Wednesday, December 31, 2008

JAN A.P.KACZMAREK | "The Horsemen"


Polish Composer Jan A.P.Kaczmarek of Finding Neverland, for which he won an Academy Award for Best original score, is assigned to provide the musical accompaniment for Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund's new film, thriller The Horsemen.

Here's a quote from the original source:

"Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund's new film, thriller The Horsemen, gets an original score by Polish composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek (who won an Oscar for Finding Neverland). The film stars Dennis Quaid and Ziyi Zhang and is a serial killer story about a detective who discovers that the suspects are linked to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."


For more info, you can visit the original link, HERE.



Monday, December 29, 2008

The Spirit: Original Motion Picture Score (DAVID NEWMAN)


The Spirit (also known as Will Eisner's The Spirit) is an upcoming 2008 American film adaptation based on the newspaper strip of the same name created by Will Eisner. Batfilm, OddLot, and Lionsgate are set to produce. Frank Miller wrote and directed the film, which stars Gabriel Macht as The Spirit and Samuel L. Jackson as his nemesis, The Octopus.
The film also stars the celebrated Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes


Writer / Director Frank Miller had this to say about the character:


"The character has a terrifying side to him. This is a man who's died and come back to life. So it twists into fantasy. And of course there are tons of women in it. There have to be — it's the Spirit. They’re all in love with him, and he’s in love with all of them. You might say he’s a bit of a slut"
(wikipedia)


The movie's original score is composed by 55 year old American composer David Newman and here's what amazon.com has to say about the release:


"Frank Miller, the visionary creator of SIN CITY and 300, takes the comic book movie to dazzling new heights with his solo directorial debut THE SPIRIT. Adapted from the seminal series created by the great Will Eisner, THE SPIRIT fuses masterful storytelling with brilliant CGI graphics to sweep us into a stylized world of adventure, danger and romance.
This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media."

Monday, December 22, 2008

SOUND CLIPS from BEAR McCREARY's TERMINATOR


BEAR McCREARY: TERMINATOR: The Sarah Connor Chronicles [CD]

Colosseum.de has SOUND CLIPS from the new Bear McCreary release, which you can listen HERE.


For more info on the release, follow this link HERE.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Javier Navarrete: The New Daughter


Javier Navarrete, the celebrated 52 year-old Spanish composer of Pan's Labyrinth, returns with a new assignment: The New Daughter.

Here's what upcomingfilmscores.blogspot.com says about:

"Spanish composer Javier Navarrete will compose the score for the upcoming Kevin Costner thriller, The New Daughter, directed by the writer of acclaimed Spanish horror hit Rec, Luis Berdejo. The film is produced by Gold Circle Films, who are already working on their next film with Berdejo, sci-fi adventure Pod. The New Daughter is about a single father who witnesses his daughter's increasingly strange behavior. Javier Navarrete, who came to international prominense with his Pan's Labyrinth score, has recently finished his score for Cracks, a boarding school drama starring Eva Green, Juno Temple and María Valverde."
CLICK HERE for the original source's link.

JAMES NEWTON HOWARD on Shyamalan's "AVATAR:THE LAST AIRBENDER"

James Newton Howard, the 57 year-old American composer and frequent collaborator of celebrated director M.Night Shyamalan, will provide the music accompaniment for the latter's movie entitled Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The story follows the adventures of the successor to a long line of Avatars who must put aside his irresponsible ways and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations.

This is what upcomingfilmscores.blogspot.com had to say relevantly:

"The Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency has added The Last Airbender to James Newton Howard's filmography. This is M. Night Shyamalan's new film, which is expected to premiere in the summer of 2010. It is the seventh feature film collaboration between Howard and Shyamalan, previous projects include The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable and this year's The Happening. The epic fantasy adventure follows the adventures of the successor to a long line of Avatars who must put aside his irresponsible ways and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations. Paramount will distribute. James Newton Howard has several films coming up shortly: Defiance (already nominated for a Golden Globe), Love Ranch, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Duplicity."

CLICK HERE
for the original source's link.

RUPERT GREGSON WILLIAMS scores Disney's "BEDTIME STORIES"



Rupert Gregson Williams, the 42 year old British composer, brother of Harry Gregson Williams, is busy again. This time, after the recent Bee Movie and Click , it's Disney's family fantasy film Bedtime Stories. Starring Adam Sandler, this is family comedy about a hotel handyman whose life changes when the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true.

Earlier this fall, composer Rupert Gregson-Williams recorded his score for the new Walt Disney Studios film, Bedtime Stories, at the Newman Scoring Stage at Fox, and ScoringSessions.com was there to bring you the exclusive photos from the large orchestral session.

Click HERE for the original article with photos.

Friday, December 12, 2008

JOHN WILLIAMS - STAR WARS live

QUOTE FROM THE ORIGINAL LINK, HERE:

Star Wars fans are to feel the force of the seminal sci-fi films and their iconic soundtracks on stage in a major new show, which will launch next year.

In Star Wars: A Musical Journey, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will play a live score as excerpts from the six films are shown on a cinema screen.

The show has been put together by director George Lucas' company Lucasfilm and composer John Williams.

It will premiere at the O2 in London in April before going on a European tour.

It will not be a traditional musical with actors playing characters from the films, but will feature live narrators.

The six Star Wars films have been edited down to two hours for the show, and Williams has "painstakingly rewritten" the music he wrote for the movies, a statement said.

Models and props

The Royal Philharmonic will use an 86-piece orchestra and an accompanying exhibition will feature original models, props, costumes and production artwork.

David Campbell, chief executive of AEG Europe, which runs the O2, said: "Star Wars holds memories for practically everyone.

"John Williams is THE composer of our times, and fans will be thrilled to know that both he and Lucasfilm have contributed fully to this new production.

"To have the premiere at the O2 is a real coup for us, and I know there will be a lot of very happy Star Wars fans out there when they hear the news."

The show will open at the O2 on 10 April. Tickets, costing between £30 and £100, will go on sale on Monday.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS 2008 | BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE


Original link HERE.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

a. ALEXANDRE DESPLAT - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

b. CLINT EASTWOOD - CHANGELING

c. JAMES NEWTON HOWARD - DEFIANCE

d. A. R. RAHMAN - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

e. HANS ZIMMER - FROST/NIXON




ALEXANDRE DESPLAT - the tree of life

Excellent news for the fans of the French film composer, Alexandre Desplat, as he's been assigned to score Terrence Malick's much-awaited new big feature for 2009, The Tree of Life.

Below there's a quote from the upcomingfilmscores.blogspot.com website about the assignment:

"Alexandre Desplat, whose score for David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is one of this year's most anticipated and already considered a strong contender in the Oscar race, is doing the music for famous auteur Terrence Malick's new film, The Tree of Life, which incidentally also stars Brad Pitt (he plays the title character in Fincher's film). Desplat's involvement in The Tree of Life has been confirmed to Upcoming Film Scores by one of the film's producers. Malick is known for his strong visual sense and the pacing of his films often call for sustained and ambient musical scores. The story of the film, which also stars Sean Penn, has been closely guarded but it is said to focus on the evolution of an eleven-year old boy. Picked up for distribution by Summit Entertainment, it is slated for release in fall/winter of 2009."

Here's the ORIGINAL LINK.

THEODORE SHAPIRO - Marley and Me [CD]


Although the quote from the 37 year old American composer's wikipedia page, "He is best known for his film scores, particularly from The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, 13 Going on 30, The Devil Wears Prada, Fun with Dick and Jane, Idiocracy, You, Me and Dupree, and Wet Hot American Summer, but has also written other works." will make some people giggle (well at least me for sure), still the composer who likes to be called "Teddy", is a particularly favorable choice by studios, directors, fans and film music journalism websites when it comes to picking him up and promoting his new assingments.

His latest release is the score for the new comedy, Marley and Me in which a family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog. The score CD comes from Lakeshore records on December the 16th, 2008 and runs on 24 short tracks with a total running time of 39 minutes. If you visit the relevant Amazon.com page, HERE, you can listen to sound clips from the score and the same applies to the SAE page, HERE.

Scoringsessions.com also features a very interesting visual / written article on the recording sessions of the said score, at their page HERE.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Mychael Danna scores The Time Traveler's Wife

Composer Mychael Danna recently completed recording his score to The Time Traveler's Wife. Based on the best-selling novel by Audrey Niffenegger and directed by Robert Schwentke, the film stars Eric Bana as a Chicago librarian who tries to build a relationship with Rachel McAdams, but he has a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel when he is stressed.

If you visit the ScoringSessions website HERE, you’ll find the coverage of the live recording sessions, containing both photo and written material.

HANS ZIMMER's and JAMES NEWTON HOWARD's 'Dark Knight' Score, has Its Oscar Eligibility Restored

Original source: Variety.com

"Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard are back in contention for an Oscar nom.
The Music Branch Executive Committee of the Academy reversed its Nov. 10 decision declaring their score for “the Dark Knight” ineligible for the 2008 Academy Awards. The score was disqualified due to five names being listed as composers on the music cue sheet.

After reviewing information submitted by the affected parties, the committee concluded that two Zimmer and Howard were responsible for the score’s authorship.

Neither nomination ballots nor lists of eligible scores had been distributed so there is no impact on the actual voting process. "

Klaus BADELT joins BEN HUR LIVE

Hans-zimmer.com reports that German composer Klau Badelt will be responsible for the music of the show, BEN HUR LIVE.

BEN HUR LIVE
is a monumental show, that combines light, water & fire effects on a rink of 2500m² to create a breathtaking historical adventure. Spectacular mass scenes, monumental wide-screen projections and music created by Klaus Badelt accompany and enhance the colorful scenery, with 4000 performers & 100 animals.

For more details click for the Official Website.

Monday, December 8, 2008

JAMES MICHAEL DOOLEY | Pushing Daisies [CD]



Composer James Dooley has brilliant times as he won "Best Original Score - TV" at the Hollywood Music Awards, for Pushing Daisies on November the 20th. The score for the hit TV-series comes through Varese Sarabande two days before Christmas and runs on a total duration of 75 minutes. The tracklisting is as follows:

  1. Morning Has Broken - Ellen Greene (2:19)
  2. Hopelessly Devoted To You - Kristin Chenoweth (3:06)
  3. Birdhouse In Your Soul - Kristin Chenoweth & Ellen Greene (3:14)
  4. Main Titles (0:35)
  5. Lying In The Dark (2:12)
  6. Chuck's New Flash (0:48)
  7. Chuck's Swing (2:22)
  8. Where's My Briefcase ? (1:22)
  9. Bittersweets (3:17)
  10. Pie Hole Holding (2:20)
  11. Young Ned's Dissection (1:37)
  12. Homeopaths (2:35)
  13. Morgue To Love (2:25)
  14. Lefty Arrives (0:46)
  15. Jeanine Pie (3:04)
  16. Poor Customer Service (1:20)
  17. Plastic Kiss (1:33)
  18. Wilfried Woodruff's War (3:46)
  19. Chucky Bees (1:48)
  20. Jason Lucas Diamonds (1:36)
  21. Happy Halloween (2:34)
  22. Play-Doh Dreaming (2:19)
  23. Emerson And The Bitches (2:08)
  24. Waltz (1:52)
  25. Park Picnic (2:51)
  26. Knitt Witt (1:37)
  27. Who's Smoking ? (1:31)
  28. Follow The Yellow Thick Hose (2:13)
  29. Institution Omnibus (2:00)
  30. Olive & Alfredo (1:23)
  31. Don't Mess With The Pie Hos (3:29)
  32. Death Came (2:49)
  33. Victor Narrowmore (2:02)
  34. Change Of Heart (2:41)
  35. Hands Against The Wall (0:54)
You can listen to SOUND SAMPLES from the score, HERE.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

THE WRESTLER: New audio interview: CLINT MANSELL On the Score



Here's an interesting new audio interview with composer CLINT MANSELL at On the Score over at www.filmmusicmag.com, as director Darren Aronofsky's musical collaborator talks about their innovative work on PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, THE FOUNTAIN and their latest, acclaimed film THE WRESTLER.

The Wrestler is an upcoming film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Mickey Rourke, Ernest Miller, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Production began in January 2008. It will be released in a limited capacity on December 17, 2008 and it's about Randy "Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a professional wrestler from the 1980s who is forced to retire after a heart attack threatens to kill him the next time he wrestles. He takes a job at a deli and attempts to form a relationship with a stripper and does his best to reconcile with his estranged daughter.

However, he is drawn to the prospect of a rematch with his old wrestling nemesis the Ayatollah, even though the fight may cost him his life. (Wikipedia)

For the full interview in audible form, you can go directly at:
http://www.filmmusicmag.com/?p=2148

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

VALKYRIE - The Destruction of Madness

VALKYRIE - The Destruction of Madness

Rudy Koppl of musicfromthemovies.com sits down with director Bryan Singer and composer/editor John Ottman to discuss their seventh collaboration, Valkyrie, which hits screens later this month.

Read the entire article over at the hosting website, HERE.

Trevor Rabin scores 12 Rounds


Earlier this fall, composer Trevor Rabin reunited with director Renny Harlin to score the new action movie 12 Rounds. Scoring took place at the Eastwood Scoring Stage at Warner Bros., and ScoringSessions.com is excited to bring you the exclusive photos.

Click here to read the full story.

Monday, December 1, 2008

TYLER BATES | The day the earth stood still


Not pretty sure if the earth is going to stand still with Tyler Bates' new release, but last time the controversy over the score to 300 was enough to shake the film music community for a long, long period.

Still, his new assignment is The Day the Earth Stood Still, 20th Century Fox's contemporary reinvention of its 1951 classic.

Keanu Reeves portrays Klaatu, an alien whose arrival on our planet triggers a global upheaval. As governments and scientists race to unravel the mystery behind the visitor's appearance, a woman (Jennifer Connelly) and her young stepson get caught up in his mission and come to understand the ramifications of his being a self-described "friend to the Earth." Rounding out the cast are Jaden Smith, John Cleese, Jon Hamm, Kyle Chandler and Kathy Bates.

The score is by composer Tyler Bates who is also working on the long-awaited The Watchmen and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto.

You can listen to SOUND CLIPS, view artwork and the tracklisting of the soon to be released CD of the score THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, over at the releasing label's website, HERE.

guardian.co.uk interviews PHILIP GLASS


Philip Glass, composer

Philip Glass, 71, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He studied music at New York's Juilliard School and in Paris, then supported himself with a variety of jobs, including driving a New York taxi, until his 40s, when he began to compose full-time. His work includes operas, chamber music, and film scores. Glass Box, a 10-disc retrospective, is out now. He has been married four times, has four children and lives in New York and Nova Scotia.


Read the full article HERE and you can also visit the composer's official website HERE.