So, remember when the Oscar nominations for Best Original Song were announced a few weeks ago?
The list included Pharrell‘s “Happy” from Despicable Me 2, “Let It Go” from Frozen (which will probably win, let’s be real), Karen O‘s “The Moon Song” from Her, and “Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
But then, there was a little song called “Alone Yet Not Alone,” the title track from an indie Christian faith movie. It seemed like a bit of an obscure choice for the competition — and this would probably be why:
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences has revoked a nomination in the best original song category for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” after the songwriter violated Oscar rules and emailed voters about submitting the song for consideration.
Musician Bruce Broughton, a former Academy governor and executive committee member in its music branch, composed the title song from the independent Christian faith movie “Alone Yet Not Alone.”
The Academy said on Wednesday that Broughton had used his position within the organization to contact voters about his own submission of the song, which was “inconsistent” with the Academy’s rules on Oscar nominations campaigning.
“No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one’s position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one’s own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage,” Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy president, said in a statement.
(via Reuters)
This sort of thing has only ever happened about four or five times in Oscar history which, you know…is pretty insane.
I’d obviously been gunning hard for Born To Die beauty Lana Del Rey‘s Great Gatsby masterpiece “Young And Beautiful” to get at least a nomination this year, but sadly, the disqualification of one song won’t lead to another nomination of another.
This isn’t even the first shady escándalo surrounding the category this year: Back in December, voters reportedly received a false news report in “an anonymous envelope” claiming that “Young & Beautiful” was ineligible for an Oscar.
WHAT is going on this year? This is truly a land of gods and monsters — but the rallying cries of #JusticeForLana will not be silenced.
But hey, there’s always “Once Upon A Dream”! (Or not…it’s not an original song. CURSES.)