Elfman’s score back in ‘The Wolfman’

After being rejected and replaced with Paul Haslinger (!) Elfman's previously rejected score gets back on the picture. Certainly a not very proud situation for anyone to be in, especially if your name starts with P and your surname with an H. Oh well.

Here's what Mikael Carlsson writes about it:

"Following the latest twist in what has to be one of the most unusual chain of events in the film music business lately, Joe Johnston’s upcoming horror film The Wolfman will now feature original music by Danny Elfman, who was the original composer on the film but had his score for the film rejected in November. Universal Pictures has confirmed to MovieScore Magazine that Elfman’s music is back in the picture, and it appears that Paul Haslinger, the replacement composer is not working on the film."

http://moviescoremagazine.com/2010/01/elfmans-score-back-in-the-wolfman/

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) AWARDS nominations for Best Original Score announced

Bafta just announced their nominees for the Best Original Score category and which you can view below:

Avatar - James Horner
Crazy Heart - T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton
Fantastic Mr Fox - Alexandre Desplat
Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll - Chaz Jankel
Up - Michael Giacchino

To find out more about the awards and the institution as well as view the nominees from the other categories, just go to http://www.bafta.org/

JAMES HORNER's new audio interview

Check out a new audio interview with the man of the year, the composer behind the original score to AVATAR, here:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2010/01/19/segments/148277

CHRISTOPHE BECK's "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief Soundtrack"

ABKCO Records will release both the physical and digital soundtrack from Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the much anticipated feature film based on the first book in author Rick Riordan's best selling Percy Jackson series. The Twentieth Century Fox film was directed by Chris Columbus (Gremlins, The Goonies, Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Night at the Museum) and will debut in theaters nationwide on February 12TH. ABKCO will release the album, featuring Christophe Beck's original score digitally on February 9TH, with a physical album release to follow on February 16TH.

In the film, trouble-prone teen Percy Jackson is having problems at school – but that's the least of his challenges. It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus seem to have walked out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology texts and into his life – and they're not happy. Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now, Percy and his friends must embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true thief, save Percy's family, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief stars Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano and Uma Thurman.

Christophe Beck's evocative score provides a musical context for the epic struggle between gods and men in this highly anticipated adventure fantasy film. The Canadian-born composer has scored numerous films including The Hangover, What Happens In Vegas, The Pink Panther, We Are Marshall, Under the Tuscan Sun, Fred Claus, Charlie Bartlett, Cheaper By The Dozen and won an Emmy for his work on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Commenting on his work on the score for Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Beck noted, "Working on "Percy Jackson" gave me a fantastic opportunity to write a richly thematic and full-bodied symphonic score. This is the kind of project that composers dream of scoring, and I'd like to thank Chris Columbus for making it such a great experience."

Track Listing:
1. Prelude
2. The Minotaur
3. Chiron
4. Victory
5. The Fury
6. Dyslexia
7. The Hydra
8. Medusa
9. Son of Poseidon
10. The Parthenon
11. Hollywood
12. Lost Souls
13. Fighting Luke, Part 1
14. Fighting Luke, Part 2
15. Hades
16. Mount Olympus
17. Poseidon
18. Homecoming
19. End Credits

INTERVIEW with JOHAN SODERQVIST

Check out this very interesting interview with one of those young composers whose music is absolutely beautiful and heartfelt, certainly one of the most talented musicians working in the film music genre these days. After his critically acclaimed work for LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, the much-praised (and quite deservingly so) release from MovieScore Media, the spotlight is one again on him with his works for his most recent release, Tannod.

Click here for the article, hosted at maintitles.net.

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD for Best Score goes to Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino is the composer of UP and is the winner of GOLDEN GLOBE in the best original score category.

The list of the complete nominees was:

Michael Giacchino - Up

Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!

James Horner - Avatar

Abel Korzeniowski - A Single Man

Karen O and Carter Burwell - Where The Wild Things Are

Click here to be directed at the source, their official site.

New interviews with HANS ZIMMER

Check out very interesting new interviews with the composer of Sherlock Holmes, at the following links:

http://www.dp30.com/blog/2010/01/14/sherlock-holmes-composer-hans-zimmer/

And also this 7-part video interview, here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/01/16/composer_zimmer_talks_sherlock_holmes_inception_dark_knight_its_complicated/

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT' s "GHOSTWRITER" [cd]

THE GHOSTWRITER

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Music Composed by Alexandre Desplat

Ewan McGregor

Pierce Brosnan

Kim Catrall

Olivia Williams

The New Film From Roman Polanski

THE GHOSTWRITER tells the story of a former British Prime Minister, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), who is holed up on an island off the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. in midwinter, writing his memoirs. When his long-standing aide drowns, a professional ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) is sent out to help him finish the book. The anonymous ghost writer is quickly drawn into a political and sexual intrigue involving Lang’s wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams) and his aide (Kim Cattrall). Hanging over Lang is the threat of a war crimes trial and a mysterious secret from his past that threatens to jeopardize international relations. The cast also includes Jim Belushi, Robert Pugh and Tom Wilkinson. THE GHOSTWRITER is based on the novel The Ghost written by best-selling author Robert Harris. It won the International Thriller Writers’ Award for best novel of 2008. Harris joined director Roman Polanski in adapting the book for the big screen.

Academy Award nominee Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button) has created a suspenseful and captivating work, which recalls the classic thriller scores of the legendary Bernard Herrmann.

Summit Entertainment opens THE GHOSTWRITER nationwide on February 19.

Varèse Sarabande Catalog #: 302 067 007 2

Release Date: 02/23/10

Meet the musicians of HANS ZIMMER's "Sherlock Holmes"

Hans Zimmer recorded the score with featured soloists Lorne Balfe, Ann Marie Calhoun, Tina Guo, Aleksey Igudesman, Davey Johnstone, and Diego Stocco on a triple-neck double-bass he himself built.

Zimmer contrasted an opulent sounding chamber orchestra with these soloists and a Salvation Army Brass Band; infusing Doyle’s orderly, Victorian world with the unorthodox.

Get to know these diverse talented musicians and learn how they became involved with this project in the videos below.

CLICK HERE

HOWARD SHORE's "EDGE OF DARKNESS " - Preview the score

Hear, you can preview the original score composed by HOWARD SHORE, composer of the LORT OF THE RINGS trilogy, which is soon to be released.

Check it out and stay tuned or more info as it becomes available: http://edge-of-darkness.warnerbros.com/index-soundtrack.html

JOHN POWELL to score "Knight and Day"

Knight and Day, the upcoming action comedy starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, will be scored by John Powell (best known for other action films such as the Bourne trilogy, X-Men: The Last Stand and Hancock). The film is directed by James Mangold, a director who has a habit of changing composers from project to project (before Powell, he has worked with Howard Shore on Cop Land, Alan Silvestri on Identity and Marco Beltrami on 3:10 to Yuma, to name a few).

For more info, visit the original source and read the whole article here: http://moviescoremagazine.com/2010/01/john-powell-hired-to-score-knight-and-day/

Chris Velasco and Mike Reagan composers of the God of War series among others, return with a big-ass choral score for DARKSIDERS

DARKSIDERS™ FEATURES BOMBASTIC CHORAL MUSIC

BY CRIS VELASCO AND MIKE REAGAN

AWARD-WINNING "GOD OF WAR" COMPOSERS PROVIDE EPIC

ORIGINAL SCORE FOR NEW ACTION ADVENTURE FRANCHISE

Los Angeles - January 4th, 2010 - Award-winning composers Cris Velasco (God of War series, Clive Barker's Jericho) and Mike Reagan (God of War series, Conan) have created the original music score for THQ's highly anticipated new action adventure title DARKSIDERS™. Developed by THQ in-house studio Vigil Games, DARKSIDERS puts players in the role of War, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The dramatic score features 60 minutes of original music composed by Velasco and Reagan and was recorded with a full choir at the world renowned Skywalker Sound Studios.

Jeremy Robins, audio director at Vigil Games, commented, "Mike and Cris have delivered a score that not only encompasses a character as epic as one of the four horsemen, but helped define it as an IP."

Victor Rodriguez, music director at THQ, added, "Cris and Mike bring the emotion with their unique, highly visceral musical score."

In DARKSIDERS players will explore a world set 100 years after the biblical Apocalypse, traveling through expansive dungeons, battling demons and angels and striking deals with unsavory characters in an epic quest to restore the balance between Heaven and Hell. DARKSIDERS is scheduled to release in North America on January 5th, 2010 and launches in the UK on January 8th, 2010. For more information please visit www.darksiders.com.

[Author: Top Dollar PR]

For more info on the composer Chris Velasco and his work, check out his official page here: http://www.monarchaudio.com/ and for Mike Reagan's site, visit this url: http://www.mikereaganmusic.com/

List of eligible scores for OSCAR, 2009

In order to be eligible for the Academy Awards, a score cannot automatically be considered unless someone (the composer for instance) sends out a "for your consideration" Oscar promo CD of their scores.

Now, the academy awards have always been the most popular awards each year, some calling it a celebration of the cinematic art in the spotlight of the most glamorous worldwide event, others considering it as a highly overrated celebration of the business of Hollywood money, but nevertheless the whole events draws attention, no matter what.

The 'best original score' category however, has been loosing its eligibility year by year, because of a general notion that characterizes their choices and emits characteristics having to do with a lack of knowledge in the field, and draft & quick issuing of the winners, just for filling out with the rest, "more important" categories of the awards. Most importantly, the choices the Academy makes in the 'best original score category' are often laughable as they ommit the truly notable and worthiest scores of the year, often for technical reasons but not alone, and the ones they do finally choose to award are usually not even good scores, or good music for the matter.

This year, things seem to be even worse however. The list of eligible scores for Oscar Consideration suggests that the truly great scores this year aren't eligible once again, and it was a good year for film music. For instance, no Brian Tyler scores at all ("The Killing Room" was a breath of fresh air from Tyler this year, a very good dark score and it should have - at least - been eligible for sure), there are no David Newman scores, no Beltrami's "The knowing", no Harry Potter nor Zimmer's "Angels and Demons", no Brian Eno's the "Lovely Bones", no "Red Canvas" (not released in the US), no Dario Marianelli's excellent score for "Agora" (not released in the US), no Philippe Rombi's beautiful "Un Homme Et Son Chien" (not released in the US), no Ennio Morricone's lyrical orchestral graces of "Baaria" (not released in the US), no "Pope Joan" (not released in the US), not even the exotic "Mao's Last Dancer" (not released in the US), just to name but a few of the omissions.

Apparently only 81 scores have been deemed eligible by AMPAS for the Oscars this year. They are:

1. Bates, WATCHMEN
2. Bellon, IRON CROSS
3. Beltrami/Sanders, THE HURT LOCKER
4. Bradshaw, BRIGHT STAR
5. Brandstaetter, PUNCTURED HOPE
6. Brett, PLANET 51
7. Burwell, A SERIOUS MAN
8. Cave/Ellis, THE ROAD
9. Cnejevicvi, EVA
10.Coulais, CORALINE
11. Danna, ADORATION
12. Danna, THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE
13. Danna/Danna, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS
14. Danna/Simonsen, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
15. De La Puente, THE MISSING LYNX
16. Debney, ALIENS IN THE ATTIC
17. Debney, HOTEL FOR DOGS
18. Debney, OLD DOGS
19. Debney, THE STONING OF SORAYA M
20. Desplat, CHERI
21. Desplat, COCO BEFORE CHANEL
22. Desplat, FANTASTIC MR. FOX
23. Desplat, JULIE & JULIA
24. Desplat, THE TWLIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON
25. Eastwood/Stevens, INVICTUS
26. Eidelman, HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU
27. Elfman, TERMINATOR SALVATION
28. Englishby, AN EDUCATION
29. Eshkeri, THE YOUNG VICTORIA
30. Giacchino, LAND OF THE LOST
31. Giacchino, STAR TREK
32. Giacchino, UP
33. Gold, ADVENTURES OF POWER
34. Goldenthal, PUBLIC ENEMIES
35. Golijov, TETRO
36. Hamlisch, THE INFORMANT!
37. Hisaishi, PONYO
38. Horner, AVATAR
39. Howard, DUPLICITY
40. Iglesias, BROKEN EMBRACES
41. Isham, BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS
42. Jablonsky, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
43. Kent, 17 AGAIN
44. Kent, GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST
45. Kent, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS
46. Kent, UP IN THE AIR
47. Kloser, 2012
48. Korzeniowski, A SINGLE MAN
49. Lara, RUDO Y CURSI
50. Lennertz, ADAM
51. Mansell, MOON
52. Marianelli, EVERYBODY’S FINE
53. Mothersbaugh, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
54. Muddiman, SKIN
55. Navarrete, INKHEART
56. Newman T, BROTHERS
57. Newman R, THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
58. Ottman, ASTRO BOY
59. Ottman, ORPHAN
60. Penn, SUNSHINE CLEANING
61. Penn, THAT EVENING SUN
62. Powell, ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS
63. Rabin, RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN
64. Rahman, COUPLES RETREAT
65. Rohatyn, THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE
66. Shorter, DISTRICT 9
67. Silvestri, DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL
68. Silvestri, G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA
69. Silvestri, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN
70. Toprak, THE LIGHTKEEPERS
71. Wagner, PARIS 36
72. Wedren, BY THE PEOPLE: THE ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA
73. Yared, AMELIA
74. Yevtushenko, THE LAST STATION
75. Young, CREATION
76. Young, DRAG ME TO HELL
77. Young, THE UNINVITED
78. Zarvos, SIN NOMBRE
79. Zigman, MY SISTER’S KEEPER
80. Zimmer, SHERLOCK HOLMES
81. Zimmer/Pereira, IT’S COMPLICATED

Find out more at http://moviescoremagazine.com/2010/01/brian-eno-and-others-not-eligible-for-oscar/

AWARDS WATCH: Very interesting article about this year's best original score / songs' awards.

Click HERE to read the entire article.

ALAN SILVESTRI's "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (recording session photographic material)

Earlier this year, Alan Silvestri recorded his score for his thirteenth feature film with director Robert Zemeckis, A Christmas Carol. The film came out last month, and scoringsessions.com are excited to bring their readers the exclusive photos from the scoring session, just in time for the holidays.

Check out the article here: http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/204/

CLIFF MARTINEZ's "A L'origine" [CD]

New release for the Solaris minimalist composer, which got out November the 9th, 2009.

The Xavier Giannoli directed movie is set in France, present day. A professional conman passes himself off as the boss of a construction site building a highway extension. He cons the whole region, hires dozens of workers and cynically enjoys the profits of his scam until he meets the lady mayor of a small village that the road will go through. She intrigues and unsettles him, before revealing to him a world he never knew: feelings. How far will he go now to save his victims and save himself from his own lies? (imdb)

Click HERE to be redirected at amazon.com and listen to the SOUND CLIPS from the score.

"Tannöd " composed by Johan Söderqvist

Taking the opportunity to recommend this beautiful score by Johan Soderqvist, a very talented and genuine voice in the vast area of film music business.

Here's info about the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234554/

To listen to SOUND CLIPS from the score, visit amazon.com's page, by clicking HERE.

CHRISTOPHER GORDON's "DAYBREAKERS" on [CD]

Daybreakers [SOUNDTRACK]
Various Artists (Artist), Christopher Gordon (Artist), Placebo (Artist)


Product Details

* Audio CD (January 5, 2010)
* Original Release Date: 2010
* Number of Discs: 1
* Format: Soundtrack
* Label: Lionsgate Records


Track Listings
1. Immolation
2. Nightfall
3. Humans
4. Subsider
5. On the Run
6. Blood Lust
7. The Winery and the Cafe
8. Fermentation Tank
9. Ambush
10. Resurrection
11. Drought
12. In the Sun
13. Blood Brothers
14. Spreading the Cure
15. Daybreak
16. Running Up That Hill (Placebo)


Product Description

In stores January 5, 2010
Daybreakers in theatres everywhere January 8, 2010

In 2019 Vampires rule, humans fight for survival in a world literally bleeding itself dry. It s a world full of contrast, of hope and despair, light and darkness, a vivid world brought to life (and death) through Christopher Gordon s evocative score.
- Peter & Michael Spierig

Soundtrack features the bonus track:
RUNNING UP THAT HILL BY PLACEBO
AS FEATURED IN THE MOVIE TRAILER
(Writers/Directors)

MOVIESCOREMEDIA releases DAVID JULYAN's "THE DESCENT 2" on Jewel Cased [CD]

MovieScore Media announces that their CD featuring "The Descent: Part 2" by David Julyan is now available for pre-order. Also, from now on all of their CDs will be jewel cases - by public demand!

Composer David Julyan returns to the claustrophobic mines of the hugely successful 2005 horror film The Descent and develops the ominous and powerful musical landscape he created for the first film. The Descent scores are both great examples of Julyan’s very ambitious and detailed meld of acoustic and electronic music and the second score is exciting in its use of modern, aleatoric techniques within the orchestra in conjunction with eerie “under-your-skin” sound design. Anyone who enjoyed the score for the first Descent movie will undoubtedly love the music for Part 2.

1. Mountain Opening 0:54
2. Sarah Freaks Out 3:31
3. What Happened 1:56
4. Cath and the Crawler 2:54
5. Drive to Chapel Mine 1:08
6. Exploring the Mine 3:14
7. Pursuing Vaines 3:36
8. Cath Is Trapped 2:16
9. Attack and Fall 2:31
10. Alone in the Cave 1:10
11. Juno Returns 1:40
12. Rios Leaves a Message 2:09
13. The Pit 3:51
14. The Rock Bridge 3:06
15. The Feeding Chamber 2:59
16. The Descent: Part 2 4:03

Click HERE to be transferred to sae's page and listen to SOUND CLIPS from the score.

HANS ZIMMER's new AUDIO interview on ON THE SCORE

"In a holiday season where the phrase “game-changer” is bandied about like no one’s Hollywood business, few composers truly fit the term like Hans Zimmer. Ascending as an assistant to composer Stanley Meyers on such scores as “Moonlighting” and “My Beautiful Launderette,” the German-born Zimmer now commands the massive, art-filled domain of Remote Control in Santa Monica. In this workaholic studio, the composer and his team have created a distinctly melodic, Oscar-winning sound that’s changed the sound of movies big and small with the diversely numerous likes of “Backdraft,” “The Lion King” “The Dark Knight,” “Black Hawk Down,” “The Last Samurai” and “Spanglish.” In the collaborative process, Zimmer has helped sent out such talent into the scoring world as John Powell (“The Bourne Identity”), Trevor Rabin “(“Armageddon”), Ramin Djawadi (“Iron Man”) and Harry Gregson-Williams (“The Chronicles of Narnia”)."


Visit the original article source to find out more, listen or download the interview in audio format: http://www.filmmusicmag.com/?p=4471