Jeffrey Katzenberg announced today in a call to investors that Rihanna will be performing new original songs for DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming feature Home. She will also be creating a concept album based on the movie. The singer and actress also is also among the voice talent of the film directed by Tim Johnson (Antz, Over the Hedge). The animated feature’s voice cast also includes Steve Martin, Jennifer Lopez and Jim Parsons. The movie is based on the book The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex and centers on a friendly alien race that invades Earth and begins to efficiently reorganize the planet.
Category: Film Music News
Steven Price Wins Satellite Award for ‘Gravity’
Steven Price has won his first Satellite Award in the Original Score category for his music for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity at last night’s 18th Annual Satellite Awards ceremony at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. Shortly before Price received the award, astronaut Richard Mastracchio tweeted, “I am watching the movie Gravity up here on ISS. Let’s call it training.” Astronauts aboard the International Space Station crew Expedition 38 Soyuz were given an opportunity to watch the film, fittingly making Price’s score the only Oscar-nominated score of to be heard in space. The other composers nominated in the Original Score category were Hans Zimmer for 12 Years a Slave, Alexandre Desplat for Philomena, Arcade Fire for Her, Theodore Shapiro for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and John Williams for The Book Thief.
‘Gravity’ Wins Cinema Audio Society Award
The team behind the sound mixing of Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity has won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing in the Motion Pictures – Live Action category at tonight’s 50th annual Cinema Audio Society Awards ceremony at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Scoring mixer Gareth Cousins, along with production mixer Chris Munro, re-recording mixers Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri & Christopher Benstead, ADR mixers Chris Navarro & Thomas J. O’Connell and foley mixer Adam Fil Mendez received the award for the space thriller starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The other contenders in the category were Captain Phillips (including scoring mixer Al Clay) , Iron Man 3 (including scoring mixer Joel Iwataki) and Lone Survivor (including scoring mixer Satoshi Mark Noguchi).
Weekly Film Music Roundup (February 21, 2014)
Two new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:
Opening in most theaters is the action thriller 3 Days to Kill directed by McG and starring Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Amber Heard and Connie Nielsen. Guillaume Roussel (Crossing Lines) has composed the film’s original music. No soundtrack album has been announced yet. 3 Days to Kill follows a dangerous international spy who is determined to give up his high-stakes life to finally build a closer relationship with his estranged wife and daughter, whom he’s previously kept at arm’s length to keep out of danger. To learn more about the film, which is being released by Relativity Media, visit the official movie website.
Also opening wide is the historical action epic Pompeii directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jared Harris, Paz Vega and Kiefer Sutherland. Clinton Shorter (District 9, 2 Guns, Contraband) has composed the film’s original score. Milan Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music digitally earlier this week. A CD version will be coming out on February 25. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details. Also visit Examiner for a recent interview with Shorter about his work on the project.
Steven Price Wins BAFTA Award for ‘Gravity’
Steven Price has received his first BAFTA Award for his score for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity starring Sandra Bullock & George Clooney in the Original Music category. Price accepted the award in person at the British Academy Film Awards ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London. He was nominated alongside Hans Zimmer (12 Years a Slave), John Williams (The Book Thief), Henry Jackman (Captain Phillips) and Thomas Newman (Saving Mr. Banks). The composer has previously received the Critics’ Choice Movie Award and is also up for an Academy Award for his Gravity score. Check out Price’s acceptance speech, as well as a backstage interview with the composer after the jump.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (February 14, 2014)
Four new movies are opening nationwide this week:
Already in theaters since Wednesday is the sci-fi action movie RoboCop directed by José Padilha and starring Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams and Samuel L. Jackson. Pedro Bromfman who previously scored Padilha’s Elite Squad movies has composed the film’s original score. Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score earlier this week. Check out our previous news article for the full album details and to listen to audio clips. Also visit ET Online for a video featurette about the score and check out ASCAP’s We Create Music blog for an interview with Bromfman about his wok on the film.
Opening today is the fantasy romance Winter’s Tale directed by Akiva Goldsman and starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Russell Crowe, Eva Marie Saint,, Ripley Sobo and Mckayla Twiggs. The film’s music is composed by Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight, Inception) and Rupert Gregson-Williams (Bee Movie, Click). WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composers’ score, as well as the song Miracle performed by KT Tunstall. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and click here to listen to audio clips.
Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Nominations Announced
The Guild of Music Supervisors announced the nominations for its 4th Annual awards ceremony, which will take place on Wednesday, February 26, at Mack Sennett Studios in Hollywood. The awards will recognize outstanding Music Supervisors in 14 categories representing Motion Picture, Television, Games, Trailers and Advertising. Below are the nominations for some of the major categories. For the full list of nominations, visit the organization’s official website.
Best Music Supervision in Motion Picture – Independent Motion Pictures Under 10M
The Bling Ring – Brian Reitzell
Francis Ha – George Drakoulias
The Place Beyond The Pines – Gabe Hilfer
Thanks For Sharing – Robin Urdang
The Spectacular Now – Gabe Hilfer & Season Kent
Karen O to Perform ‘The Moon Song’ from ‘Her’ on the Oscars
Oscars show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that singer-songwriter Karen O will, for the first time, perform the Academy Award-nominated original song The Moon Song for a global television audience on the Oscars on March 2, 2014. The song from Spike Jonze’s romantic drama Her starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams and Rooney Mara is one of the four nominated titles in the Best Original Song category. It was previously announced that all the three other songs (Happy from Despicable Me 2, Let It Go from Frozen and Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) will also be performed at the event. Karen O who is the lead singer of the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and has previously written songs for Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are is Oscar-nominated for the first time.
U2 to Perform ‘Ordinary Love’ from ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ on the Oscars
Oscars show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that U2 will perform the original song Ordinary Love from Justin Chadwick’s biographical drama Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom starring Idris Elba at the 86th Academy Awards ceremony on March 2, 2014. The performance will be the first time the band will perform the song live. Ordinary Love is one of the four nominated songs in the Best Original Song category. It was previously announced that Pharrell Williams will also be performing his nominated song Happy from Despicable Me 2 and Idina Menzel will perform Let It Go from Frozen. The soundtrack for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which includes the nominated song is available on Decca Records.
Idina Menzel to Perform ‘Let It Go’ from ‘Frozen’ on the Oscars
Oscars show producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron announced today that Idina Menzel will, for the first time, perform the Academy Award-nominated song Let it Go from Disney’s animated feature Frozen at the 86th Academy Awards ceremony on March 2, 2014. The song written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez is one of the four songs up for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category. The two songwriters are nominated for the first time. The performance will also mark Menzel’s first appearance at the Oscars. The Tony Award-winning singer, songwriter and actress has previously appeared in such films as Enchanted, Ask the Dust and Rent. The soundtrack for Frozen featuring the nominated song is available on Walt Disney Records.