For our fourteenth Rundown article, the aural expressions. After the jump, you’ll find our winner and runner-up predictions for Best Original Score and Best Original Song as well as general commentary about the race. Friday, we’ll cover the female counterpart of Monday’s article.

Best Original Score

Winner Predictions

• Bridge of Spies
• Carol
• The Hateful Eight (WL O) (PP R) [New] (TB R) [New] (TL O)
• Sicario
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Runner-Up Predictions

• Bridge of Spies (PP R) [New]
• Carol (WL O)
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens (TB R) [New] (TL O)

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Wesley Lovell: Who doesn’t know who Ennio Morricone is? Who wouldn’t want to say that they voted for the legendary composer to receive his first competitive Oscar? I doubt there are many who wouldn’t want to. It’s possible a well respected composer like Carter Burwell could win, but this isn’t his year. He broke the ice and will hopefully be back again soon.
Peter J. Patrick: Nine years after winning his honorary Oscar, 87-year-old Ennio Morricone should win a competitive Oscar on his sixth nomination.
Tripp Burton: This is one of those years where you could make a solid argument for nearly any one of the nominees winning just based on the names behind them: Thomas Newman, with 13 nominations and no wins; Carter Burwell, who finally picked up his first nomination after an illustrious career; Ennio Morricone, a legend in the field who has yet to win a competitive Oscar; Johann Johannsson, whom many thought deserved the Oscar last year; and John Williams, who has 50 career nominations and may be running out of opportunities for one last Oscar victory. My gut says that this is down to the two biggest legends in film music today, with the never-awarded Morricone finally winning the prize over the much-awarded John Williams.
Thomas La Tourrette: This is a fight between two giants of the cinematic musical world. John Williams’ work on Star Wars tweaked some of his old themes and added new motifs in his score. This is his 50th nomination, the most for any living person, but he has only won five times, the last being 22 years ago for Schindler’s List. He might have won this year if he was not going against Ennio Morricone who should finally win a competitive award on his sixth nomination. I did not find the music all that memorable, but the Academy will love to give him the acclaim, especially for a western. Aside from Williams, none of the other composers stood much of a chance this year, and Morricone goes home with the golden boy.

Best Original Song

Winner Predictions

• “Earned It” – Fifty Shades of Grey
• “Manta Ray” – Racing Extinction
• “Simple Song #3” – Youth
• “Til It Happens to You” – The Hunting Ground (WL O) (PP O) (TB O) (TL O)
• “Writing’s On the Wall” – Spectre

Runner-Up Predictions

• “Writing’s On the Wall” – Spectre (WL O) (PP O) (TB R) [New] (TL O)

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Wesley Lovell: Although star power has won out before, “Til It Happens to You” is still a soft leader in this category. The latest James Bond theme has earned several awards, but has just as many detractors. “Manta Ray” could come from nowhere to win as documentary songs have in the past, but “Til It Happens to You” just feels like the right kind of tune to win and what’s not to love about Lady Gaga and Diane Warren?
Peter J. Patrick: Lady Gaga’s ferocious singing nails it.
Tripp Burton: It feels like both of the music categories this year are trying hard to right some past wrongs by giving Oscars to long-Oscarless legends, and in this category Diane Warren fits the bill perfectly. The fact that she is joined by Lady Gaga, herself becoming a legend quickly and campaigning hard for this award, can only help her finally get to the stage. It also helps that the competition is not very strong this year: none of the nominees have another nomination for their film, none of these films are particularly loved by the Hollywood community and the most popular writers here will presumably have more chances in the future.
Thomas La Tourrette: This should go to the anthem from The Hunting Ground, “Til It Happens to You.” The song is about a serious subject, rape on college campuses, and it is the strongest of the nominees. I see no way that the operatic “Simple Song #3” from Youth could win, it probably never was the right style to succeed. “Manta Ray” is a weak entry from a documentary that no one has heard of. “Earned It” was a surprise entry as there were better songs from Fifty Shades of Grey that could have been nominated. I would be surprised if it could win. That leaves Sam Smith battling Lady Gaga. “Writing’s on the Wall,” Smith’s opener to the latest James Bond film Spectre, was a decent song, but nothing that exciting. Lady Gaga’s hot streak continues as she (and the oft-nominated, but this would be her first time winning, collaborator Diane Warren) will add an Oscar to her Emmy and Grammy awards.

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