Composer Alexandre Desplat writes the soundtrack to Oscar season

French film composer Alexandre Desplat poses on February 5, 2011 outside his hotel in Paris. Born in 1961 from a Greek mother and a French father, Alexandre Desplat, composed the music for more than 50 European movies and Hollywood movies such as "Girl with the pearl earring", "Birth", "Syriana", "The Queen" or "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Nominated over 50 times in major award ceremonies, Desplat won close to 30 awards in the past 6 years and is nominated in the French Award Cesars 2011 for the music of the movie "The Gostwriter". AFP PHOTO / THOMAS SAMSON (Photo credit should read THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Alexandre Desplat composed scores for “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Argo,” “Rust and Bone,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” and “Rise of the Guardians.”

What do several of this year’s Oscar contenders have in common? Scores by Alexandre Desplat, who composed for “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Argo,” “Rust and Bone,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” and “Rise of the Guardians.” Desplat burst onto the American film scene in 2003 as an established French composer.

His works include several Oscar nominated scores, and music for blockbusters from the “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” series. Desplat began playing the piano at the age of five – throughout his career he has composed over 100 scores. Although most of his recent work has been in the U.S., he still composes for European films.

Desplat has won several awards for his music, including Golden Globes, Grammys, and BAFTAs – will this be the year he brings home an Oscar? Desplat joins guest host David Lazarus in the studio to discuss composing and the films he’s worked on this year.

Guest:

Alexandre Desplat, French film composer who wrote the original score and original song for Rise of the Guardians; his other recent credits include Moonrise Kingdom, Argo, Rust and Bone and Zero Dark Thirty