Category: Film Music News

Cinema Audio Society Awards Nominations Announced

cinemaaudiosocietyThe Cinema Audio Society has announced the nominees for the 50th Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing. For the past few years, scoring mixers are being recognized alongside production, re-recording, ADR and foley mixers. In the Motion Pictures – Live Action category, the scoring mixers honored include Al Clay for Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips (scored by Henry Jackman), Gareth Cousins for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity (music by Steven Price), Joel Iwataki for Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (scored by Brian Tyler) and Satoshi Mark Noguchi for Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor (music by Explosions in the Sky & Steve Jablonsky). In the Motion Pictures – Animated category, the nominated scoring mixers are Dennis Sands for DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods (scored by Alan Silvestri), Alan Meyerson for Universal’s Despicable Me 2 (music by Heitor Pereira), Casey Stone for Disney’s Frozen (scored by Christophe Beck), David Boucher for Pixar’s Monsters University (music by Randy Newman) and Rupert Coulson for Walking with Dinosaurs (scored by Paul Leonard-Morgan).

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Alex Ebert Wins Golden Globe Award for ‘All Is Lost’

goldenglobeAlex Ebert has received his first Golden Globe Award for his score for J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost starring Robert Redford. The other composers nominated in the Best Original Score category were John Williams (The Book Thief), Hans Zimmer (12 Years a Slave), Alex Heffes (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) and Steven Price (Gravity).

In the Best Original Song category, U2 and Brian Burton won the award for the song Ordinary Love from Justin Chadwicks’s biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

Weekly Film Music Roundup (January 10, 2014)

In addition to four movies (Lone Survivor, Her, August: Osage County, Inside Llewyn Davis) expanding nationwide, only one movie is opening wide this weekend:

legend-of-herculesOpening in roughly 2100 theaters is the 3D action adventure The Legend of Hercules directed by Renny Harlin and starring Kellan Lutz, Liam McIntyre, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins, Roxanne McKee and Liam Garrigan. The film’s original music is composed by Tuomas Kantelinen (Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan) who previously scored Harlin’s Mindhunters. No word yet on a soundtrack album. For more information about the film, which was originally entitled Hercules: The Legend Begins and is being released by Lionsgate/Summit Entertainment, visit our previous news article and the official movie website.

the-adventurerOpening in limited release is the family adventure The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box directed by Jonathan Newman and starring Michael Sheen, Lena Headey, Sam Neill, Ioan Gruffudd and Aneurin Barnard. Fernando Velazquez (The Impossible, Mama, Devil) has composed the film’s original music. A soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score is in the works. The Adventurer is based on the novel by G.P. Taylor and follows a 17-year-old boy in Victorian England who is searching for his lost parents and is kidnapped in a mysterious luxury hotel. The movie is being released by Image Entertainment and The Film Arcade.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (January 3, 2014)

the-marked-onesThe only wide release this weekend is the found-footage horror spin-off Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones directed by Christopher Landon and starring Andrew Jacobs, Jorge Diaz, Gabrielle Walsh, Renee Victor, Noemi Gonzalez, David Saucedo, Gloria Sandoval, Richard Cabral, Carlos Pratts and Juan Vasquez. As the previous films in the Paranormal Activity series, the movie doesn’t feature any original score and no soundtrack album has been announced. To learn more about the Paramount Pictures release, visit the official movie website.

the-best-offerOpening in limited release this week is the drama The Best Offer (La migliore offerta) directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and starring Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks and Donald Sutherland. The movie’s original music is composed and conducted by Ennio Morricone who previously collaborated with the director numerous times on films including Cinema Paradiso and The Legend of 1900. WMI Italy has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score earlier this year. Check out our previous news article for the full details. The Best Offer opened overseas last year and is being released in the U.S. by IFC Films. To learn more about the drama, which is now also available on VOD, visit the official movie website.

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Wojciech Kilar (1932 – 2013)

wojciech-kilarWojciech Kilar has passed away at age 81. The Polish composer was best known for his work for film, including the scores for Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker‘s Dracula, Jane Campion’s The Portrait of a Lady and three collaborations with Roman Polanski on movies including The Ninth Gate, The Death and the Maiden and The Pianist, for which he was honored with a BAFTA nomination and a Cesar Award. His other film scoring credits include James Gray’s We Own the Night, as well as numerous Polish film and TV productions. Kilar was born in 1932 and went on to study piano and composition and graduated from the State Higher School of Music in his hometown Katowice in Southern Poland. Apart from his music for film and television, he has also written a number of symphonies and concertos.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (December 27, 2013)

Five new movies are opening nationwide this week:

walter-mittyOpening in most theaters is the fantasy comedy drama The Secret Life of Walter Mitty directed by Ben Stiller and starring himself, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn and Sean Penn. The film’s original score is composed by Theodore Shapiro (Tropic Thunder, The Devil Wears Prada) and features vocals by Jose Gonzalez. Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music. Click here to listen to audio clips and for more information. Shapiro has also co-written the original songs Step Out and Stay Alive with Craig Wedren. The songs performed by Gonzalez are featured on a separate soundtrack, which also includes track aby Junip, Of Monsters and Men, David Bowie and more (click here for the full details). Also visit Crave Online for an interview with Shapiro about his work on the project.

the-wolf-of-wall-streetAlso opening this week is The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal and Jean Dujardin. The film doesn’t feature any original score. Theodore Shapiro composed a couple of cues for the infomercials and ads featured in the movie. Virgin Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by artists including Billy Joel, Bo Diddley, Elmore James, Eartha Kitt, Howlin’ Wolf, The Lemonheads, Cannonball Adderley and Joe Cuba. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (December 20, 2013)

Two new movies are opening wide this week:

anchorman-2Expected to top the weekend box office is the comedy sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, James Marsden and Kristen Wiig. The film’s original score is composed by Andrew Feltenstein and John Nau (Casa De Mi Padre, Bachelorette). The duo has also composed the film’s original songs, including Doby (co-written with Ferrell and McKay), which is up for an Academy Award nomination in the Best Song category (click here to listen to the track). Republic Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film. For the full album details, check out our soundtrack announcement.

walking-with-dinosaursAlso opening wide is the 3D family action adventure Walking With Dinosaurs directed by Neil Nightingale & Barry Cook and which follows two brothers looking to follow in their father’s footsteps, which leads them to a showdown with dinosaurs in the Arctic. Paul Leonard-Morgan (Limitless, Dredd) has composed the film’s original music. A soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score is in the works and expected to be released in 2014. Check back on this page for the album details. To learn more about the movie, check out our previous news article.

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Academy Announces 75 Original Songs in Oscar Race

oscarsThe Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the short list of 75 songs that are in contention for nominations in the Original Song category for the 86th Academy Awards. During the nominations process, all voting members of the Music Branch will receive a Reminder List of works submitted in the category and a DVD copy of the song clips. Members will be asked to watch the clips and then vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements in the category. The nominations will be announced on January 16, 2014.

Here are songs in alphabetical order of the films:

“Amen” from “All Is Lost”
“Alone Yet Not Alone” from “Alone Yet Not Alone”
“Doby” from “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”

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‘Alone Yet Not Alone’ to Feature Original Song by Bruce Broughton

bruce-broughtonBruce Broughton has composed the original song Alone Yet Not Alone for the upcoming 1700s-set drama of the same name. The Academy Award-nominated composer collaborated with Emmy nominee Dennis Spiegel who wrote the lyrics for the song, which is performed by author and radio host Joni Eareckson Tada.The song is a recurring theme throughout the film and plays a major role in the storyline. Listen to the track after the jump. Broughton whose best known film scoring credits include Silverado, Young Sherlock Holmes and Rescuers Down Under and Spiegel previously collaborated together on a number of commissioned chorale works. Alone Yet Not Alone based on the novel by Tracy Leininger Crave is directed by Roy Bengston and follows the capture of two sisters by Native Americans prior to the French Indian. William Ross has composed the film’s score.

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