Composer Hans Zimmer has won his second career Oscar for Best Original Score at the 94th annual Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, for Dune. That means he waited longer to win his second career Oscar than any other composer in history, 27 years. Presenting the Original Score Oscar to Zimmer were Jason Momoa and Josh Brolin (it was actually one of the pre-show categories taped in the hour before the telecast, but ran during the live show to a five-minute ovation from the audience).
Hans Zimmer won his first Oscar for Best Original Score for The Lion King in 1995. Since then, he has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, according to Deadline. Hans Zimmer was previously nominated for Rain Man (1989), The Preacher’s Wife (1997), As Good as It Gets (1998), The Prince of Egypt (1999),The Thin Red Line (1999), Gladiator (2001), Sherlock Holmes (2010), Inception(2011), Interstellar (2015), and Dunkirk (2018).
The Dune soundtrack was produced by WaterTower music, which announced the release of three soundtracks—all written by Zimmer—in July 2021. On the prospect of releasing an album in Dolby Atmos, Hans Zimmer said, "I was inspired to look at this music in a different way and to take the audience on a journey beyond the movie. To fully showcase these unique sounds and this soundtrack, I felt it must be available via an immersive technology that utilizes spatial audio. So, it was decided to deliver it in Dolby Atmos."
Denis Villeneuve directed Dune, which was nominated in multiple categories at this year's Oscars. Zimmer and Villeneuve have worked together more than once in the past, most recently it was for Blade Runner 2049, another sci-fi epic. Because of their experience working together on Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve thought Zimmer was the perfect composer to create the ambiance of the world of Dune—looks like he was right.
"We agreed that the music would need to have a spirituality to it... a sanctified quality," Villeneuve stated. "Something that would elevate the soul and have the effect that only sacred music can. And I believe that is firmly present in Hans' score."
The Former Record Holder Was Henry Mancini
The former record-holder for having to wait for the longest to win a second Original Score Best Academy Award was the last Henry Mancini. Mancini won his first Oscar for 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which is based on Truman Capote's 1958 novella of the same name, and starring Audrey Hepburn. Then, he had to wait another 21 years to win his second for 1982's Victor/Victoria.
Mancini's other well-known work also includes another Hepburn classic 1967's Wait Until Dark, about a young blind woman trying to escape a man who had broken into her home after she accidentally finds some drugs. His other well-known work includes the theme, soundtrack, and music for the Peter Gunn television series The Pink Panther. He also composed 1981's Mommie Dearest, which is Christina Crawford's autobiographical movie about her abusive and manipulative adoptive mother, actress Joan Crawford. The film inspired FX's Feud.