It’s Not Just Dune 2: The Oscars Have Been Wrongly Excluding Films for Years

There’s a war raging between Dune: Part Two and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Despite many fans expecting Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to dominate next year’s Oscars, Hans Zimmer’s score has been barred from entry in the Best Score category. The Academy states the score contains too much pre-existing music from the original movie to qualify as a new score. Earlier this month, Denis Villeneuve told Variety that he’s still submitting Zimmer’s work. “Part Two is a new score. I don’t accept this because it’s one of the most beautiful scores Hans has ever written, and I would love it, at least, to be considered,” he said.

Denis Villeneuve’s hit, sci-fi sequel was a critical and box office sensation, holding 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossing over $700 million worldwide. The movie also became a social media sensation, with fans endlessly chanting “Lisan Al-Gaib,” in honor of Javier Bardem’s Stilgar. Blockbuster action movies tend to get overlooked by The Academy (although things are certainly changing). But even when a blockbuster superhero or sci-fi film breaks the barrier and gets nominated, The Academy often finds stupid rules to keep them out.

Multiple Movies Have Been Excluded From Best Score at the Oscars

Dune: Part Two is far from the first victim of The Academy’s strange rules for Best Original Score — it’s not even the first time Denis Villeneuve has been shut out of the category. In 2016, the director was embroiled in another battle with The Academy over his sci-fi film Arrival. The score, composed by Johann Johannson, was exempt from competing because it featured too much sampling from “On the Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter.

Over the past two decades, several high-profile movies have been shut out of the category by The Academy. Composer Johnny Greenwood had to forfeit the award twice, once for his work on There Will Be Blood in 2017 and again for The Master in 2012, for the same reason. The Ryan Gosling-led Drive, composed by Cliff Martinez, was also excluded in 2012, as was Clint Mansell’s beautiful score for Black Swan in 2010.

But it’s not just sampling that The Academy takes issue with. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was shut out of the Best Original Score category in 2009 for an even stranger reason. The Academy cited that the film’s score was created by too many composers to be eligible for the award. Bizarrely, that wasn’t the only way in which The Dark Knight was shocked by The Academy. After famously being excluded from the Best Picture category, The Academy were forced to change the rules, allowing for more nominations following intense backlash from fans.

Weirdly, it seems the rules apply more to some than to others. Legendary composer, John Williams’ work on six Star Wars films, four Indiana Jones movies, and two of Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter films were all nominated for Best Score.

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The Academy Once Excluded a Sci-Fi Hit for a Stupid Reason

The Academy’s rules for the Best Score category are fickle. But, Dune: Part Two‘s exclusion is nowhere near the most egregious time a film has been shut out. The 1982 sci-fi classic, Tron, is renowned for its ground breaking CGI. Why then, did The Academy bar it from the Best Visual Effects category?

According to The Academy, using computers to, well… generate imagery, was considered cheating at the time. The Academy of old favored practical effects. There were two nominees in the category: Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the Matthew Robbins directed Dragonslayer. Raiders ultimately won the award.

It’s hilarious to imagine The Academy now attempting to bar films for using CGI, considering the cinematic landscape we currently live in. The very meaning of the category’s title has shifted in the last few years, with the Oscars now celebrating the very best CGI in movies. That being said, The Academy still likes to throw a curve ball once in a while. Last year, Godzilla Minus One snagged the award, despite its fractional budget of $15 million compared to its $100-million+ competitors.

Even if Denis Villeneuve’s appeal for Dune: Part Two is unsuccessful, the film is still expected to dominate at next year’s awards. The list of nominees won’t be announced until the new year. However, the 97th Academy Awards have already found their host. Comedian, Conan O’Brien, was recently announced to be hosting next year’s ceremony.