20th Century Fox has announced this week that composer John Powell and Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes are returning to provide the music for the upcoming animated feature sequel Rio 2. The film is directed by Carlos Saldanha who directed the original 2011 film. Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Jemaine Clement, will.i.am, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto, Jake T. Austin and Jamie Foxx are returning to voice the characters from the first part and are joined by new voice talent including Andy Garcia, Bruno Mars, Kristin Chenoweth, Rita Moreno, Amandla Stenberg, Rachel Crow, Pierce Gagnon and Natalie Morales. John C. Donkin and Bruce Anderson are producing the Blue Sky Animation production. The movie will feature new Brazilian artists and original music by Janelle Monáe and The Wondaland Arts Society, who also voices a role in the film. T
Category: Film Scoring Assignments
Alt-J to Score ‘Leave to Remain’
The British rock band Alt-J has been tapped to score the coming-of-age drama Leave to Remain. The film is directed by Bruce Goodison (Flight 93: The Flight That Fought Back, Bin Laden: Shoot to Kill) and stars Toby Jones. The movie centers on a young Afghan boy who arrives in London and follows him and a group of friends and his fight for a right to stay in the U.K. Kate Cook is producing the project, which marks the first scoring assignment for Alt-J. The band, which is formed of Gwil Sainsbury (guitarist/bassist), Joe Newman (guitar/vocals), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards) and Thom Green (drums) was awarded with the British Mercury Prize last year for their debut album An Awesome Wave.
Mark Kilian to Score Clark Gregg’s ‘Trust Me’
Mark Kilian is scoring the upcoming comedy Trust Me. The film is written and directed by Clark Gregg and stars himself, alongside Sam Rockwell, Amanda Peet, Paul Sparks, Felicity Huffman, Allison Janney, William H. Macy, Molly Shannon and Saxon Sharbino. The movie follows a loser agent for young actors who stumbles upon a brilliant female 13-year-old prodigy and tries to close a deal that will make her a star. Gregg is also producing the Savage Bunny, Bron Studio and Unified Pictures production with Mary Vernieu, Aaron L. Gilbert and Keith Kjarval (A Single Shot). Gregg’s previous directorial effort Choke based on Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk featured music by Nathan Larson.
Christophe Beck to Score Disney’s ‘Frozen’
Christophe Beck has been hired to score Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming feature Frozen. The film directed by Chris Buck (Tarzan, Surf’s Up) & Jennifer Lee (screenwriter of Wreck-It-Ralph) takes place in a kingdom trapped in eternal winter and follows a young female dreamer who must team up with a daring mountain man, on a journey to find the Snow Queen and put an end to the icy spell. The movie’s voice cast includes Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad. Lee has co-written the screenplay with Shane Morris and Peter Del Vecho (The Princess and the Frog) is producing the animated feature with John Lasseter. It has previously been reported that Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Winnie the Pooh) are writing original songs for the film. Beck has previously scored the critically acclaimed Academy Award-nominated animated short Paperman for Disney Animation.
Nick Laird-Clowes Scoring Richard Curtis’ ‘About Time’
Nick Laird-Clowes is currently scoring the upcoming romantic comedy About Time. The film is written and directed by Richard Curtis (screenwriter of War Horse, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’s Diary) and stars Rachel McAdams, Domhnall Gleeson, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Margot Robbie, Lydia Wilson and Vanessa Kirby. The movie follows a young man who discovers he can travel in time and decides to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend. The Working Title Films production is produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (Atonement, Les Miserables, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). Curtis’ previous directorial efforts featured music by Craig Armstrong (Love Actually) and Hans Zimmer (Pirate Radio).
‘Girl Rising’ to Feature Music by Rachel Portman and Lorne Balfe
Rachel Portman and Lorne Balfe have composed the score for the documentary Girl Rising. The film is directed by Richard Robbins who previously helmed the Academy Award-nominated doc Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience. The movie tells the stories of several girls from around the globe who fought for their chance to go to school in spite of extreme poverty and natural disasters and features voice performances by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, Cate Blanchett, Selena Gomez, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys, Chloe Moretz, Liam Neeson, Priyanka Chopra and Freida Pinto. The project marks the first documentary acquired by CNN Films and is executive produced by Tom Yellin and Holly Gordon of the Documentary Group and Paul G. Allen (Hard Candy, Titus) of Vulcan Productions.
Arturo Sandoval Scoring ‘Middleton’
Arturo Sandoval is scoring the upcoming indie romantic comedy Middleton. The marks the feature directorial debut of Adam Rodgers and stars Vera Farmiga, Andy Garcia, Taissa Farmiga, Spencer Lofranco, Peter Riegert and Tom Skerritt. The movie centers on a once-in-a-lifetime relationship that develops between two strangers over the course of a single day. Rodgers has co-written the screenplay with Glenn German who is also producing the project with Garcia and Sig Libowitz. Sandoval who is best known as a jazz trumpeter has previously scored a number of films, most notably the 2000 TV biopic For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story, in which Andy Garcia portrayed Sandoval and for which the composer received an Emmy Award. He has collaborated as a performer with film composers including Hans Zimmer (Rango) and James Newton Howard (Big Trouble). Middleton is expected to be released later this year by Anchor Bay Films.
Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau Scoring ‘Better Living Through Chemistry’
Andrew Feltenstein and John Nau have recently completed their score for the upcoming comedic thriller Better Living Through Chemistry. The film is directed by Geoff Moore and David Posamentier and stars Sam Rockwell as a small-town pharmacist stuck in a loveless marriage starts an affair with a trophy wife, played by Olivia Wilde, who takes him on a joyride involving sex, drugs and possibly murder. Michelle Monaghan, Ray Liotta and Jane Fonda are co-starring. Joe Neurauter & Felipe Marino (The Wackness, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) are producing the project for Occupant Films.
Laurent Eyquem to Score ‘Tokarev’
Laurent Eyquem has been tapped to score the upcoming action thriller Tokarev. The film will be directed by Spanish filmmaker Paco Cabezas and is set to star Nicolas Cage as a reformed criminal searching for his daughter who has been kidnapped by the Russian mob. Sean Keller and Jim Agnew (Giallo) have written the screenplay and Richard Rionda Del Castro (Casino Jack, The Son of No One) will produce for Hannibal Classics in association with North by Northwest Entertainment. Cage, Keller and Agnew are also executive producing the project with Patricia Eberle, Richard Salvatore, Mike Nilon, Hayley Magouirk, Cam Cannon, David Milner and Martin Barab.
Bruno Coulais to Reunite with Henry Selick on ‘The Shadow King’
Bruno Coulais is reteaming with director Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) on his upcoming stop-motion animated film The Shadow King. The film features the voice talent of Brendan Gleeson, Catherine O’Hara, Pamela Adlon, Jeffrey Tambor & Jaden Betts and follows a nine-year-old New York orphan who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. When a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing his brother and ultimately destroying New York. Selick is writing and directing the project and Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) is producing. Coulais has previously scored the director’s Academy Award-nominated animated film Coraline. No word yet on a release date yet for The Shadow King.