Will Newman nab a nom, a win, or a snub?

These moments include: That drifting plastic bag in American Beauty’s cold winter breeze; those stirring last few minutes when Morgan Freeman guides us through the perfect ending of The Shawshank Redemption; and that unforgettable sequence where Sam Mendes drained away all sound in Road to Perdition to allow the power of a thundering rainstorm and an Oedipal realization to be conveyed with nothing but Newman’s resonant bass strings and graceful piano. 

To me, each of these moments – combined with the rest of the score Newman delivered for these brilliant films – should have landed him three Academy Awards in a snap.  But strangely, his trophy case has remained Oscarless, steadily collecting dust as each of his seven nominations (beginning with 1994’s dual consideration of Shawshank and Little Women) have gone for naught. As soon as we remind ourselves that he’s also scored Scent of a Woman, The People vs Larry Flynt, Phenomenon, Erin Brokovich, The Green Mile, and In the Bedroom (amongst others) – this lack of prizewinning recognition is shameful. 

And let’s face it, the man was born to win Oscars.  Son of legendary composer Alfred Newman (not to be confused with Mad magazine mascot and George W. Bush look-alike, Alfred E. Neuman) cousin of Randy, brother and other relation to a plethora of other musical Newmans, Tommy can be said to have a pretty okay family tree as far as catchy tune-making goes.  His father set the family’s Oscar bar high by nabbing a nomination for the year’s biggest prize a ludicrous 41 times (take that Edith Head), and ended up taking home the gold on 9 occasions.  Alfred’s nephew, Randy, was up for 15 Oscars before finally breaking through with Monsters, Inc. a few years back, and with that win passed on the title of most-thwarted-chances-to-win to his 40 year-old cousin Tom.  It’s pretty safe to say that if a musical-genius gene exists, the Newman clan is solid evidence it doesn’t skip generations.

For Thomas, the last calendar year saw him produce scores for the too-early-for-your-consideration Cinderella Man, and the quickly forgettable Jarhead; meaning his 2005 efforts are virtually guaranteed to be swept under the red carpet.  This realization came as a surprise to me, as at the start of the year I thought his inimitable style would fit nicely into the sentimental, depression-era Opie-epic, and, since Jarhead would team him for the third time with Mendes (whose 2-for-2 in the movie world was highly reliant on the Newman touch), I figured one way or the other he’d shed the bridesmaid reputation.  Sadly, both are disappointing films aside from their music, and so his victory speech will have to wait at least until the 2006 festivities.

Of course, according to IMDB.com, the only project he has in the hopper is some sort of prequel to the never-ending Hannibal Lector saga, and that doesn’t bode well for his breaking the losing streak.  But hey, maybe the film will actually turn out to be a great horror flick, and Newman’s work will do for him what The Omen did for Jerry Goldsmith.  In fact, it would be somewhat fitting if it did, as not since Goldsmith has there been a more deserving composer so routinely snubbed by Academy voters; that is, if my predictions about a snub this year come to fruition, and it’s hard to imagine they won’t.

I’m confident before he’s through beguiling us with beautiful music, the Academy’s voting members will recognize Newman’s contribution to film – a contribution heard daily in film after film, promo after promo, commercial after commercial, NBC-sports-bio after NBC-sports-bio, and trailer after trailer – places him in a grand spot atop the heap of Hollywood scorers.   At the very least, that contribution should allow him the chance to stand at the podium of the Kodak Theatre and try to fit each member of his bevy of musical kinfolk into the 45-recommended-seconds of thank-yous.