Greenwood's 'There Will Be Blood' Score Ineligble for Oscar?

If true, that makes sense. There were strict rules along those lines for the Chicago Film Critics Association awards. In fact, here’s a comprehensive letter I received on the subject for our recent awards:

My Fellow Chicago Film Critics:

Next week we wrap up contenders for 2007’s awards. To get us into the voting spirit, I’ve asked our resident score aficionado Jonathan Lewis to come up with some eligibility guidelines for our Original Score award, as well as compile a list of eligible film scores. It was a huge undertaking that took Mr. Lewis several days . (At least this might make his year-end Top Ten Film Score list easier.) This list turned out to be a little bit larger than I had imagined, but it’s exhaustive and comprehensive. His brief bio is at the end. Many thanks to Mr. Lewis for sharing this and jump-starting our voting process.

SCORE RANKINGS— Picking a best film score is purely subjective, so it really comes down to one’s own personal tastes. Mr. Lewis has broken down this massive list of 400-plus films into five categories:

—Ineligible Scores (reasons for disqualification noted for each)
—Top Ten film scores (many films have not yet opened, but I’ve got contacts at the record companies who send me early copies for review)
—Rest of the Best List
—Other Notable Scores
—Generic Scores for Action/Animation/Comedy/Drama/Horror/Sci-Fi (chosen because not one is very distinctive or memorable, sounding like nearly every film ever made in the genre)

Mr. Lewis notes: You might notice that there are not a lot of documentaries or foreign films on these lists for a very good reason. It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine if these films meet the eligibility requirements. Many documentaries do not hire a composer, choosing instead to pay licensing fees to ASCAP or BMI for copyrighted music use. For Foreign Films, there is just no good way to know if the background music is taken from an old Romanian folk song, or if a song was a moldy-oldie radio hit in Bosnia-Herzogovina.

ELIGIBILITY RULES

1. The majority of a film’s music must be original, written specifically for the film.

2. The music must be a substantial component of the film (ie. Carter Burwell’s music for No Country For Old Men is ineligible because there is less than 5 minutes of it only over the final credits)

3. Score may be comprised of orchestral background music, original songs, or combination of both.

4. All forms of music (ie. Barbershop, classical, contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, movie musical, orchestral, rap, reggae, what have you) may be considered as a score, as long as the film conforms to the award’s other requirements.

5. Remember the three words in our award name: BEST … ORIGINAL … SCORE

a.) BEST—don’t vote for something just to be ornery or clever, vote for it because you remember the music and it affected you in some positive way.

b.) ORIGINAL—as stated above, the music must have been written for the film. Too much previously produced, published, or performed music will render music score ineligible.

c.) SCORE—this is an award for music score, not a soundtrack album, therefore only the background score will be considered, UNLESS original songs written for the film comprise a significant portion of the music, in which case both composer of the background music and the songwriter will be eligible for the award.

Examples of 2007 SCORES THAT DO NOT MEET THIS CRITERIA:
Across the Universe—old Beatles songs
Alpha Dog—no score, previously produced songs
American Gangster—some score, previously produced songs
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters—no music credits
Are We Done Yet?—same composer as first film, references earlier themes
Balls of Fury—little score, previously produced songs
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon—previously produced songs
Black Snake Moan—some background score, previously produced songs
Blades of Glory— previously produced songs
Blood and Chocolate—previously produced songs
The Bourne Ultimatum—same composer, mostly references earlier themes
Broken English—no music credits
Catch and Release—little score, previously produced songs
Control—previously performed Joy Division songs
Daddy Day Camp—same composer, references earlier themes
The Darjeeling Limited—most music from films of Merchant Ivory and Satyajit Ray
Day Watch—same composer, references earlier themes
Delta Farce—compilation of famous movie action themes
Descent—little score, mostly ambient sound effects
Disturbia—some score, previously produced songs
Eagle vs. Shark—no music credits
El Cantante— previously produced songs
Elegy—no music credits
Evan Almighty—same composer, references earlier themes
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer—same composer, references earlier themes
Feel the Noise—little score, previously produced songs
Grindhouse—little score, previously produced songs
Hairspray—Broadway show, not written for the film
Halloween—previously produced songs
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix—new composer but references earlier themes
The Heartbreak Kid—little score, previously produced songs
The Hip Hop Project—all previously produced songs
Home of the Brave—little score, previously produced songs
The Hottest State— previously produced songs
Illegal Tender—little score, previously produced songs
I’m Not There—all previously performed Bob Dylan songs
Inside Paris—little score, previously produced songs
Interview—not enough music
Introducing the Dwights—little score, previously produced songs
I Think I Love My Wife—little score, previously produced songs
Juno—little score, previously produced songs
Kickin It Old Skool—no score, hip-hop hits, and parodies of hits
La Vie En Rose—all previously performed Edith Piaf songs
Margot at the Wedding—no music credits
The Namesake—little score, previously produced songs
No Country for Old Men—not enough music, only 4½ minutes over closing credits
P2—little score, previously produced songs
Peaceful Warrior— previously produced songs
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End—references earlier themes
Reno 911!: Miami—little original score, previously produced songs
Resident Evil: Extinction—same composer, references earlier themes
Rocket Science—no music credits
Self Medicated— previously produced songs
Shrek the Third—same composer, references earlier themes
Smokin’ Aces—little score, previously produced songs
Snow Cake—little score, previously produced songs
Spider-Man 3—new composer but mostly references earlier themes
Stomp the Yard—little score, previously produced songs
Sunshine—some score, lots of previously produced music by Underworld
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street——Broadway show, not written for the film
Talk to Me— previously produced songs
This Christmas—no music credits
This Is England—some score, previously produced songs
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas—old film from 1993
We Own the Night—little score, previously produced songs
Who’s Your Caddy?—little score, previously produced songs
Why Did I Get Married?—little score, previously produced songs

TOP TEN
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford—Nick Cave, Warren Ellis
Atonement—Dario Marianelli
The Golden Compass—Alexandre Desplat
Lust, Caution—Alexandre Desplat
Meet the Robinsons—Danny Elfman
Michael Clayton—James Newton Howard
Molière—Frederic Talgorn
Once—Score by Glen Hansard, Songs by Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová
Ratatouille—Michael Giacchino
There Will Be Blood—Johnny Greenwood

REST OF THE BEST
Amazing Grace—David Arnold
August Rush—Mark Mancina
Beowulf—Alan Silvestri
Dan in Real Life—Score & Songs by Sondre Lerche
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly—Paul Cantelon
Eastern Promises—Howard Shore
Elizabeth: The Golden Age—Craig Armstrong, A.R. Rahman
Enchanted—Alan Menken, Glenn Slater
Evening—Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
1408—Gabriel Yared
The Golden Door—Antonio Castrigano
Goya’s Ghosts—Varhan Bauer, Jose Nieto
The Kite Runner—Alberto Iglesias
Love in the Time of Cholera—Antonio Pinto
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium—Alexandre Desplat, Aaron Zigman
Paprika—Susumu Hirasawa
Persepolis—Olivier Bernet
Rescue Dawn—Klaus Badelt
Seraphim Falls—Harry Gregson-Williams
Silk—Ryuichi Sakamoto
Stardust—Ilan Eshkeri
300—Tyler Bates
The Wind That Shakes the Barley—George Fenton
Zodiac—David Shire

OTHER NOTABLE SCORES
The Astronaut Farmer—Stuart Matthewman
Away from Her—Jonathan Goldsmith
Becoming Jane—Adrian Johnston
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead—Carter Burwell
Breach—Mychael Danna
Bridge to Terabithia—Aaron Zigman
The Bucket List—Marc Shaiman
Cassandra’s Dream—Philip Glass
Charlie Wilson’s War—James Newton Howard
Gone Baby Gone—Harry Gregson-Williams
Grace Is Gone—Clint Eastwood
The Great Debaters—James Newton Howard
The Hoax—Carter Burwell
The Hunting Party—Rolfe Kent
I Am Legend—James Newton Howard
In the Land of Women—Stephen Trask
In the Valley of Elah—Mark Isham
Into the Wild—Michael Brook
Jindabyne— Paul Kelly, Dan Luscombe
The Last Mimzy—Howard Shore
Lions for Lambs—Mark Isham
Martian Child—Aaron Zigman
A Mighty Heart— Harry Escott, Molly Nyman
The Mist—Mark Isham
Nomad—Carlo Siliotto
No Reservations—Philip Glass
The Orphanage—Fernando Velázquez
Rails & Ties—Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
Rendition—Paul Hepker, Mark Kilian
Reservation Road—Mark Isham
Resurrecting the Champ—Larry Groupe
Right at Your Door—tomandandy
The Savages—Stephen Trask
The Simpsons Movie—Hans Zimmer
Sleuth—Patrick Doyle
Southland Tales—Moby
3:10 to Yuma—Marco Beltrami
Transformers—Steve Jablonsky
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep—James Newton Howard
Youth Without Youth—Osvaldo Golijov

GENERIC SCORES for Action/Animation/Comedy/Drama/Horror/Sci-Fi
(hardly worth the effort to get the composers’ names)
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem / Alvin and the Chipmunks / Angel-A / Arctic Tale / Awake / Because I Said So / Bee Movie / Bella / Black Sheep / Bratz / The Brave One / The Brothers Solomon / Bug / Captivity / Cashback / Civic Duty / Code Name: The Cleaner / Color Me Kubrick / The Comebacks / The Condemned / Daddy’s Little Girls / Dead Silence / Death at a Funeral / Death Sentence / December Boys / Dedication / Diggers / Dragon Wars: D-War / Epic Movie / Even Money / The Ex / Fay Grim / Feast of Love / Fido / Fierce People / The Final Season / Firehouse Dog / First Snow / The Flying Scotsman / Fracture / Fred Claus / Freedom Writers / The Game Plan / Georgia Rule / Ghost Rider / Good Luck Chuck / The Good Night / Gracie / Gray Matters / Hannibal Rising / The Hills Have Eyes II / The Hitcher / Hitman / The Host / Hostel 2 / Hot Fuzz / Hot Rod / I Know Who Killed Me / I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry / The Invasion / The Invisible / Ira and Abby / I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With / The Jane Austen Book Club / Joshua / The Kingdom / Knocked Up / Lars and the Real Girl / The Last Legion / Lonely Hearts / The Lookout / Lucky You / License to Wed / Live Free or Die Hard / The Messengers / Mr. Bean’s Vacation / Mr. Brooks / Mr. Woodcock / Music and Lyrics / The Music Within / My Best Friend / Nancy Drew / The Nanny Diaries / National Treasure: Book of Secrets / Next / The Nines / Norbit / The Number 23 / Ocean’s Thirteen / O Jerusalem / Pathfinder / The Perfect Holiday / Perfect Stranger / Premonition / Pride / Primeval / P.S., I Love You / The Reaping / Reign Over Me / Rush Hour 3 / Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour / Saw IV / The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising / September Dawn / Severance / Shoot ‘Em Up / Shooter / Skinwalkers / Slow Burn / Starter for 10 / Stephanie Daley / Superbad / Surf’s Up / Sydney White / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles / Teeth / The Ten / The Ten Commandments / Things We Lost in the Fire / 30 Days of Night / Tortilla Heaven / Trade / The Treatment / The Tripper / The TV Set / 28 Weeks Later / Two Weeks / Underdog / Vacancy / Waitress / War / Wild Hogs / Wind Chill / Wristcutters: A Love Story / Why Did I Get Married? / Year of the Dog / You Kill Me

THE PROMISED BIO: Before becoming a film critic, Jonathan Lewis spent a lifetime as a professional stage performer. He began studying music at age 7, stepped onto a stage for the first time at 10, learned five usical instruments, trai ned for 15 years in classical voice, and has 25 years experience as an actor/singer/dancer in 125 musicals, operas and ballets. Since 1996, he has reviewed more than 2,000 film scores and soundtrack albums. Mr. Lewis writes a regular column solely about film music.