AMPAS has narrowed the Original Score contenders down to a rather enormous field of 104, but at least it lets us in on what is eligible and what is not. One of the big question marks in this cateory has been whether or not Jonny Greenwood’s work for The Master would make the list (remember when his 2007 composition for There Will Be Blood was deemed ineligible?), and thankfully it is still in the race. So are my two favorite scores of the year, Cloud Atlas (Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek) and Beasts of the Southern Wild (Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin). See what else is still in the hunt after the jump…

“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” Henry Jackman, composer
“After the Wizard,” Stephen Main, composer
“Alex Cross,” John Debney and Sebastian Morton, composers
“The Amazing Spider-Man,” James Horner, composer
“Anna Karenina,” Dario Marianelli, composer
“Argo,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“Battleship,” Steve Jablonsky, composer
“The Bay,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“Beasts of the Southern Wild,” Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin, composers
“Being Flynn,” Damon Gough, composer
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Big Miracle,” Cliff Eidelman, composer
“Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story,” David Cieri, composer
“Brave,” Patrick Doyle, composer
“Brooklyn Castle,” B. Satz, composer
“Chasing Ice,” J. Ralph, composer
“Chasing Mavericks,” Chad Fischer, composer
“Chicken with Plums,” Olivier Bernet, composer
“Chimpanzee,” Nicholas Hooper, composer
“Cloud Atlas,” Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek, composers
“Compliance,” Heather McIntosh, composer
“Contraband,” Clinton Shorter, composer
“The Dark Knight Rises,” Hans Zimmer, composer
“Dark Shadows,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Darling Companion,” James Newton Howard, composer
“Deadfall,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers
“The Dictator,” Erran Baron Cohen, composer
“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” John Powell, composer
“End of Watch,” David Sardy, composer
“Ethel,” Miriam Cutler, composer
“Flight,” Alan Silvestri, composer
“For a Good Time, Call…” John Swihart, composer
“For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada,” James Horner, composer
“Frankenweenie,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Fun Size,” Deborah Lurie, composer
“Girl in Progress,” Christopher Lennertz, composer
“The Grey,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer
“The Guilt Trip,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Hidden Moon,” Luis Bacalov, composer
“Hitchcock,” Danny Elfman, composer
“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” Howard Shore, composer
“Hotel Transylvania,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
“House at the End of the Street,” Theo Green, composer
“The Hunger Games,” James Newton Howard, composer
“Hyde Park on Hudson,” Jeremy Sams, composer
“Ice Age Continental Drift,” John Powell, composer
“The Impossible,” Fernando Velázquez, composer
“Jack Reacher,” Joe Kraemer, composer
“John Carter,” Michael Giacchino, composer
“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” Andrew Lockington, composer
“Lawless,” Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, composers
“Life of Pi,” Mychael Danna, composer
“Lincoln,” John Williams, composer
“Lola Versus,” Will Bates and Philip Mossman, composers
“Looper,” Nathan Johnson, composer
“The Lucky One,” Mark Isham, composer
“LUV,” Nuno Malo, composer
“The Man with the Iron Fists,” RZA and Howard Drossin, composers
“Marvel’s The Avengers,” Alan Silvestri, composer
“The Master,” Jonny Greenwood, composer
“Men in Black 3,” Danny Elfman, composer
“Middle of Nowhere,” Kathryn Bostic, composer
“Mirror Mirror,” Alan Menken, composer
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” Geoff Zanelli, composer
“On the Road,” Gustavo Santaolalla, composer
“The Pardon,” Ashley Irwin, composer
“Parental Guidance,” Marc Shaiman, composer
“People Like Us,” A.R. Rahman, composer
“The Possession,” Anton Sanko, composer
“Prometheus,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer
“Promised Land,” Danny Elfman, composer
“The Raid: Redemption,” Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese, composers
“Red Tails,” Terence Blanchard, composer
“Rise of the Guardians,” Alexandre Desplat, composer
“Ruby Sparks,” Nick Urata, composer
“Safe House,” Ramin Djawadi, composer
“Safety Not Guaranteed,” Ryan Miller, composer
“Saint Dracula,” Sreevalsan J. Menon, composer
“Savages,” Adam Peters, composer
“Seeking a Friend for the End of the World,” Rob Simonsen and Jonathan Sadoff, composers
“The Sessions,” Marco Beltrami, composer
“Sinister,” Christopher Young, composer
“Skyfall,” Thomas Newman, composer
“Smashed,” Eric D. Johnson and Andy Cabic, composers
“Snow White and the Huntsman,” James Newton Howard, composer
“Taken 2,” Nathaniel Mechaly, composer
“Ted,” Walter Murphy, composer
“Think Like a Man,” Christopher Lennertz, composer
“This Means War,” Christophe Beck, composer
“A Thousand Words,” John Debney, composer
“The Three Stooges,” John Debney, composer
“Trashed,” Vangelis, composer
“Trouble with the Curve,” Marco Beltrami, composer
“21 Jump Street,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Until They Are Home,” Jamie Dunlap, composer
“War of the Worlds The True Story,” Jamie Hall, composer
“The Watch,” Christophe Beck, composer
“West of Memphis,” Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, composers
“Where Do We Go Now?” Khaled Mouzanar, composer
“Won’t Back Down,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“The Words,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“Wreck-It Ralph,” Henry Jackman, composer
“Zero Dark Thirty,” Alexandre Desplat, composer

About Mark Johnson

Lover of all things film and Oscar. Fantasy sports’ equivalent of George Steinbrenner. Your very own Han Solo, making friends all over the movie-loving galaxy in spite of himself. When he’s not ranking just about everything or dominating boardgames, Mark is breaking down the Oscar race 24/7 with Rain Man-like stats and knowledge. In his downtime, you can find him commiserating with other Northeast Ohio sports fans because a hero isn’t complete without a little heartbreak. If Lost, Homeland, Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Survivor are your style, then congratulations, you have something in common with this inglourious basterd.

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