Category: Film Music News

Weekly Film Music Roundup (April 9, 2015)

April 10, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 0 comments

Tags: Ben Salisbury, Benjamin Wallfisch, Broken Horses, Clouds of Sils Maria, Desert Dancer, Ex Machina, Geoff Barrow, James Horner, John Debney, Johnny Jewel, Johnny Klimek, Kill Me Three Times, Living in the Age of Airplanes, Lost River, Mark Isham, The Longest Ride

The only movie opening nationwide this weekend is the romantic drama The Longest Ride directed by George Tillman, Jr., based on the bestselling novel by Nicholas Sparks and starring Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood, Jack Huston, Oona Chaplin and Alan Alda. Milan Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by Seafret, Ryan Adams, Ben & Ellen Harper, Middle Brother, Adanowsky & more. Check out our previous article for the full details. The film’s original score is composed by Mark Isham (Crash, Once Upon a Time, Miracle). Milan has also released a soundtrack featuring the composer’s music. Click here for the full album details and to learn more about the film.

Opening in limited release is the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina written and directed by Alex Garland and stars Oscaar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander. Ben Salisbury and Portishead’s Geoff Barrow have composed the film’s original music. Back Lot Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the score, as well as the song Bunsen Burner by The Cuts. For the full album details, to listen to audio clips and for more information about the A24 Films release, visit our soundtrack announcement.

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James Horner Talks ‘Avatar’ Sequels

April 9, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 6 comments

Tags: Avatar, Avatar 2, James Cameron, James Horner

James Horner revealed in an interview with Andrew Freund at the Los Angeles premiere of the IMAX documentary Living in the Age of Airplanes this past Monday that he has “started to get ideas from the filmmakers” about his music for James Cameron’s upcoming Avatar sequels, while it will be a while before he starts recording anything for the project. Avatar 2 is currently scheduled to be released in December of 2017 by 20th Century Fox with two more sequels planned to come out in the following years. Check out the video interview, in which the composer also talks about scoring Living in the Age of Airplanes, how he got involved in the project and his interest in flying, after the jump.

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Ray Charles (1918-2015)

April 7, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 0 comments

Tags: Ray Charles

Composer/arranger Ray Charles passed away Monday at his home in Beverly Hills at age 96. He is best known as the leader of The Ray Charles Singers, who were regularly featured on Perry Como’s records and radio and television shows for 35 years. He is also known as a vocalist to the theme song for Three’s Company and has arranged for such film projects as Funny Girl and Racing with the Moon. Throughout his career, he received seven Emmy nominations and won the award two times in 1971 and 1972 in the Outstanding Achievement in Music, Lyrics and Special Material category for The First Nine Months Are the Hardest and for an episode of The Funny Side.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (April 3, 2015)

April 3, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 0 comments

Tags: 5 to 7, Boychoir, Brian Byrne, Brian Tyler, Cut Bank, Danny Bensi, Effie Gray, Furious 7, Hal Hartley, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, Last Knights, Martin Phipps, Martin Tillman, Ned Rifle, Paul Cantelon, Satnam Ramgotra, Saunder Jurriaans, Woman in Gold

The only movie opening nationwide this weekend is the action sequel Furious 7 directed by James Wan and starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Kurt Russell. Interscope Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by Wiz Khalifa & Iggy Azalea, Skylar Grey, Flo Rida, David Guetta & Kaz James, DJ Shadow & more. Check out our previous article for the full details. Back Lot Music has released a separate soundtrack featuring the film’s original score composed by Brian Tyler (Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Click here for the full album details and to listen to audio clips. Also visit Trailer Addict and Screen Slam for short video interviews with Tyler from the film’s Hollywood premiere earlier this week.

Opening in around 250 theaters is the drama Woman in Gold directed by Simon Curtis and starring Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Bruhl, Katie Holmes, Charles Dance, Elizabeth McGovern and Frances Fisher. The film’s original music is composed by Martin Phipps (Harry Brown, Brighton Rock) and Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight, Gladiator, Inception). No soundtrack album has been announced. Woman in Gold follows an elderly Jewish woman who fled Vienna during WWII and, sixty years later, starts her journey to retrieve family possessions seized by the Nazis, among them Klimt’s painting “The Lady in Gold”. The movie is being released by the Weinstein Company. Visit the official movie website to learn more about the drama.

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‘Sausage Party’ to Feature Music by Alan Menken

March 29, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 0 comments

Tags: Alan Menken, Sausage Party

Alan Menken is writing original songs for the upcoming animated comedy Sausage Party. The film is directed by Greg Tiernan & Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2, Monsters vs. Aliens, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted) and features the voices of Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Edward Norton, James Franco, Nick Kroll, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Salma Hayek and Paul Rudd. The movie follows a hero sausage and his friends who fall out of a shopping cart and embark on a journey through the supermarket to get back to their aisles before the Fourth of July sale. Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (This Is the End, The Interview) have written the screenplay with Kyle Hunter & Ariel Shaffir.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (March 27, 2015)

March 27, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 0 comments

Tags: A Girl Like Her, Bobby Johnston, Christophe Beck, David Bateman, Get Hard, Home, James Murphy, Johan Söderqvist, Kaspar Winding, Laurent Petitgand, Lorne Balfe, Marfa Girl, Serena, The Riot Club, The Salt of the Earth, While We're Young

Two new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

Opening in most theaters is DreamWorks Animation’s Home directed by Tim Johnson and featuring the voices of Jim Parsons, Steve Martin, Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez. Roc Nation Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Coffee, Kiesza, Charli XCX and Jacob Plant. Check out our previous article for the full album details. The movie’s original score is composed by Lorne Balfe (Penguins of Madagascar, Megamind, The Bible). Relativity Music Group will release a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music within the next month. Check back on this page for the full album details and visit YouTube to check out a track from Balfe’s score.

Also opening wide is the comedy Get Hard directed by Etan Cohen and starring Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Alison Brie and Craig T. Nelson. Christophe Beck (Frozen, Edge of Tomorrow, The Hangover, The Muppets) has composed the film’s original music. No soundtrack album has been announced, but three tracks from the composer’s score can be checked out on Beck’s official website. Get Hard follows a rich, soft-handed investment bank manager who is sentenced to a maximum security prison and hires the streetwise guy to teach him how to survive his upcoming prison sentence. To learn more about the Warner Bros. Pictures release, visit the official movie website.

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James Newton Howard to Receive Max Steiner Award

March 25, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 2 comments

Tags: Hollywood in Vienna, James Newton Howard, Max Steiner Award

It was announced today that James Newton Howard is the recipient of this year’s Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award, which will be presented at the annual Hollywood in Vienna Concert Gala at Vienna Concert Hall on October 16, 2015 The Max Steiner Award honors extraordinary achievements within the genre of film music by the musical capital of Austria, Vienna. Previous recipients of the honor include James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Howard Shore, Randy Newman, Lalo Schifrin and John Barry. Howard has written numerous scores for films such as The Sixth Sense, Signs, King Kong, Maleficent, Pretty Woman, Waterworld, The Prince of Tides, The Village, The Fugitive, Dinosaur, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Hunger Games series.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (March 20, 2015)

March 20, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 0 comments

Three new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

Expected to top the weekend box office is the second part in the Divergent series, Insurgent directed by Robert Schwentke and starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Octavia Spencer, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet. Joseph Trapanese (Oblivion, Earth to Echo) has composed the film’s original score. Interscope Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by such artists as M83 feat. Haim, Imagine Dragons, Royal Blood, Woodkid feat. Lykke Li, Anna Calvi, SOHN and Zella Day, as well as a score suite. Click here for the full details. The label has also released a separate soundtrack featuring Trapanese’s score earlier this week. Check out our previous article for more information.

Also opening wide is the action thriller The Gunman directed by Pierre Morrel, produced by Joel Silver and starring Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone, Mark Rylance and Jasmine Trinca. Marco Beltrami (World War Z, The Hurt Locker, Scream, The Wolverine) has composed the film’s original music. Silva Screen Records will release a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music next week. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and to learn more about the film. Also visit the composer’s official website to listen to several tracks from his score.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (March 13, 2015)

March 13, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 0 comments

Two new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

Guaranteed to top the weekend box office is Disney’s live-action adaptation of Cinderella directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera, Derek Jacobi and Helena Bonham-Carter. The film’s original music is composed by Patrick Doyle (Sense and Sensibility, Thor, Rise of the Planet of the Apes). Walt Disney Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score, as well the film’s songs including the original end titles track Strong written by Doyle, Branagh & Tommy Danvers and performed by Sonna Rele. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details. Also visit We Are Movie Geeks, Go See Talk, Film.Music.Media, AndroidTV and HeyUGuys for interviews with Doyle about his work on the film.

Playing in front of Cinderella is Disney’s new animated short Frozen Fever directed by Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck and featuring the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad. Christophe Beck (Edge of Tomorrow, The Muppets, The Hangover) who scored 2013’s feature has also composed the score for the short film, while Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez have contributed a new original song. Visit The Hollywood Reporter to listen to a 2-minute suite from Beck’s original score. Also check out our previous news article for more information about the project.

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Elliot Goldenthal, Deborah Lurie, Johann Johannsson & Sean Callery Honored at ASCAP Film & TV Music Awards

March 10, 2015 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News 0 comments

Tags: ASCAP Film & Television Music Awards, Austin Wintory, Deborah Lurie, Elliot Goldenthal, Johann Johannsson, Sean Callery

Last night, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) held its annual Film & Television Music Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Elliot Goldenthal was honored with the ASCAP Founders Award, which is given to songwriters and composers who have made pioneering contributions to music by inspiring and influencing their fellow music creators. The Academy Award-winning composer was presented the award by director Michael Mann who collaborated with Goldenthal on Heat and Public Enemies. Goldenthal’s partner Julie Taymor who worked with him on Frida, Titus, Across the Universe and various stage productions, as well as Neil Jordan who collaborated with the composer on films including Interview with the Vampire and Michael Collins congratulated the composer via a video message.

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