The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) handed out trophies for their 5th Annual SCL Awards at the Skirball Cultural Center earlier today, February 13th. Ludwig Göransson took home the award for Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film for Oppenheimer, while John Powell was awarded Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film for Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. Powell won an Emmy last month for that same score when the film competed as a television documentary/nonfiction program.
Since the inception of the SCL Awards, only one score has gone on to win the corresponding Oscar for Best Original Score, Joker by Hildur Guðnadóttir in 2020. Göransson has been nominated by the Academy, as have SCL nominees Laura Karpman (American Fiction) and the late Robbie Robertson (Killers of the Flower Moon), who was honored with the Spirit of Collaboration Award, which was accepted by director Martin Scorsese. Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jason Isbell performed the song “Between Trains,” originally written by Robertson for The King of Comedy, in honor of Scorsese and Robertson.
The 2022 SCL award-winning song “No Time to Die” from No Time to Die, by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, also repeated at the Oscars that year. Sibling duo Eilish and O’Connell have the chance to do the same this year as their SCL-winning Barbie tune “What Was I Made For?” contends for the corresponding Oscar, competing against three other SCL-nominated songs, “I’m Just Ken,” also from Barbie, “It Never Went Away,” from American Symphony, and “The Fire Inside,” from Flamin’ Hot. SCL’s choice for Outstanding Original Song from a Drama or Documentary, “Can’t Catch Me Now,” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, made the Oscar shortlist for Best Original Song but was not ultimately nominated.
On the TV side, Carlos Rafael Rivera, who took home the 2021 SCL prize for Outstanding Original Score for a Television Production for The Queen’s Gambit, went home with the Outstanding Original Title Sequence for a Television Production Award for his work on Lessons in Chemistry. He was also nominated for his score for the Apple TV+ series, but that prize went this year to Nicholas Britell for the final season of Succession. Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab were feted for Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Catherine Joy won the David Raskin Award for Emerging Talent for the documentary Home is a Hotel.
Read below for a full list of nominees from the 5th SCL Awards, with winners highlighted in bold.
5th SCL AWARDS 2024
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A STUDIO FILM:
Anthony Willis SALTBURN
Joe Hisaishi THE BOY AND THE HERON
Ludwig Göransson OPPENHEIMER
Laura Karpman AMERICAN FICTION
Robbie Robertson KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN INDEPENDENT FILM:
Jon Batiste AMERICAN SYMPHONY
John Powell STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE
Daniel Pemberton FERRARI
Mica Levi THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Fabrizio Mancinelli MUSHKA
& Richard M. Sherman
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG FOR A DRAMA OR DOCUMENTARY:
Olivia Rodrigo/Dan Nigro, “Can’t Catch Me Now,” THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES
Jon Batiste/Dan Wilson, “It Never Went Away,” AMERICAN SYMPHONY
Lenny Kravitz, “Road to Freedom,” RUSTIN
Nicholas Britell/Taura Stinson, “Slip Away,” CARMEN
Sharon Farber/Noah Benshea, “Better Times,” JACOB THE BAKER
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG FOR A COMEDY OR MUSICAL:
Billie Eilish O’Connell/Finneas O’Connell, “What Was I Made For?,” BARBIE
Mark Ronson/Andrew Wyatt, “I’m Just Ken,” BARBIE
Diane Warren, “The Fire Inside,” FLAMIN’ HOT
Heather McIntosh/Allyson Newman/Taura Stinson, “All About Me,” THE L WORD: GENERATION Q
Jack Black/John Spiker/Eric Osmond/Michael Jelenic/Aaron Horvath, “Peaches,” SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A TELEVISION PRODUCTION
Nicholas Britell SUCCESSION
Natalie Holt LOKI
Martin Phipps THE CROWN
Carlos Rafael Rivera LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY
Gustavo Santaolalla THE LAST OF US
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL TITLE SEQUENCE FOR A TELEVISION PRODUCTION
Chanda Dancy LAWMEN: BASS REEVES
Nainita Desai THE DEEPEST BREATH
Kevin Kiner AHSOKA
Atli Örvarsson SILO
Carlos Rafael Rivera LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE FOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Stephen Barton, Gordy Haab STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR
Winifred Phillips SECRETS OF SKEIFA ISLAND
Pinar Toprak AVATAR: FRONTIERS OF PANDORA
Austin Wintory STRAY GODS: THE ROLEPLAYING MUSICAL
THE DAVID RAKSIN AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT
Catherine Joy HOME IS A HOTEL
Fabrizio Mancinelli THE LAND OF DREAMS
Allyson Newman COMMITMENT TO LIFE
Hannah Parrott AFTER DEATH
Kenny Wood THE NAUGHTY NINE
THE SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION AWARD
Robbie Robertson and Director Martin Scorsese
The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) is the primary organization for professional film, television, video game, and musical theater composers and lyricists. With a 79-year history in the art of creating music for visual media, members include the top creatives working today. The organization is focused on education and addressing creative, technological, legal, and newsworthy issues affecting music for visual media community. https://thescl.com/