Enchanted with Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey (with James Marsden in the background). Three songs from Kevin Lima’s Disney-distributed romantic fantasy are in the running for the 2008 Best Original Song Academy Award: “So Close,” “That’s How You Know,” and “Happy Working Song,” composed by Alan Menken, with lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
Oscar 2008: Best Original Song longlist includes titles centered on the Loch Ness monster, a fairy-tale princess, and Larry Flynt
Fifty-nine songs from eligible feature films will be vying for a slot in the 2008 Academy Awards’ Best Original Song category.
Besides the expected ditties from movies such as Enchanted, Ratatouille, and, why not, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, included on the longlist are several unusually titled songs from, in some cases, movies that don’t generally get Best Song Oscar nods (e.g., documentaries, Hungarian musicals).
Titles include “Atkozott Egy Elet” (from the Hungarian musical 56 Drops of Blood), “I Was Zapped by the Lucky Super Rainbow” (from Good Luck Chuck), “Back Where You Belong” (from the domestic disappointment The Water Horse), “The Tale of the Horny Frog” (from the domestic flop The Heartbreak Kid), “The Devil’s Lonely Fire” (from Badland), and “First Amendment Blues” (from Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone).
The final song found in the paragraph above refers to Joan Brooker-Marks’ documentary Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone, about the quintessential self-made American (man), free speech advocate, and pornography producer.
Curiously, the nonmusical Dan in Real Life, a box office disappointment starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche, has no less than three songs on the list.
Best Original Song Oscar rules
According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ press release, “on Tuesday, Jan. 15, the Academy will screen clips featuring each song, in random order, for voting members of the Music Branch in both Beverly Hills and New York City. Following the screenings, members will vote to determine which three, four or five songs become nominees in the category.
“To be eligible, a song must consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film. A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits.”
Also of note: This past summer the Academy issued a new set of Oscar campaign regulations which states that, although eligible screenplays can be uploaded online for the convenience of potential voters, eligible music “may no longer be sent to any members at any time. This prohibition includes recordings, sheet music and music videos.”
The 59 eligible songs are listed below in alphabetical order by film title.
Oscar 2008: Best Song longlist
- “Do You Feel Me” – American Gangster
- “At the Edge of the World” – Arctic Tale
- “Someday” – August Rush
- “This Time” – August Rush
- “Raise It Up” – August Rush
- “Break” – August Rush
- “Nothing’s There” – Badland
- “The Devil’s Lonely Fire” – Badland
- “A Hero Comes Home” – Beowulf
- “The Stars of Orion” – Berkeley
- “Say” – The Bucket List
- “To Be Surprised” – Dan in Real Life
- “My Hands Are Shaking” – Dan in Real Life
- “I’ll Be OK” – Dan in Real Life
- “December Boys” – December Boys
- “So Close” – Enchanted
- “That’s How You Know” – Enchanted
- “Happy Working Song” – Enchanted
- “Atkozott Egy Elet” – 56 Drops of Blood
- “O, Atyam!” – 56 Drops of Blood
- “Eleg!” – 56 Drops of Blood
- “A Dream” – Freedom Writers
- “Lyra” – The Golden Compass
- “Good Luck Chuck” – Good Luck Chuck
- “Shut Me Out” – Good Luck Chuck
- “I Was Zapped by the Lucky Super Rainbow” – Good Luck Chuck
- “Grace Is Gone” – Grace Is Gone
- “Lullabye for Wyatt” – Grace Is Gone
- “Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)” – Hairspray
- “The Tale of the Horny Frog” – The Heartbreak Kid
- “China Doll” – Honeydripper
- “It Will Stay With Us” – The Hottest State
- “Never See You” – The Hottest State
- “Society” – Into the Wild
- “Guaranteed” – Into the Wild
- “Rise” – Into the Wild
- “First Amendment Blues” – Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone
- “Hello (I Love You)” – The Last Mimzy
- “Despedida” – Love in the Time of Cholera
- “Huck’s Tune” – Lucky You
- “Little Wonders” – Meet the Robinsons
- “Another Believer” – Meet the Robinsons
- “Way Back into Love” – Music and Lyrics
- “PoP! Goes My Heart” – Music and Lyrics
- “Ordinary People” – Music Within
- “Pretty Much Amazing” – Nancy Drew
- “Falling Slowly” – Once
- “If You Want Me” – Once
- “Le Festin” – Ratatouille
- “Land of Quiet Poems” – Resurrecting the Champ
- “Love Will Still Be There” – September Dawn
- “Royal Pain” – Shrek the Third
- “Rule the World” – Stardust
- “Before It’s Too Late (Sam and Mikaela’s Theme)” – Transformers
- “Baby Don’t You Cry” – Waitress
- “Beautiful Ride” – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
- “Walk Hard” – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
- “Let’s Duet” – Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
- “Back Where You Belong” – The Water Horse
The 2008 Academy Award nominations will be announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
The 2008 Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.
notes
James Marsden, Patrick Dempsey, and Amy Adams Enchanted image: The Walt Disney Studios.