‘Alone Yet Not Alone’: Inside the Conservative Christian Movie the Oscars Ousted
A right-wing sugar daddy, two groups of evangelical filmmakers, a famous composer, an Oscar nod, and an Academy backlash: the strange story of a Christian movie’s 15 minutes of fame.
On Wednesday, the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took a near-unprecedented step when they rescinded the Best Original Song Oscar nomination for “Alone Yet Not Alone,” the theme song from an unknown independent movie of same name.
The Academy decided that Bruce Broughton, the song’s composer, had run afoul of the organization’s rules by emailing fellow members of the Academy’s music branch about his submission. Broughton, who composed the soundtracks for films like Tombstone and The Rescuers Down Under, was the governor of the music branch from 2003-2012, and is currently an executive committee member. Academy rules require that the voting process to be “fair and ethical,” and Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs declared that Broughton’s use of his influence inside the organization had created “the appearance of an unfair advantage.”
Broughton said he was “devastated” by the decision. “I didn’t ask for anyone to vote for it, I just didn’t want the song to be bypassed,” he explained when questions first arose about his possible use of his influence to secure the nomination. Hollywood Reporter columnist Scott Feinberg agreed, criticizing the Academy for not making clear what rule Broughton had broken.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/31/alone-yet-not-alone-inside-the-conservative-christian-movie-the-oscars-ousted.html
