Germaine Franco Wins SCL Awards Prize from Society of Composers & Lyricists for Disney’s “Encanto” Score

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Germaine Franco is celebrating a special recognition…

The Latina composer’s Oscar-nominated score for Encanto won outstanding original score for a studio film at the third annual SCL Awards, which are presented by the Society of Composers & Lyricists this week at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Franco’s score was competing with three other Academy Award-nominated scores — Nicholas Britell’s Don’t Look Up, Hans Zimmer’s Dune, and Jonny Greenwood’s The Power of the Dog.

Franco, the first woman to score a Disney animated feature film, is vying to become the first Latina to win an Oscar for best original score.

Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, also has reason to smile.

The 38-year-old half-Mexican American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer won outstanding original song for a musical/comedy alongside Nicholas Britell, Ariana Grande and Taura Stinson.

Kid Cudi and the gang won for penning “Just Look Up” from the Netflix film Don’t Look Up.

Meanwhile Cristabel Tapia de Veer took home the outstanding original score for television.

The Chilean-born Canadian film and television score composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist won for his work on AppleTV’s The White Lotus.

The awards were presented about five weeks later than originally planned. They were set to be presented on February 1, but the show was postponed in early January due to the spread of the Omicron variant. With the postponement, the show lost its original host, Emmy winner Darren Criss. Aloe Blacc hosted in his place.

Awards were presented across seven categories for music in visual media (film, TV, streaming, interactive).

The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) is the primary organization for professional film, television, video game, and musical theater composers and lyricists. The organization is focused on education and addressing the creative, technological, legal, newsworthy issues affecting the music for visual media community.

For more information, visit the SCL’s website or go to thescl.com/scl-awards/.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Outstanding original score for a studio film:
Germaine Franco, Encanto, Walt Disney Pictures

Outstanding original score for an independent film:
Daniel Hart, The Green Knight, A24

Outstanding original song for a musical/comedy:
Nicholas Britell, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Taura Stinson, “Just Look Up,” Don’t Look Up, Netflix

Outstanding original song for a drama/documentary
Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell, “No Time to Die,” No Time to Die, MGM/United Artists

Outstanding original score for television:
Cristabel Tapia de Veer, The White Lotus, Apple

Outstanding original score for interactive media:
Hildur Guđnadóttir & Sam Slater, Battlefield 2042, Digital Illusions CE, Electronic Arts

David Raksin award:
Stephanie Economou, Jupiter’s Legacy, Netflix

Spirit of collaboration award:
Recipients: composer Carter Burwell and filmmakers Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Kid Cudi Earns Two SCL Awards Nominations from Society of Composers & Lyricists

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Kid Cudi is doubling his chances…

The 37-year-old half-Mexican American apper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, has earned two SCL Awards nominations from the Society of Composers & Lyricists , his first-ever nods from the organization.

Kid Cudi earned one nod in the Song Drama/Documentary category for co-writing “Guns Go Bang,” alongside Jay-Z and Jeymes Samuel for the Netflix film The Harder They Fall.

He’s also nominated in the Song Musical/Comedy category for co-penning “Just Look Up,” with Nicholas Britell, Ariana Grande and Taura Stinson, for Netflix’s Don’t Look Up.

Germaine Franco is also a two-time nominee…

The 34-year-old Latina film composer is nominated in the Studio Film category for her work on Walt Disney Pictures’ Encanto.

She’s also nominated in the Interactive category for her work on Kung Fu Panda: Land of Awesomeness.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has earned a nod in the Song Musical/Comedy category.

The 41-year-old Puerto Rican multi-hyphenate is nominated for penning the track “Home All Summer” for In The Heights, the film adaptation of his Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name.

Alberto Iglesias is competing in the Independent category.

The 66-year-old Spanish award-winning composer is nominated for his acclaimed work on Pedro Almodovar’s Spanish-language film Parallel Mothers, which stars Penelope Cruz.

Cristobal Tapia de Veer is a nominee in the Television category.

The 48-year-old Chilean film and television score composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist is nominated for his work on Apple TV’s The White Lotus.

The annual SCL Awards, now in their year, honor music in visual media — film, television, streaming, interactive — spanning seven categories plus the David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent.

The in-person trophy show — COVID-19-permitting — will be hosted by Darren Criss on Tuesday, February 1, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Composer Carter Burwell and filmmakers Joel Coen & Ethan Coen will receive the Spirit of Collaboration Award for their 17-film team-up along with a musical tribute performance. The live lineup includes Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear and Judith Hill.

The 76-year-old Society of Composers & Lyricists is the primary organization for professional film, TV, video game, and musical theater composers and lyricists.

Here are the nominees for the third annual SCL Awards:

STUDIO FILM

Nicholas Britell
DON’T LOOK UP
Netflix

Hans Zimmer
DUNE
Warner Bros.

Germaine Franco
ENCANTO
Walt Disney Pictures

Alexandre Desplat
THE FRENCH DISPATCH
Searchlight Pictures

Jonny Greenwood
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Netflix

INDEPENDENT FILM

Kubilay Uner
AMERICAN TRAITOR: THE TRIAL OF AXIS SALLY
Vertical Entertainment

Daniel Hart
THE GREEN KNIGHT
A24

Rachel Portman
JULIA
Storyville Films/CNN

Alberto Iglesias
PARALLEL MOTHERS
Sony Pictures Classics

Jonny Greenwood
SPENCER
Neon/Topic Studios

SONG MUSICAL/COMEDY

Nicholas Britell, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Taura Stinson
“Just Look Up” from DON’T LOOK UP
Netflix

Jamie Hartman, Jennifer Hudson, Carole King
“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from RESPECT
MGM/United Artists

Amie Doherty
“Fearless” from SPIRIT UNTAMED
DreamWorks Animation

Kris Bowers, Siedah Garrett
“Together All the Way” from DEAR WHITE PEOPLE
Netflix

Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Home All Summer” from IN THE HEIGHTS
Warner Bros.

SONG DRAMA/DOCUMENTARY

Billie Eilish & Finneas O’Connell
“No Time To Die” from NO TIME TO DIE
MGM/United Artists

Diane Warren
“Somehow You Do” from FOUR GOOD DAYS
Vertical Entertainment

Rufus Wainwright
“Secret Sister” from REBEL HEARTS
Discovery+

Diane Warren
“(Never Gonna) Tame You” from THE MUSTANGS: AMERICA’S WILD HORSES
Virgil Films

Shawn Carter, Scott Mescudi, Jeymes Samuel
“Guns Go Bang” from THE HARDER THEY FALL
Netflix

TELEVISION

Natalie Holt
LOKI
Disney+

Jung Jae-il
SQUID GAME
Netflix

Nicholas Britell
SUCCESSION
HBO

Christophe Beck
WANDAVISION
Disney+

Cristobel Tapia de Veer
THE WHITE LOTUS
Apple TV+

INTERACTIVE

Austin Wintory
ALIEN FIRETEAM ELITE
Cold Iron

Hildur Guđnadóttir & Sam Slater
BATTLEFIELD 2042
Digital Illusions CE & Electronic Arts

Germaine Franco
KUNG FU PANDA: LAND OF AWESOMENESS
Universal Beijing Resort & Dreamworks Animation

DAVID RAKSIN AWARD

Joy Ngiaw
BLUSH
Apple TV+

Anne-Kathrin Dern
THE CLAUS FAMILY
Netflix

Stephanie Economou
JUPITER’S LEGACY
Netflix

Kid Cudi Makes Oscar’s Short List in Best Original Song Category for “Just Look Up” & “Guns Go Bang”

Posted on December 26, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kid Cudi is thisclose to earning an Oscar nomination (or two)…

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has cut its Original Song Oscar category list to 15 songs that made the shortlist, with the 37-year-old half-Mexican American Grammy-winning singer/actor having two songs still in the running.

Kid Cudi’s collaboration with Ariana Grande “Just Look Up,” co-written by the singers, from the film Don’t Look Up is still under consideration.

Meanwhile, Kid Cudi’s song “Guns Go Bang,” co-written with Jay-Z for the film The Harder They Fall is also still in the running for a nomination.

Lin-Manuel Miranda could also pick up another Oscar nod.

The 41-year-old Puerto Rican multi-hyphentate, who earned a nomination in the Best Original Song category in 2016 for his Moana single “How Far I’ll Go,” is still in the running for his single “Dos Oruguitas” from Disney’s Encanto.

A total of 84 songs were eligible in the category this year.

Here’s the full shortlist, with final nominations to be announced February 8 ahead of the ceremony March 27 at the Dolby Theatre.

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

“So May We Start?” from Annette
“Down To Joy” from Belfast
“Right Where I Belong” from Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road
“Automatic Woman” from Bruised
“Dream Girl” from Cinderella
“Beyond The Shore” from CODA
“The Anonymous Ones” from Dear Evan Hansen
“Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up
“Dos Oruguitas” from Encanto
“Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days
“Guns Go Bang” from The Harder They Fall
“Be Alive” from King Richard
“No Time To Die” from No Time to Die
“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from Respect
“Your Song Saved My Life” from Sing 2

Rita Moreno Earns Career-First “Critics Choice Awards” Nod in a Film Category for “West Side Story” Performance

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno is a Critics Choice…

The 90-year-old Puerto Rican actress/singer and Latina living legend has picked up the first Critics Choice Awards nominations in the film category of her storied career.

Moreno is nominated in the Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, a remake of the 1961 musical romantic drama that earned her an Academy Award.

In addition, Moreno and her West Side Story co-stars are nominated in the Best Ensemble category.

Moreno’s co-star Ariana DeBose is also a Best Supporting Actress nominee.

The 30-year-old half-Afro-Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer, and first-time Golden Globe nominee this year, is nominated for her performance as Anita, a role that earned Moreno her Oscar in 1961.

Rachel Zegler, who earned her first-ever Golden Globe nomination on Monday, has earned a Critics Choice Awards nod in the Best Young Actor/Actress category for her starring role in West Side Story.

Jared Leto has earned a nod in the Best Supporting Actor category for his work in House of Gucci.

Guillermo del Toro is nominated for Best Director for helming Nightmare Alley, while Kid Cudi is nominated in the Best Song category for co-penning the track “Just Look Up” from the film Don’t Look Up. Kid Cudi will go against Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is nominated for penning the track “Dos Oruguitas,” a single from Disney’s Encanto.

“We are so proud to be honoring this amazing list of films and the incredibly talented people who made them during this extremely challenging time,” said Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin. “All eyes are going to be on the Fairmont Century Plaza red carpet and ballroom on January 9th, when the biggest stars in movies and television will be gathered to celebrate the best of the best in entertainment this past year. In the safest possible environment, it will mark the return of the kind of glitz and glamor we haven’t been able to enjoy in far too long.”

The Critics Choice Awards nominations are selected from a membership of over 500 have often proved to be a harbinger of what is to come for the Oscars.

Winners in all categories will be revealed at the Critics Choice Awards gala, hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer and broadcast live on The CW and TBS on Sunday, January 9 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm ET (delayed PT – check local listings).

Here’s the full list of Critics Choice Awards film nominees:

BEST PICTURE
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
tick, tick…Boom!
West Side Story

BEST ACTOR
Nicolas Cage – Pig
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
Peter Dinklage – Cyrano
Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…Boom!
Will Smith – King Richard
Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
Lady Gaga – House of Gucci
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
Kristen Stewart – Spencer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jamie Dornan – Belfast
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Jared Leto – House of Gucci
J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Ann Dowd – Mass
Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Rita Moreno – West Side Story

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Jude Hill – Belfast
Cooper Hoffman – Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones – CODA
Woody Norman – C’mon C’mon
Saniyya Sidney – King Richard
Rachel Zegler – West Side Story

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
The Harder They Fall
Licorice Pizza
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Guillermo del Toro – Nightmare Alley
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Zach Baylin – King Richard
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Adam McKay, David Sirota – Don’t Look Up
Aaron Sorkin – Being the Ricardos

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Siân Heder – CODA
Tony Kushner – West Side Story
Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth – Dune

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bruno Delbonnel – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Greig Fraser – Dune
Janusz Kaminski – West Side Story
Dan Laustsen – Nightmare Alley
Ari Wegner – The Power of the Dog
Haris Zambarloukos – Belfast

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Jim Clay, Claire Nia Richards – Belfast
Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau – Nightmare Alley
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – The French Dispatch
Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo – West Side Story
Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos – Dune

BEST EDITING
Sarah Broshar and Michael Kahn – West Side Story
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast
Andy Jurgensen – Licorice Pizza
Peter Sciberras – The Power of the Dog
Joe Walker – Dune

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Jenny Beavan – Cruella
Luis Sequeira – Nightmare Alley
Paul Tazewell – West Side Story
Jacqueline West, Robert Morgan – Dune
Janty Yates – House of Gucci

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Cruella
Dune
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
House of Gucci
Nightmare Alley

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dune
The Matrix Resurrections
Nightmare Alley
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

BEST COMEDY
Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Don’t Look Up
Free Guy
The French Dispatch
Licorice Pizza

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs the Machines
Raya and the Last Dragon

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Hero
Drive My Car
Flee
The Hand of God
The Worst Person in the World

BEST SONG
Be Alive – King Richard
Dos Oruguitas – Encanto
Guns Go Bang – The Harder They Fall
Just Look Up – Don’t Look Up
No Time to Die – No Time to Die

BEST SCORE
Nicholas Britell – Don’t Look Up
Jonny Greenwood – The Power of the Dog
Jonny Greenwood – Spencer
Nathan Johnson – Nightmare Alley
Hans Zimmer – Dune

Kid Cudi Releases New Ariana Grande Collaboration “Just Look Up”

Posted on December 4, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Things are looking up for Kid Cudi…

The 37-year-old half-Mexican American singer, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, has officially released his new collaboration with Ariana Grande, “Just Look Up.”

The new song appears on the soundtrack to the Adam McKay-directed film Don’t Look Up, which stars both Grande and Cudi and begins streaming on Netflix on December 10.

Don’t Look Up also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, and others.

The soundtrack is out December 10.

Don’t Look Up is the next chapter in both Grande and Cudi’s film careers.

Grande was recently cast in the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked.

A new documentary about Cudi arrived last month.

Grande and Cudi also last released albums in 2020: Positions and Man on the Moon III: The Chosen, respectively.

Kid Cudi Teams Up with Ariana Grande for New Single “Just Look Up”

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a grande collaboration for Kid Cudi…

The 37-year-old part-Mexican American rapper, real name Scott Mescudi, has joined voices with Ariana Grande on the new single “Just Look Up.”

The track appears on the soundtrack for the new Netflix film Don’t Look Up, a film in which they both appear.

The film, which stars Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio, will be released on December 10.

The song — which was nominated at this week’s Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Song – Onscreen Performance — features Grande’s signature vocals belting out a high note as footage from the film plays.

Kid Cudi and Grande both have writing credits on the song, in addition to Nicholas Britell and Taura Stintson.

The summary of the movie reads, “Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem — it’s on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate.”

The collaboration marks Grande and Kid Cudi’s first time working on a song together.

Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon III: The Chosen was released in December 2020 and charted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

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