Film Music Reporter

Marc Shaiman has signed on to score the upcoming family comedy Parental Guidance. The movie is directed by Andy Fickman (The Game Plan, Race to Witch Mountain) and stars Billy Crystal and Bette Middler as two grandparents who struggle with their grandkids’ modern ways and soon resort to an old-school style of parenting. Marisa Tomei, Bailey Madison and Tom Everett Scott are co-starring. Crystal, Peter Chernin & Dylan Clark (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Samantha Sprecher are producing the 20th Century Fox and Walden Media co-production. While the project marks Shaiman’s first collaboration with Fickman, the composer has scored all of Crystal’s directorial features (incuding Forget Paris and Mr. Saturday Night), as well as number of other films produced by Crystal, including the City Slickers movies. Parental Guidance is set for a release of November 21, 2012. (Kraft-Engel Management)

Shaiman is currently working on the TV musical drama Smash, providing both original songs and score for the show, which had one of the most successful drama series debuts this season last week on NBC. Kraft-Engel Management has also announced that the composer will be reuniting with Crystal in writing for the 84th Academy Awards ceremony on February 26. Shaiman has written the opening intro musical numbers several times when Crystal was hosting the event and has also been involved in the production of the award show on other occasions, most recently in 2010, when he served as the Oscar’s music director.