Two new movies opened nationwide this past Wednesday:

penguins-of-madagascarOpening in most theaters this week is the animated feature Penguins of Madagascar directed by Simon Smith & Eric Darnell and featuring the voice talent of Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Chris Knights, John Malkovich, Benedict Cumberbatch, Annett Mahendru, Ken Jeong and Peter Stormare. The film’s original music is composed by Lorne Balfe (Megamind, The Dilemma). Relativity Music Group has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score from the film, as well as a separate soundtrack featuring five holiday songs. Check out our previous news article for the details of both albums and to learn more about the film.

horrible-bosses-2Also opening wide this weekend is the comedy sequel Horrible Bosses 2 directed by Sean Anders and starring Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz. Christopher Lennertz (Identity Thief, Ride Along) has composed the film’s original score. Visit Anatomy of a Film for a recent video interview with the composer about his work on the film. WaterTower Music has released a soundtrack album featuring selections of Lennertz’s score, as well as songs by The Clash, Katy Perry, Pitbull, The Heavy, Timbaland, NWA, Toto and more. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full details and to listen to audio clips. Read the rest of this entry »

the-force-awakensThe first teaser trailer for Episode VII in the Star Wars series, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, premiered in select theaters and online today. John Williams recorded original music for the trailer earlier this month at Sony Pictures’ scoring stage in Los Angeles. Check out the full teaser after the jump. Star Wars: The Force Awakens directed by J.J. Abrams stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker. J.J. Abrams has written the screenplay with Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back) and is also producing the Lucasfilm production with Bryan Burk and Kathleen Kennedy. Read the rest of this entry »

the-passion-of-the-christLa-La Land Records will release a new soundtrack album for Mel Gibson’s 2004 biblical drama The Passion of the Christ starring Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci and Maia Morgenstern. The 2-CD release coincides with the film’s tenth anniversary and features the film’s original music composed and conducted by John Debney (Iron Man 2ElfBruce Almighty) who received his first Academy Award nomination for his score. The album, which is limited to 10’000 copies features over 75 minutes of previously unreleased music, including alternate cues, the trailer music and more. The soundtrack will be released on Tuesday, December 1, 2014 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Read the rest of this entry »

shaftLa-La Land Records has announced the world premiere official release of the score for the 2000 action thriller Shaft directed by John Singleton and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa Williams and Christian Bale. The album features the film’s original music composed by David Arnold (Independence Day, Stargate, Casino Royale, Tomorrow Never Dies) who later reteamed with Singleton to score 2 Fast 2 Furious, Baby Boy and Four Brothers. The composer also incorporated the Academy Award-winning classic theme from the 70s films by Isaac Hayes into his score. Also included are a number of cues that were not used in the final version of the film. Read the rest of this entry »

star-trek-enterpriseLa-La Land Records has announced a new 4-CD soundtrack collection for the sci-fi series Star Trek: Enterprise starring Scott Bakula, John Billingsley and Jolene Blalock. The album features selections from the show’s original music written by composers Dennis McCarthy (Star Trek: Generations Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Kevin Kiner (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, CSI: Miami), Jay Chattaway (Star Trek: Voyager), David Bell (Murder, She Wrote), Paul Baillargeon (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Velton Ray Bunch (Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap), Mark McKenzie (The Greatest Miracle), John Frizzell (Alien: Resurrection, The Following) and Brian Tyler (Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World). Also included is the series’ main titles song from the first season Where My Heart Will Take Me written by Diane Warren and performed by Russell Watson. Read the rest of this entry »

big-top-pee-weeLa-La Land Records has announced a new soundtrack album for the 1988 comedy Big Top Pee-Wee directed by Randall Kleiser and starring Paul Reubens, Penelope Ann Miller and Kris Kristofferson. The album features the film’s original music composed by Danny Elfman (Spider-Man, Men in Black, Edward Scissorhands) who previously scored Tim Burton’s Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, including previously unreleased music from the Paramount Pictures production. Also included are a number of unused and alternate cues. The soundtrack will be be available to order the label’s website this coming Tuesday, December 2. Visit La-La Land Records’ Facebook page for the full album details. Read the rest of this entry »

brian-byrneThis week, Brian Byrne has been recording his score for the upcoming Dutch romantic comedy The Surprise (De Surprise). The movie marks the first feature project of director Mike van Diem since he received an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language film category for Character (Karakter) in 1998. The film starring Jeroen van Koningsbrugge, Georgina Verbaan, Jan Decleir and Henry Goodman centers on a depressed man who decides to hire a firm specializing in assisted and seemingly accidental suicides when he meets a beautiful woman – giving him something to live for and forcing him to outsmart the contracted firm. Els Vandevorst (Winter in WartimeDogville) is producing with Hans de Weers (Antonia’s LineNew Kids TurboNew Kids Nitro).  Read the rest of this entry »

kingsmanLa-La Land Records will release a soundtrack album for the action thriller Kingsman: The Secret Service. The album features the film’s original music composed by Henry Jackman (Captain America: The Winter SoldierX-Men: First ClassBig Hero 6) and Matthew Margeson (Kick-Ass 2Skyline). The soundtrack will be released physically on February 17, 2015 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Check back on this page for the full album details. Kingsman: The Secret Service is directed by Matthew Vaughn and stars Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong and Jack Davenport. The movie based on the comic book by Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons centers on a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius. Read the rest of this entry »

regressionRoque Banos has signed on to score the upcoming thriller Regression. The film is written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar and stars Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson, David Dencik, Devon Bostic, David Thewlis, Dale Dickey and Lothaire Bluteau. The movie follows a man who is arrested for sexually abusing his daughter and, with the help of a psychologist, relives the memories and implicates a police officer as his partner in crime. Fernando Bovaira (The OthersBiutifulSex and Lucia) is producing the project with Christina Piovesan (The WhistleblowerAmreeka). Amenábar’s last feature Agora was scored by Dario Marianelli, while the director composed the music for several of his earlier movies, including The Others, Open Your Eyes and The Sea Inside. Read the rest of this entry »

peter-pan-live.jpgBroadway Records will release a soundtrack album for the NBC television event Peter Pan Live!. The album features the songs from the TV adaptation of the Broadway musical including such songs as I’m Flying, I Won’t Grow Up and Never Never Land. The soundtrack will be released on December 16, 2014 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Peter Pan Live! stars Allison Williams as Peter Pan and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook, as well as Christian Borle, Kelli O’Hara, Minnie Driver, Taylor Louderman, Alanna Saunders, Jake Lucas and John Allyn. The musical is executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (The Sound of Music Live!ChicagoHairspray) tells the story of the mischievous boy who ran away to have adventures in Neverland. The three-hour TV event will premiere on December 4 on NBC. Read the rest of this entry »