To not much surprise, Westport’s Justin Paul and partner Benj Pasek today were nominated for an Oscar for Original Song for their tune “This Is Me” from the P.T. Barnum biography picture “The Greatest Showman.”
Justin Paul (l) and Benj Pasek accept their Golden Globe Award on Jan. 7 for “This Is Me.” (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Golden Globes photo via Twitter
On Jan. 7, they won a Golden Globe for the song. Last year they triumphed at the Golden Globes with “City of Stars” from “La La Land” and went on to win an Oscar. This year’s Oscar ceremony is on Sunday, March 4.
If they repeat with an Oscar win, Pasek and Paul, a 2003 Staples High School graduate, would be the first songwriters to score consecutive victories in the category since Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer won for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) and “Days of Wine and Roses” (1962).
The song nomination from “The Greatest Showman” was the sole nomination for the musical about the circus impresario P.T. Barnum, which many critics dismissed when it arrived in theaters just before Christmas.
Over the past four weeks, however, “The Greatest Showman” has become a rare sleeper hit, lifted by positive word of mouth, stunt marketing (singalong screenings) and a popular soundtrack album that reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, The New York Times reported.
