When the Oscar nominations were first announced, there was a bit of a kerfuffle over one of the nominees in the Best Original Song category. Turns out, the self-titled song from Alone Yet Not Alone was written by Bruce Broughton, who as it turns out is a former governor for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and is currently on the executive committee. In layman’s terms, he’s one of the people who runs the Oscars. Seeing as that’s no bueno, Alone Yet Not Alone‘s nomination was revoked.
Well, as basically everybody noted (including us) when researching the song, its composer, Bruce Broughton, is a former Academy governor and current member of its executive committee, so he might have had a teeny, tiny little advantage when e-mailing those people who might get a song nominated. (Publicists are allowed to lobby, but the Academy logically found one of its own doing it “an ethical breach.”) No song will replace it, and presumably we won’t get to scratch our heads while it’s performed during the ceremony. SOURCE
Look, we’ll admit the song isn’t bad. It’s not like it’s an assault on the ears or anything. That being said, the hard truth is that it really only got a nod because it had Bruce Broughton in its corner. You can listen to it below, and it’s really nice and all, but what’s more likely here: That the academy would back a movie no one ever heard of, or that it would listen to one of its most respected members?