John Powell accepting the Henry Mancini Award
Last night, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) held its annual Screen Music Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. John Powell (Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Bourne Identity, Happy Feet, Shrek) was honored with the ASCAP Henry Mancini Award for his outstanding achievements and contributions to the world of film and television music. The composer was presented the award by Dean DeBlois, director of How to Train Your Dragon, for which Powell received his first Academy Award nomination and who is currently working with the composer on the third part of the animated franchise. Several of Powell’s collaborators friends and congratulated Powell via a video message, including composers Hans Zimmer, Patrick Doyle & Bruce Broughton (who also spoke at and attended the event), directors Doug Liman & Ron Howard and former DreamWorks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg. Following his acceptance speech, Powell paid tribute to the late Henry Mancini with a performance of the composer’s music, including Lujon (from the Mancini 1961 album Mr. Lucky Goes Latin), A Shot in the Dark (from the 1964 Pink Panther) and Something for Cat (from 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s).
Germaine Franco accepting the Shirley Walker Award
Germaine Franco was recognized with the ASCAP Shirley Walker Award, which honors those whose achievements have contributed to the diversity of film and television music. Franco was presented the award by Coco co-director Adrian Molina and Erin Scully, Executive Vice President at New Line Cinema, who worked with the composer on the upcoming comedy Tag. Franco also conducted the orchestra, along with vocalist Anthony Gonzalez (who voiced the role of Miguel in Coco) in renditions of the songs Un Poco Loco and Proud Corazó, which she co-wrote for the Pixar Animation hit movie, as well as several of her works from Tag and the Starz series Vida.
Dave Porter accepting his award for ASCAP TV Composer of 2017
For the fifth time, the performing rights organization handed out the Composers’ Choice Awards, which was voted for by participating ASCAP writer members. In the Composers’ Choice Award for ASCAP TV Composer of 2017 category, Dave Porter who scored shows such as AMC’s Better Call Saul & Preacher and NBC’s The Blacklist over the last year received the award for the first time. In the Film Score of the Year category, there was a tie between Hans Zimmer and Jonny Greenwood who were honored with the Film Score of the Year award for their scores for Dunkirk and Phantom Thread respectively. In the Video Game Score of the Year category, Gordy Haab took home the prize for Star Wars Battlefront II.
The event also featured a performance of Michael Abels‘ main titles track Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga from Jordan Peele’s box office hit Get Out. The composer was joined on stage by the Selah Gospel Choir. Dan Romer who received the award for Top Network TV Series for his work on ABC’s The Good Doctor also appeared on stage for a performance of a medley of his themes from the show. Joel Beckerman, Cat Gray, Jared Gutstadt, Jeffrey Lippencott, Didier Lean Rachou, Ed Robertson, Mark Snow, David Vanacore, Mark T. Williams and Hans Zimmer received awards for Most Performed Themes and Underscore and Heitor Pereira received the award for Top Box Office Film for Despicable Me 3. Among the other composers who attended the event were Marco Beltrami, John Debney, Benjamin Wallfisch, Marcelo Zarvos, Bear McCreary, Joseph Trapanese, Mateo Messina, Robert Duncan, Geoff Zanelli, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Christopher Willis, Austin Wintory, Kyle Dixon, Photek and Jeff Cardoni. For the full list of winners, visit ASCAP’s official website.
Check back on this page for video highlights of the event.
