Jon Burlingame editor In what may be the most difficult-to-predict score competition in years, the original-music Oscar could go to a sentimental favorite, a past nominee or the newcomer to the race.
Academy members begin voting today. Legendary composer John Williams broke records again by becoming the most nominated living person (53 nominations, winning five), earning the highest number of nominations ever in the music categories, and (it is believed, per the Academy) becoming the oldest nominee ever for a competitive award.
He is 91. His nomination for “The Fabelmans” surprised some outsiders, as his fairly spare score is often overshadowed by the several classical pieces performed by Mitzi (Michelle Williams), the character based on director Steven Spielberg’s piano-playing mom.
But it passed the 35% rule — that is, more than a third of the total musical content must be original dramatic score — or it would have been disqualified by the Academy’s strict music-branch executive committee.
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