Oscars ‘Daily Bite’: Will five-time nominee Ennio Morricone finally win for original score?
Will “The Hateful Eight” be composer Ennio Morricone’s lucky number?
Morricone, who is best known for his stirring theme music for Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns like “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” is a strong contender to nab his first Oscar for original score at the Feb. 28 awards show.
He was nominated on five previous occasions — for “Days of Heaven” (1978), “The Mission” (1986), “The Untouchables” (1987), “Bugsy” (1991) and “Maleña” (2000) — but the only Oscar in Morricone’s possession is the honorary one he received in 2007 for his contributions to the art of film music.
If he does win, Morricone would be smart to accept the award himself. At last month’s Golden Globes, “Hateful Eight” director Quentin Tarantino got plenty of heat when he accepted the award on Morricone’s behalf and stated that the composer had “never won an award for any one individual movie at a U.S. awards show.” Morricone had actually won Golden Globes twice before — for “The Mission” and “The Legend of 1900” (1998).