(February 6th, 2014) An unsolicited email from Paramount Pictures to Buffalo’s Cathy Carfagna set in motion the inclusion of a classic song “If You Lose an Angel” written by singer/songwriter (and also Buffalo native) Buck Quigley in the latest feature from director Alexander Payne (The Election, Sideways) called Nebraska.
“I didn’t know what to think at first” said Quigley. “I had originally written the song for my band The Steam Donkeys back in 2003, and I wondered what the catch was when I saw the email?” he added. There was no catch in the end, and a deal was executed to include the song which is heard in the background of a barroom dialogue scene.
“If You Lose an Angel” had been rerecorded by Carfagna in 2009 on her album “Turn Your Face to the Sun” , which is where the music supervision team for Nebraska discovered the song.
Nebraska was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival,where Bruce Dern won the Best Actor Award. It is also nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Payne, Best Actor for Dern, Best Supporting Actress for June Squibb, Best Cinematography for Phedon Papamichael, and Best Original Screenplay for Bob Nelson.