Ludwig Göransson Wins Best Original Score Golden Globe for ‘Oppenheimer’

The 2024 Golden Globes on Sunday (Jan. 7) marked the 81st annual ceremony for the awards show – and the first one since the Hollywood Foreign Press Association officially disbanded, meaning that the esteemed awards show — which kicks off awards season every year — is entering a new era.

In the best original score – motion picture category, it was a stacked lineup of nominees: Jerskin Fendrix for Poor Things; Ludwig Göransson for Oppenheimer; Joe Hisaishi for The Boy and the Heron; Mica Levi for The Zone of Interest; Daniel Pemberton for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; and the late Robbie Robertson for Killers of the Flower Moon.

But when Andra Day and Jon Batiste opened the envelope (after freestyling a bit of the Super Mario Bros. video game soundtrack), they revealed Göransson was the 2024 winner for scoring Christopher Nolan’s epic blockbuster about the political intrigue and ethical complications that came with the advent of nuclear power during World War II.

“Thank you to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and thank you to Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas for inviting me on this journey and creating this masterpiece,” Göransson during his acceptance speech. “Working with Christopher Nolan has been an incredible experience. The way you use music in your films and storytelling has inspired a lot of people,” he said to Nolan, who was seated in the audience at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

“I also want to thank Cillian Murphy – I have been watching your face over and over again. It’s been an incredible experience and thanks for inspiring me. I want to thank all the musicians who play on this score, they’ve made an incredible effort, and I also want to thank my partner in life and partner in music, Serena (McKinney), for helping me realize this music. I love you.”

Göransson is a three-time Grammy winner, as well as an Academy Award winner for his Black Panther score. Unlike most Hollywood composers, he’s also part of a Billboard Hot 100 topper — he co-wrote and co-produced Childish Gambino’s 2018 No. 1, “This Is America.”

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