The upcoming film adaptation of The Giver will feature an original song by OneRepublic. The Grammy Award-nominated rock pop band, best known for such songs as Apologize, Stop and Stare and Counting Stars, is recording the original track Ordinary Human for the movie directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Brenton Thwaites, Alexander Skarsgard, Taylor Swift, Cameron Monaghan, Odeya Rush, Emma Tremblay and Katie Holmes. As previously reported, Marco Beltrami (World War Z, The Wolverine, Scream) is providing the film’s original score. The sci-fi drama based on the bestselling novel by Lois Lowry will be released nationwide on August 15, 2014 by the Weinstein Company. Check back on this page for more information about the soundtrack and visit the official movie website for updates on the film.
‘The Giver’ to Feature Original Song by OneRepublic
Posted: June 25, 2014 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music NewsTags: OneRepublic, Phillip Noyce, The Giver
Looks like you can’t have a YA film without involving a rock/pop group doing a song/score.
bleh! I don’t think a song fits this story. Songs are too exuberating. It usually fits when there’s something to celebrate. “My Heart Will Go On” and “I Want to spend my lifetime loving you” celebrated romance, “Whatever you imagine” celebrated reading, and “Somewhere out there” celebrated Hope and family. (Justin Bieber’s “Never say never” celebrated perseverance)
The Giver is much more subtle than that. It’s not that there’s nothing to celebrate (There is: courage, free will, truth…), it’s just that I think a song would be much too narrow. If it picked one thing to sing about, the other things would be left behind. I think different themes from the film will hit everyone differently (just like Ender’s Game and The Book Thief), and this would be better encouraged by a wordless piece.
Excited about the movie, loved the book! Hopefully the adaptation doesn’t suck.
Not that big a fan of the band, although I did enjoy their latest album. Anyway, I think Tedder has all the lyrical potential and skill to make a song that supports the film and its complex themes perfectly.