‘Encanto’ Composer Germaine Franco on Becoming the First Oscar-Nominated Latina for Original Score

Andrew Garfield is speaking about that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Oscars 2022 snub.

HBO has acquired the Oscar-nominated documentary short “When We Were Bullies,” which will premiere on March 30.“When We Were Bullies” focuses on director Jay Rosenblatt (“Human Remains,” “Phantom Limb”), as he tries to track down people from his 5th grade class to interview them about a severe bullying incident that occurred at their school 50 years ago. Using a mix of archival footage, animation and modern day interviews, Rosenblatt both reconstructs the event and comes to terms with his own sense of shame about what occurred.“Everyone carries pain,” Rosenblatt narrates in the trailer for the short that HBO released. “Yet through that pain, I can see yours.”In addition to directing, Rosenblatt wrote, produced and edited “When We Were Bullies.” The short is one of five nominees in the best documentary short category at the 94th Academy Awards.

For the children of Lusia “Lucy” Harris, the woman at the center of The Queen of Basketball, the prospect of the upcoming Oscar ceremony brings a feeling of joy, along with a measure of sadness.

Deaf representation has taken a major step forward with two Oscar-nominated films this year — one a fictional story, the other entirely real.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe upcoming Los Angeles-Italia Film Fashion and Art Festival will be honoring Italian directors Paolo Sorrentino (“The Hand of God”) and Enrico Casarosa (“Luca”) as well as costume-designer Massimo Cantini Parrini (“Cyrano”) all of whom have scored nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards. The 17th edition of the pre-Oscars event will be held March 20-26 at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre and also online.This year’s opening ceremony will be hosted by veteran Italian-American actor Robert Davi, who is also this year’s president of the event. Sofia Milos (“CSI: Miami”) and Hollywood acting coach Bernard Hiller will co-host.Consul General of Italy Silvia Chiave and Italian Institute of Culture chief Emanuele Amendola will also be introducing honorees both at the Chinese Theatre and during a separate March 25 event being held at the Italian Institute of Culture.

Clayton Davis With Oscar voting set to begin on March 17, four new actors will be entering the history books with “Academy Award winner” next to their name. The honor of an Oscar nomination is one of the highest a person can receive in Hollywood.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin confirmed another trip to the edge of space on March 23, a Texas reporter wants to be considered, and just like Pete Davidson, also leave the planet. The 93.1 KISS FM host recently wrote a public letter to the magnate asking for a seat on his spaceship.In the lengthy letter, Lopez, who grew up wanting to become the next Britney Spears, tells Jeff her new dream is to become the first Latina single mom in space —and we think that’s pretty badass!Iris, who is also the founder and executive director of Mija, Yes you can praise Davidson and the other six passengers joining the next Blue Origin space travel.

, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Visual Effects. Starring Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac and Zendaya, this universe is one you surely want to enter. Watch Now is based off of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction saga of the same name, and follows Paul Atreides, a nobleman, who lives in the distant future in an intergalactic feudal society ruled by one all-powerful emperor. Paul is forced to relocate with his parents to the desert planet Arrakis — the most dangerous planet in the universe, better known as Dune.

Jon Burlingame editorThis year’s Oscar song race may be more competitive than initially thought. Billie Eilish’s James Bond theme “No Time to Die,” long believed the front-runner, has been out for over two years (awaiting a COVID-delayed release of the film it was written for) and now faces opposition from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Encanto” song.While it’s not “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the TikTok sensation driving the Disney soundtrack to no.

Jon Burlingame editorThe Academy’s 400-member music branch singled out an especially diverse group this year, including composers born in England, Spain and Germany, along with two Americans – one of whom is not only female but also a person of color.They also cast a wide net in terms of genre: a comedy, two dramas, a science-fiction epic and an animated family film. And while “Dune” has long been the favorite of Oscar prognosticators, don’t count out critically praised “Power of the Dog,” the colorful backdrop of “Encanto,” or Academy voters’ frequent use of the score category as consolation prize: a convenient way to reward a film that won’t win anything else.“Don’t Look Up”New York composer Nicholas Britell received his third Oscar nomination for the music of Adam McKay’s sci-fi social satire: an eclectic brew of big-band jazz, traditional orchestral sounds, considerable electronics and a wild collection of offbeat instruments from toy piano to banjo and mandolin.

Jon Burlingame editorComposer Germaine Franco’s Oscar nomination for “Encanto” is a landmark moment in film music:– She is the first Latina to be nominated in that category;– She is only the sixth woman ever to be nominated for an original score;– And she is the first woman to score a Disney film.But ask any of her colleagues in the profession and they’ll tell you something else: that it’s a triumph for a musically talented, genuinely kind person who has worked hard her entire life, dating back decades to her childhood in El Paso, Texas, just across the border from where her grandparents were born in Chihuahua and Durango, Mexico.Franco landed the “Encanto” assignment in part because she had firmly established the Mexican backdrop of Disney’s 2017 film “Coco” via her orchestrations and original songs. Says Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is also nominated as songwriter for “Encanto”: “I admired her work on ‘Coco’ and it was really important to me that we have a Latino music team.

Stuart Miller In the aftermath of #OscarSoWhite, there has been a shift, with actors of color including Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershali Ali and Steven Yuen earning nominations. But the parts these actors inhabited were written specifically for a Black or, in Yuen’s case, a Korean actor.It was only last year when Riz Amed, the British son of Pakistani immigrants, was nominated of “Sound of Metal,” that the Oscars hinted at a newer trend in diversity in casting.“Hollywood is finally catching up and we’re able to represent the world as it really is,” says “West Side Story” casting director Cindy Tolan, adding that studios are “following the dollar.”“If you’re more reflective of life and of the audience, then more people will be interested in your movie or TV show,” says “Macbeth” casting director Ellen Chenoweth.

At the Oscar Luncheon earlier this week, a young man sporting a gray suit and a dazzling smile rubbed shoulders with the likes of Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Jessica Chastain and Kristen Stewart. Unlike those luminaries, Amaree McKenstry-Hall isn’t an actor, but he is a star — of an Oscar-nominated film. A nonfiction one.

Composer Alberto Iglesias returns to the Oscars for a fourth time and his fourth Original Score nomination with Parallel Mothers. 

Even though songwriter Diane Warren hasn’t won yet at the Oscars in the Best Original Song category after 13 nominations, what it does underscore is the continued high regard and esteem which the Academy holds her in.

Director Byron Howard joined producer Yvett Merino and composer Germaine Franco on a panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: The Nominees event to discuss Encanto, the Disney movie that is nominated for three Oscars.

It’s good to be Lin-Manuel Miranda. He has three songs on the Disney soundtrack to Encanto, which currently sits at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Album Charts. He’s up for a Best Original Song Oscar for  “Dos Oruguitas,” which reflects his immersion in Colombian culture to capture the vibe. The Academy Award nomination is his second song bid, following his work for the Disney film. “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana.