan to get another Oscar methinks... Huck's Tune is a great song.
Posted by: Johan | December 14, 2007 at 12:15 AM
I hope the Eels' "Royal Pain" will be nominated. It's a fantastic song.
Posted by: Berni | December 14, 2007 at 12:44 AM
Though Lucky You sucked. Huck's Tune is a great song and should be included.
Posted by: zach | December 14, 2007 at 01:37 AM
SINEAD O'CONNOR'S "Back Where You Belong' is not only a wonderful composition written and performed by here but is perfect for these times we live in... an anti-War song.
Posted by: Bruce Garfield | December 14, 2007 at 10:08 AM
It has to be Eels.....pees on everything else from a great height
Posted by: Dazla Smith | December 31, 2007 at 05:42 AM