In a bit of news than can only be described as shocking, nominations for the 81st Academy Awards were announced this morning, and in the Best Original Song category, The Wrestler, Bruce Springsteen's harrowing song from the film of the same name, got more than the cold shoulder, it got knocked out of the ring entirely.
After winning a Golden Globe a couple of weeks ago, The Boss's stark composition seemed like a shoo-in. Instead, it lost out to three other songs of lesser-known stature:
Down to Earth from WALL-E (Walt Disney). Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, lyrics by Peter Gabriel.
Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire(Fox Searchlight). Music by AR Rahman, lyrics by Gulzar.
O Saya, also from Slumdog Millionaire. Music and lyrics by AR Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.
Why only three?
In past years, the Academy has nominated five original songs, but this year they only went with a trio of selections, even bypassing Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. Why this is, we have no idea. Only in Hollywood, folks.
