Category: Film Music News

Weekly Film Music Roundup (October 10, 2014)

alexander-and-the-terrible-dayOpening in most theaters is the family comedy Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day directed by Miguel Arteta and starring Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner, Dylan Minnette, Ed Oxenbould, Kerris Dorsey, Megan Mullally, Jennifer Coolidge and Bella Thorne. The film’s original music is composed by Christophe Beck (Frozen, Edge of Tomorrow, The Hangover). Walt Disney Records has released a soundtrack album featuring a suite from the score, as well as songs by The Vamps, Justine Dorsey,  The Narwhals, Charles William and IDK & The Whatevs. Check out our previous news article for the full album details and to learn more about the film.

the-judgeAlso opening wide is the drama The Judge directed by David Dobkin and starring Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thornton and Vincent D’Onofrio. Thomas Newman (American Beauty, Skyfall, The Shawshank Redemption, Finding Nemo) has composed the film’s original music. WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack featuring the composer’s music earlier this week. Check out our soundtrack announcement to listen to audio clips, for the full album details and for more information about the film.

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Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations Announced

hmmaThe nominations for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMAs) in the Visual Media categories in the visual media categories were announced today. Check out the nominees in the major categories below and visit the official HMMA website for the full list of nominations. The awards show will be held at The Fonda Theater in Hollywood on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. The event will be hosted by Oscar-nominated actor Eric Roberts, former Matchbox 20 member Adam Gaynor, acclaimed Director/Writer/Producer Andy Fickman and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Education Through Music – Los Angeles (ETMLA).

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (October 3, 2014)

Three new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

annabelleOpening in most theaters is the horror thriller Annabelle directed by John Leonetti, produced by James Wan and starring Annabelle Wallis, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola, Eric Ladin and Brian Howe. The film’s original music is composed by Joseph Bishara (The Conjuring, Insidious, Dark Skies). WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score earlier this week. Check out our previous news article for the full album details, to listen to audio clips and for more information about the movie.

gone-girlAlso opening wide is the thriller Gone Girl directed by David Fincher and starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens, Patrick Fugit, Carrie Coon and David Clennon. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross who previously scored Fincher’s The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo have composed the film’s original music. Null Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score this past Tuesday. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and to listen to audio clips.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (September 26, 2014)

Two new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

the-equalizerExpected to top the weekend box office is the action thriller The Equalizer directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington, Chloë Grace Moretz, Marton Csokas, David Harbour, Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo. The film’s original music is composed by Harry Gregson-Williams (The Chronicles of Narnia, Shrek series, Man on Fire, Unstoppable) who previously scored the director’s The Replacement Killers. Varese Sarabande has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music earlier this week. Check out our previous article for the full album details. Also visit Film Music Magazine for a recent interview with Gregson-Williams about his work on the project.

the-boxtrollsAlso opening wide this weekend is the animated feature The Boxtrolls directed by Anthony Stacchi & Graham Annable and featuring the voices of Ben Kingsley, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, , Tracy Morgan, Toni Collette, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade and Simon Pegg. Dario Marianelli (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice, V for Vendetta, Anna Karenina) has composed the film’s original music. Back Lot Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score, as well as the songs from the film, including The Boxtrolls Song written by Eric Idle and performed by Mark Orton and Loch Lomond. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and click here to listen to audio clips.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (September 19, 2014)

Three new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

maze-runnerExpected to top the weekend box office is the film adaptation of the YA novel The Maze Runner directed by Wes Ball and starring Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Aml Ameen and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. The film’s original music is composed by John Paesano (Dragons: Riders of Berk, When the Game Stands Tall, Crisis). Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music. Check out our previous news article for the full album details and to listen to audio clips. Also visit We Are Movie Geeks to check out an interview with Paesano.

walk-among-the-tombstonesAlso opening wide is the is the thriller A Walk Among the Tombstones directed by Scott Frank and starring Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour and Boyd Holbrook. Carlos Rafael Rivera has composed the film’s original music. Varese Sarabande has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music earlier this week. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and for more information about the Universal Pictures release. Also visit YouTube for a short video featurette about Rivera’s music for the thriller.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (September 12, 2014)

Two new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

dolphin-tale-2Opening in most theaters is the family movie Dolphin Tale 2 written and directed by Charles Martin Smith and starring Harry Connick, Jr., Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson, Nathan Gamble, Cozi Zuehlsdorff and Austin Stowell. The film’s original music is composed by Rachel Portman (The Cider House Rules, Chocolat, The Manchurian Candidate). Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score. Check out our previous article for the full album details and a video interview with Portman and click here to listen to audio clips. The movie also features the original song You Got Me performed by Gavin DeGraw and written by Academy Award winner Diane Warren. Visit iTunes to download the track.

no-good-deedAlso opening nationwide is the thriller No Good Deed directed by Sam Miller and starring Idris Elba, Taraji P. Henson, Leslie Bibb, Kate del Castillo and Henry Simmons. Paul Haslinger (Underworld, Halt and Catch Fire, The Girl Next Door) has composed the film’s original score. Madison Gate Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music earlier this week. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and to learn more about the thriller.

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Antoine Duhamel (1925 – 2014)

antoine-duhamelAntoine Duhamel has passed away at age 89. The French composer was best known for scoring numerous films for directors Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. His collaborations with Godard included 1965’s BAFTA-nominated drama Pierrot le Fou starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and 1967’s Weekend. Among the movies he scored for Truffaut were the 1968 Oscar-nominated comedy drama Stolen Kisses and 1969’s Mississippi Mermaid starring Belmondo & Catherine Deneuve. He also worked together with director Bertrand Travier multiple times, including on 1980’s Death Watch starring Romy Schneider & Harvey Keitel and on the 2002 war drama Safe Conduct. His other credits include the Spanish 1992 feature Belle Epoque, which received the Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language film category, the 1996 Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated comedy drama Ridicule directed by Patrice Leconte and the 1998 Spanish film The Girl of Your Dreams starring Penelope Cruz.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (September 5, 2014)

identicalThe only movie opening nationwide this weekend is the music-themed drama The Identical directed by Dustin Marcellino and starring Erin Cottrell, Amanda Crew, Brian Geraghty, Seth Green, Ashley Judd, Joe Pantoliano, Blake Rayne, and Ray Liotta.  Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean, Constantine, Rescue Dawn) and Christopher Carmichael have composed the film’s original score. City of Peace Media and Capitol Christian Distribution have released a soundtrack album featuring five tracks from the composers’ score, as well as the songs from the film performed by lead actor Blake Rayne, The Morph Kings and Darcey & Mo. For the full album details and to listen to audio clips, check out our previous news article.

kelly-and-calOpening in limited release is the indie comedy drama Kelly & Cal directed by Jen McGowan and starring Juliette Lewis, Cybill Shepherd and Jonny Weston. The film’s original music is composed by Toby Chu (Covert Affairs, Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return). No soundtrack album has been announced. The movie centers on the relationship between a suburban-trapped mother and a wheelchair-bound young man who brings out her former self. The dramedy premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival and was picked up by IFC Films for domestic distribution. To learn more about the film, which is also being released on VOD today, visit the official movie website.

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‘Frozen Fever’ to Feature New Song by Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez

frozenWalt Disney Animation Studios announced last night that Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez are writing a new song for the upcoming animated short Frozen Fever. The film is directed by Jennifer Lee (Wreck-It-Ralph) and Chris Buck (Tarzan) who also helmed last year’s hit movie and takes place on Anna’s birthday, for which Elsa and Kristoff are determined to give her the best celebration ever. Peter Del Vecho (Frozen, The Princess and the Frog, Winnie the Pooh) is producing the project. Lopez and Anderson-Lopez have written all songs for 2013’s feature version and received their first Academy Award for the song Let It Go.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (August 29, 2014)

Two new movies are opening nationwide this week:

november-manAlready in theaters since Wednesday is the action thriller The November Man directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko, Eliza Taylor, Caterina Scorsone, Bill Smitrovich and Will Patton. Marco Beltrami (World War Z, Scream, The Wolverine, 3:10 to Yuma) has composed the film’s original music. Varese Sarabande has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music digitally earlier this week. A CD version will be released on September 9. Check out our previous article for the full album details and visit Beltrami’s official website to listen to a couple of full tracks from his score.

Opening nationwide today is the horror thriller As Above, So Below directed by John Erick Dowdle and starring Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, Francois Civil, Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar, Cosme Castro and Hamidreza Javdan. The film’s original music is composed by Keefus Ciancia (Nashville, Saving Grace, Diana, The Motel Life). No word on a soundtrack release. To learn more about the movie, which follows a team of explorers that ventures into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris and uncovers a dark secret, check out our scoring assignment article.

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