The Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA) held its 13th annual ceremony at the Avalon in Hollywood on Wednesday (11/16). Among the winning composers, songwriters and films were Terence Blanchard (The Woman King), Alexandre Desplat (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), Danny Elfman (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Michael Abels (Nope), Dianne Warren (Tell It Like A Woman), Simon Franglen (Avatar: The Way of Water), and Rihanna and Ludwig Goransson (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever).
The proceedings featured special performances from Charles Fox who did a medley of his TV theme songs including Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley; Warren with her original song from Tell It Like a Woman, “Applause,” which won Best Song for Independent Film; Rita Wilson performing her original song from the film A Man Called Otto, “’Til You’re Home”; and Iranian singer Mojgan Shajarian, the daughter of Maestro Mohammad-Reza Shajarian and featured in the documentary about his life The Voice of Dust and Ash, performing the Unofficial National Anthem of Freedom in Iran, “Morghe Sahar.” Kurt Farquhar, prolific television composer and the recipient of the HMMA Career Achievement Award, gave an inspiring acceptance speech about growing up in Chicago and battling homelessness before beginning his career as a composer. He extended an emotional thank you to his brother, Ralph Farquhar, who helped him get his first jobs in television. He urged Hollywood to consider working with composers and creatives that aren’t the obvious choice.
Billy Eichner accepted the Best Onscreen performance award for the original song “Love is Not Love” from Bros, and gushed about his co-writer and the film’s composer, Marc Shaiman. Franglen dedicated his HMMA Award for Best Score for a Fantasy Film for Avatar: The Way of Water to his longtime friend and mentor, the late James Horner. Blanchard accepted the award for Best Score for a Feature Film for Woman King, emphasizing the importance of Kurt Farquhar’s message of inclusion and equality. Hildaur Gudnadottir, past HMMA recipient for her Academy Award-winning Joker score, accepted the award for Best Music Themed Film, Biopic, or Musical on behalf of Tar.
The HMMAs honors composers, songwriters, and music supervisors for their work in music for film, television, and videogames. For awards consideration, score entries submit up to 15-minutes of score to picture as it appears in the visual media project. Several films were only available to see in the context of the scenes provided. The HMMA nominations have historically been representative of the nominees and winners of the Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys, and Emmys that occur months later.
Here’s a rundown of HMMA feature film winners:
SCORE – FEATURE FILM
Terence Blanchard – THE WOMAN KING
SCORE – ANIMATED FILM
Alexandre Desplat – GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
SCORE – SCIFI FILM
Danny Elfman – DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS
SCORE – FANTASY FILM
Simon Franglen – AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
SCORE – HORROR/THRILLER FILM
Michael Abels – NOPE
SCORE – DOCUMENTARY
Jessica Jones – THE TINDER SWINDLER
SCORE – INDEPENDENT FILM
Emilie Levienaise – Farrouch – LIVING
SCORE – INDEPENDENT FILM (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Carlo Siliotto – CUANDO SEA JOVEN (Spanish)
SONG – FEATURE FILM
“Lift Me Up” from BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER. Written by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, and Ludwig Göransson. Performed by Rihanna.
SONG – ANIMATED FILM
“Ciao Papa” from GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO. Written by Alexandre Desplat, Lyrics by Roeben Katz and Guillermo del Toro. Performed by Gregory Mann
SONG – DOCUMENTARY FILM
“Ready As I’ll Never Be” from THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER – FEATURING BRANDI CARLILE. Written by Brandi Carlile and Tanya Tucker. Performed by Tanya Tucker.
SONG – INDEPENDENT FILM
“Applause” from TELL IT LIKE A WOMAN. Written by Diane Warren. Performed by Sofia Carson.
SONG – ONSCREEN PERFORMANCE
“Love Is Not Love” from BROS – Billy Eichner
MUSIC THEMED FILM, BIOPIC OR MUSICAL
TÁR – Produced by Todd Field, Scott Lambert, Alexandra Milchan. Directed by Todd Field.
MUSIC DOCUMENTARY/SPECIAL PROGRAM
KILLING ME SOFTLY WITH HIS SONGS – Directed by Danny Gold.
