Trent Reznor + Atticus Ross Win Original Score Oscar for ‘Soul’

Congrats are in order for Nine Inch Nails pair Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who combined with The Late Show With Stephen Colbert music director Jon Batiste created the now Oscar-winning score for Soul.

The collaborative score between the three musicians had been a favorite during awards season winning Original Score victories at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards before taking home the Oscar trophy Sunday night (April 25).

Reznor and Ross were actually doubly nominated in the category, also receiving recognition for their score for Mank. Other original score nominees included Terrence Blanchard for Da 5 Bloods, Emile Mosseri for Minari and James Newton Howard for News of the World.

Reznor and Ross also won an Oscar back in 2010 for Best Original Score on the David Fincher-helmed film The Social Network.

While speaking with press after the ceremony, Trent Reznor stated, “Every project we try to immerse ourselves in it and just do the best work we can and we hope we learn something in the process. The real reward is doing it and knowing you did the best you could.”

Reznor also spoke of how he and Atticus Ross have balanced their scoring careers with their “day jobs” in Nine Inch Nails. “We’ve just done three pretty big films with Watchmen, Mank and Soul in a row. We should be on tour but Covid has prevented that and we are planning on working on Nine Inch Nails material as soon as probably tomorrow.”

Also of note during the evening, the team of Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michellee Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh won the Sound Oscar for their work on the film The Sound of Metal, starring Riz Ahmed as a drummer who has started losing his hearing.