Hans Zimmer On Academy Disqualification For ‘Dune: Part Two’ Score: “A Stupid Rule”

https://deadline.com/2025/03/hans-zimmer-academy-disqualification-dune-part-two-score-1236320291/

12 comments

  1. >“You know something? It’s not really a sore point,” he began. “It’s just such a stupid point — how can it be a sore point?”

    >The two-time Oscar winner continued, “I got disqualified because I was using material from the first movie in the second movie, but it’s not a sequel. It is the completion, both movies are one arc. So was I supposed to go and take all the character themes away and write new character themes and develop them? It’s just a stupid rule. What I didn’t want to do is go and bitch about it.”

    >Late last year, an Academy independent review found that Zimmer’s inclusion of thematic elements from 2021’s Dune violated the organization’s eligibility requirements, which maintain that a score for an eligible film must comprise a minimum of 35% of the total music in the film. For sequels and franchises, the score cannot use more than 20% of the pre-existing themes and music from previous installments.

  2. He is definitely very proud of the Dune score (and justifiably so). His last concert tour in US heavily featured the Dune score.

    Personally I think he’s right – dumb rule, the Dune score was genius!

  3. Famous composer famously complains that he’s not even more famous.

  4. It was one of the best albums of the year all around IMO

  5. I guess the part I don’t personally understand is why is Dune disqualified, but Wicked was nominated even though it was based on a musical? Didn’t Wicked use at least 25% (or whatever threshold) of the play’s music?

  6. Okay this makes sense because before they announced the nominees during the Oscar’s I was like oh dune is taking this and then it wasn’t nominated and i was confused

  9. I understand both perspectives. If he’s arguing it’s a continuation, then it’s not fully a sequel and it was already nominated by the first section of the film. However, I truly think it should be a separate film and not matter if it is a continuation. Regardless, it’s an awesome score and he should be immensely proud that so many people love it and listen to it.

  10. A similar thing happens to Jonny greenwood and his score for there will be blood, which many consider legendary. He used some preexisting music for it so the academy dismissed and he didn’t get nominated. Crazy 

  11. If someone reused the same award-winning theme for the second and third movie and so on receiving awards for each and the fourth one suddenly doesn’t receive the same award, I assure you, they would scream how illogical, STUPID and unfair it is.

  12. Meanwhile, Challengers’ score just got shit on without any rule problems at all.

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