If you’ve seen “Coco” (and it’s closing in on $300 million at the box office worldwide, so perhaps you have), you might have left the theater with the song “Remember Me” stuck in your head.

Will the Oscars be humming that same tune next year?

Welcome to the Gold Standard, the newsletter from the Los Angeles Times that helps guide you through the ins and outs of the awards season leading up to the Oscars.

I’m Glenn Whipp, The Times awards columnist and your newsletter host.


‘Coco’ the early favorite for animated feature, original song

I previewed the Oscar races for animated feature, original song and original score here. In addition to “Remember Me,” the new song from “Beauty and the Beast,” “Evermore,” is a strong contender. There are also several social-minded songs in the mix, including the “Marshall” standout “Stand Up for Something,” written by Common and Diane Warren.

As for original score, if you left the theater humming “Remember Me,” you probably left “Dunkirk” with a ringing in your ears from Hans Zimmer’s score. Zimmer could well win his second Oscar as he was an integral part of Christopher Nolan’s intricate sound design for the film.

Elvis Costello wrote a new song for “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.” (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times )


Elvis can’t help falling in love with ‘Film Stars’

Elvis Costello wrote a beautiful song for the upcoming drama “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” a fine enough reason to talk to him for the cover of this week’s Envelope. The conversation focused on movies and music and how the two have intersected during his long career. He also confessed he’s more of a Rodgers & Hart than Rodgers & Hammerstein kind of guy, which is why he has never seen “Oklahoma!” That and he doesn’t particularly care for gingham. Or knee-slapping. You can read the interview here.

Timothée Chalamet in “Call Me by Your Name.” (Sony Pictures Classics )

Critics love ‘Lady Bird’ and ‘Call Me by Your Name”


Times film critic Justin Chang and I looked at the winners from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. (we’re both members) and the New York Film Critics Circle and wondered what kind of awards-season momentum movies like “Lady Bird” and “Call Me by Your Name” have going forward.

We also shared our thoughts on overlooked performances and what we consider when we cast our ballots. If you watch the accompanying videos, you can see that I still wasn’t quite over “Call Me by Your Name” beating “The Florida Project” by one vote for LAFCA’s best picture. One vote! It’s not really right to blame Justin. But I still do.

You can read the story and watch the videos here.

Feedback?


I’d love to hear from you. Email me at glenn.whipp@latimes.com.

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glenn.whipp@latimes.com

Twitter: @glennwhipp