Last night, James Horner attended the world premiere of James Cameron’s Titanic 3D at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Before the movie started, the composer conducted an orchestral 20-minute suite from his Academy Award-winning score from the film. Check out a video interview with the composer on the red carpet after the jump, in which he talks about his experience writing the score and the hit song My Heart Will Go On, his collaboration with Cameron and the concert piece he has composed for the premiere. Sony Classical has released a new four-disc soundtrack edition for the film starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet earlier this week. Visit our previous article for the full album details.
Category: Film Music News
John Williams Records ‘Fanfare for Fenway’
John Williams has composed a fanfare for the 100th Anniversary of Boston’s legendary Fenway Park. The piece, which is slightly more than three minutes long was recorded last Saturday at Symphony Hall in Boston by musicians from the Boston Pops Orchestra and conducted by Williams. The composer himself a Red Sox fan and his music has been included in several previous Fenway Park celebrations. Check out a short video from the recording sessions of the Fanfare for Fenway after the jump. The piece will premiere at the Red Sox home opener of the new baseball season on April 13, 2012 (via Berkshire on Stage).
Weekly Film Music Roundup (March 23, 2012)
Only one movie is opening in wide release this weekend:
Already breaking box office records is the film adaptation of the bestseller The Hunger Games directed by Gary Ross and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson. James Newton Howard has written the film’s score and T Bone Burnett is the project’s executive music producer. A soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score will be released next week by Universal Republic. Check out the full album details here. A separate soundtrack including songs from and inspired by the movie by artists including Taylor Swift, Arcade Fire, Kid Cudi, Miranda Lambert, The Civil Wars, Glen Hasard, The Low Anthem, Punch Brothers and Birdy has been released by the label earlier this week. More information can be checked out here.
Opening in limited release is the martial arts action film The Raid: Redemption directed by Gareth Huw Evans about a SWAT team that infiltrates and attempts to take over an apartment complex acting as a safe house for a drug lord. Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese have composed the score for the film. Madison Gate Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the score, as well as the song Razors.Out featuring vocals by Chino from Deftones. The full album details can be found in our previous news article. Various video interviews with the composers have been published by Hitfix, Lost in Reviews, First Showing, Twitch Film and ARTISTdirect.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (March 16, 2012)
Only one movie is opening nationwide this weekend:
Expected to top the other films in release at the box office is the action comedy 21 Jump Street directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller and starring Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson and Ellie Kemper. The film’s score is composed by Mark Mothersbaugh who previously collaborated with the director’s on their animated feature hit Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. No soundtrack album has been announced for the comedy. To learn more about the film based on the 80s TV series, check out our previous news article.
Opening in limited release is the Spanish-language comedy Casa de mi Padre directed by Matt Piedmont and starring Will Ferrell, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez, Nick Offerman & Pedro Armendariz, Jr. Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau have written the film’s score. Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring selections from the score, as well Christina Aguilera’s title song earlier this week. The physical version is scheduled for a release next month. For audio clips from the release and the full album details, visit our soundtrack announcement.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (March 9, 2012)
Three new movies are opening wide this weekend:
Opening in most theaters is the fantasy epic John Carter directed by Andrew Stanton and starring Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe, Lynn Collins, Thomas Haden Church, Samantha Morton, Dominic West, Mark Strong, James Purefoy and Bryan Cranston. The film’s music is composed by Michael Giacchino. Walt Disney Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details including audio clips and visit our soundtrack preview article for more music. A separate article featuring interviews with Giacchino about his music for the film will be published shortly.
Also opening wide is the family comedy A Thousand Words directed by Brian Robbins and starring Eddie Murphy, Ariel Winter, Kerry Washington and Allison Janney. John Debney who previously worked with the director on the sci-fi comedy Meet Dave has written the score for the movie. No soundtrack album has been announced. A video from the orchestral score’s recording sessions can be checked out on YouTube. To learn more about the film, visit the official movie website.
Robert B. Sherman (1925 – 2012)
Robert B. Sherman passed away yesterday in London at age 86. The songwriter was born on December 19, 1925 in New York City. Together with his brother Richard, he has written countless classic songs for movie musicals. He received two Academy Awards for the Disney classic Mary Poppins, both for the score and the song Chim Chim Cheer-ee. The Sherman Brothers’ other Oscar-nominated songs include The Age of Not Believing from 1971’s Bednobs and Broomsticks, The Slipper and the Rose Waltz from The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella and When You’re Loved for 1978’s The Magic of Lassie. They also shared an Academy Award nomination with John Williams for the score for 1973’s Tom Sawyer. Among Sherman’s other best known credits are the Disney animated classics The Jungle Book, The Aristocats and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as the theme park song It’s a Small World (After All). Over his career, he also earned five Golden Globe nominations, two Grammy Awards and four Grammy Award nominations.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (March 2, 2012)
Two new movies are opening wide this weekend:
Expected to top the weekend box office is Universal Pictures’ and Illumination Entertainment’s animated feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. The film features original songs by John Powell and director Cinco Paul. A soundtrack album featuring the movie’s songs has been released on Interscope Records. Check out our previous article for the details and audio clips. Powell has also written the orchestral score for the film. Varese Sarabande has already released a soundtrack featuring the composer’s score digitally and the CD version is set for a release on March 6. Click here for more information and audio clips from the score.
Also opening wide is the found footage teen comedy Project X directed by Nima Nourizadeh and produced by Todd Phillips. While there is no original score in the film, the movie features several songs. Watertower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the comedy’s music from artists including Pusha T, AMC, J-Kwon, Far East Movement & Pitbull, Nas, Kid Cudi, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, A-Trak, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dog, Wale, D12, MGK and Shiny Toy Guns. For more information about the soundtrack, which is available on iTunes, visit our soundtrack announcement.
Brian Tyler Scores Universal Pictures’ 100th Anniversary Logo
Brian Tyler has recently written the music for Universal Pictures‘ new logo to commemorate the studio’s 100th anniversary in 2012. The music is a variation of the theme written by Jerry Goldsmith, which accompanied the most recent version of the logo since 1997 and which replaced an earlier version featuring music by James Horner. Check out the full logo sequence after the jump. Also check out a behind-the-scenes look at creating the music, including an interview with Tyler and footage from the recording sessions of the orchestral score and the choir section. Tyler also composed a piece called Centennial Suite for the studios’ anniversary. The new logo will bow with release of the animated feature Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax this Friday.
Ludovic Bource Wins Oscar for ‘The Artist’
Ludovic Bource has won his first Academy Award in the Best Original Score category for his music for Michel Hazanavicius’ black-and-white silent film The Artist. The other contenders in the category were John Williams (The Adventures of Tintin, War Horse), Alberto Iglesias (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) and Howard Shore (Hugo). All four nominated composers were in attendance at the awards ceremony.
In the Best Original Song category, Bret McKenzie has received the award for the song Man or Muppet from Walt Disney Pictures’ The Muppets.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (February 24, 2012)
Four new movies are opening in wide release this weekend:
Opening in most theaters is the war movie Act of Valor directed by Scott Waugh & Mike “Mouse” McCoy about a group of active-duty Navy SEALs that is sent across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U.S.-Mexico border. Relativity Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the film’s country songs by artists including Keith Urban, Sugarland and Lady Antebellum. Check out our previous article for the full details and audio clips. The label has also released a separate soundtrack featuring the movie’s original score by composer Nathan Furst. Audio clips and more details about the score release can be found here.
Also opening wide is the thriller Gone directed by Heitor Dhalia and starring Amanda Seyfried, Daniel Dunjata, Jennifer Carpenter, Sebastian Stan and Wes Bentley. The film’s score is written by David Buckley (The Town, Forbidden Kingdom). Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score digitally earlier this week and the CD version is set to come out next month. Visit our soundtrack announcement for the full details including audio clips. Also visit Film Music Media for an audio interview with Buckley about his work on the thriller.