Billie Eilish and Finneas and composer Ludwig Göransson moved one step closer to winning Oscars by winning at the fifth annual SCL Awards, which were held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday night (Feb. 13). Eilish & Finneas won outstanding original song for a comedy or musical for “What Was I Made For?,” which they co-wrote for Barbie. Göransson won outstanding original score for a studio film for Oppenheimer. These are widely regarded as the front-runners to win the Oscars for best original song and best original score, respectively, on March 10.
Siedah Garrett hosted the SCL Awards, which are presented by The Society of Composers and Lyricists.
Director Martin Scorsese accepted the Spirit of Collaboration Award for his work with the late composer Robbie Robertson. Jason Isbell performed “Between Trains,” which Robertson wrote for Scorsese’s 1983 film The King of Comedy, to honor the pair.
The Spirit of Collaboration Award recognizes a composer/director relationship which has created a prodigious body of work. Robertson and Scorsese’s collaborations over nearly 50 years included The Last Waltz, Raging Bull, Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman and last year’s Killers of the Flower Moon, for which Robertson is nominated for an Oscar posthumously. The composer died in August at age 80.
Past recipients of the Spirit of Collaboration Award are Thomas Newman & Sam Mendes, Terence Blanchard & Spike Lee, Carter Burwell & the Coen Brothers, and Justin Hurwitz & Damien Chazelle.
Olivia Rodrigo and Dan Nigro won outstanding original song for a drama or documentary for “Can’t Catch Me Now” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. That song was shortlisted for an Oscar for best original song, but it didn’t land a nomination.
Garrett is a Grammy-winning, two-time Oscar-nominated songwriter and a member of the SCL. She recently reunited with Quincy Jones on the 2023 musical version of The Color Purple. She had collaborated with Jones on Michael Jackson’s 1987 album Bad — co-writing “Man in the Mirror” and singing background vocals on “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” Both songs were No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Society of Composers and Lyricists, which claims nearly 4,000 members, is a leading organization for professional film, television, video game and musical theater composers and songwriters.
Here are the nominees for the 2024 SCL Awards, with winners marked:
Outstanding original score for a studio film
Anthony Willis, Saltburn
Joe Hisaishi, The Boy and the Heron
WINNER: Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer
Laura Karpman, American Fiction
Robbie Robertson, Killers of the Flower Moon
Outstanding original score for an independent film
Jon Batiste, American Symphony
WINNER: John Powell, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Daniel Pemberton, Ferrari
Mica Levi, The Zone of Interest
Fabrizio Mancinelli/Richard M. Sherman, Mushka
Outstanding original song for a comedy or musical
WINNER: Billie Eilish O’Connell/Finneas O’Connell, “What Was I Made For?,” Barbie
Mark Ronson/Andrew Wyatt, “I’m Just Ken,” Barbie
Diane Warren, “The Fire Inside,” Flamin’ Hot
Heather McIntosh/Allyson Newman/Taura Stinson, “All About Me,” The L Word: Generation Q
Jack Black/John Spiker/Eric Osmond/Michael Jelenic/Aaron Horvath, “Peaches,” Super Mario Bros. Movie
Outstanding original song for a drama or documentary
WINNER: Olivia Rodrigo/Dan Nigro, “Can’t Catch Me Now,” The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
Jon Batiste/Dan Wilson, “It Never Went Away,” American Symphony
Lenny Kravitz, “Road to Freedom,” Rustin
Nicholas Britell/Taura Stinson, “Slip Away,” Carmen
Sharon Farber/Noah Benshea, “Better Times,” Jacob the Baker
Outstanding original score for a television production
WINNER: Nicholas Britell, Succession
Natalie Holt, Loki
Martin Phipps, The Crown
Carlos Rafael Rivera, Lessons in Chemistry
Gustavo Santaolalla, The Last of Us
Outstanding original title sequence for a television production
WINNER: Carlos Rafael Rivera, Lessons in Chemistry
Atli Örvarsson, Silo
Nainita Desai, The Deepest Breath
Kevin Kiner, Ahsoka
Chanda Dancy, Lawmen: Bass Reeves
Outstanding original score for interactive media
Austin Wintory, Stray Gods
Pinar Toprak, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
WINNER: Stephen Barton/Gordy Haab, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Winifred Phillips, Secrets of Skeifa Island
David Raksin award for emerging talent
Kenny Wood, The Naughty Nine
Hannah Parrott, After Death
Fabrizio Mancinelli, The Land of Dreams
WINNER: Catherine Joy, Home Is a Hotel
Allyson Newman, Commitment to Life