Five new movies are opening nationwide this week:
Opening in most theaters is the fantasy comedy drama The Secret Life of Walter Mitty directed by Ben Stiller and starring himself, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn and Sean Penn. The film’s original score is composed by Theodore Shapiro (Tropic Thunder, The Devil Wears Prada) and features vocals by Jose Gonzalez. Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music. Click here to listen to audio clips and for more information. Shapiro has also co-written the original songs Step Out and Stay Alive with Craig Wedren. The songs performed by Gonzalez are featured on a separate soundtrack, which also includes track aby Junip, Of Monsters and Men, David Bowie and more (click here for the full details). Also visit Crave Online for an interview with Shapiro about his work on the project.
Also opening this week is The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal and Jean Dujardin. The film doesn’t feature any original score. Theodore Shapiro composed a couple of cues for the infomercials and ads featured in the movie. Virgin Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by artists including Billy Joel, Bo Diddley, Elmore James, Eartha Kitt, Howlin’ Wolf, The Lemonheads, Cannonball Adderley and Joe Cuba. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details.
Another wide release this holiday week is the martial arts action adventure 47 Ronin directed by Carl Rinsch and starring Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano and Rinko Kikuchi. The film’s original music is composed by Ilan Eshkeri (Stardust, Layer Cake, The Young Victoria). Varese Sarabande has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score earlier this week. Check out our previous news article to listen to audio clips and to learn more about the album and the movie. Also visit Film Music Magazine for a recent interview with Eshkeri about his work on the film.
Also opening in wide release is the sports comedy Grudge Match directed by Peter Segal and starring Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Kart, Alan Arkin, Kim Basinger and Jon Bernthal. Trevor Rabin (Armageddon, National Treasure) who previously scored Segal’s Get Smart has composed the film’s original score. No soundtrack album has been announced. Grudge Match follows two old boxing rivals who come out of retirement for one final match. To learn more about the Warner Bros. Pictures production, visit the official movie website.
The final wide release of the week is the documentary Justin Bieber’s Believe directed by Jon M. Chu (Never Say Never, G.I. Joe: Retaliation). The movie centers on the musician’s passion to make music, relationships and coming of age in the spotlight and also features concert footage and special appearances from manager Scooter Braun, Patti Mallette, Usher, Ludacris and more. The film’s original score is composed by Nathan Lanier (LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, H+). No soundtrack album is available. To learn more about the documentary, which is being released by Open Road Films, visit the official movie website.
Opening in limited release before expanding nationwide next month is the action drama Lone Survivor directed by Peter Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana. The film’s original music is composed by by Explosions in the Sky (Friday Night Lights) and Steve Jablonsky (Transformers, Ender’s Game, Battleship). Metropolis Movie Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the score from Jablonsky and the post-rock band overseas earlier this month. Click here to listen to audio clips. No word yet on a domestic release date. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details.
Also opening in select cities is the comedy drama August: Osage County directed by John Wells and starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, Juliette Lewis, Julianne Nichols, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Cooper, Abigal Breslin and Dermot Mulroney. Gustava Santolalla (Brokeback Mountain, Babel) has composed the film’s original score and Adam Taylor has also written original music for the movie. Columbia Records has released a soundtrack album featuring both composer’s score, as well as music by Bon Iver, Kings of Leon, Eric Clapton, John Fullbright, Billy Squier and more. Check out our previous article for the full album details and audio clips.
The third major limited release of the week is the drama The Invisible Woman directed by Ralph Fiennes and starring himself, Felicity Jones, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Hollander, Joanna Scanlan, Perdida Weeks, Amanda Hale, Tom Burke, John Kavanagh and Michael Marcus. Ilan Eshkeri who previously collaborated with Fiennes on his directorial debut Coriolanus has composed the film’s original music. No word yet on a soundtrack release. The Invisible Woman tells the story of the secret mistress with whom Charles Dickens had a decade-long relationship. To find out more about the drama, which is being released by Sony Pictures Classics, visit the official movie website.
Theodore Shapiro scored WOLF OF WALL STREET? That’s a new information for me… Sure you meant Howard Shore, right?
There’s no actual score, but Shapiro composed three short cues for the “commercials” shown during the movie. Shore was never involved as far as we know.