Alexandre Desplat Wins Oscar for Best Soundtrack

Alexandre Desplat, a celebrated French composer of feature film soundtracks whose perennial nominations for best an Oscar (8 nomination including 2015) went unrewarded, now has a golden trophy to show for his persistence.

Last night Desplat took home the best soundtrack prize for his work on Wes Anderson’s ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’. The French composer beat out the other contenders in the category, including his own score to ‘The Imitation Game’, Hans Zimmer‘s score for Gary Yershon’s for “Mr. Turner” and Jóhann Jóhannsson‘s for ‘The Theory of Everything.”

From an article about the award in the LA Times:

“Getting a nomination is such a surprise, an anomaly,” Desplat recently told The Times. “Getting two, it’s almost embarrassing!” Of his work on “Budapest,” a quirky comedy about a hotel concierge played by Ralph Fiennes, Desplat said the film’s director, Wes Anderson, “came with this idea that we should use instruments from this vague, vast area [of Eastern Europe]. So we started putting a little band together with balalaikas, cimbaloms, zithers, and it became a very special sound that only belongs, I think, to ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel.‘”

Read the full article here

Deadline caught up with Desplat backstage after winning the award, where the composer said:

“Each year there are five scores that are nominated. You do the best work that you can. You think about the music for the film you’re working now, not if you’re going to get a nomination or not. Sadly, I’m not the only composer in the world.”

Then deadpanning, he said, “I hope I will win for the next 20 years.”