BMI duet of pic and pop kudos

Cherry glad he saved day for songwriting

By DON WALLER

With bigscreen video tributes from directors Frank Darabont and Jon Avnet still ringing in his ears, film composer Thomas Newman received the Richard Kirk award for outstanding career achievement at the BMI Film & Television Awards dinner, held Monday at the Regent BevWilshire.

More than 52 kudos were handed out at the black-tie gala hosted by the perf rights org’s prexy-CEO Frances Preston, including the most performed song from a motion picture award, which went to R. Kelly’s “Fortunate” from “Life.”

Joining Newman in the multiple award-winners’ circle were Jerry Goldsmith, Bruce Miller, Mike Post, W.G. “Snuffy” Walden and Martin Davich.

The following night, Tuesday, at the same location, BMI handed out its 48th annual Pop Awards, highlighted by the following video acceptance speech from Eagle-Eye Cherry, whose “Save Tonight” won song of the year: “I wrote this song one afternoon and I’m very happy I didn’t do something else that day.”

Among those seen on the scene: Smash Mouth’s Greg Camp, Robi “Draco” Rosa, EMI Music pub chair Martin Bandier, Itaal Shur, David Foster, Famous Music prexy Ira Jaffe, Kool Moe Dee, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Universal Music pub prexy David Renzer, the Goo Goo Dolls’ John Rzeznik, Warner/Chappell Music pub chair Les Bider, brothers Fred and Rodney Jerkins, Bob Crewe, Sony/ATV Music pub prexy Richard Rowe, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weill, Chrysalis Music prexy Leeds Levy, Graham Nash, the Offspring’s Dexter Holland and Wayne Cochran.