The Society of Composers & Lyricists has unveiled its SCL Award nominees for 2023, naming composers Alexandre Desplat (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), Carter Burwell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Michael Abels (Nope), Michael Giacchino (The Batman) and John Powell (Don’t Worry Darling) as its contenders for Outstanding Score for a Studio Film.
The SCL’s Musical/Comedy Song nominees are as idiosyncratic as they are starry this time around, with such veteran composers as Desplat and Danny Elfman (White Noise) nominated for Musical/Comedy song alongside Bros‘ Billy Eichner and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story‘s Weird Al Yankovic.
Entrants in the Drama/Documentary Song category include recent Honorary Oscar winner Diane Warren (Tell It Like a Woman), Taylor Swift (Where the Crawdads Sing), Lady Gaga (Top Gun: Maverick), Rihanna (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and the Oscar-winning Nine Inch Nails duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who this year penned a song and score for Luca Guadagnino’s cannibal romance, Bones and All, among others.
Additional nominees came in the categories of Outstanding Score for an Independent Film, Score for Television and Score for Interactive Media, with noms for the David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent also listed.
The SCL Award nominations come following the unveiling of the Oscar shortlists for 2023, which counted Desplat and his Pinocchio songwriting team, Burwell, Abels, Powell, Warren and her collaborators, Swift and her co-songwriters, Gaga and team, Rihanna and company, and many more amongst its competitors.
The 4th edition of the ceremony celebrating score and songs in visual media will be hosted by Darren Criss, taking place at the Skirball Cultural Center on February 15. View this year’s full list of SCL Award noms below.
OUTSTANDING SCORE FOR A STUDIO FILM:
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT – GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
CARTER BURWELL – BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
MICHAEL ABELS – NOPE
MICHAEL GIACCHINO – THE BATMAN
JOHN POWELL – DON’T WORRY DARLING
OUTSTANDING SCORE FOR AN INDEPENDENT FILM:
LEO BIRENBERG, ZACH ROBINSON – WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY
SHARON FARBER – BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER
RYAN LOTT – EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
ROB SIMONSEN – THE WHALE
MARK SMYTHE – THE REEF: STALKED
OUTSTANDING SONG FOR A MUSICAL/COMEDY:
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT, ROEBAN KATZ, GUILLERMO DEL TORO – “CIAO PAPA” FROM GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
KHIYON HURSEY, SUKARI JONES, BENJ PASEK, JUSTIN PAUL, MARK SONNENBLICK – “GOOD AFTERNOON” FROM SPIRITED
DANNY ELFMAN – “LIGHT THE MATCH” FROM CENTRAL PARK
BILLY EICHNER, MARC SHAIMAN – “LOVE IS NOT LOVE” FROM BROS
WEIRD AL YANKOVIC - “NOW YOU KNOW” FROM WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY
OUTSTANDING SONG FOR A DRAMA/DOCUMENTARY
DIANE WARREN – “APPLAUSE” FROM TELL IT LIKE A WOMAN
TAYLOR SWIFT – “CAROLINA” FROM WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
LADY GAGA, BLOODPOP – “HOLD MY HAND” FROM TOP GUN: MAVERICK
TEMS, RIHANNA, LUDWIG GÖRANSSON, RYAN COOGLER – “LIFT ME UP” FROM BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS – “(YOU MADE IT FEEL LIKE) HOME” FROM BONES AND ALL
OUTSTANDING SCORE FOR TELEVISION:
NICHOLAS BRITELL – ANDOR
SIDDHARTHA KHOSLA – ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING
BEAR MCCREARY – THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER
THEODORE SHAPIRO – SEVERANCE
CRISTOBAL TAPIA DE VEER – THE WHITE LOTUS
OUTSTANDING SCORE FOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA:
NAINITA DESAI – IMMORTALITY
STEPHANIE ECONOMOU – ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA: DAWN OF RAGNARÖK
BEAR MCCREARY – GOD OF WAR RAGNARÖK
WINIFRED PHILLIPS – JURASSIC WORLD PRIMAL OPS
CHRISTOPHER WILIIS – CAT BURGLAR
DAVID RAKSIN AWARD FOR EMERGING TALENT:
DARA TAYLOR – THE INVITATION
ANNA DRUBICH – BARBARIAN
DEANDRE JAMES ALLEN-TOOLE – GOD’S COUNTRY
ESIN AYDINGOZ – SIMCHAS AND SORROWS
NAMI MELUMAD – STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS
