We are still over a month away from the March 2 Oscar ceremony but the news about the Oscars continue to keep coming. Most are related to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity's late surge in guilds but today's announcement rescinding the best song nomination for the secular film "Alone Yet Not Alone" due to what the AMPAS deemed as unfair campaigning rocked the industry. This withdrawal of nomination is not unprecedented but has not occured in over 20 years.
Lesson learned, i suppose. Personally, the nomination did come as a surprise although after i listened to the song i thought it was actually good and worthy of the nomination. The added story of the singer's physical disability just heightened my admiration for the song. But "Let it Go" from Disney's "FROZEN" will win! You can bet your bottom dollar on it!
Here's the official press release from the Academy:
BEVERLY HILLS, CA — On Tuesday night, the Academy’s Board of Governors voted to rescind the Original Song nomination for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” music by Bruce Broughton and lyric by Dennis Spiegel. The decision was prompted by the discovery that Broughton, a former Governor and current Music Branch executive committee member, had emailed membe...rs of the branch to make them aware of his submission during the nominations voting period.
"No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one’s position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one’s own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage,” said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President.
The Board determined that Broughton’s actions were inconsistent with the Academy’s promotional regulations, which provide, among other terms, that “it is the Academy's goal to ensure that the Awards competition is conducted in a fair and ethical manner. If any campaign activity is determined by the Board of Governors to work in opposition to that goal, whether or not anticipated by these regulations, the Board of Governors may take any corrective actions or assess any penalties that in its discretion it deems necessary to protect the reputation and integrity of the awards process.”
An additional nominee in the Original Song category will not be named. The remaining nominees in the category are:
“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2” Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go” from “Frozen” Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“The Moon Song” from “Her” Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson
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Raymond De Asis Lo
