The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has announced that Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman will be honored with the inaugural Shirley Walker Award at the 29th annual Film & Television Music Awards on Wednesday, June 25th, 2014 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. The award honors those whose achievements have contributed to the diversity of film and television music. Shirley Walker (Final Destination, Memoirs of an Invisible Man) was the first prominent female film and TV composer. Wendy & Lisa launched their careers in the rock band Prince & The Revolution before pursuing a career path in scoring feature films and television.
Category: Film Music News
Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 23, 2014)
Two new movies are opening nationwide this holiday weekend:
Opening in most theaters is the superhero sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past directed by Bryan Singer and starring Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Peter Dinklage, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. The film’s music is composed by John Ottman (X2, The Usual Suspects, The Fantastic Four) who also serves as the film’s editor. Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music, as well as two songs from the film. Click here for the full album details. Also visit Film Music Magazine for a recent audio interview with Ottman about his work on the project, as well as Hitfix, Indiewire and ComingSoon.Net for more interviews with the composer.
Also opening wide is the romantic comedy Blended directed by Frank Coraci and starring Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kevin Nealon, Terry Crews, Joel McHale, Bella Thorne, Emma Fuhrmann, Jessica Lowe and Dan Patrick. The film’s original score is composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams (Click, Bee Movie, Winter’s Tale, Veep). WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by such artists as Terry Crews and Junior Mambazo, Fifth Harmony, The Elected, The Mowgli’s, Ball Park Music and Hot Water. For the full album details, check out our soundtrack announcement.
Mychael Danna Honored at BMI Film & TV Awards
Last night, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), held its annual Film & TV Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Mychael Danna was honored with the Richard Kirk Award, which is bestowed on composers who have made significant contributions to the realm of film and television music. The composer whose film scoring credits include last year’s Life of Pi, for which he received his first Academy Award, as well as Moneyball, Girl Interrupted, Little Miss Sunshine, (500) Days of Summer and The Sweet Hereafter was presented the award by the night’s hosts, BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and BMI Vice President, Film/TV Relations Doreen Ringer-Ross. Several of Danna’s regular collaborators congratulated him via a tribute video, including Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Ride with the Devil), Atom Egoyan (Exotica, Chloe), Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair) and Bennett Miller (Capote). Check out the composer’s acceptance speech after the jump.
Television Academy to Present SCORE! A Concert Celebrating Music Composed for Television
The Television Academy has revealed more details about their first TV music concert, which was originally announced earlier this year. SCORE! A Concert Celebrating Music Composed for Television will take place on Wednesday, May 21 at 8 p.m. at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. The event will be hosted by Jon Burlingame and will feature original scores from over 50 television series performed by a 67 piece orchestra and the 40 voice LA Chorus directed by Steve Lively. 15-times Emmy Award nominee Mark Snow (The X-Files, Millennium) will be honored with a Career Achievement Award presented by the Television Academy’s Music Peer Group. Among the composers who will be conducting their own scores at the concert will be Jeff Beal (House of Cards, Rome), Sean Callery (24, Homeland, Elementary), Alf Clausen (The Simpsons), Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones), James S. Levine Glee, American Horror Story), John Lunn (Downton Abbey), Bear McCreary (Da Vinci’s Demons, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Walking Dead), Wendy Melvoin & Lisa Coleman (Heroes, Nurse Jackie), Trevor Morris (Vikings, The Borgias, The Tudors), Walter Murphy (Family Guy) and career achievement honoree Mark Snow.
‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ to Feature Original Song by Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons have written the original song Battle Cry for Michael Bay’s upcoming action sequel Transformers: Age of Extinction. The band also contributed original music during the scoring process by recording cues with the film’s composer Steve Jablonsky, and Hans Zimmer, who assisted in the process. The songs is said to be used in critical points during the movie. Imagine Dragons will perform the new single live at the film’s worldwide premiere in Hong Kong. Check out Paramount Pictures’ video announcement after the jump. Transformers: Age of Extinction starring Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, Stanley Tucci and T.J. Miller will be released nationwide on June 27, 2014. F
William Olvis Dies at 56
William Olvis has passed away at age 56. The composer was best known for his theme and his score for 116 episodes of the hit drama Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. His best known feature scoring credit was the 1993 crime thriller Red Rock West directed by John Dahl and starring Nicolas Cage & Dennis Hopper. Olvis’ other credits include Dahl’s Kill Me Again starring Val Kilmer, the comedy drama 29th Street, the comedy Steal Big Steal Little starring Andy Garcia and the ABC drama series Life Goes On. He received four ASCAP Awards for Most Performed Underscore between 1995 and 1999. The composer died of throat cancer at his home in Malibu.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 9, 2014)
Three new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:
Opening in most theaters is the comedy Neighbors directed by Nick Stoller and starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Dave Franco. The film’s original music is composed by Mike Andrews (The Heat, Bridesmaids, Bad Teacher, Donnie Darko). Atlantic Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by artists including Flo Rida, Missy Elliott feat. The Black Keys, Fergie, Nappy Roots, K’naan, Theophilus London, Icona Pop, Ke$ha and more. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details.
Also opening wide is the animated feature Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return directed by Daniel St. Pierre & Will Finn and featuring the voice talent of Lea Michele, Martin Short, Hugh Dancy and Megan Hilty Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Kelsey Grammer, Oliver Platt, Patrick Stewart and Bernadette Peters. The film’s original songs are composed by Bryan Adams, Jim Vallance, Tift Merritt, Jim Dooley & Mike Himelstein. The movie’s original score is composed by Toby Chu (Covert Affairs, Burn Notice). Sony Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs and selections from the score. Check out our previous news article for the full album details.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 2, 2014)
The only wide release this weekend is the superhero sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan. The film’s original music is composed by Hans Zimmer and The Magnificent Six, which includes Pharrell Williams, Johnny Marr, Michael Einziger, Junkie XL, Andrew Kawczynski and Steve Mazzaro. Columbia Records and Madison Gate Records have released a soundtrack album featuring the score, as well as songs by Alicia Keys feat. Kendrick Lamar, Liz and more. For the full details, check out our previous article. Also click here to watch a live performance of the film’s music at the movie’s New York premiere.
Opening in limited release and on VOD is the comedy Walk of Shame directed by Steven Brill and starring Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden and Gillian Jacobs. The film’s original music is composed by John Debney (The Passion of the Christ, Elf, Iron Man 2). Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack featuring the composer’s score. Click here to listen to audio clips and for the full album details. The label has also released a separate soundtrack featuring the film’s songs by artists including Dave Audé (featuring AKON & Luciana), Eli “Paperboy” Reed, Marcus Latief Scott (featuring John Costello), Brenna Bishop, Lux Lovell & more. For more information, check out our previous news article.
Lucas Vidal and Chris Ramsdell Launch Music House for Motion Picture Advertising Chroma
Music and Motion Productions’ Lucas Vidal and music supervisor Chris Ramsdell have teamed up to launch Chroma, a new music house for motion picture advertising. The project is a collaboration between Vidal, the composer of such films as Fast & Furious 6, The Raven, The Quiet Ones and The Cold Light of Day and Ramsdell who has placed music in such campaigns as The Hunger Games, Django Unchained, Transformers and The Hobbit and who serves as the company’s creative director. Chroma kickstarts its sonic enterprise with a 65-track showcase album, which was recorded with a 50-piece choir, full string orchestra, 20-piece brass section and 12 french horns. To listen to previews of the debut sampler, which ranges from dark hybrid to epic orchestral sounds, click here and visit Chroma’s official website to learn more about the company.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (April 25, 2014)
Three new movies are opening wide this weekend:
Opening in most theaters is the comedy The Other Woman directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kate Upton, Taylor Kinney and Nicki Minaj. Aaron Zigman (Bridge to Tarabithia, The Proposal) who previously collaborated with the directors on such movies as John Q, The Notebook and My Sister’s Keeper has composed the film’s original score. No soundtrack album has been announced. Click here to watch a short video interview with Zigman from the film’s Los Angeles premiere earlier this week. To learn more about the 20th Century Fox production, visit the official movie website.
Also opening wide this weekend is the horror thriller The Quiet Ones directed by John Pogue and starring Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, Erin Richards, Rory Fleck-Byrne and Olivia Cooke. The film’s original music is composed and performed by Lucas Vidal (Fast & Furious 6, The Raven). Varese Sarabande has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music, as well as songs by The Noizeby Slade and T.Rex and three original Radio Caroline jingles from the 70s. For the full album details, check out our soundtrack announcement.