Electronic music wizards Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross triumph over established film composers, winning Best Original Score for The Social Network.

Composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have claimed the Oscar for Best Original Score at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, for their work on David Fincher’s film The Social Network.  The accolade for their predominantly electronic score follows the pair’s Golden Globe win in January. Although Ross had previously collaborated with Reznor as a producer, on four of his Nine Inch Nails albums, it is their first foray into film music. They beat out frontrunner Hans Zimmer (Inception), who has composed music for more than 100 films, the tipped-to-win Alexandre Desplat (The King’s Speech), and Indian composer A.R. Rahman (127 Hours), who won Best Original Score in 2009 for the feel-good Slumdog Millionaire, his previous collaboration with director Danny Boyle.

“The biggest challenge was working with a picture,” Reznor said after being awarded the Oscar. “David Fincher knew exactly what he wanted. It was one of the best experiences of my life from start to finish.”

Reznor and Ross have joined forces again to score Fincher’s next film, the much-hyped American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on...