cut-bankJames Newton Howard is composing the score for the upcoming thriller Cut Bank. The film is directed by Matt Shakman (Mad Men, Six Feet Under) and stars Liam Hemsworth, John Malkovich, Billy Bob Thornton, Teresa Palmer, Bruce Dern, Oliver Platt and Michael Stuhlbarg. The movie follows a former-athlete-turned-auto-mechanic who dreams of getting out of Cut Bank, Montana, but his efforts to do so set in motion a deadly series of events that change his life and the character of the town forever. Roberto Patino (Sons of Anarchy) has written the screenplay. Laura Rister (Lovelace), Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai, Glory), Dan Cohen (The Spectacular Now) and Mickey Barold (Barry Munday) are producing the Killburn Media production. Zwick has previously collaborated with Howard on his last three directorial efforts, including Blood Diamond, Defiance and Love and Other Drugs. Cut Bank is expected to be released later this year.

The composer’s other upcoming projects also include Joe Roth’s fantasy movie Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning. The film will be released on May 30, 2014 by Walt Disney Pictures.

  1. tiago says:

    No word on The Hunger Games – Mockingjay?

    • Macejko says:

      Hope not, Catching fire soundtrack was just plain bad and had exactly one decent moment – a rendition of “Horn of Plenty” theme from the first film. It’s like JNH doesn’t care anymore. His last good score was The Last Airbender almost four years ago. And those good old days of “Dinosaur” and “Atlantis”… those seem to be gone forever.

      • Lee says:

        lol did you even listen to it haha. He wrote more than 10 new themes for Catching Fire and some of his best action scoring of his career. He really went all out with it, and is returning for both parts of Mockingjay, because he’s an incredible Composer.

        • Justin Boggan says:

          He can write 40 new themes — number of themes doesn’t make a score good. And yes, people have heard it. Take this prominant score reviewer:
          http://www.movie-wave.net/the-hunger-games-catching-fire/

          • Lee says:

            That’s one review. It was met with positive reviews overall. If you don’t like the Score, don’t listen to it. Simple really.

          • John says:

            The review you posted is evidence of ignorance. It is clear that the reviewer has barely even listened to the score, if not at all. For example, they say that the love theme played in the two pieces ‘Just Friends,’ and ‘I Need You,’ is the best new theme that Howard comes up with for Catching Fire. If the reviewer had truly listened and understood his music, then he would have known that Howard wrote the love theme for the first film, not second, it appears in the piece called ‘The Cave,’ when the two main characters first show love for each other, then he reprises it in Catching Fire. If you’re going to review someone’s work, have the respect to actually listen properly to it first.

        • Bernhard H. Heidkamp says:

          ‘If you don’t like the Score, don’t listen to it. Simple really.’

          What’s that? I suppose he really does not listen to it, he just pointed out, that it was disappointing.

          And although I liked Catching Fire, I was disappointed as well and it is true, Howard has lost it a bit since the wonderful Airbender.

          I believe you, too have scores you didn’t like and you tell it people. That’s his right.

          • Lee says:

            I never said he couldn’t say he didn’t like it. I said that if he didn’t like it, he can choose not to listen to it, that’s all. I thought it was incredible. Full of new and returning themes, that fit perfectly with the world of Panem, and the characters had more themes, there were new themes for President Snow, Prim, Peeta, Beetie, Mags, the Monkeys, the Fog, a new theme for the Games, for the Capitol, for the Peacekeepers, the tributes. He just further enriched the world he had already created. I have absolutely zero complaints on the score.

  2. Mary says:

    Who sings “into the mystic” in the movie?