Last month I reported here that Kevin Renick, a singer-songwriter from St. Louis, had a tune of his added to the soundtrack to the new comedy “Up in the Air.” It’s a feel-good story: The song is also titled “Up in the Air,” and Renick wrote it a couple years ago. When he learned that the movie was shooting in St. Louis, he handed a cassette to director Jason Reitman after the latter gave a speech at Webster University. Reitman, bless his heart, listened to the song, liked it and decided it fit the theme of the movie, which is about life transition (i.e., job loss).

Renick’s home-brewed recording plays over the end credits of the movie, which has generated positive reviews and Academy Award buzz. So has the song, which is slated to appear on the soundtrack album, set for release on Rhino Records in November (around the time that the movie will preview at the St. Louis International Film Festival, ahead of a nationwide release in December).

But now it seems that Renick can forget about renting a tux for the Oscar ceremony next spring. On the web site The Wrap, in a blog post lauding the movie’s soundtrack, Steve Pond points out that the Academy’s arcane rules in the original song category disqualify Renick’s tune:

“Renick’s journey makes for a terrific story, albeit one that disqualifies the song from Oscar contention – after all, songs have to be written specifically for the movie in order to be eligible. Its placement in the film also takes it out of the running: An end-credits song is eligible for a nomination only if it’s the first piece of music heard during the credits, whereas Renick’s song comes midway through the credits, after an old Graham Nash track.”

I checked the Academy web site, and it seems that Pond is write. That’s a shame, not only for Renick, but for fans of movie music in general. The original-song category has long been a mess, and this year, a rule tweak mandates that if there aren’t enough good nominees, the entire category will be scrapped.

But even if Renick won’t be taking home a gold statue, it’s conceivable that someday he might end up with a gold record–and not just for his contribution to the “Up in the Air” soundtrack. He tells me that soon he will start recording an album of his own.

And for my friends who keep asking for more Clooney, here’s the latest trailer for the movie: