Down to Earth - Best Original Song Nominee

Singing for their Oscar.

Beginning today, I'll be spotlighting the Academy Award nominees for Best Original Song. I must tell you upfront that showcasing these songs is a bittersweet task for me.

As I've mentioned, no less that 342 times, Bruce Springsteen was not nominated for his Golden Globe winning song, "The Wrestler." Nevertheless, I will leave the tears on my pillow and soldier on to present to you the first of the three songs up for an Oscar on February 22.

Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman (Finding Nemo, American Beauty, Road to Perdition) teamed up to produce "Down to Earth" for Disney/Pixar's Wall-E. If you've seen the wonderful film - and really, you should - you'll recognize the song from end credits.

"Down to Earth" has that very Academy-friendly sound; it's impressive fare, but feels similar to something you've probably sample before. Thomas Newman is also an Academy favorite, having been nominated for 10 Oscars.

Check out "Down to Earth," (and a little bit of Wall-E - so cute!) and see if you think it achieves blast-off.

'Slumdog' vs. 'Wall-E' for best song

By Jon Burlingame, Variety, Mon., Feb. 9, 2009

No clear frontrunner among Oscar nominees

For the third time in the past 20 years, music-branch voters chose only three tunes as best song nominees. Two are from the same movie, and two of the singers are world-class world-music recording artists.

"Slumdog's" competition is the song from the end of the Disney-Pixar movie "Wall-E," co-written by Thomas Newman (also nominated for his score) and Peter Gabriel. The nom is Gabriel's first despite having composed scores for such films as "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence."

Eight of the past 20 song statuettes have gone to tunes from animated movies (all Disney pics but one). And nine of the past 20 have gone to popular artists (including Gabriel's ex-Genesis bandmate Phil Collins, for "Tarzan," another Disney toon). Also, Gabriel's human-rights and environmental activism would seem to coincide with the politics of many Acad voters.

And, in recent years, voters have spread the Oscar wealth among multiple pics. A "Slumdog" score win could translate into a "Wall-E" song win.

Early Grammys Honor Film

Ayala Ben-Yehuda, L.A., February 08, 200

The soundtrack for "Juno" was the first winner at the 51st annual Grammy Awards, taking home the trophy for best compilation soundtrack. Meanwhile, James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer won best score soundtrack for "The Dark Knight." The Grammy for best motion picture song went to "Down To Earth" from the Disney/Pixar film "Wall-E." Thomas Newman, who co-wrote the song with singer Peter Gabriel, accepted the award. The song is also nominated for an Oscar. "Define Dancing," another collaboration by Gabriel and Newman from "Wall-E," won a Grammy for best instrumental arrangement. The film music Grammys were handed out today during the pre-telecast awards at Los Angeles' Staples Center. For Billboard.com's Grammy microsite, please click here.

Down to Earth remporte un Grammy

Par Kevin Laforet, Voir.ca, le 8 fevreir 2009

The Dark Knight, WALL-E et Juno remportent des Grammys

Lors de la 51e cérémonie des Grammy Awards, trois prix reliés au cinéma ont été remis. James Newton Howard et Hans Zimmer ont reçu le prix de la Meilleure musique de film pour The Dark Knight. Le Grammy de la Meilleure chanson composée pour un film est allé à Thomas Newman et Peter Gabriel pour Down to Earth, tirée de WALL-E. Enfin, la trame sonore de Juno, qui inclue des pièces de Kimya Dawson et de ses projets Moldy Peaches et Ansty Pants, a été récompensée dans la catégorie de la Meilleure compilation.

Reactions from Oscar nominees

Reuters, Fri Jan 23, 2009

(...) Peter Gabriel had never received an Oscar nomination before Thursday, though he has been nominated three times for a Golden Globe. His "WALL-E" songwriting partner and the movie's score composer, Thomas Newman, has now been nominated 10 times, engendering comparisons to Susan Lucci among his friends. "It never gets tired, and it's every bit as thrilling," Newman said. Gabriel, however, noted that they needed to shake off their bad luck, and told of a woman in Paris who tried to get married for 20 years, to no avail. On the counsel of a friend, she threw herself a fake wedding, inviting all her friends and drafted a fake husband. "Within four months, she met her man and had a real marriage. And they are still together. So what we have to do is get fake Oscars on both of our mantelpieces and visualize (the win)." Gabriel also said he didn't know how he was going to celebrate the news, " but it will involve alcohol."

Oscar nominee reactions

By ANGELA DAWSON, The Hour, Posted on 01/22/2009

(...) "It's always exciting and particularly with 'Wall-E,' because I worked on it for so many years. I think I started in late 2005, so it's kind of satisfying to see there's some recognition to that end. We sensed from the beginning that this animated movie was going to be different, but you never know how it's going to turn out. It always was a risky thing. Along the way, there were moments of doubt and moments of great pride. Ultimately, as it got close to being completed, all of us realized it was working. By the end of the movie you were just so involved with these two robots who were in love with each other. I went to England to meet with (co-writer) Peter Gabriel for a short period of time and we kind of hammered out the basic form of a song in about a day and a half. We talked from time to time and shared ideas from time to time digitally, and we kind of worked from there. We played the song for Andrew Stanton and the other people at Pixar and they approved it and liked it, and Peter did some additional work and we backed and forthed it and the song was kind of born." -- Thomas Newman, Best Song nominee for "Down to Earth" (with Peter Gabriel) and Best Score nominee for "Wall-E"

The music behind movies

By A. ASOHAN,thestaronline ,Monday January 12, 2009

(...)The Last Temptation of Christ (Peter Gabriel)

Speaking of what idiots we critics can be at times ....

Okay, I know there was a great hullabaloo over what Entertainment Weekly ranked as No.6 of the 25 most controversial movies of all time. Yes, it was an ambitious and contentious movie, with Willem Dafoe as a very human Jesus who has a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene (Barbara Hershey). Yes, the religious folk were mightily irritated, and it was banned in many countries, including Malaysia.

I really wanted to watch it in 1988, but only managed to do so more than a decade later. I was mightily unimpressed.

Indeed, the fact that it was originally envisioned as a US$14mil movie but was finally shot with a US$7mil budget shows ... very badly. The sets were horrible.

The acting? We’re talking a stellar cast here, some of the finest actors of their generation, directed by a maestro, Martin Scorsese. So what if in true Hollywood fashion, the bad guys (the Romans) had British accents (including one David Bowie in a Pontius Pilate role originally slated for Sting) and the good guys spoke like Americans?

But when did Jews of olden days speak like modern New Yorkers ... what were you thinking, Martin?

Never mind. The Last Temptation of Christ had great music, composed by former Genesis frontman and creative force Peter Gabriel, who was deep in his “world music” phase. It was so good that he worked further on the music to release an album about a year later called Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ.

Some say it’s his best work ever, drawing from inspirations and influences from all over the world, but especially from the Middle-East and Africa. It introduced the greater world at large to such artistes as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Youssou N’Dour, and should be in the personal collection of anybody who calls himself or herself a fan of world music.

And as any role-playing gamer will tell you, it’s perfect for a Dark Sun campaign. (No, I’m not going to bother explaining the allusion to non-RPGers – it would take too long.) (...)

Golden Globes 2009 : Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé et Peter Gabriel nominés

Baptiste Layec, musicspot.fr, publié le 12/12/2008

La cérémonie des Golden Globes 2009 aura lieu le 11 janvier 2009 à Los Angeles. Il s'agit de la 66ème édition. Elle distinguera les meilleurs acteurs, les meilleurs films et (ce qui nous intéresse particulièrement) les meilleures chansons composées pour des films.

Les nominés de l'année 2009 pour la meilleure chanson ont apporté leur contribution à des films sortis cette année. On notera en particulier la présence de Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce et de Peter Gabriel.

Jamie Cullum, Clint Eastwood, Kyle Eastwood et Michael Stevens pour Gran Torino (tirée de Gran Turino).
Bruce Springsteen pour The Wrestler (tirée de The Wrestler).
Miley Cyrus et Jeffrey Steele pour I Thought I Lost You (tirée de Volt, Star Malgré Lui).
Thomas Newman et Peter Gabriel pour Down To Earth (tirée de WALL-E).
Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott Mc Farnon, Ian Dench, James Dring, Jody Street pour Once In A Lifetime (tirée de Cadillac Records).

Par ailleurs, la comédie musicale Mamma Mia, basée sur l'oeuvre d'ABBA, est nominée dans la catégorie meilleure comédie ou comédie musicale.

WALL-E's Down To Earth Wins At World Soundtrack Awards

AWN Headlines news, October 24, 2008

Down to Earth, from Disney-Pixar's WALL-E, was awarded Best Original Song at the World Soundtrack Awards held last weekend in Ghent, Belgium. The song's music is by Thomas Newman and Peter Gabriel, lyrics by Peter Gabriel, and is performed by Peter Gabriel. Composer James Newton Howard won Film Composer of the Year in the night's big award for his work on CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR, MICHAEL CLAYTON and I AM LEGEND. "Down to Earth" plays during the closing credits on the animated hit, which features multiple animated styles tracing the art form's history.

And the WSA nominees are...:

Michael Beek, musicfromthemovies, 21 August 2008

It’s less than two months until the 8th World Soundtrack Awards and the World Soundtrack Academy has announced the main nominees for this year’s awards. The academy is comprised of many industry figures and some 290 leading composers, who deliberate over the last year’s works and reveal all at Film Festival Ghent.

This year’s nominees sees a mix of titles and composers well used to nomination lists, and a few new entries that just got into the running. Five composers are up for ‘Film Composer of the Year’ and it’s going to be a difficult decision based on the quality of the work on display.

Alexandre Desplat is noted for The Golden Compass, his first major blockbuster fantasy score, while Alberto Iglesias is nominated for The Kite Runner. Iglesias of course scooped two awards in 2006, for The Constant Gardener, so I wonder if the Academy will recognise his latest dramatic effort? Joining them is John Powell, whose score for The Bourne Ultimatum puts him in the running, though he’s been a busy boy as usual this last twelve months; as has James Newton Howard, whom the Academy recognises for not one but three scores - Charlie Wilson’s War, Michael Clayton and I Am Legend.

In the running for ‘Best Original Score of the Year’ is 3:10 to Yuma by Marco Beltrami, Atonement by Dario Marianelli, The Kite Runner by Alberto Iglesias, There Will Be Blood by Johnny Greenwood and Wall•E by Thomas Newman – so a tough contest there I think, but it’s possible Marianelli will continue to reap success for his stunning, emotional effort.

The final category revealed this week is that for ‘Best Original Song’ and as usual it’s an eclectic mix. Heading the selection is ‘Despedida’ from Love in the Time of Cholera, composed by Antonia Pinto and Shakira, followed by Thomas Newman and Peter Gabriel’s ‘Down to Earth’, from Wall•E, Eddie Vedder’s ‘Guaranteed’ – from Into the Wild - and ‘A Hero Comes Home’ from Beowulf by Alan Silvestri and Glenn Ballard.

All will be revealed of course at the 8th World Soundtrack Awards, which close the festival on Saturday October 18th. The nominees for the Public Choice Award are yet to be announced and you can indeed still add your vote to the collection – simply visit www.worldsoundtrackawards.com for more information.