Blake Neely has scored the pilot for the CBS drama The Advocates. The show is created by Bruno Heller (Rome) and stars Ben McKenzie and Mandy Moore. The project follows a lawyer and an ex-con who team up as “victim advocates”, going to the edge of the law to right wrongs and fight for the underdog. David Nutter (Disturbing Behavior) directed the pilot episode and is also executive producing the Warner Bros. Television production with Heller. Neely has previously collaborated with Heller on the long-running CBS hit drama The Mentalist, which has already been renewed for a sixth season. The network is expected to announce shortly if The Advocates will be picked up to series.
Tag: Blake Neely
Weekly TV Music Roundup (February 24, 2013)
Premiering on Tuesday night in the US is the mini-series Parade’s End based on the tetralogy of novels by Ford Madox Ford starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rebecca Hall, Adelaide Clemens, Rupert Everett, Miranda Richardson, Anne-Marie Duff, Roger Allam, Janet McTeer, Stephen Graham and Jack Huston. Dirk Brossé has composed the score for the drama. A soundtrack album featuring the composer’s score has been released on Varese Sarabande Records. For audio clips and the full album details, check out our soundtrack announcement. The five-part series is set to premiere on February 26 on HBO. To learn more about the project, visit HBO’s official series website.
Blake Neely Scoring ‘Golden Boy’
Blake Neely has composed the score for the new CBS cop drama Golden Boy. The show is created by Nicholas Wootton (NYPD Blue, Chuck) and stars Theo James, Chi McBride, Kevin Alejandro, Bonnie Somerville, Holt McCallany and Stella Maeve. The series follows an ambitious cop who becomes the youngest police commissioner in the history of New York City. Wootton is also executive producing the show Greg Berlanti who has previously worked with Neely numerous times on such shows as Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, Political Animals and the feature film Life as We Know It. Richard Shepard (The Hunting Party, The Matador) has directed the pilot episode and also serves as a producer. Golden Boy is set to premiere on February 26, 2013 and will air every Tuesday night on CBS.
BMI Sundance Roundtable Videos
BMI has published several videos from last week’s film composer/director roundtable Music & Film: The Creative Process at the Sundance Film Festival. Participants include composer Terence Blanchard, composer Mark Isham and director George Tillman, Jr. whose drama The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister And Pete premiered at the festival, composer Ludwig Goransson and writer/director Ryan Cogler whose feature Fruitvale received the top Sundance honor and was picked up for distribution by The Weinstein Company, composer Rob Simonsen and director James Ponsoldt whose coming of age drama The Spectacular Now was acquired by A24 for a theatrical release (Simonsen also scored the comedy The Way, Way Back, which was picked up by Fox Searchlight as the biggest sale at the festival), composer Abel Korzeniowski and director Randy Moore who worked together on the controversial Disney theme park-set Escape from Tomorrow, composer Dustin O’Halloran who scored the indie drama Breathe In, his second project for Drake Doremus following Like Crazy and composer Craig Wedren and director Jill Solloway who collaborated on the comedy Afternoon Delight.
Weekly TV Music Roundup (November 11, 2012)
This past Saturday, the new comedy drama series The Wedding Band premiered on TBS. The show executive produced by Darin Moiselle & Josh Lobis and Mike Tollin (Radio, Summer Catch) stars Brian Austin Green, Derek Miller, Harold Perrineau, Peter Cambor, Jenny Wade, Kathryn Fiore and Melora Hardin. The series follows four friends who, despite their ups and downs, spend their spare time performing in a wedding band. The show’s score is composed by Blake Neely (Arrow, The Mentalist) and Nathaniel Blume. Adam Schlesinger (Music and Lyrics) serves as the project’s music producer. The first season of ten episode will air Saturday nights on TBS.
Weekly TV Music Roundup (October 28, 2012)
Airing tonight is the 100th episode of the CBS hit drama The Mentalist. Blake Neely (Arrow, The Pacific) has been written the music for the entire series, beginning with the pilot episode in 2008. For the landmark episode – a flashback to the main character Patrick Jane’s (played by Simon Baker) first few days in the California Bureau of Investigation – Neely’s score employs a poetic 100 different instruments, and treats central character themes like debut statements. Neely’s music is mainly electronic, with live instruments layered in. Neely’s palette for the series has been defined both by musical voices he chooses not to include (brass, clarinet), as well as the use of several unorthodox instruments. The 100th episode of The Mentalist airs tonight on CBS.
Weekly TV Music Roundup (October 7, 2012)
A couple of new shows are premiering on the major networks this week:
Premiering on Wednesday, October 10 is the superhero drama Arrow based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Mark Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg and starring Stephen Amell, Katie Cassidy, Susanna Thompson, Willa Holland and Colin Salmon. The show’s score is composed by Blake Neely (The Mentalist, Everwood, Brothers & Sisters). The composer recorded the music for the pilot with a full 80 piece orchestra at the Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage. Check out our previous article featuring a video from the sessions and to learn more about the show, which will air Wednesday nights on The CW.
Behind the Music of the CW’s ‘Arrow’
The CW has published a behind-the-scenes look at the recording sessions of the score the pilot for the network’s upcoming superhero drama Arrow. The video features interviews with the show’s composer Blake Neely, co-writers and executive producers Mark Guggenheim and Andrew Kreisberg, as well as footage from the orchestral scoring sessions. The music was recorded with a full 80 piece orchestra at the Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage. Check out the video after the jump. Arrow is a modern retelling of the story of the DC Comics character Green Arrow and stars Stephen Amell as the vigilante superhero who fights crime using archery, martial arts and technology under his secret identity as Oliver Queen, a wealthy playboy and billionaire industrialist-turned-outspoken politician in Star City.
‘The Character of Music’ Panel at Comic-Con 2012
A number of film composers will be taking part at this year’s The Character of Music panel at Comic-Con. Among the participants are Blake Neely and Mark Guggenheim, executive producer and show-runner of the upcoming CW show Arrow. Neely has already recorded music for the pilot a few months ago with a 80-piece orchestra at Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage. Also taking part in the panel is Christopher Lennertz who has already written music for the pilot of the NBC drama Revolution created by Eric Kripke and produced by J.J. Abrams and is also using a live orchestra for the score to the series. The panelists also include composer Joseph Trapanese and executive producer Charlie Bean who will be talking about their work on the animated series Tron: Uprising.
Blake Neely to Score USA’s ‘Political Animals’
Blake Neely is set to score USA’s upcoming mini-series Political Animals. The series stars Sigourney Weaver as a divorced former First Lady and the current Secretary of State who struggles to keep her family together while simultaneously dealing with the crises of the State Department. Ellen Burstyn, Carla Gugino, James Wolk, Adrian Pasar, Roger Bart, Dan Futterman and Ciaran Hinds are co-starring. The project reunites the composer with frequent collaborator Greg Berlanti who is executive producing the drama, as well as writing and directing the first episode. Neely and Berlanti have previously worked together on TV shows including Everwood, No Ordinary Heroes and Brothers & Sisters, as well as the feature film Life as We Know It.