EXTRA EDITION ANIMATION/ ARTISANS ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Produced By BRADFORD LEWIS p.g.a. | BONNIE ARNOLD p.g.a. Written And Directed By DEAN DEBLOIS “DEAN DEBLOIS BRINGS HIS WONDROUS DRAGON TRILOGY TO A SPECTACULAR FINISH. THE COURTSHIP BETWEEN TOOTHLESS AND LIGHT FURY IS A THING OF BALLETIC BEAUTY THAT BRINGS OUT THE DAZZLING ARTISTRY OF THE ANIMATION.” WINNER BEST ANIMATED FEATURE NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW JANUARY 31, 2020 universalpicturesawards.com © 2018 DREAMWORKS ANIMATION LLC. ADVERTISEMENT 0131 EE NBC UNI_CVR1.indd 1 1/28/20 12:45 PM Lovingly hand-made by , the st “An Instant masterpiece. A stop-motion marvel. LAIKA surprised everyone by winning the Golden Globe this year for the gorgeous Missing Link and they certainlyly ddeserveeserve an Oscar for years of criminallyminally overlooked work. It’s overdue.”verdue.” -SCREENRANT Untitled-3 1 1/28/20 12:40 PM udio that created AND Go behind the scenes and explore a special interactive booklet celebrating the world class artists who brought Missing Link to life. insidemissinglink.com For more on this extraordinary film and a schedule of where you can see it go to missinglinkguilds.com. Also available to stream now on Untitled-3 2 1/28/20 12:40 PM ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE BEST ORIGINAL SONG BEST ACTRESS “STAND UP” CYNTHIA ERIVO WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SONG “STAND UP” Cynthia Erivo and Joshuah Brian Campbell The Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards “The song ‘Stand Up’ is a rousing civil rights anthem.” VARIETY, KATE ARTHUR “‘Stand Up’ is an empowering track about hope, overcoming obstacles and kindness for others.” BILLBOARD, RANIA ANIFTOS WINNER WINNER WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SONG BEST ORIGINAL SONG BEST ACTRESS “Stand Up” “Stand Up” Hollywood Breakout Actress Award Cynthia Erivo and Joshuah Brian Campbell Cynthia Erivo and Joshuah Brian Campbell Cynthia Erivo Hollywood Music in Media Awards Las Vegas Film Critics Society Hollywood Film Awards Untitled-2 1 1/28/20 12:39 PM YEARS CONTENDERS Toon Titans BO PEEP REJOINS BUZZ LIGHTYEAR AND WOODY IN ‘TOY STORY 4.’ TOP BILLING New Voices FROM “JOKER’S” ELECTROACOUSTIC CELLO to the anachronistic ’80s synths of “Uncut Gems,” this year’s films have offered surpris- ing, even startling, new sounds. Filmmakers Fuel Soundtracks are, maybe more than ever, open to taking musical risks. Within only the past few months, mov- MORE FILM SCORES TAKE MUSICAL RISKS iegoers were treated to sampled whistling AS FILMMAKERS SEEK AN EDGE for youthful Latin American revolutionaries (“Monos”), a ’60s-style rock ’n’ roll band for By Jon Burlingame race-car drivers (“Ford v Ferrari”), experi- mental horn and choral techniques for 19th century balloonists (“The Aeronauts”), a faux German march with authentic Nazi-style lyr- ics (“Jojo Rabbit”) and more. Increasingly, say composers, directors are seeking new voices and fresh musical direc- tions. “A lot of people are entering the music business [from different] media, and it’s really coloring up the landscape, with many different music styles represented,” says Tom Holkenborg (“Mad Max: Fury Road”) who as Junkie XL had a huge career in trance, elec- tronica and big beat music in the 1990s and early 2000s. He cites Hildur Guðnadóttir (“Joker”) and Mica Levi (“Monos”) as examples of new voices on the film front, artists who had already honed their individual sounds and styles before applying them to scores. “A per- son from an artist background brings a very genuine quality, and that’s so welcome in this industry,” he says. A few years ago, the arrival of Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails (“The Social Network”), Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead (“There Will Be Blood”), Clint Mansell of Pop Will Eat Itself (“Requiem for a Dream”) and other art- ists from the pop and rock worlds shook up the status quo — as did such earlier arrivals as Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer and Mark Mothersbaugh. Says Joseph Trapanese, who collaborated with Daft Punk on “Tron: Legacy” and M83 on “Oblivion”: “When you have a younger direc- tor who’s looking for a unique stamp to put on their movie and they’re told Trent Reznor or Colin Stetson or Jóhann Jóhannsson or Daft Punk want to contribute, that’s a very exciting proposition because it’s a certain immediate level of artistry that elevates the project.” Of course, that’s not always easy. The history of film is littered with well-inten- tioned artists who were unable to meet dead- lines or couldn’t supply music that met the FRESH AIR needs of the film. Composer Mica Levi, “Whenever an artist approaches the table, who scored an Oscar nom for “Jackie,” created especially on a $100 million-plus film, there’s the “Monos” score. a certain level of concern for the product,” he says. “Is this going to be delivered on time, (COVER) ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN LEE ; LAYOUT BY BOB PAULEY; (THIS PAGE) INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK (THIS PAGE) BOB PAULEY; BY JOHN LEE ; LAYOUT BY ILLUSTRATION (COVER) 6 VARIETY.COM ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE “(I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN” WRITTEN BY ELTON JOHN & BERNIE TAUPIN © 2020 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. GOLDEN GLOBE ® AWARD CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARD BEST ORIGINAL SONG BEST SONG “(I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN” “(I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN” WRITTEN BY ELTON JOHN & BERNIE TAUPIN WRITTEN BY ELTON JOHN & BERNIE TAUPIN Untitled-5 1 1/28/20 12:46 PM TOP BILLING on budget and work for this medium, or is it just going to be some artsy thing that doesn’t NEW SOUNDS actually work?” Hildur Guðnadóttir In the case of “Tron: Legacy,” Daft Punk landed an Oscar nom for her “Joker” music. was originally approached for music for the club scenes. It turned out the famous French electronic-music duo wanted to score the entire film. “Daft Punk chose to become film composers for that window of time,” Trapa- nese says. “The most rewarding collabora- tions are when the artist takes the time to understand that it’s a dialogue, not just an artist going into a studio.” British composer Levi, a 2016 Oscar nom- inee for her in-your-face score for “Jackie,” sees the positive side of this trend: “It seems like there’s an openness of spirit, especially on the outskirts of Hollywood. There are always people who are interested in making something they haven’t seen, and therefore are open to taking risks.” Cutting-edge approaches, especially in the indie world, are often welcomed by film- makers but not necessarily studio executives. “The Lighthouse” director Robert Eggers recalls an exec complaining that Mark Kor- ven’s grim, atonal score sounded like “a Yeti moaning in the wilderness.” “You have to question, when is the obscu- rity adding to the tension and when is it just strange?” Eggers says. “With any score, it’s about supporting the story. So long as it sup- ports the story, and isn’t distracting, people will go along for the ride.” Daniel Pemberton, whose unorthodox methods resulted in a Golden Globe-nomi- while also subtly heightening the drama. orchestral score should not be discounted. nated score for Edward Norton’s “Motherless Pemberton makes it a practice to try new “For any of these modern composers Brooklyn,” says: “Any great director doesn’t techniques on every film. to catch up with, for instance, the orches- want to do the same as everyone else. They “Sometimes I wish I did more scores that tral writing skills of John Williams,” he says, want to make something that is unique to were straightforward, as it can be unbeliev- would be virtually impossible. “But it’s the them — it’s just how long their nerves last. ably difficult to build every score from the job of every film composer to come up with A proper experimental score needs the full ground up, with no safety net. But the results a concept that is so incredibly strong that, support of a director.” can be very exciting, far more unique [than once you play that to the director or the stu- Although the film takes place in 1950s usual]. I do believe it’s an incredibly import- dio, they just totally forget about what the New York, Pemberton recorded London ant part in creating film music that feels new temp score [preexisting music, often used as saxophonist Tom Challenger playing offbeat and different.” a placeholder until the new score is recorded] riffs. “Show me what you can do that no one Holkenborg remembers when fresh was in the first place.” asks you to do,” Pemberton told him. Their voices arrived on the Hollywood scene Trapanese says he hasn’t yet met studio experiments resulted in sounds that decades ago, mentioning Lalo Schifrin (“Dirty directors who didn’t want “a unique sound” the composer digitally turned into loops, Harry”) and Vangelis (“Blade Runner”), both for their film. He has just finished a score altered pitches or the basis for other of whom had careers as recording artists for “Happily,” a comedy-thriller starring Joel tracks, hinting at the story’s jazz backdrop before embarking on film work. “What qualities McHale, where the director said, “Just read can a person who is not necessarily attached the script and make crazy sounds. You can’t to film but just makes music for the sake of be crazy enough.” making music, bring to a film score? There’s Those crazy sounds, with minor tweaks, just something different about that at its are all in the movie, the composer says. “ A PERSON FROM AN core,” he says. It’s an indie, so inevitably there was ARTIST BACKGROUND Holkenborg worked in heavy metal and more freedom because there was less money.