Three new movies are opening wide this weekend:
Expected to top the weekend box office is the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s sci-fi novel Ender’s Game directed by Gavin Hood and starring Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin and Harrison Ford. Steve Jablonsky (Transformers series, Battleship) has composed the film’s original score. Varese Sarabande has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music. Check out our previous article for the full details. Also visit Film Music Magazine for an audio interview with Jablonsky about his work on the film and visit YouTube and click here for two short video interviews with the composer at the movie’s Hollywood red carpet premiere from this past Monday.
Also opening wide is the animated feature Free Birds directed by Jimmy Haywardand featuring the voices of Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Amy Poehler, Dan Fogler, Lesley Nicol, George Takei, Colm Meaney and Keith David. The film’s original music is composed by Dominic Lewis. Relativity Music Group has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score, as well as two songs by Social Distortion and MattyBRaps. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details. Also visit Trailer Addict for a short video interview with Lewis about his work on the project.
The final wide release of the week is the comedy Last Vegas directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure, While You Were Sleeping) and starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen, Jerry Ferrara and Romany Malco. Mark Mothersbaugh (21 Jump Street, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) has composed the film’s original score. Varese Sarabande has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music, as well as a number of jazz standards performed by Steenburgen, who appears in the film as a lounge singer. Check out our previous news article for the full album details.
Opening in limited release before expanding nationwide next week is the romantic comedy About Time written and directed by Richard Curtis and starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander and Margot Robbie. Nick Laird-Clowes has composed the film’s original score. Verve and Decca Records have released a soundtrack album featuring the original song How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding, as well as tracks by Ben Folds, The Cure, The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Paul Buchanan, T.A.T.U. and Arvo Pärt. Also included is a track from Laird-Clowes’ score. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full details and to listen to audio clips.
Also opening in select theaters is the indie drama Dallas Buyers Club directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and starring Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto. The film doesn’t feature any original score. Relativity Music Group has released a soundtrack album featuring music from and inspired by the film, including songs by Jared Leto’s band Thirty Seconds to Mars, AWOLNATION, The Naked and the Famous, T. Rex, Tegan and Sara, My Morning Jacket, Blondfire, Neon Trees, Cold War Kids, Capital Cities, Fitz and the Tantrums and The Airborne Toxic Event. To check out the full album details, visit our previous article.
Another limited release this week is the biographical drama Diana directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Naomi Watts as Princess Diana and Naveen Andrews as Dr. Hasnat Khan. The film’s original score is composed by David Holmes (Ocean’s Eleven, Out of Sight, Analyze That) and Keefus Ciancia (Nashville). Canderblinks has released a soundtrack album featuring the composers’ music. Visit iTunes to download the soundtrack and check out our soundtrack announcement to learn more about the album and the movie.
Also opening in limited release is the action adventure Man of Tai Chi directed by Keanu Reeves who makes his directorial debut on the project and also stars in the film alongside Tiger Hu Chen and Karen Mok. The movie is set in modern Beijing follows the spiritual journey of a young martial artist whose unparalleled Tai Chi skills land him in a highly lucrative underworld fight club. Chan Kwong Wing (Internal Affairs, The Warlords) has composed the film’s original score. No word yet on a soundtrack release. Man of Tai Chi is being released by the Weinstein Company’s Radius label and is also available on VOD.
Also opening in select theaters is the indie comedy drama A Perfect Man directed by Kees Van Oostrum and starring Jeanne Tripplehorn, Liev Schreiber, Joelle Carter, Renee Soutendijk, Huub Stapel, Kevin Rooney and Louise Fletcher. The film’s original music is composed by Jeff Cardoni (CSI: Miami, The Michael J. Fox Show). A soundtrack album is in the works. Visit the composer’s official website to listen to the score and also check out an interview with Cardoni about his work on the project on ASCAP’s We Create Music blog. The film is being released by IFC Films and is also available on VOD. To learn more about the comedy drama, visit the official movie website.
Another limited release is the indie drama Big Sur written and directed by Michael Polish and starring Jean-Marc Barr, Kate Bosworth, Josh Lucas, Radha Mitchell and Anthony Edwards. The film’s original music is composed by Bryce Dessner & Aaron Dessner (aka The Nationals) and Kubilay Uner. No soundtrack album has been announced. Check out an article in the Wall Street Journal about the film’s music. Big Sur is based on Jack Kerouac’s novel of the same name and focuses on a moment in Kerouac’s life when, overwhelmed by the success of his novel On the Road and struggling to battle inner demons, he seeks respite in three brief sojourns to a cabin in the small, coastal California town of Big Sur. The movie premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and is being released by Ketchup Entertainment.
