Terence Blanchard has been tapped to score the upcoming musical drama Black Nativity. The film is directed by Kasi Lemmons and stars Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, Tyrese Gibson, Jacob Latimore, Nas, Mary J. Blige and Luke James. The movie is based on the gospel musical by Langston Hughes that was first performed on Broadway in 1961 and follows a street-wise teen from Baltimore who is sent to New York City by his single mother to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives. Lemmons has adapted the material for the screen and Bill Horberg (The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Kite Runner) is producing the project with Celine Rattray (The Kids Are All Right, Bernie), Galt Niederhoffer (The Romantics, Robot & Frank) and Daniela Taplin Lundberg (The Kids Are All Right). It has previously been reported that Raphael Saadiq will serve as the film’s music producer.
Category: Film Scoring Assignments
Christopher Lennertz to Score Tim Story’s ‘Ride Along’
Christopher Lennertz has been hired to score the upcoming action comedy Ride Along. The film is directed by Tim Story (Fantastic Four, Barbershop) and stars Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, John Leguizamo, Bruce McGill, Laurence Fishburne, Tika Sumpter, Bryan Callen and Jay Pharoah. The movie centers around a high school security guard and aspiring police officer who must survive a nightmarish 24-hour patrol “ride along” with his fiancee’s cop brother who disapproves of the marriage. Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez (Are We There Yet?) are producing the project for CubeVision, alongside Will Packer (Obsessed, Stomp the Yard) for Rainforest Films and Larry Brezner (Arthur, The ‘Burbs).
Herbert Grönemeyer Scoring Anton Corbijn’s ‘A Most Wanted Man’
Herbert Grönemeyer is reteaming with director Anton Corbijn on the upcoming thriller A Most Wanted Man. The film is based on John le Carré’s bestselling 2008 novel of the same title and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright, Grigory Dobrygin, Derya Alabora, Nina Hoss, Daniel Brühl and Franz Hartwig. The movie center around a Chechnian Muslim who illegally immigrates to Hamburg, Germany, where he gets caught up in the international war on terror. Australian writer Andrew Bovell (Lantana) has adapted the material for the screen. Gail Egan (The Constant Gardener) and Andrea Calderwood (The Last King of Scotland) are producing the Potboiler, The Ink Factory and Amusement Park production with Stephen Cornwell (screenwriter of Unknown), Simon Cornwell and Malte Grunert (Perfect Sense).
Daniel Pemberton Scoring Ridley Scott’s ‘The Counselor’
Daniel Pemberton has recently recorded his score for Ridley Scott’s upcoming thriller The Counselor. The film starring Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Rosie Perez and Dean Norris follows a lawyer who finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking. Novelist Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, The Road) wrote the screenplay. Scott is also producing the Scott Free and Chockstone Pictures production with Nick Wechsler (Magic Mike, We Own the Night) and Steve Schwartz & Paula Mae Schwartz (Killing Them Softly, The Road). The music was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. The project marks Pemberton’s first collaboration with Scott.
Thomas Newman Scoring ‘Saving Mr. Banks’
Thomas Newman is currently scoring the upcoming drama Saving Mr. Banks. The film is directed by John Lee Hancock and follows Walt Disney’s 14-year effort to persuade Australian author P.L. Travers to sell him the film rights to her book Mary Poppins. Tom Hanks stars as in the lead role as Disney and Emma Thompson portrays Travers. The cast also includes Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Rachel Griffiths, Annie Buckley, Bradley Whitford, Paul Giamatti and Kathy Baker. Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak are portraying Mary Poppins composers Richard and Robert Sherman in supporting roles. Kelly Marcel (Terra Nova) wrote the screenplay and Alison Owen (Elizabeth, Jane Eyre) is producing the drama with Ian Collie and Philip Steuer (The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy). The project marks the first collaboration between Newman and Hancock.
Timothy Michael Wynn Scoring ‘The Starving Games’
Timothy Michael Wynn is scoring the upcoming comedy The Starving Games. The comedic take on The Hunger Games is directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and stars Maiara Walsh as the parody version of Katniss Everdeen and Brant Daugherty as the spoof version of Gale. Cody Christian, Juhahn Jones and Taylor Ashley Murphy are co-starring. The film also pokes fun at other films, including The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes and the Harry Potter finale. Peter Safran (Buried, The Conjuring) is producing the project through his production company. Friedberg’s and Seltzer’s last couple of spoof movies, including Vampires Suck, Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie featured music by Christopher Lennertz.
Rolfe Kent Scoring Jason Bateman’s ‘Bad Words’
Rolfe Kent is the composer of the upcoming dark indie comedy Bad Words. The film marks the feature directorial debut of actor Jason Bateman who also stars in the film, alongside Allison Janney, Phillip Baker Hall, Ben Falcone and Rohan Chandz. The movie follows a bitter 41-year-old high school drop out who uses a loophole in the system to enter a national kids’ spelling bee. Andrew Dodge wrote the black-listed screenplay and Bateman is also producing the Aggregate Films, MXN Entertainment and Darko Entertainment production with Mason Novick (Juno, 500 Days of Summer), Sean McKittrick (Donnie Darko, The Box), Ted Hamm and Jeff Culotta (God Bless America).
‘Almost Christmas’ to Feature Music by Graham Reynolds
Graham Reynolds has composed the score for the indie comedy drama Almost Christmas. The film is directed by Phil Morrison and stars Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, Sally Hawkins, Amy Landecker, Peter Hermann and Emory Cohen. The movie follows two French Canadian Christmas tree salesmen who travel to New York to sell trees. Melissa James Gibson (The Americans) has written the screenplay and Daniel Carey & Elizabeth Giamatti (Cold Souls), John Penotti (Awake, Uptown Girls) and Jim Tauber (Stand Up Guys) are producing the Touchy Feely Films and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment production.
a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen to Score ‘Beatles’ Movie
Magne Furuholmen, best known as a member of the international pop group a-ha, has signed on to compose the original score, as well as supervise the recordings of other music for the upcoming film Beatles. The movie is based on the bestselling novel by Lars Saabye Christensen and tells the story about four Norwegian youngsters growing up in the 60s and 70s, modeling themselves on their musical heroes: The Beatles. Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg whose last feature Kon-Tiki was nominated in the “Best Foreign Language Film” category at this year’s Academy Awards are directing the film from a script by Axel Hellstenius (Elling). Jørgen Storm Rosenberg (The Bothersome Man) is producing the project through his production company and has signed a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI that several of The Beatles’ original recordings can be used in their entirety in the film.
Philippe Rombi Scoring Francois Ozon’s ‘Young & Beautiful’
Philippe Rombi is reuniting with director Francois Ozon on the upcoming French drama Young & Beautiful (Jeune et jolie). The movie is written and directed by Ozon and stars Marine Vacth, Charlotte Rampling, Géraldine Pailhas, Frédéric Pierrot, Fantin Ravat and Johan Leisen. No specific plot details have been revealed yet, but the film has been described as a “contemporary portrait of a teenage girl of 17, in 4 seasons and 4 songs”. Eric & Nicolas Altmayer are producing the project. Rombi and Ozon have previously collaborated numerous times, including on such films as Swimming Pool, Angel and Potiche, as well as on the recent thriller In the House, which just opened in select U.S. cities this weekend. Young & Beautiful is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month and is scheduled to be released on August 21, 2013 in France.