desplat-philomena

Photo credit: H.Wallace/Photomundo International

Yesterday afternoon, the work of Alexandre Desplat was celebrated during a conversation and performance of his Oscar-nominated score for Philomena at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge. During a Q&A moderated by Society of Composers & Lyricists president Ashley Irwin, the composer talked about his fourth collaboration with director Stephen Frears, the challenges of the project and meeting the real Philomena Lee portrayed in the film by Judi Dench. Check out a video from the conversation after the jump. Randy Kerber performed selections from the Philomena score on piano. Read the rest of this entry »

imageVariety is reporting that the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will present the first-ever live concert to take place on May 21, 2014 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. A 70-piece orchestra and 40-voice choir are expected to perform music by at least nine active TV composers, including Jeff Beal (House of Cards), Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Da Vinci’s Demons), Trevor Morris (Vikings), Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones), John Lunn (Downton Abbey), Alf Clausen (The Simpsons), Walter Murphy (Family Guy), Sean Callery (24, Homeland) and James Levine (American Horror Story). In addition, Mark Watters will be conducting a medley of recent TV themes. Emmy-nominated composer Mark Snow (The X-Files, Blue Bloods) will receive a lifetime achievement award at the event, which will also feature a performance of the composer’s music. Read the rest of this entry »

Steven Price Wins Satellite Award for ‘Gravity’

Posted: February 24, 2014 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News
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price-satelliteSteven Price has won his first Satellite Award in the Original Score category for his music for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity at last night’s 18th Annual Satellite Awards ceremony at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles. Shortly before Price received the award, astronaut Richard Mastracchio tweeted, “I am watching the movie Gravity up here on ISS. Let’s call it training.” Astronauts aboard the International Space Station crew Expedition 38 Soyuz were given an opportunity to watch the film, fittingly making Price’s score the only Oscar-nominated score of to be heard in space. The other composers nominated in the Original Score category were Hans Zimmer for 12 Years a Slave, Alexandre Desplat for Philomena, Arcade Fire for Her, Theodore Shapiro for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and John Williams for The Book Thief. Read the rest of this entry »

growing-up-fischerPremiering tonight is the new NBC comedy Growing Up Fisher created by DJ Nash, narrated by Jason Bateman and starring J.K. Simmons, Jenna Elfman, Eli Barker, Ava Deluca-Verley  and Lance Lim. The show’s original music is composed by Mateo Messina (JunoFairly LegalButter). The series centers on an 11-year old son who idolizes his blind father and is bemused by his mother’s newfound adolescence.  Check out our scoring assignment announcement to learn more about the comedy. Growing Up Fischer premieres tonight on NBC and will move to its regular time slot this Tuesday, February 25. Read the rest of this entry »

‘Teenage’ Soundtrack Details

Posted: February 23, 2014 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music Albums
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teenageCinereach Music will release a soundtrack album for the documentary Teenage. The album features the film’s original music composed by Bradford Cox of the indie rock band Deerhunter. Also included is the song Kate by Chandra. The soundtrack will be released on March 11, 2014 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Check out audio clips after the jump. Teenage directed by Matt Wolf is based on the best-selling book Teenage: The Pre-History Of Youth Culture 1875-1945 and features film footage and diary entries from around the world to look at various pre-adult movements – from Flappers to Swing Kids to Hitler Youth – that swept various countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, Julia Hummer, Jessie Usher and Leah Hennessey provide voice-over work. Read the rest of this entry »

‘Gravity’ Wins Cinema Audio Society Award

Posted: February 22, 2014 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music News
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cinemaaudiosocietyThe team behind the sound mixing of Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity has won the award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing in the Motion Pictures – Live Action category at tonight’s 50th annual Cinema Audio Society Awards ceremony at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Scoring mixer Gareth Cousins, along with production mixer Chris Munro, re-recording mixers Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri & Christopher Benstead, ADR mixers Chris Navarro & Thomas J. O’Connell and foley mixer Adam Fil Mendez received the award for the space thriller starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The other contenders in the category were Captain Phillips (including scoring mixer Al Clay) , Iron Man 3 (including scoring mixer Joel Iwataki) and Lone Survivor (including scoring mixer Satoshi Mark Noguchi). Read the rest of this entry »

‘House of Lies’ Soundtrack Details

Posted: February 22, 2014 by filmmusicreporter in TV Music Albums
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house-of-liesCapitol Records will release a soundtrack album for the Showtime original series House of Lies. The album features a selection of songs from the show by artists including Gary Clark Jr., Aloe Blacc, Basecamp, Isaac Delusion, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Kim Cesarion, Count Bassie, Thomas Dybdahl and Michael Kiwanuka. The soundtrack will be released on March 4, 2014 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. House of Lies is created by Matthew Carnahan and stars Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell. The comedy follows centers on a self-loathing management consultant from a top tier firm who is never above using any means necessary to get his way with and for his clients. The show’s third season currently airs every Sunday night on Showtime and a fourth season has just been announced earlier this week. Read the rest of this entry »

‘Cavemen’ Soundtrack Announced

Posted: February 21, 2014 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music Albums
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cavemenLakeshore Records will release a soundtrack album for the indie romantic comedy Cavemen. The album features  the songs from the movie by Names of Stars, Golden State, We3Kings, The Peach Kings, Mathclub and more. Also included are two tracks from the film’s original score composed by Ronen Landa (The Pact). The soundtrack will be released digitally on March 11, 2014. Audio clips are available after the jump. Cavemen is written and directed by Herschel Faber and stars Skylar Astin, Camilla Belle, Chad Michael Murray, Alexis Knapp, Dayo Okeniyi and Kenny Wormald. The movie follows a playboy who is fed up with one-night-stands and empty relationships and decides to try his hand at finding true love for the first time. The comedy opened in select theaters earlier this month and is now also available on VOD. The film will also be released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 8 by Well Go USA. Read the rest of this entry »

Two new movies are opening nationwide this weekend:

3-days-to-killOpening in most theaters is the action thriller 3 Days to Kill directed by McG and starring Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Amber Heard and Connie Nielsen. Guillaume Roussel (Crossing Lines) has composed the film’s original music. No soundtrack album has been announced yet.  3 Days to Kill follows a dangerous international spy who is determined to give up his high-stakes life to finally build a closer relationship with his estranged wife and daughter, whom he’s previously kept at arm’s length to keep out of danger. To learn more about the film, which is being released by Relativity Media, visit the official movie website.

pompeiiAlso opening wide is the historical action epic Pompeii directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jared Harris, Paz Vega and Kiefer Sutherland. Clinton Shorter (District 9, 2 GunsContraband) has composed the film’s original score. Milan Records has released a soundtrack album featuring the composer’s music digitally earlier this week. A CD version will be coming out on February 25. Check out our soundtrack announcement for the full album details. Also visit Examiner for a recent interview with Shorter about his work on the project. Read the rest of this entry »

‘Drive Hard’ Soundtrack Details

Posted: February 21, 2014 by filmmusicreporter in Film Music Albums
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drive-hardVarese Sarabande will release a soundtrack album for the action thriller Drive Hard. The album features the film’s original music composed by Bryce Jacobs. Also included are three songs by Hart Steen, Anthony Snape and Jake Glenn Tribe. The soundtrack will be released on March 4, 2014 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Check back on this page for audio clips. Drive Hard is directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith and stars John Cusack and Thomas Jane. The movie follows a former race car driver turned driver’s training instructor who is abducted by a mysterious thief and forced to be the wheelman for a crime that leads them all on a chase across Australia’s Gold Coast. The thriller will be released in select theaters by Image Entertainment. Read the rest of this entry »