Last night, Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) held its annual Film, TV & Visual Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. Ramin Djawadi was named BMI Icon in recognition of his outstanding body of work across film, television and video games. The composer whose scoring credits include such films as Iron Man, Pacific Rim, Eternals, The Man from Toronto, Blade: Trinity & Clash of the Titans, TV shows including Game of Thrones, Westworld, Fallout & Prison Break, as well as the video games Medal of Honor, Gears of War 4 & Gears 5, was presented the award by BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill who hosted the evening with BMI Vice President, Creative, Film, TV & Visual Media, Tracy McKnight.
Category: Film Music News
Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 31, 2024)
Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend (but advertised as a limited release) is the biographical sports drama Young Woman and the Sea directed by Joachim Rønning and starring Daisy Ridley, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Christopher Eccleston, Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia and Glenn Fleshle. The film’s original music is composed by Amelia Warner (Mr. Malcolm’s List, Wild Mountain Thyme, Mary Shelley, Mum’s List). Walt Disney Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and to learn more about the Walt Disney Pictures release.
Also opening wide is the comedy drama Ezra directed by Tony Goldwyn and starring Bobby Cannavale, Robert De Niro, Rose Byrne, William Fitzgerald, Vera Farmiga, Rainn Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg. Carlos Rafael Rivera (The Queen’s Gambit, Lessons in Chemistry, Godless, A Walk Among the Tombstones, Griselda, Hacks) has composed the film’s original music. Lakeshore Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score, as well as an original song written by Adrienne Ackerman and performed by Rae Isla today. Check out our previous article for the full album details and for more information about the movie, which is being released by Bleecker Street.
Original Song ‘Special Spice’ from ‘Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’ Released
Walt Disney Records has released an original song from the new Walt Disney World and Disneyland attraction Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Available to stream/download now on all major digital music services is Special Spice written by Grammy Award-winning musician, singer, songwriter and producer PJ Morton and performed by Anika Noni Rose who is reprising her role of Princess Tiana from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ animated feature The Princess and the Frog. Listen to the full track, which also features a cameo from Michael-Leon Wooley, the voice of Louis the Alligator from the Randy Newman-scored movie, after the jump.
Richard M. Sherman (1928-2024)
Richard M. Sherman passed away today at age 95 in at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, California, due to age-related illness. Together with his brother Robert B. Sherman, the composer/lyricist wrote numerous songs for film and television and received two Academy Awards for the score and original song Chim Chim Cher-ee from Disney’s 1964 classic Mary Poppins. He received seven additional Academy Award nominations for the 1968 musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Disney’s 1971 feature Bedknobs and Broomsticks, 1973’s film adaptation of Tom Sawyer, the 1976 musical The Slipper and the Rose & 1978’s The Magic of Lassie, as well three Grammy Awards and 24 gold and platinum albums over the course of his 65 year career.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 24, 2024)
Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend is the post-apocalyptic action adventure Furiosa: A Mad Max Story co-written and directed by George Miller and starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke and Alyla Browne. The film’s original music is composed by Tom Holkenborg (Mad Max: Fury Road, Sonic the Hedgehog, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Deadpool, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Alita: Battle Angel). WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score last Friday. Check out our previous article for the full album details and click here to check out the music team credits of the Warner Bros. Pictures release.
Also opening wide is the animated feature The Garfield Movie directed by Mark Dindal and starring Chris Pratt, Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein and Bowen Yang. John Debney (The Passion of the Christ, Elf, Iron Man 2, The Jungle Book) has composed the film’s original score. Michael Hodges serves as the project’s executive music producer and co-wrote most of the original songs. Republic/ASG Records have released a soundtrack album featuring the songs and three tracks of Debney’s score last week. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and click here to check out the music team credits of the movie, which is being released by Sony Pictures.
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek (1953-2024)
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek passed away today at age 71 in Krakow, Poland after a long battle with multiple system atrophy (MSA). The composer wrote numerous scores for film and television since the mid 1980s and received an Academy Award for his music for Marc Forster’s 2004 drama Finding Neverland. His other scoring credits include Adrian Lyne’s Unfaithful, Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor, Lasse Hallström’s Hachi: A Dog’s Tail, Aaron Schneider’s Get Low, Janusz Kaminski’s Lost Souls, Max Färberböck’s Aimee & Jaguar, Agnieszka Holland’s The Lost Souls & Washington Square, Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s Quo Vadis and the 2007 television adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace directed by Robert Dornhelm.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 10, 2024)
Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend is the sci-fi adventure Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes directed by Wes Ball and starring Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, William H. Macy and Peter Macon. The film’s original music is composed by John Paesano (Daredevil, The Maze Runner, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Cheaper by the Dozen, Invincible, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Truth Be Told). Hollywood Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and to learn more about the 20th Century Studios release.
Also opening wide is the comedy Not Another Church Movie written and directed by Johnny Mack and starring Kevin Daniels, Jamie Foxx, Vivica A. Fox, Kyla Pratt, Tisha Campbell, Jasmine Guy, Lamorne Morris, Luc Ashley, Buddy Lewis, T’Shaun Barret and Mickey Rourke. Ainz “Brainz” Prasad (Dad Stop Embarrassing Me!) and Ameya Saraf have composed the film’s original score. No word on a soundtrack release. The movie, which follows a billionaire talk show host who uses her direct connection to God to demand he deliver a hero to help her plummeting ratings, is being released by Briarcliff Entertainment.
T Bone Burnett to Write Original Songs for Robert D. Krzykowski’s ‘Grendel’
T Bone Burnett (True Detective, Crazy Heart, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Inside Llewyn Davis, Walk the Line) has been tapped to contribute original songs to the upcoming monster movie Grendel. The film will be directed by Robert D. Krzykowski (The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot) and is set to Jeff Bridges, Dave Bautista, Bryan Cranston, Thomasin McKenzie and Aidan Turner, as well as Burnett himself as The Shaper. The movie is based on John Gardner’s novel of the same name and tells the tale of the legendary monster at the heart of the Beowulf epic poem who steps forth to tell his side of this story.
Jack White to Serve as Music Director on Potsy Ponciroli ‘s ‘Motor City’
Grammy Award-winning musician Jack White, best known as the lead guitarist and vocalist of the rock band The White Stripes and as a member of the Raconteur and the Dead Weather, will serve as the music director of the upcoming action thriller Motor City. The film is directed by Potsy Ponciroli (Old Henry) and will star Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Ben Foster and Pablo Schreiber. The movie follows a convicted Detroit auto-worker whose life and girlfriend who was framed by a local gangster and – upon release from prison – unleashes a maelstrom of vengeance on those who wronged him as he attempts to win his girl back.
Weekly Film Music Roundup (May 3, 2024)
Opening in theaters nationwide this weekend is the action comedy The Fall Guy directed by David Leitch and starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham, Stephanie Hsu and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The film’s original music is composed by Dominic Lewis (Bullet Train, Peter Rabbit, The Man in the High Castle, Violent Night, Spirited, Money Monster). Back Lot Music has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score (and songs), as well as tracks performed by Yungblud & Blake Shelton today. Check out our previous article for the full album details and to learn more about the Universal Pictures release.
Also opening wide is the supernatural horror movie Tarot writtan and directed by Spenser Cohen & Anna Halberg and starring Harriet Slater, Jacob Batalon, Adain Bradley and Avantika. Joseph Bishara (The Conjuring, Malignant, Insidious, The Unholy, The Curse of La Llorona, Annabelle) has composed the film’s original music. Madison Gate Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score today. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details and for more information about the Screen Gems production, which is being released by Sony Pictures.