Diane Warren on Her 14 Oscar Nominations: “My Honorary Oscar Would Love to Get a Friend”

At this point, it’s rare to see a best original song shortlist without Diane Warren’s name on it. She’s claimed 14 nominations in that starry Oscar category, and umpteen other movies have made her a contender since the early 1980s. This year, Warren has two tracks up for grabs: Flamin’ Hot’s “The Fire Inside” and 80 for Brady’s “Gonna Be You.”

Both songs are typical Warren: soaring and earnest. But instead of the romantic ballads for which she’s best known, like “How Do I Live” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” they have other preoccupations. “The Fire Inside,” empowerment pop performed by Becky G, concludes Eva Longoria’s biopic about Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), a Frito-Lay janitor who rises through the ranks after creating the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto. And “Gonna Be You,” a collaboration among Dolly Parton, Debbie Harry, Gloria Estefan, Cyndi Lauper and Belinda Carlisle, is a buoyant ode to friendship befitting 80 for Brady’s central football-obsessed clique. 

THR talked to Warren about how she wrote the numbers, what it’s like to have such impressive Oscar statistics without ever winning, and the two losses that most disappointed her. 

When you’re approached to write a song for a movie, are you generally given a sense of how the song will be used before you start writing? 

I kind of figure it’s going to be somewhere in the movie or the end titles. But I don’t look at an end-title song as something superfluous. To me, an end-title song is super important because it ties everything together emotionally. When I write a song like that, I write the song I want to hear at the end of the movie.

What were the marching orders for these two movies in terms of the songs you were going to write?

Eva Longoria was renting space in my building, and I knew she was going to direct Flamin’ Hot because DeVon Franklin, [with whom] I worked on 2019’s Breakthrough, told me about this movie and how he was trying to get Eva to direct it. [When] she got the gig, I was so happy. I kept saying, “So, when are you going to do that movie?” I kept bugging her, because it sounds like such an amazing story. It’s such an American success story. He was a janitor who created this amazing product on his own. I loved the idea, as somebody who comes from nothing, that you create yourself by the fire inside. Finally, she did the movie and said I could come see it. I just fucking loved it. It’s so uplifting, and the first thing I thought of was “The Fire Inside.” It was like a double entendre with Flamin’ Hot, but the fire inside is all about passion. It’s the fire inside you that makes things happen when everyone is slamming doors in your face. This is probably one of the songs closest to me. I have a fire inside that took me from Van Nuys, California, not knowing anybody in the music business, or certainly in the movie business. That fire inside is what drives me. It’s what drove Richard Montañez. It’s what drives Eva Longoria. 

On soundtracks especially, you’re best known for ballads. What was it like to write an upbeat reggaeton song? 

I write everything for all kinds of artists, and this song had to have that Latin vibe. It couldn’t be a big ballad. For this one, I said, “I’m going to write a really cool reggaeton song.” Literally the next day after I saw the movie, I sat down at my keyboards and came up with that chorus. I love writing songs for movies. Becky G was the perfect artist. She’s from L.A., and she didn’t know people in the business either. It’s that fire, right? 

Since 80 for Brady has an all-star group of women at its center, was it immediately obvious to you that your song would also involve a group of A-list performers?

Yes. I go from Becky G to Dolly Parton. It’s such a fun movie. Just the title: 80 for Brady. I wanted to get 80-year-old divas who are still eternally cool and badass, just like Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Lily Tomlin and Sally Field. The first person I thought of was Dolly Parton, of course.

When did the two of you first meet?

I met her at her former manager’s house, probably 20 years ago. But I’d never worked with her. And I was working with Belinda Carlisle on her EP, so Belinda was a great call, too. How about Cyndi Lauper? How about Gloria Estefan, who I’ve done a lot of songs for? And how about Debbie Harry, who I’d never
worked with? Everybody basically said yes, and it was a fun song to do. 

Debbie Harry is the most surprising of the group. She’s not known for earnest soundtrack songs. What was that initial conversation like?

I just called her. She loved the song and loved the idea. I played it on the guitar for her. She was the last person to do the vocals, though, so there wasn’t a lot of space for her. Everybody was in different cities. But it’s a fun song about female friendship. It’s all about being authentic to the movie. It’s like casting a character. Those artists could have been in the movie. Same with Becky G. She would have been perfect in Flamin’ Hot. 

You’ve written a lot of love songs. What’s the key to writing a song about friendship?

I mean, friendship is love. I don’t differentiate.

You famously have 14 competitive Oscar nominations. 

And how many wins?

Right — which makes you one of the most qualified people to answer this question: Is it an honor just to be nominated?

Yes, it is. Are you kidding me? Getting nominated, honestly, is winning. It really is. The Grammy nominations just came out. There are 800 song categories, right? The Oscars have one. Five songs! There are hundreds of songs in movies yearly, so if you’re one chosen out of 200 songs or whatever, you’ve already won the lottery. The music branch of the Academy, they truly are the best of the best of the best — the best composers and the best songwriters on the planet. Every time, I stay up all night [before the nominations announcement]. I’m not cool enough to go to sleep, like some people say. I don’t believe they do anyway. Oh, their agent called them? Don’t lie. I’m just honest: I stay up. I have a sleepless sleepover with my friends waiting for those nominations. Every time I hear my song, I’ve already won the lottery. I’m hoping that happens again, especially with “The Fire Inside.” 

I was going to ask which nomination you would prefer if you could only have one or the other. 

I have to say “The Fire Inside,” because I feel like it’s my theme song. And the whole process has been so fun. I love both songs, but I’d say that if I had to choose. 

You did receive an honorary Oscar last year, but how much are you still itching to hear your name called on actual Oscar night?

I’m not going to lie: It would be pretty awesome. The honorary Oscar is a great honor. They’ve never honored a songwriter before in 95 years of the Academy Awards. The fact that I was chosen was huge. It was the best night of my life, and Cher was the one who presented it to me. I was so nervous up there when I gave my speech. But that being said, my honorary Oscar would love to get a friend. He’s very lonely. 

Looking back at those 14 nominations, which is the one that makes you say, “Yeah, I should have won for that”?

It’s not that I should have won. Maybe a couple of times I was really disappointed, to be honest. There’s two that I can think of. One was “Because You Loved Me,” and the other is the song I wrote that Gaga sang, “Til It Happens to You.” That was a year that everybody said, “You’re going to win!” And that performance, with her and survivors of sexual assault, was one of the best things I’ve ever seen. Then [the Oscar telecast] went to commercial, and it was the one time I thought maybe I was really going to win. But I didn’t, so onward. You win when you get nominated. I truly believe that. I did win the Emmy for that song. They changed that rule, but at the time, if it was theatrical and on TV, you could be nominated for an Emmy. So I got to say my Oscar speech. 

We’re all rooting for the inevitable Diane Warren Oscar win, but maybe there are some cool bragging rights in having so many nominations. It’s the Susan Lucci thing.

I like it! I’d almost get scared that if I won maybe I wouldn’t be nominated again. I’ll keep racking them up. I just met this guy Kevin O’Connell. He’s a sound mixer. He won on his 21st time. But you know what being nominated is? It’s respect from those you respect, and there’s nothing better than that. 

If 80 for Brady is nominated, do you think you can get all five of the women onstage to perform together?

That would be a moment, wouldn’t it? Yeah, hopefully. That would be unforgettable. 

This story first appeared in a November standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.