Diane Warren received an honorary Oscar this year – but holds the record in the original song category for most nominations without a single win. Still, the songwriter doesn’t seem to be bitter about it — and in fact maintains a sense of humor about the dubious honor. (“I’ve been fucked twice by James Bond,” she jokes.) Now she’s doing it again with her 14th career nomination for the track “Applause,” via the movie “Tell It Like a Woman.”
In this episode of the award-winning series The variety Awards Circuit Podcast, we sit down with Warren to talk about his superb songwriting career that has worked with the talents of Cher, Lady Gaga and Aerosmith. She discusses times she thought she would win and plays the game “Who beat Diane?” Listen below:
Warren hosted a pizza party at her house the day before the nominations were announced. “Applause” singer Sofia Carson was among the attendees, as they played games and eagerly awaited Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams to reveal the Academy selections on Tuesday morning.
Former AMPAS president David Rubin called Warren in June to tell her she was receiving an honorary Oscar, and she has no qualms about sharing his excitement. After 14 Oscar nominations over her career, Warren says there were two times she thought she was going to win: “Because You Loved Me” from “Up Close & Personal” (1996) and ” Til It Happens to You” from “The Hunting Ground” (2015). She co-wrote this song with Lady Gaga, who is also nominated this year for “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”.
“It never gets less exciting,” Warren says. “Every time I’m nominated, I consider it a victory.”
Warren says she still dreams of winning a competitive Oscar one day and hates when one of her peers who has won or been nominated downplays the honor. “Fuck you,” she said. “No fucking way. You been up all night. Your agent didn’t call you. You couldn’t sleep, just like me. I hate it when they say they use it for a door stop or something thing like that. It’s so disrespectful. It’s from your peers. It’s a huge honor.
Also on this episode of the Awards Circuit Podcast, DP “Elvis” Mandy Walker discusses her nomination for Best Cinematography, making her the third woman ever nominated in that category. Walker talks about capturing the tender, musical moments of Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, which stars Austin Butler and Tom Hanks.
Finally, the Awards Circuit panel reacts to this year’s Oscar nominations and some of the snubs and surprises, including Paul Mescal for Best Actor, Andrea Riseborough for Best Actress and one of the best line-ups in most populist images in years.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, who also co-hosts with Clayton Davis, is your one-stop-shop for lively conversations about the best in film and TV. Each week, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much more. Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you download podcasts. New episodes released every week.