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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lalo Schifrin, Composer of the Classic ‘Mission: Impossible' Theme, Dies at 93
If he had only composed the unforgettable instrumental theme from Mission: Impossible, Lalo Schifrin would be fondly remembered. But the Argentine native had a seven-decade career that made him one of the premier composers in both film and television. Schifrin died Thursday (June 26) at age 93. Schifrin received 19 Grammy nominations spanning 40 years (1962-2002) and multiple genres (both jazz and pop) and skillsets (composition, arrangement and performance). He won four Grammys. More from Billboard Gone But Not Forgotten: Musicians We Lost in 2025 Ask Billboard: Here Are the Nos. 1 & 2 Reasons That the Hot 100 Has Been Historic This Month Inside Bouyon: How a Fusion of Local Folk Music & Digitized Instruments Gave Way to Dominica's Fast-Spreading Homegrown Genre Schifrin received four Primetime Emmy nominations – three for Mission: Impossible and one for his music for David Wolper's The Making of the President 1964. He received six Oscar nominations, five for scores (Cool Hand Luke, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror and The Sting II) and one for a song, 'People Alone' from The Competition (1980), which he co-wrote with lyricist Will Jennings. Schifrin never won a Primetime Emmy or an Oscar in competition, but in 2018 the Motion Picture Academy awarded him an Honorary Oscar 'in recognition of his unique musical style, compositional integrity and influential contributions to the art of film scoring.' He was just the third film scorer to receive such an award, following Alex North (1985) and Ennio Morricone (2006). A fourth film scorer, Quincy Jones, was awarded an Honorary Oscar posthumously last year. Schifrin's Honorary Oscar was presented by Clint Eastwood, for whom Schifrin had scored many films, from Coogan's Bluff (1968) to The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004). Their work together included the iconic 1971 film Dirty Harry and its four sequels. 'I am very honored by this distinction that touches me profoundly,' Schifrin said in accepting the award. 'My love and appreciation for motion pictures started very early in my life. I remember when I was five years old my parents took me to see a movie, a horror movie, and at that moment I realized that without music it wouldn't be so scary. And it's true. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with great, outstanding directors, producers, and talented musicians in the creation of musical scores to support their projects. … Composing for movies has given me a lifetime of joy and creativity. Receiving this Honorary Oscar is a culmination of a dream. It is a 'mission accomplished.'' For all he accomplished, Schifrin's Mission: Impossible theme is unquestionably his greatest hit. His music for that drama series, which aired on CBS from 1966-73, brought him two Grammy Awards, three Primetime Emmy nominations and high placements on the Billboard charts. His 'Mission-Impossible' theme reached No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1968. It won a Grammy for best instrumental theme in 1968 and was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017. Schifrin's M:I score brought him a second Grammy in 1968 – best original score written for a motion picture or a television show. In the latter category, Schifrin bested scores from four feature films, which is highly unusual for a TV project, then or now. Schifrin's album Music From Mission: Impossible reached No. 47 on the Billboard 200. Schifrin told the New York Post in 2015 that the M:I theme came to him very quickly. And he said he composed it without seeing any footage from the show. 'Bruce Geller, who was the producer of the series, put together the pilot and came to me and said, 'I want you to write something exciting, something that when people are in the living room and go into the kitchen to have a soft drink, and they hear it, they will know what it is. I want it to be identifiable, recognizable and a signature.' And this is what I did.' The theme transferred to the long-running film franchise starring Tom Cruise (who is slated to get his own Honorary Oscar in November.) Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. of U2 recorded Schifrin's composition for the first M:I film in 1996. Their version reached No. 7 on the Hot 100 and was nominated for a Grammy for best pop instrumental performance – where it competed with Schifrin's own new rendition of the theme which he recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. (Both lost to Béla Fleck & The Flecktones' 'The Sinister Minister.') Schifrin's highest-charting album on the Billboard 200 was a 1962 studio album, Bossa Nova – New Brazilian Jazz, which reached No. 35. He won his first two Grammy Awards in 1965 and 1966 for 'The Cat' and 'Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts,' both of which were voted best original jazz composition. Schifrin also wrote the pitch-perfect theme song for Mannix (also produced by Geller), which helped that Mike Connors P.I. series stay on the air for eight years (one year longer than M:I). His other TV themes include The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Medical Center, Starsky & Hutch, T.H.E. Cat and Petrocelli. His other film scores, not already named, include The Cincinnati Kid, Bullitt, Enter the Dragon and all three Rush Hour films. Born Boris Claudio Schifrin on June 21, 1932, Schifrin was a second-generation musical talent. His father was the concert master for the Buenos Aires Philharmonic for more than three decades. The younger Schifrin began playing piano at the tender age 5. When he was about 16, his classmates turned him to jazz records, and he was hooked for life. He studied music and law for four years at the University of Buenos Aires, and received a scholarship to the Paris Conservatory of Music in 1952. In 1956, Schifrin returned to Buenos Aires, formed his own jazz band and became active writing music for TV and radio programs. Schifrin arrived in New York City in 1958. He reconnected with early mentor Dizzy Gillespie in 1960, and worked on Gillespie's hit album, Gillespiana, which brought both musicians Grammy nominations – Gillespie for best jazz performance – large group (instrumental) and Schifrin for best original jazz composition. Around the same time, Schifrin also arranged jazz albums for the likes of Stan Getz and Sarah Vaughan. Inspired by the success of such film composers as Henry Mancini and Johnny Mandel, Schifrin moved to California in 1963. He landed his first Oscar-nominated score, Cool Hand Luke, just four years later. Schifrin also conducted several of the world's top orchestras, including those in London, Vienna, Los Angeles, Israel, Mexico City, Houston, Atlanta and Buenos Aires. In 1987, he was appointed musical director for the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra, which was formed for the purpose of recording music for films. He held the post for five years. Schifrin received the BMI Lifetime Achievement Award in 1988 and received a Trustees Award at the Latin Grammys in 2017. He was a Lifetime Achievement honoree at the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) Awards. He is survived by his wife, Donna; sons Will, a TV writer (The Fairly OddParents), and Ryan, a writer-director (Abominable); a daughter, Frances; and four grandchildren. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Should ads carry ‘made with AI' labels?
HighlightsMeta has introduced labels such as 'Made with AI' for photos on its platforms to address concerns about misrepresentation and distinguish between authentic and edited content. Industry experts are debating whether advertisements should also carry AI disclosure labels, with opinions divided on the importance of transparency versus potential distraction from the core message. Some advertising professionals view the use of AI as an evolution of existing creative practices rather than something that necessitates labeling, arguing that the focus should remain on creativity and ethical considerations. Last year, Meta began tagging photos uploaded on to its platforms with labels such as 'Made with AI' or 'AI Info'. The latter refers to images that were not necessarily created by artificial intelligence, but which might have used AI-powered tools in the editing process. After the Oscar-winning film The Brutalist received backlash for using AI to refine the Hungarian dialogue spoken by actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, the Motion Picture Academy was reportedly considering changing its Oscar submission requirements to make disclosures around the use of AI mandatory. The Academy currently offers filmmakers and studios an optional disclosure form for AI use. Brand Equity asked those in the industry if the same rules should also apply to advertisements. Rahul Mathew, CCO, DDB Mudra Group 'The whole 'Made with AI' debate is because there is a lot of misrepresentation happening through AI. Tools have become so good that we need 'Made with AI' labels on social media content to distinguish between what is true and what is false. 'However, in advertising , the debate is more around AI copyrights rather than what is created using AI. AI uses references from the online space, so it could pick up stuff from an artist and incorporate it into the final design. A lot of debate in the creative space is around how much credit do we give AI. This raises attribution questions, particularly for awards such as Cannes Lions and D&AD, which require AI disclosures. 'Do we need to tell the consumer that an ad film or a static creative was made using AI? Do they even care? They don't. As an industry, we care because it's our work and it involves people who need to be credited. Or we need to justify it to clients in our specs or campaign budgets. But consumers really don't care if you use AI or not. They only react to what you give them as stimuli.' Tavleen Bhatia, chief marketing and revenue officer, Cleartrip 'In today's cluttered advertising landscape, relevance, speed and personalisation are essential for effective marketing, and AI is increasingly helping us achieve all three. Whether we are optimising content across platforms or tailoring experiences for individual travellers, AI has become a powerful tool for enhancing how we engage with our audience. 'The idea of labelling ads as 'Made with AI' deserves an industry-wide debate. I agree that transparency is important and platforms need to be able to stop proliferation of threats like deep fakes, but when AI is used behind the scenes to improve efficiency or scale content, such labels might distract from the core message rather than add value. 'For us, the focus is on using AI ethically and intentionally, to incrementally add value to our original ideas. In that sense, AI shouldn't lead the way; it should simply guide the way, humanising existing work that resonates with the audience rather than descending into a black hole of discussion about AI vs humans.' Ritu Sharda, partner and CCO, Pravis Growth Partners 'We've been living in the world of air brushed visuals, touched up faces and colour corrections. In advertising, the object on screen is occasionally made to look much bigger than it is, and sometimes, people are made to shed pounds. 'Advertising has created, lived and served up a world which is a better version of real. Or sometimes not real at all. And we've all accepted that and never needed to call it out. 'For me, creating with AI is an upgrade on what we've been doing for the longest time. As long as it's made with creativity and is ethically right, we don't need an AI label on it.'
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Oscars 2025: 25 Surprising Stars Who've Still Never Won An Academy Award
Every year, the Oscars ceremony features some of our favourite film stars, directors, writers and even musicians accepting one of the most prestigious cinema awards there is in front of their peers. The 2024 Academy Awards gave us first-time victories for stars like Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr and filmmaker Christopher Nolan – but sadly, there's only space for one winner per category each year, meaning there are still many deserving actors who've missed out, time and time again. Here are 25 of the Hollywood stars still working today who, somehow, still have an Oscar-shaped space on their mantelpiece (including a few of this year's big contenders)… Considered by many to be 'the new Leonardo DiCaprio' when it comes to the Oscars, Amy Adams has been nominated for six Academy Awards, most recently in 2019, only to leave empty-handed every year. The good news for Amy is that Leo got his win on his sixth nomination, so if she really is following in his footsteps, she shouldn't have to wait too much longer. Glenn Close holds the dubious distinction of being the living actor who has the most Oscar nominations without a win. As of 2025, the esteemed performer has been nominated for an Academy Award a whopping eight times, but has never come out on top. Her most recent nomination came in 2021, with a nod in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in the divisive Netflix offering Hillbilly Elegy – a role that also landed the Fatal Attraction star a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress. Despite over 50 years (!!!) in the entertainment industry, Samuel L Jackson has landed just one Oscar nomination in his career. Back in 1994, he was on the Best Supporting Actor shortlist for playing Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. He lost out to Martin Landau on the night, and hasn't been nominated again since. However, it's worth pointing out that he did win an Honorary Academy Award in 2021, after being recognised as a 'cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide'. Between acting, directing, producing and screenwriting, Bradley Cooper has scored a whopping 12 nominations – including two as recently as last year for his work on Maestro. When it comes to just his on-screen performances, he's been recognised for his roles in American Hustle, American Sniper, A Star Is Born and the aforementioned Leonard Bernstein biopic. Lost In Translation star Scarlett Johansson is similarly yet to be awarded by the Motion Picture Academy, although she does have two Oscar nominations to her name – both of which came in the same year. In 2020, Scarlett was nominated in both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories for her roles in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit, but was pipped to the win by Renée Zellweger and Laura Dern, respectively. As if the fact Angela Bassett has never won an Oscar isn't galling enough – she'd actually only been nominated once until 2023. Angela's sole nomination came in 1993, following her portrayal of Tina Turner in the biopic What's Love Got To Do With It?. Thirty years later, she made history when she became the first star to receive an Oscar nomination for a performance in a Marvel film. Sadly, though, this resulted in a second loss, although she did pick up an honorary Oscar in 2025. Jake Gyllenhaal is another A-list actor we're surprised to hear has been given only a small amount of love by the Oscars. In fact, it's been 20 years since Jake last bagged an Academy Award nomination, earning his first and only nod for his supporting role in Brokeback Mountain. The Oscars' lack of recognition for David Oyelowo's performance as Martin Luther King Jr Selma is one of the biggest snubs in recent history, sparking a major backlash at the time. Despite a number of critically-acclaimed performances to his name, the British star is yet to be nominated for an Academy Award. Seriously, Oscars. Sort. It. Out. Off the top of our head, we can probably come up with six or seven Toni Collette performances that would have been deserving an Oscar win – and yet, the Australian star has just one nomination under her belt (for The Sixth Sense, if you're wondering). As one of the most versatile actors in the game, we're confident that Toni's time is coming... and when it does, it will be long overdue. He might have Oliviers coming out of his ears (seven in total), but Sir Ian McKellen is yet to be awarded the biggest honour in the film industry. The British acting legend does have two Oscar nominations, but neither of them translated to a win. He hasn't fared any better on his home soil, either, with neither of his four previous Bafta nominations resulting in him taking home an award. Roles in acclaimed films like Dreamgirls and Cadillac Records led many fans to think that Beyoncé was setting her sights on Oscars glory. Although neither ended in so much as a nomination, when she signed up to voice Nala in The Lion King (contributing a new song to the beloved soundtrack), it was thought she might get her win in the form of a Best Original Song victory. Sadly, this didn't end up landing her a nomination, either. We reckon she probably doesn't need to lose sleep about that, though, as 2023 saw her becoming the most-awarded person in Grammys history. In 2022, she finally landed her first ever nomination for her contribution to the King Richard soundtrack, although the award went to Billie Eilish for her James Bond theme No Time To Die. Like many musicians before her, Dolly Parton has made the transition into acting with roles in films like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and, of course, 9 To 5. While the Academy never recognised Dolly's acting (the Golden Globes did, though!), she does have two Best Original Song nominations to her name. In recent years, Dolly has continued contributing new music to films like Dumplin' and the Netflix festive film Christmas On The Square, though, so a win could well be on the horizon if she keeps it up. Since 2006, Michelle Williams has earned Oscar nominations for her performances in Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine, My Week With Marilyn, Manchester By The Sea and, more recently, The Fabelmans. In 2019, she did win an Emmy on her first nomination for Fosse/Verdon, so we reckon it won't be long until the Academy catches up. In a career spanning more than three decades, Michelle Pfeiffer has been nominated for an Oscar on three different occasions, but so far, the Academy Award has always eluded her. Sadly, none of these nominations were for Grease 2, which we can only describe as a huge oversight. Tom Cruise has been nominated for three Oscars over the course of his career (although it has been more than two decades since his last nod), but he's never come out on top in his category. In 2023, there was speculation he could pick up a fourth acting nomination for his role in the Top Gear sequel Maverick. While this didn't materalise in the end, the film itself was recognised in the Best Picture category, meaning Tom is technically now a four-time nominee thanks to his producing role on the film. Sigourney Weaver has racked up three nominations over the years but sadly, the win has eluded her each time. At the 1989 ceremony, she was up for both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress prizes, but lost out to Jodie Foster and Geena Davis, respectively. 'Is this the year Michael Keaton finally wins his Oscar?' Vanity Fair asked, hopefully, in 2016. Sadly, it was not and, in fact, he didn't even score a nomination for the movie sparking the question, The Founder. His 2014 nomination, earned for his star turn in Birdman, remains Michael's only Oscar-nominated role. Annette Bening's performances in The Kids Are Alright, Being Julia, American Beauty and The Grifters have all made the Academy's shortlist – but she was pipped to the post each time. In 2024, she was a somewhat surprising inclusion on the Best Actress shortlist, where she's facing stiff competition from Lily Gladstone, Emma Stone, Sandra Hüller and Carey Mulligan. Still, she's continuing to win praise for recent films like 20th Century Women, Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool and The Report, so even if she doesn't manage it this year, a future Oscar win is definitely not out of the question for Annette. The British star is known for her quirky and offbeat roles, but despite Helena Bonham Carter's bold choices when it comes to acting, the Academy is yet to reward her efforts with a win. She does have two nominations, though, for The Wings Of The Dove and The King's Speech. In recent years, Hugh Jackman has been at the centre of Oscar buzz for films like The Front Runner, Bad Education and even The Greatest Showman, although none of them led to an actual nomination. The Australian star did receive a nod back once, though, following his leading performance in Les Misérables in 2013. Are we ever going to get over the total snub that happened in 2017, when Taraji P Henson was missing from the Best Actress category? Probably not, no. The Hidden Figures star does one have Oscar nomination under her belt, thanks to her role in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. For those not familiar with Diane Warren, she's the songwriter behind hit movie soundtrack tunes like Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, There You'll Be and I Don't Want To Miss A Thing. Remarkably, she's now been nominated for an Oscar 15 times without a win – and true to form, she's in the running in 2024, so this could well be her year. It was more than 40 years into Demi Moore's on-screen career that she even landed her first Oscar, thanks to her performance in the body horror movie The Substance (a rare feat for a horror movie to be recognised by the Academy at all!). Heading into the 2025 ceremony, it looks like this could be Demi's year, after she pretty much cleaned up at every preceding awards show. HuffPost favourite John Travolta has become something of an Oscars staple in recent years, thanks to iconic moments like his 'Adele Dazeem' gaffe, his after-party dance-off with Lady Gaga, his awkward pose with Scarlett Johansson and the fact he was the one to give Will Smith his award after the slap seen around the world. John does have two Oscar nominations of his own, one for Saturday Night Fever and a second for Pulp Fiction, although neither ended up in a win for him. But while he may not have any trophies to show for it, we'd still argue no one has won at the Oscars more times than Mr Travolta... 26 Iconic Oscars Moments From Past Years That Still Live In Our Minds Rent-Free Here's The Full List Of Actors And Films Nominated For Awards At This Year's Oscars 11 Biggest Oscar Snubs: From Denzel Washington To Daniel Craig, Here's Who Got Overlooked
Express Tribune
09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Oscars consider making AI disclosure mandatory
In light of the controversy surrounding The Brutalist, the Motion Picture Academy is considering making it a requirement for films to disclose AI use when submitting for the Oscars, as per Variety. Creators of historical drama feature The Brutalist prompted backlash after the film's editor Dávid Jancsó admitted that the filmmakers used AI to enhance performances, in an interview with Red Shark News in January. Other Oscar contenders who have been honest with this approach are Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, sci-fi feature Dune: Part Two, and musical thriller Emilia Pérez. The employment of AI in all these films has called into question the popularity of the technology, causing the Academy to look for ways to revise Oscar submission requirements. Currently, the Academy has declared it optional to disclose AI use through a form. However, Governors and Branch executive committees are examining the use of AI in each branch and aiming to make disclosure mandatory for the 2026 Oscars race. The new rules are expected to be published in April, Variety reported. Visual effects tools and processes have long been benefiting from AI use. But this year, the Visual Effects Society Awards will be taking a closer look at this through the emerging technology category, which includes nominees like the Australia-based Rising Sun Pictures' Revize machine learning toolset. This has to do with digital ML augmentation, such as facial performance modification and deaging. It was used in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, A Complete Unknown, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. A veteran VFX branch member weighed in on the use of AI in filmmaking. "Awards decisions should be made knowing what the human artist did to achieve the results. And using new tools in innovative ways that pave the path forward for everyone else is a big contribution," the source said. "Honoring what all the crafts do together is what the season is about."
