Author: filmmusicreporter

Weekly Film Music Roundup (December 18, 2015)

Three new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

the-force-awakensOpening in most theaters and expected to beat box office records is Star Wars: The Force Awakens directed by J.J. Abrams and starring John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson, Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher. The film’s original music is composed by John Williams. Walt Disney Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music. Check out our previous article for the full album details. Check out a recent segment in CBS’ 60 Minutes for a video from the score’s recording sessions. Also click here for a recent appearance of Williams on the Tavis Smiley show to talk about his work on the film and visit the LA Times for another interview with the composer.

sistersAlso opening wide is the comedy Sisters directed by Jason Moore and starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz, John Leguizamo, Dianne Wiest, John Cena and James Brolin. Christophe Beck (Frozen, Ant-Man, Edge of Tomorrow, The Hangover) has composed the film’s original score. No soundtrack album has been announced. Sisters follows two disconnected sisters who are summoned home and throw one final party in order to recapture their glory days. The comedy is being released by Universal Pictures. Visit the official movie website for more information.

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Nicholas Britell to Score Gary Ross’ ‘The Free State of Jones’

free-state-of-jonesNicholas Britell has taken over scoring duties on the upcoming historical drama The Free State of Jones. The film is written and directed by Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Pleasantville, Seabiscuit) and stars Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keri Russell and Mahershala Ali. The movie is set during the Civil War and tells the story of a poor Southern farmer who leads a group of anti-slavery Confederate deserters in Jones County and turns them against the Confederacy. Ross is also producing the project with Scott Stuber (Ted, Role Models, Identity Thief) and John Kilik (The Hunger Games series, Babel, 25th Hour).

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Listen to Full ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, ‘The Hateful Eight’ & ‘Concussion’ Soundtracks

force-awakensThree soundtrack albums for major films are released today, including John Williams‘ score for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the composer’s first new soundtrack release in two years. Listen to the full album, which is available digitally and physically on Walt Disney Records, after the jump. Also coming out today is the soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, which features the film’s original music composed by Ennio Morricone, as well as the songs from the movie. Check out the soundtrack below and visit Amazon to order the release, which is available digitally and physically from Decca Records. Finally, also being released today is James Newton Howard‘s music for Peter Landesman’s Concussion starring Will Smith.

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Burt Bacharach to Score John Asher’s ‘Po’

poBurt Bacharach has signed on to score the upcoming drama Po. The film is directed by John Asher (Dirty Love) and stars Christopher Gorham, Julian Feder and Kaitlin Doubleday. The movie tells the story of a recently widowed father struggling to raise his 10-year-old son who has autism.  Colin Goldman has written the screenplay based on a story by himself and Steve C. Roberts. Asher is also producing the project with Rod Hamilton. Bacharach, whose own daughter Nikki struggled with Asperger’s Syndrome (high-functioning autism), agreed to let Asher use his song Close to You in the film and later, after watching the film, offered to score the film.

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‘The Choice’ Soundtrack Details

the-choiceMilan Records will release a soundtrack album for the romantic drama The Choice. The album features the film’s original music composed by Marcelo Zarvos (Remember Me, The Affair, Enough Said, The Good Shepherd, Ray Donovan). Also included are the songs from the movie by artists including Guster, The National, The Rosebuds, Veronica Falls, Natalia Safran, Efterklang & more. The soundtrack will be released on January 29, 2016 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The Choice is directed by Ross Katz and stars Teresa Palmer, Benjamin Walker, Tom Welling, Alexandra Daddario and Maggie Grace. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook) and follows a young man who ends up pursuing a relationship with his new neighbor, leading to a journey that neither could have foreseen.

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Toby Chu to Score Denise Di Novi’s ‘Unforgettable’

toby-chuToby Chu has been hired to score the upcoming dramatic thriller Unforgettable. The film marks the directorial debut of producer Denise Di Novi (Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Crazy, Stupid, Love) and stars Katherine Heigl, Rosario Dawson, Isabella Rice, Simon Kassianides, Whitney Cummings, Robert Wisdom and Cheryl Ladd. The movie follows a woman who is struggling to start a new life with a new husband and his daughter but finds herself tormented by the man’s manipulative and mentally unstable ex-wife. Christina Hodson (Shut In) has written the screenplay. Di Novi is also producing the project with Alison Greenspan (If I Stay, The Best of Me) and Ravi D. Mehta (Grudge Match). 

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Syfy’s ‘Childhood’s End’ Soundtrack Details

childhoods-endLakeshore Records will release a soundtrack album for the Syfy event series Childhood’s End. The album features the mini-series’s original music composed by Charlie Clouser (Saw series, Resident Evil: Extinction, Wayward Pines, Numb3rs). The soundtrack will be released digitally on December 18, 2015. Childhood’s End is based on the sci-fi novel by Arthur C. Clarke and stars Charles Dance, Mike Vogel, Daisy Betts, Yael Stone, Julian McMahon, Osy Ikhile and Colm Meaney. The 6-parter revolves around a peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival ends all war and turns the planet into a near-utopia.which centers on a peaceful alien invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords.

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6th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Nominations Announced

guild-of-music-supervisorsThe Guild of Music Supervisors announced the nominations for its 6th Annual awards ceremony, which will take place on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. The awards will recognize outstanding Music Supervisors in 15 categories representing Motion Picture, Television, Games, Trailers and Advertising. Below are the nominations for some of the major categories. In addition to those categories, President of Walt Disney Music, Chris Montan will receive the first Guild of Music Supervisors Legacy Award at the event. For the full list of nominations, visit the organization’s official website.

Best Music Supervision in Motion Picture – Motion Picture Over 25M

50 Shades of Grey – Music Supervisor – Dana Sano
Creed – Music Supervisor – Gabe Hilfer
Kingsman: The Secret Service – Music Supervisor – Ian Neil
Pitch Perfect 2 – Music Supervisor – Julia Michels and Julianne Jordan
Straight Outta Compton – Music Supervisor – Jojo Villanueva

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Fil Eisler to Score Dax Shepard’s ‘CHiPs’

fil-eislerFil Eisler has been tapped to score the upcoming movie adaptation of the classic television series CHiPs. The film is written and directed by Dax Shepard and stars himself as highway patrolman Jon Baker, alongside Michael Pena as Frank “Ponch” Poncherello, as well as Kristen Bell, Rosa Salazar, Adam Brody, Jane Kaczmarek and Vincent D’Onofrio. The action comedy follows two California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers as they make their rounds on the freeways of Los Angeles. Andrew Panay (Wedding Crashers, Earth to Echo, When in Rome) is producing the project alongside Shepard’s Primate Pictures company (Hit and Run). 

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Academy Announces 112 Original Scores in Oscar Race

oscarsThe Academy of Motion Pictures Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the eligible movies in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 88th Academy Awards. The 112 eligible scores along with the composer are listed below in alphabetical order by film title. The nominations will be announced on Thursday, January 14, 2016 at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

“Adult Beginners,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer
“The Age of Adaline,” Rob Simonsen, composer
“Altered Minds,” Edmund Choi, composer
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
“Anomalisa,” Carter Burwell, composer
“Ant-Man,” Christophe Beck, composer
“Beasts of No Nation,” Dan Romer, composer

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