Dylan, Björk, Sting Get First Oscar Nods

February 13, 2001 -- Three singer-songwriters — one from England, one from Iceland, and one from the United States — received their first Oscar nominations this morning. But for any of them to walk away a winner, someone has to get past Oscar-song behemoth Randy Newman.

Newman's "A Fool in Love," written for Meet the Parents, earned the pop songwriter his 14th Oscar nomination.

Bob Dylan, who won a prize at January's Golden Globe Awards for the wistful "Things Have Changed," from Wonder Boys, will see if the same tune can bring him another trophy.

Björk, who was overlooked for her acting performance in Dancer in the Dark, will have a chance to win with "I've Seen It All," one of the songs from her soundtrack to the movie. Sjon Sigurdsson and director Lars Von Trier are credited with writing the song's lyrics.

Though Sting's contributions to the soundtrack for Disney's The Emperor's New Groove were less substantial than originally planned, he'll still have a chance to follow in the footsteps of fellow Brits Elton John and Phil Collins, both of whom won Oscars for songs they contributed to Disney movies. Sting's "My Funny Friend and Me," which ran during the closing credits of the animated comedy, was co-written with David Hartley.

The fifth candidate for Best Song is "A Love Before Time," from Chinese-language Oscar magnet Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The song's music was written by composer Tan Dun and Jorge Calandrelli — who was nominated in 1985 for his score to The Color Purple — with lyrics written by James Schamus.

While the Best Song category features numerous rookies, the Best Score field is filled with experience.

Hans Zimmer — Mr. Movie Score of the '90s, and apparently the coming decade — will see the Gladiator score he co-wrote with former Dead Can Dance vocalist Lisa Gerrard battle with the music of Mr. Movie Score of the 20th century — John Williams.

Williams' orchestrations for The Patriot earned him his 39th Grammy nomination — more lifetime Oscar nominations than any living person.

Also nominated are Rachel Portman's score to Chocolat, Tan Dun's score to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Ennio Morricone's score for Malèna.