Last week, we reported on “Alone but Not Alone,” the unknown song from an obscure, independent Christian film of the same name, which nevertheless netted an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. It beat out entries from industry heavyweights like Marcus Mumford, Jay Z and Lana Del Rey—and had a few people scratching their heads on account of the fact that the movie was only released in nine cities. Controversy arose when Deadline reported that Bruce Broughton, one of the writers of the song, is a former Academy Governor who emailed voters and asked them to vote for the tune.
Such lobbying isn’t allowed and, in an exceedingly rare move (The Hollywood Reporter estimates it’s only happened seven times before), the Academy has voted to pull the song from contention, saying that Broughton’s work created “the appearance of an unfair advantage.” Broughton told The Hollywood Reporter that he was “devastated” and that he only “indulged in the simplest grassroots campaign.” Perhaps equally as surprising is the fact that no other nominee will be named to take its place …
