Five new movies are opening nationwide this week:
Opening in most theaters is the fantasy comedy drama The Secret Life of Walter Mitty directed by Ben Stiller and starring himself, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn and Sean Penn. The film’s original score is composed by Theodore Shapiro (Tropic Thunder, The Devil Wears Prada) and features vocals by Jose Gonzalez. Sony Classical has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music. Click here to listen to audio clips and for more information. Shapiro has also co-written the original songs Step Out and Stay Alive with Craig Wedren. The songs performed by Gonzalez are featured on a separate soundtrack, which also includes track aby Junip, Of Monsters and Men, David Bowie and more (click here for the full details). Also visit Crave Online for an interview with Shapiro about his work on the project.
Also opening this week is The Wolf of Wall Street directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal and Jean Dujardin. The film doesn’t feature any original score. Theodore Shapiro composed a couple of cues for the infomercials and ads featured in the movie. Virgin Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the film by artists including Billy Joel, Bo Diddley, Elmore James, Eartha Kitt, Howlin’ Wolf, The Lemonheads, Cannonball Adderley and Joe Cuba. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details. Read the rest of this entry »
Theodore Shapiro has signed on to score the upcoming coming-of-age comedy drama St. Vincent. The movie is directed by Theodore Melfi and stars Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Chris O’Dowd, Terrence Howard and Scott Adsit. The movie follows a cranky war veteran who becomes an unlikely mentor to a 12-year-old boy whose parents have divorced. Melfi has also written the screenplay, which was black listed in 2011 under the title St. Vincent de Van Nuys. Peter Chernin (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Heat) is producing the Chernin Entertainment production with Fred Roos (The Outsiders, The Black Stallion). Don Cheadle and Kay Liberman (House of Lies, Traitor) are executive producing the project for Crescendo Productions. 
Atli Orvarsson is scoring the new NBC drama Chicago PD. The show is created by Dick Wolf (Law & Order) & Matt Olmstead (Prison Break, Breakout Kings) and stars Jason Beghe, Sophia Bush, Patrick John Flueger, LaRoyce Hawkins, Archie Kao, Elias Koteas, Jon Seda, Jesse Lee Soffer and Marina Squerciati. The series is a spin-off of NBC’s hit drama Chicago Fire, which the composer whose previous credits include such films as Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Vantage Point and The Mortal Instruments, has been scoring since the first episode. The crime drama follows the men and women of the Chicago Police Department’s District 21, which is made up of two distinctly different groups: the uniformed cops who patrol the beat and go head-to-head with the city’s street crimes and the Intelligence Unit that combats the city’s major offenses. 
Relativity Music Group will release the soundtrack album for DreamWorks Animation’s Mr. Peabody & Sherman. The album features the film’s original score composed by Danny Elfman (Spider-Man, Alice in Wonderland, Batman). The soundtrack will be released on March 4, 2014. Check back on this page for the full album details and audio clips. Mr. Peabody & Sherman is directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King) and features the voices of Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Ariel Winter, Stephen Colbert, Leslie Mann, Patrick Warburton, Stanley Tucci, Allison Janney, Mel Brooks, Lake Bell, Zach Callison and Dennis Haysbert. The movie will be released nationwide on March 7 by 20th Century Fox. 
Christopher Young has composed the music for the upcoming fantasy action adventure The Monkey King. The film is directed by Pou-Soi Cheang (Dog Bite Dog, Accident) and stars Donnie Yen in the title role, alongside, Aaron Kwok, Chow Yun-Fat, Peter Ho, Kelly Chen and Joe Chen. The movie is based on selected chapters of Wu Cheng’en’s novel Journey to the West and tells the story of how the Monkey King rebels against the Jade Emperor of Heaven. Edmond Wong (Ip Man) has adapted the material for the screen and Agan (Don Quixote) is producing the Mandarin Films and Filmko Pictures production. The Monkey King will be released in China, Hong Kong and other Asian territories on January 31, 2014. A release in the U.S. later in 2014 is expected. 
Milan Records will release a soundtrack album for the dramatic thriller McCanick. The album features the film’s original music composed by Johann Johannsson (Prisoners). The soundtrack will be released on January 28, 2014 and is now available for pre-order on 
This past Saturday evening, Varese Sarabande hosted their 35th Anniversary Holiday Gala at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro, California. The concert was hosted and produced by Robert Townson and performed by the Golden State Pops Orchestra (GSPO) and Chorale. The event was highlighted by music from Jon Favreau’s Elf, which was performed for the first time with a full choir and orchestra and was guest conducted by the film’s composer John Debney (The Passion of the Christ, Iron Man 2). Also featured was a special performance of the holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas Classic prepared by composer and orchestrator William Ross (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ladder 49). Check out videos of both the Elf and Charlie Brown performances after the jump. 
Word Entertainment will release a soundtrack album for the biblical drama Son of God. The album features songs from and inspired by the film by Christian artists including Meredith Andrews, Chris August, Big Daddy Weave, for KING & COUNTRY, Jason Castro, Everfound, Love & The Outcome, Dara Maclean, Sidewalk Prophets, Point of Grace, and Group 1 Crew. Also included is the original song Oh, Son of God performed by Francesca Batistelli. The soundtrack will be released on January 7, 2014 and is now available for pre-order on 
Jeff Russo has been tapped to score the upcoming FX limited series Fargo. The 10-episode series inspired by the Coen Brothers’ Academy Award-nominated 1996 film features an all-new “true crime” story, following a new case and new characters. The show written by Noah Hawley (The Unusuals) stars Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks, Oliver Platt, Bon Odenkirk, Kate Walsh, Glenn Howerton & Joey King and will follows a rootless, manipulative man who meets and forever changes the life of small town insurance salesman. Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men) are executive producing the FX Productions and MGM Television production with Hawley, Warren Littlefield (My Generation) and Geyer Kosinski (Magic City, School for Scoundrels, Bad News Bears). 
