Academy Rescinds Original Song Nomination For 'Alone Yet Not Alone'

BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA.com) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has rescinded the Original Song nomination for "Alone Yet Not Alone" from the film of the same name.

According to a spokesperson for the Academy, songwriter Bruce Broughton, a former member of the Academy's Board of Governors and current member of the Music Branch's executive committee, emailed members of the branch to make them aware of his submission during the nominations voting period.

Broughton is credited for writing the music for the song, with lyrics by Dennis Spiegel.

The Academy's Board of Governors voted on Tuesday night to rescind the nomination, determining that  Broughton's actions were inconsistent with the Academy's promotional regulations, which include ensuring that awards competition is "conducted in a fair and ethical manner."

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs issued a statement about the decision on Wednesday.

"No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one's position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one's own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage," she said.

An additional nominee in the Original Song category will not be named. The remaining nominees in the category are:

"Happy" from "Despicable Me 2"
Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams

"Let It Go" from "Frozen"
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

"The Moon Song" from "Her"
Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze

"Ordinary Love" from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

The members from each of the Academy's branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, musicians and composers nominate song and score.

During the nominations process, all 240 voting members of the Music Branch received a Reminder List of works submitted in the Original Song category and a DVD copy of the song clips with film and song title only (additional information including composer and lyricist is not provided).  Members were asked to watch the clips and then vote in the order of their preference for not more than five nominees in the category. A maximum of two songs may be nominated from any one film.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center.