No Oscar for TDK score

THE DARK KNIGHT may very well see a lot of Oscar nominations when they’re officially announced on January 22nd but there’s one thing TDK won’t be nominated for. THE DARK KNIGHT has been disqualified from the Original Music Score category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. While this may surprise you, the move isn’t unprecendented – BATMAN BEGINS was similarly disqualified in 2005. The reason give by the AMPAS for the disqualification was that five names – Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, Alex Gibson, Mel Wesson and Lorne Balfe – were listed as composers on the official studio document that specifies all music in the film. Warner Bros., looking to avoid another DQ, prepared a signed affidavit from all five parties stating that the majority of the work was composed by Zimmer and Howard but that wasn’t enough to convince the AMPAS. The reason all five names were listed on the documents to begin with were to financially reward those who helped make the score successful. So while Zimmer and Howard did the noble thing to help out lesser known artists, they’ll get the shaft come Oscar time. For shame.