Also nominated in the original score category—officially known as "achievement in music written for motion pictures"—were Gustavo Santaolalla for Brokeback Mountain, Alberto Iglesias for The Constant Gardener, and Dario Marianelli for Pride & Prejudice.

The soundtrack for Memoirs of a Geisha features performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Itzhak Perlman.

According to Williams' web site, today's nominations are his 44th and 45th; he has won five Academy Awards. Williams now shares the record for the most nominations for best score with Alfred Newman. He has received the most nominations in any category of any living person, and is second only to Walt Disney in total nominations (Disney received 59).

Among many other films, Williams wrote the scores for the Star Wars series, the Indiana Jones trilogy, Saving Private Ryan, Seven Years in Tibet, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler's List. His scores for Memoirs of a Geisha and Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith are currently number two and number three on the Billboard classical-crossover chart.

He was the conductor of the Boston Pops from 1980 to 1993.