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Weekly Film Music Roundup (December 30, 2011)

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While no new movies are opening wide this week, a couple of new films are receiving a release in select cities:

The highest profile title among this week’s openings is The Iron Lady directed by Phyllida Lloyd and starring Meryl Streep as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Thomas Newman has composed the original score for the movie. Sony Masterworks has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score, as well as a song from the musical The King and I, a track from the opera Norma and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C Major. For audio clips and the full album details, check out our soundtrack announcement.

Also opening in limited release is the drama Pariah written and directed by Dee Rees about a 17-year-old African-American woman in Brooklyn struggling with her sexuality. Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the movie’s songs from artists such as as Tamar-kali and Sparlha Swa. To listen to audio clips and learn more about the soundtrack release, visit our previous news article.

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Palm Springs Film Festival to Honor Howard Shore

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Howard Shore will be honored with the Frederick Loewe Music Award at the 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. The composer will be receiving the award for his work on Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, for which he already received a Golden Globe, as well as a Broadcast Film Critics Association Movie Award nomination. Shore has previously won the prize in 2005 for his score for Scorsese’s The Aviator. The composer will be be recognized at a gala on January 7, 2012 at the Palm Springs Convention Center along with other honorees George Clooney, Glenn Close, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Michelle Williams and directors Stephen Daldry and Michel Hazanavicius.

Notable Omissions among the Academy Awards’ Original Score Finalists

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As announced last Thursday, 97 movies are eligible for nominations in the Original Score category for the 84th Academy Awards. Not included were a couple of scores that have been considered possible contenders. The two most notable omissions from the Academy’s finalists list are Drive and My Week with Marilyn, which both were disqualified for different reasons.

The score for Nicolas Winding-Refn’s Drive composed by Cliff Martinez has received the Boston Society of Film Critics‘ Best Use of Music in Film prize (tied with Ludovic Bource’s score for The Artist), the runner-up award by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, as well as nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Washington DC Area and London Critics Film Circle. As reported in Variety, the score was disqualified by the Academy because a number of songs were playing at key dramatic points during the film instead of the score, and two other composers were listed on the official studio cue sheet in addition to Martinez.

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (December 23, 2011)

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Six movies are opening nationwide this holiday weekend. Three movies already opened on Wednesday and two films will be receiving a wide release on Christmas Day.

Among the December 21 releases is the thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo directed by David Fincher and starring Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgard and Joely Richardson. The film’s music is written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Reznor’s label Null Records has released a number of different soundtrack editions, including a 6-track sampler, which can be downloaded for free on the label’s website. Check out our previous article for the full details. Also visit the Wall Street Journal for an article about the composer’s second score for Fincher.

Also already out in wide release is Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin produced by Peter Jackson and starring Simon Pegg, Daniel Craig, Cary Elwes and Andy Serkis. John Williams has written the music for the animated film. A soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score has been released by Sony Classical. For audio clips and more information about the album, visit our soundtrack announcement.

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Academy Awards Original Score List Announced

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The Academy of Motion Pictures Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the eligible movies in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 84th Academy Awards. The 97 eligible scores along with the composer are listed below in alphabetical order by film title:

“The Adjustment Bureau,” Thomas Newman, composer
“The Adventures of Tintin,” John Williams, composer
“African Cats,” Nicholas Hooper, composer
“Albert Nobbs,” Brian Byrne, composer
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
“Anonymous,” Thomas Wander and Harald Kloser, composers
“Another Earth,” Phil Mossman and Will Bates, composers

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Michael Giacchino Scores Paramount’s 100th Anniversary Logo

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Paramount Pictures has recently unveiled a new logo to commemorate the studio’s 100th anniversary in 2012. The logo first appears in front of Brad Bird’s Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, which opened in select theaters last weekend and was released nationwide yesterday. Michael Giacchino has written the music for the logo sequence. Apart from the fourth Mission: Impossible movie, the composer also scored the studio’s J.J. Abrams-directed Super 8 this past year. The new logo will be attached to all movies from the studio throughout 2012 and the plan is that the 100th anniversary portion will be removed with the rest of the logo remaining attached to future Paramount releases after 2012. Check out the full logo sequence after the jump.

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Academy Awards Original Song Short List Announced

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The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced the short list of 39 songs that are in contention for nominations in the Original Song category for the 84th Academy Awards. On January 5, 2012, the Academy will screen clips featuring each song for voting members of the Music Branch in Los Angeles.  Following the screenings, members will determine the nominees by an averaged point system of voting. A maximum of two songs may be nominated from any one film and the nominations will be announced on January 24.

Here are songs in alphabetical order of the films:

“The World I Knew” from African Cats
“Lay Your Head Down” from Albert Nobbs
“Star Spangled Man” from Captain America: The First Avenger
“Collision of Worlds” from Cars 2

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Weekly Film Music Roundup (December 16, 2011)

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Two new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

Expected to top the weekend box office is the action adventure sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams,Stephen Fry, Jared Harris and Noomi Rapace. The film’s music is written by Hans Zimmer and produced by Zimmer & Lorne Balfe. WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score. For the full details, including audio clips, visit our previous article. For a behind-the-scenes video from the recording of the score, click here and also check out two junket video interviews with Zimmer on Trailer Addict. For more recent interviews with the composer talking about his music for the sequel, visit Collider, MTV, ARTISTdirect and The Playlist.

Also opening wide this week is the family movie sequel Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked directed by Mike Mitchell  and starring Jason Lee, David Cross, Jenny Slate, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Amy Poehler, Anna Faris and Christina Applegate. A soundtrack album featuring the movie’s songs performed by The Chipmunks & The Chipettes has been released on Atlantic Records. For more information and audio clips, check out our soundtrack announcement. The film’s score is composed by Mark Mothersbaugh and no score album has been released.

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Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Nominations Announced

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The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced the nominations for the 17th Critics’ Choice Movie Awards this morning. The nominations in the Best Score category are:

The Artist – Ludovic Bource
Drive – Cliff Martinez
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Hugo – Howard Shore
War Horse – John Williams

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