Diane Warren has won almost all the awards going – except one Credit: Nick Spanos American songwriter Diane Warren is up for an Oscar. Speaking over Zoom from her office in Los Angeles, Warren begins with the usual line about not being motivated by awards and doing it for the people who love her music. Then she breaks into a big grin. “But if I’m going to be real honest, of course I want to win! I’ve lost 11 times!” Warren has, indeed, been nominated 12 times for Best Original Song, clocking up more losses (in any category) than any other woman in Oscar history. She cheerfully recalls finding herself backstage with Paul McCartney at the 2001 Academy Awards ceremony, when they had both been beaten by Randy Newman. “I said, ‘Wow, if the 14-year-old me knew I was a loser alongside Paul McCartney!’”