MovieMusic.com Message Boards: Lifetime Achievement Awards for Composers

Message Boards

Movie Soundtracks

Lifetime Achievement Awards for Composers

Archive of old forum. No more postings.

Please visit our new forum, The MovieMusic Lobby, to post new topics.

Author	Topic: Lifetime Achievement Awards for Composers

joan hue Oscar® Winner	I recently read that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Alex North in 1986 with a Lifetime Achievement award. According to George Burt’s book THE ART OF FILM MUSIC, North was the first and only one so far to receive this award. (Book published in l994. Anyone since then?) It makes perfect sense that such an outstanding, avant-garde composer as North should win such an award, but I can’t help wondering why ONLY North was honored and not others before him. I.E. Steiner, Rozsa with all his Oscars, Waxman, Tiomkin, Herrmann, etc. Jerry Goldsmith is heading into his fourth decade, and as far as I know, has not received this award. (one Oscar only.) I'm curious about your thoughts as to why only North has garnered this award?
posted 02-26-2000 10:58 PM PT (US)

H Rocco Oscar® Winner	North was nominated for something like 10 or 12 Oscars and never won. I'm not certain how this decision passed by the board, but it was decided that he deserved it -- no more, no less. Academy politics are confusing and often most surreptitious -- you hear certain things, but are never sure how accurate they are. I know no stories of why North was put up for this special honor, but he deserved it (even if he slightly embarrassed himself at the ceremony ranting about Hollywood movies' excessive violence and sex -- I'll never forget the show's director cutting from North to Tom Selleck right after the part about "excessive sex." Well, he was never my type, but I guess I understand why they did that.) Anybody remember Liberace playing the DRAGONSLAYER theme on the spring '82 show?
posted 02-26-2000 11:15 PM PT (US)

JJH Oscar® Winner	better question: you actually REMEMBER Liberace playing Dragonslayer in 1982? Whoa! John Williams will be probably be honored sometime in the near future, I think. He's written some of the most popular scores ever. Goldsmith and Morricone also deserve a lifetime achievement award, but I doubt they'll get to it. NP -- Addams Family Values */***
posted 02-27-2000 10:01 AM PT (US)

Luscious Lazlo Oscar® Winner	The instrument has yet to be invented which could measure my indifference to self-congratulatory showbiz awards.
posted 02-27-2000 11:58 AM PT (US)

Wedge Oscar® Winner	A rectal thermometer, perhaps?
posted 02-27-2000 01:52 PM PT (US)

Luscious Lazlo Oscar® Winner	Hey Wonder-Wedgie: Take yer rectal thermometer and slide it up yer contrabass sarrusophone. http://www.soundtrack-station.de/broughton/interv.htm
posted 02-27-2000 02:20 PM PT (US)

John C Winfrey Oscar® Winner	On my several others posts about North on both boards, I have commented on this before. They felt guilty for not having given him one for all the really great stuff he did from 1951 to the late 60s. He should have one or two at least out of all the great stuff he did. I think his work from the '50s and '60s is consistently outstanding. The Word in '78, Rich Man Poor Man and Dragonslayer, Last Butterfly(though very short was good) and that tremendous music in the Penitent was very good. Most of the rest of his '70s and '80s output was not up the early period in my period but still good. At the AA ceremony that year(I watched it while I lived in St. Louis, one of the last I watched), he commented on the violence and sex in movies chiding the moviemakers to leave more to the imagination. Good to see you over here, Joan. Welcome. JW.
posted 02-27-2000 03:17 PM PT (US)

Wedge Oscar® Winner	Hey, Luscious, thanks for the link! And you do realize that my slight was not aimed at you, but rather the Self-Congratulatory Entertaiment Awards people, whose heads are so far up their @$$ they spit piss.
posted 02-27-2000 07:48 PM PT (US)

joan hue Oscar® Winner	Hi John. Thanks for the welcome. (Hope you noticed John, that I'm reading books from your suggestions.) I know the Academy gives lifetime achievement awards to actors, directors, etc. And I'm glad they honored North; he was most deserving. I wish, however, they would honor more composers with L.A.A. awards. Look how long Goldsmith, Bernstein, and Morricone have been writing film music. Well, I'll quit grumbling..for now. NP Tara Bulba Waxman **/*** [This message has been edited by joan hue (edited 27 February 2000).]
posted 02-27-2000 08:10 PM PT (US)

HAL 2000 Oscar® Winner	The reason North got the award is represented by the proverbial "throwing a dog a bone". The Academy would not likely give such an award to someone it has honored multiple times already. This award is usually given in light of the glaring oversights and blunders in the nomination and awarding process. North was virtually retired when he got the award and the Academy must have realized their mistake of not honoring this most worthy composer for one of his specific contributions. I suspect that had he not finally won for The Color of Money Paul Newman would be given a similar award seeing how he consistently got passed over for the Best Actor award so many times. [This message has been edited by HAL 2000 (edited 28 February 2000).]
posted 02-28-2000 07:08 AM PT (US)

Thor Oscar® Winner	Morricone recently received the Honorary Lifetime award at the European Film Awards. And John Williams, also recently, received the Kirk Lifetime Award (?). They are starting to honour the film composers proper.
posted 02-28-2000 08:54 AM PT (US)

Old Infopop Software by UBB