Last month, the Academy (as in, 'I'd like to thank the Academy'?) ruled that the score for The Dark Knight was disqualified from Oscar consideration, because composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard had listed five other individuals who helped them create the unique sounds for the score on the cue sheets. In other words, Zimmer and Howard did the stand-up nice thing of giving credit where credit was due, but not required to be given. For their good deed, the Academy screwed them over and disqualified the score for an Oscar because of some old rules on the books. They had done this before with 2005's Batman Begins and it seemed history was doomed to repeat itself.
Thankfully, it seems that WB has it's Oscar battle brigade out in full force to support their tent-pole and the years highest grossing film. New information submitted by all effected parties - Zimmer, Howard, and the other five folks who helped them make the unique sounds they used - has convinced the Academy board in charge of such things to reverse it's decision. Thus, TDK's score is back in contention for an Oscar. The nominations are still 6 weeks away, and the actual awards ceramony 6 weeks after that, but this is one more step forward in the TDK Oscar crusade. For all of us score fans, it's a big feather in our cap.
Also, in case you've been under a rock for a while and missed it, the 2-disc limited edition expanded score for TDK has been released. Head over to Amazon or anywhere else you might buy such from and snatch it up while you can. It's -- as you know -- exceedingly rare that a studio pays the fees required to put out an extended edition of a motion picture score. If not for TDK's box office revenue, it's likely this would not have occurred. It's one of the few commercial available expanded scores though, and it's financial success could convince studios of the viability of such releases. So buy, buy, buy!
This is the time to put our money where our ears are, folks. We beg, plead, and cry for commercial expanded scores, and 99.9% of the time no one listens. So now that WB has, we have to put up or shut up. Amazon has it going for $47. Yeah, I know, a pretty penny for a score. If we buy it up though, we may open the flood gates and get more such releases in the future. So skimp, save, pinch pennies, and buy!
Same for the article below, for Batman: The Animated Series 2-disc score. Put your money where your mouth is!
UPDATE: I received my copy of the Limited Edition 2-Disc Expanded Score today (well, I didn't get the mail until tonight) and this is the first chance I've had to listen. The presentation of the set is exemplary. The outer box and the interior CD-holding inlays are of a material I can only describe as "leather-like" in feel. The CDs are presented within a 40-page color hard-bound book full of photographs from The Dark Knight. Sadly, no new information of interviews, comments, et cetera. Still, I'm quite pleased. I only wish my computer sound system was better (on an older system these days) so I could enjoy the music fully! Damn technology...
As to why you don't have a link to listen yourself... honestly, I don't know when or if I'll upload it. I know it's hyper-hypocritical of me, but I want people to actually put their money out and buy this one. Why? Because it just might make an iota of a difference in whether or not we get future expanded score releases. So... I'll mull it over. I'm sure everyone has other sites they can locate it from. For me, for now, I just want to encourage everyone to actually pony up the dough for this occasion. It doesn't happen often enough.
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The reason for many people's (including myself) reluctance to buy it is because it's forcing a re-purchase of a CD we already own (disc 1), a few 'remix' tracks (the very idea of which sounds terrible, don't know if they really are or not) and a picture book.
The unreleased score isn't enough of a justification to spend that amount on it.
I suspect many (again like myself) didn't see the allure of it and spent the money on the film itself, which is absolutely fantastic on every possible level.
If the second disc was released on its own (like the "More Music From" type albums) or the whole score were presented without the suite-like edited tracks and instead a chronological order, this album would be even better and an easy purchase for all.
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