Atticus Ross took home two awards at the sixth annual SCL Awards, which were held on Wednesday (Feb. 12) at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
The awards are voted on by members of the Society of Composers & Lyricists, an organization of professional film, television, video game, and musical theater composers and lyricists. The event was hosted by singer-songwriter Colin Hay, best known as leader of the 1980s pop group Men at Work.
Ross won outstanding original song for a comedy or musical visual media production for “Compress/Repress,” which he co-wrote for Challengers with frequent collaborator Trent Reznor, along with the film’s director, Luca Guadagnino. Ross and collaborators Leopold Ross (his younger brother) and Nick Chuba also won outstanding original score for a television production for Shōgun.
The win for “Compress/Repress” came after the song failed to land an Oscar nod for best original song. At the SCL Awards, “Compress/Repress” beat two songs from Emilia Pérez that were Oscar-nominated – “El Mal” and “Mi Camino.”
Top honors for film scoring went to Kris Bowers, who won original score for a studio film for The Wild Robot, and Daniel Blumberg, who won outstanding original score for an independent film for The Brutalist. Both composers are nominated for the Oscar for best original score, where they face Volker Bertelmann (Conclave), Clément Ducol and Camille (Emilia Pérez) and John Powell and Stephen Schwartz (Wicked).
Diane Warren won outstanding original song for a dramatic or documentary visual media production for her song “The Journey”from The Six Triple Eight. Warren won in this category two years ago for “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman. “The Journey” is nominated for an Oscar for best original song, where it faces the two aforementioned songs from Emilia Pérez, plus “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late (also nominated here) and “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing.
Warren has been nominated for an SCL Award every year. In 2023, “Applause” won in this same category, but went on to lose the Oscar to “Naatu Naatu” from RRR.
Emilia Pérez composers Clément Ducol and Camille, who tied with Atticus Ross for most SCL nominations this year (three), were shut out.
Composer Andrea Datzman received the David Raksin award for emerging talent for her score for Inside Out 2. Datzman’s mentor, Michael Giacchino, composed the score for the first Inside Out.
Composer Jeff Beal, who has won five Primetime Emmys, received the SCL Jury Award for his new score for the 1920 Weimar Cinema silent film classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Composer Harry Gregson-Williams and director Ridley Scott received the Spirit of Collaboration Award, which recognizes a composer/director relationship that has created a prodigious body of work. This year’s Gladiator II marks their seventh collaboration. In his previous collaborations with Scott, Gregson-Williams has written the original scores for The Martian, Kingdom of Heaven, The Last Duel, and House of Gucci, as well as themes for Prometheus and Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Last year, Martin Scorsese received the Spirit of Collaboration Award for his work with the late composer Robbie Robertson. Other past award recipients of this award include Thomas Newman & Sam Mendes, Terence Blanchard & Spike Lee, Carter Burwell & the Coen Brothers, and Justin Hurwitz & Damien Chazelle.
Here’s the complete list of nominees for the 2025 SCL Awards, with winners marked.
Outstanding Original Score for a Studio Film
Clement Ducol, Camille – Emilia Perez (Netflix)
Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros. Pictures / Legendary Pictures)
Harry Gregson-Williams – Gladiator II (Paramount Pictures)
John Powell, Stephen Schwartz – Wicked: Part 1 (Universal Pictures)
WINNER: Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot (DreamWorks Animation)
Volker Bertelmann – Conclave (Focus Features)
Outstanding Original Score for an Independent Film
Chris Bacon – Heretic (A24)
WINNER: Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist (A24)
Dara Taylor – Meet Me Next Christmas (Roberts Media)
Fabrizio Mancinelli – Here After (Artina Films, ClaRo Productions, Fenix Entertainment, Hopscotch Pictures)
Heather McIntosh – Winner (Big Beach, One Community, Scythia Films, ShivHans Pictures)
Stephanie Economou – The Book of Jobs (Bull’s Eye Entertainment, Rebellium Films)
Outstanding Original Song for a Dramatic or Documentary Visual Media Production
Andrew Wyatt, Lykke Li, Miley Cyrus – “Beautiful That Way” (from The Last Showgirl) (Utopia Media, High Frequency Entertainment, Pinky Promise, Detour, Digital Ignition Entertainment)
Bear McCreary – “Old Tom Bombadil” (from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) (Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema / Prime Video)
Christopher Lennertz – “Let’s Put the Christ Back in Christmas” (from The Boys) (Prime Video)
WINNER: Diane Warren – “The Journey” (from The Six Triple Eight) (Netflix)
Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Bernie Taupin, Andrew Watt – “Never Too Late” (from Elton John: Never Too Late) (Disney Branded Television, This Machine Filmworks, Rocket Entertainment)
Nicholas Britell, Steve McQueen, Taura Stinson – “Winter Coat” (from Blitz) (Apple Original Films)
Outstanding Original Song for a Comedy or Musical Visual Media Production
Abigail Barlow, Emily Bear – “Beyond” (from Moana 2) (Disney)
Clement Ducol, Camille – “Mi Camino” (from Emilia Perez) (Why Not Productions, Page 114, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Saint Laurent Productions)
Clement Ducol, Camille, Jacques Audiard – “El Mal” (from Emilia Perez) (Why Not Productions, Page 114, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Saint Laurent Productions)
Lainey Wilson, Luke Dick, Shane McAnally – “Out of Oklahoma” (from Twisters) (Universal Pictures)
Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler, Sacha Skarbek – “Forbidden Road” (from Better Man) (Paramount Pictures)
WINNER: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Luca Guadagnino – “Compress/Repress” (from Challengers) (Amazon MGM Studios)
Outstanding Original Title Sequence for a Television Production
Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, Nick Chuba – Shōgun (FX Network)
Blake Neely – Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)
Carlos Rafael Rivera – Griselda (Netflix)
Danielle Ponder – Manhunt (Apple TV+)
WINNER: Jeff Toyne – Palm Royale (Apple TV+)
Nami Melumad – Dream Productions (Pixar Animation Studios / Disney+)
Outstanding Original Score for a Television Production
WINNER: Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross, Nick Chuba – Shōgun (FX Network)
Bear McCreary – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema / Prime Video)
Blake Neely – Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)
David Fleming – Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Amazon MGM Studios)
Finneas O’Connell – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Jeff Toyne – Palm Royale (Apple TV+)
Outstanding Original Score for Interactive Media
Gordy Haab – Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Machine Games, Bethesda Studios, Lucasfilm Games)
Nainita Desai – Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios, EA)
Wilbert Roget, II – Star Wars: Outlaws (Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft)
WINNER: Winifred Phillips – Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Digital Eclipse)
David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent
WINNER: Andrea Datzman – Inside Out 2 (Disney/Pixar Animation Studios)
Emily Rice – Broken Bird (Catalyst Studios, Mitchell-Brunt Films)
Katya Richardson – Motorcycle Mary (Breakwater Studios)
Nikhil Koparkar – Dead Whisper (Howlin’ Hounds Pictures, Brothers Gran Productions)
Robin Carolan – Nosferatu (Focus Features)
Wei-San Hsu – Invisible Nation (100 Chapters Productions, Double Hope Films, Seine Pictures)