'True Grit' and 'Black Swan' Music Ineligible for Oscar

 

The scores for "True Grit" and "Black Swan" have been ruled out of the Oscar race - because they feature too much existing music. Officials at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences have selected 77 film scores for members to vote on between now and January 14, when the ballots are due - and there are some big omissions.

The Academy bosses have disqualified Clint Mansell's "Black Swan" score and Carter Burwell's "True Grit" music - because they feature themes from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and sections from 19th-century music, respectively. Burwell's "The Kids Are All Right" score has also been disqualified because the film was "diluted" by having too many songs on the soundtrack, according to EW.com.

Composer James Newton Howard leads the Best Score list with four eligible efforts for "Salt", "Love and Other Drugs", "The Last Airbender" and "The Tourist", while another Oscars favorite, Alexandre Desplat, and David Arnold have three apiece. Clint Eastwood is also on the shortlist for his Hereafter music. The nominations will be announced on January 25.