The largest numbers this year are, for the most part, split evenly between four composers, all of whom received four nominations: MYCHAEL DANNA, ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ and veteran composer JOHN WILLIAMS.
The nominations for Danna, Velázquez and Williams were each for a single score – director Ang Lee’s vivid shipwreck drama LIFE OF PI, director Juan Antonio Bayona’s harrowing tsunami drama THE IMPOSSIBLE [LO IMPOSIBLE] and director Steven Spielberg’s look at the last months of the life of Abraham LINCOLN, respectively.
Desplat’s nominations were for his body of work in 2012 which included writing IFMCA Award-nominated music for the quirky comedy MOONRISE KINGDOM, the storybook animation RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, and the contemporary war thriller ZERO DARK THIRTY, as well as for the 1970s espionage thriller ARGO, the realistic French romantic drama RUST AND BONE [DE ROUILLE ET D’OS], the Italian satirical comedy REALITY, and the French-language biopic CLOCLO.
2012 Film Categories
FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
- CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
- THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, music by Howard Shore
- THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
- LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna
- LINCOLN, music by John Williams
FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
- MYCHAEL DANNA
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
- DANNY ELFMAN
- FERNANDO VELÁZQUEZ
- JOHN WILLIAMS
BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
- NATHAN JOHNSON
- ZELTIA MONTES
- NIC RAINE
- DAN ROMER & BENH ZEITLIN
- JOSEPH TRAPANESE
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
- ANNA KARENINA, music by Dario Marianelli
- THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
- LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna
- LINCOLN, music by John Williams
- THERE BE DRAGONS – SECRETOS DE PASIÓN, music by Robert Folk
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
- MOONRISE KINGDOM, music by Alexandre Desplat
- SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN, music by Dario Marianelli
- THE SESSIONS, music by Marco Beltrami
- SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, music by Danny Elfman
- TED, music by Walter Murphy
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
- THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, music by James Horner
- DANS LA MAISON, music by Philippe Rombi
- THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, music by Hans Zimmer
- SKYFALL, music by Thomas Newman
- ZERO DARK THIRTY, music by Alexandre Desplat
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
- CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
- THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, music by Howard Shore
- JOHN CARTER, music by Michael Giacchino
- PROMETHEUS, music by Marc Streitenfeld, additional music by Harry Gregson-Williams
- SINISTER, music by Christopher Young
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
- BRAVE, music by Patrick Doyle
- FRANKENWEENIE, music by Danny Elfman
- PARANORMAN, music by Jon Brion
- RISE OF THE GUARDIANS, music by Alexandre Desplat
- SECRET OF THE WINGS, music by Joel McNeely
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- KINGDOM OF PLANTS, music by Joel Douek, Freddy Sheinfeld and Elik Alvarez
- LOS MUNDOS SUTILES, music by Pascal Gaigne
- METSÄN TARINA, music by Panu Aaltio
- SAMSARA, music by Lisa Gerrard and Michael Stearns
- SHAKESPEARE & US, music by Miguel d’Oliveira
FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
- “The Cloud Atlas Sextet for Orchestra” from CLOUD ATLAS, music by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil
- “The Impossible Main Title” from THE IMPOSSIBLE, music by Fernando Velázquez
- “John Carter of Mars” from JOHN CARTER, music by Michael Giacchino
- “Pi’s Lullaby” from LIFE OF PI, music by Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri
- “The Peterson House and Finale” from LINCOLN, music by John Williams