As predicted, Ludwig Göransson received his third Academy Award last night for his bluesy score to “Sinners.”
Summing up, then:
Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, and Bernard Herrmann – 1 Oscar
Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Franz Waxman – 2 Oscars
Ludwig Göransson and Miklós Rózsa (composer of “Ben-Hur”) – 3 Oscars
Okay, then!
What does a white kid from Sweden know about the blues, one might ask? In his acceptance speech, Göransson talked about his father’s chance discovery of an album by John Lee Hooker in 1964. (“It changed my dad’s life, and he devoted his whole life to music.”) He handed off a guitar to his son when Göransson was 7. (“I loved the guitar. It became everything to me.”) It was actually a rather touching speech. As in his acceptance speeches for his previous awards, for “Black Panther” and “Oppenheimer,” he came across as sweet-natured – gentle, humble, and sincere. Good for him.
I did think his music for “Sinners” was worlds better than his score for “Oppenheimer,” which in its manic insistence to be everything everywhere all at once (in tandem with the breakneck editing) actually made it a weaker film than it might otherwise have been. Still good enough for Best Picture in 2024.
Göransson’s most recent win was announced by… the cast from “Bridesmaids?”
Congratulations, Ludwig Göransson. Watch his acceptance speech here.
In related news, “Sinners’” Miles Caton performed “I Lied to You,” one of this year’s nominees for Best Original Song. (The award went to “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters,” which I’m not even going to touch.)
Host Conan O’Brien included a parody of Handel’s “Zadok the Priest” in a mock-coronation bit during his opening monologue (with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Josh Groban, of all people, lending a voice).
Classical music was also represented by way of “Viva Verdi!,” a documentary about a retirement home for musicians, Casa di Riposo per Musicisti – commonly known as Casa Verdi – established by the celebrated opera composer in 1896. The film was nominated in the category of Best Original Song, not for Verdi himself, but for Nicholas Pike’s “Sweet Dreams of Joy,” performed on the film’s soundtrack by soprano Ana María Martínez.
Soprano Sonya Yancheva was in the audience (as an ambassador of Rolex!), with her husband, conductor Domingo Hindyan.
Ballet dancer Misty Copeland came out of retirement to appear in the “Sinners” production number, causing one to wonder if it was an intentional smack in the face to Timothée Chalamet, who kicked up the ire of the ballet and opera communities a couple of weeks ago by offhandedly dismissing the art forms during a very “bro” promotional appearance chatting with Matthew McConaughey.
Chalamet had been the front-runner for the Best Actor award. Last night, he went home with nothing but tears for his pillow. He could have benefited from a touch of Göransson’s humility.
Conan’s send-up of Handel’s “Zadok”
“Cicero! My Oscar!”
