Always a bit of a unique take on the year, the International Film Music Critics Association’s annual assessment of the year in movie and TV scores has brought with it, well, something different. And looking across the nominees, it’s two genre films – “Evil Dead” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” – that led the field with three specific nominations each. Though you could make it four for the former as composer Roque Baños was also nominated for Film Composer of the Year, alongside “Gravity” composer Steven Price, in fact, which I guess would bring its total up to three as well. The real champ, though, was composer Abel Korzeniowski, who landed six nominations across two films that were nowhere near this year’s Oscar race: “Romeo and Juliet” and “Escape from Tomorrow.” Check out the full list of nominees below and remember to keep track of the season via The Circuit.
Film Score of the Year
“Evil Dead” (Roque Baños)
“Grand Piano” (Víctor Reyes)
“Gravity” (Steven Price)
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Howard Shore)
“Romeo and Juliet” (Abel Korzeniowski)
Film Composer of the Year
Roque Baños
Laurent Eyquem
Abel Korzeniowski
Steven Price
Brian Tyler
Breakthrough Film Composer of the Year
César Benito
Sarah Class
Alexander Ebert
Laurent Eyquem
Steven Price
Best Original Score for a Drama Film
“The Best Offer [La Migliore Offerta]” (Ennio Morricone)
“The Book Thief” (John Williams)
“Copperhead” (Laurent Eyquem)
“Romeo and Juliet” (Abel Korzeniowski)
“Summer in February” (Benjamin Wallfisch)
Best Original Score for a Comedy Film
“Instructions Not Included [No Se Aceptan Devoluciones]” (Carlo Siliotto)
“Quai d”Orsay” (Philippe Sarde)
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (Theodore Shapiro)
“This is the End” (Henry Jackman)
“Venus in Fur [La Vénus à la Fourrure]” (Alexandre Desplat)
Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
“Grand Piano” (Víctor Reyes)
“Iron Man 3” (Brian Tyler)
“Passion” (Pino Donaggio)
“Rubinrot” (Philipp F. Kölmel)
“Stalingrad” (Angelo Badalamenti)
Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction/Horror Film
“Escape From Tomorrow” (Abel Korzeniowski)
“Evil Dead” (Roque Baños)
“Gravity” (Steven Price)
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Howard Shore)
“Star Trek Into Darkness” (Michael Giacchino)
Best Original Score for an Animated Feature
“The Croods” (Alan Silvestri)
“Epic” (Danny Elfman)
“Frozen” (Christophe Beck)
“Planes” (Mark Mancina)
“The Wind Rises [Kaze Tachinu]” (Joe Hisaishi)
Best Original Score for a Documentary
“Africa” (Sarah Class)
“Anne & Alet” (Mark Rayen Candasamy)
“Die Nordsee: Unser Meer” (Oliver Heuss)
“Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope” (Blake Neely)
“Tim”s Vermeer” (Conrad Pope)
Best Original Score for a Television Series
“Czas Honoru” (Bartosz Chajdecki)
“Da Vinci”s Demons” (Bear McCreary)
“El Tiempo Entre Costuras” (César Benito)
“Game of Thrones” (Ramin Djawadi)
“Isabel” (Federico Jusid)
Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media
“Assassin”s Creed IV: Black Flag” (Brian Tyler)
“Beyond: Two Souls” (Lorne Balfe)
“Company of Heroes 2” (Cris Velasco)
“Puppeteer” (Patrick Doyle)
“Remember Me” (Olivier Deriviére)
Best Archival Release of an Existing Score – Re-Release or Re-Recording
“Breakfast at Tiffany”s” (Henry Mancini) – Intrada
“QB VII” (Jerry Goldsmith) – Prometheus/Tadlow
“The Salamander” (Jerry Goldsmith) – Prometheus/Tadlow
“The Wild Bunch (Jerry Fielding) – Film Score Monthly
“Wyatt Earp (James Newton Howard) – La-La Land
Best Archival Release of an Existing Score – Compilation
“Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Collection (Various Composers) – Silva Screen
“Lethal Weapon Soundtrack Collection” (Michael Kamen, Eric Clapton and David Sanborn) – La-La Land
“Michel Legrand Anthology” (Michel Legrand) – Universal/Écoutez le Cinéma!
“Varèse Sarabande: A 35th Anniversary Celebration” (Various Composers) – Varèse Sarabande
“The X-Files: Volume Two” (Mark Snow) – La-La Land
Film Music Record Label of the Year
Intrada Records, Douglass Fake and Roger Feigelson
La-La Land Records, MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys
Moviescore Media Mikael Carlsson
Prometheus Records/Tadlow Music Luc Van de Ven and James Fitzpatrick
Quartet Records Jose M. Benitez
Film Music Composition of the Year
“The Book Thief” from “The Book Thief” (John Williams)
“The Grand Finale” from “Escape From Tomorrow” (Abel Korzeniowski)
“Abominations Rising” from “Evil Dead” (Roque Baños)
“Beyond the Forest” from “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” (Howard Shore)
“A Thousand Times Goodnight” from “Romeo and Juliet” (Abel Korzeniowski)