Hudba
List activity
23 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
66 people
- Composer
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
Jeff Grace is known for Sweet Tooth (2021), In the Shadow of the Moon (2019) and In a Valley of Violence (2016).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Clinton Eastwood Jr. was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took interest in music and mechanics, but was an otherwise bored student; this resulted in being held back a grade. In 1949, the year he is said to have graduated from high school, his parents and younger sister Jeanne moved to Seattle. Clint spent a couple years in the Pacific Northwest himself, operating log broncs in Springfield, Oregon, with summer gigs life-guarding in Renton, Washington. Returning to California in 1951, he did a two-year stint at Fort Ord Military Reservation and later enrolled at L.A. City College, but dropped out to pursue acting.
During the mid-1950s he landed uncredited bit parts in such B-films as Revenge of the Creature (1955) and Tarantula (1955) while digging swimming pools and driving a garbage truck to supplement his income. In 1958, he landed his first consequential acting role in the long-running TV show Rawhide (1959) with Eric Fleming. Although only a secondary player the first seven seasons, he was promoted to series star when Fleming departed--both literally and figuratively--in its final year, along the way becoming a recognizable face to television viewers around the country.
Eastwood's big-screen breakthrough came as The Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's trilogy of excellent spaghetti westerns: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). The movies were shown exclusively in Italy during their respective copyright years with Enrico Maria Salerno providing the voice of Eastwood's character, finally getting American distribution in 1967-68. As the last film racked up respectable grosses, Eastwood, 37, rose from a barely registering actor to sought-after commodity in just a matter of months. Again a success was the late-blooming star's first U.S.-made western, Hang 'Em High (1968). He followed that up with the lead role in Coogan's Bluff (1968) (the loose inspiration for the TV series McCloud (1970)), before playing second fiddle to Richard Burton in the World War II epic Where Eagles Dare (1968) and Lee Marvin in the bizarre musical Paint Your Wagon (1969). In Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) and Kelly's Heroes (1970), Eastwood leaned in an experimental direction by combining tough-guy action with offbeat humor.
1971 proved to be his busiest year in film. He starred as a sleazy Union soldier in The Beguiled (1971) to critical acclaim, and made his directorial debut with the classic erotic thriller Play Misty for Me (1971). His role as the hard edge police inspector in Dirty Harry (1971), meanwhile, boosted him to cultural icon status and helped popularize the loose-cannon cop genre. Eastwood put out a steady stream of entertaining movies thereafter: the westerns Joe Kidd (1972), High Plains Drifter (1973) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) (his first of six onscreen collaborations with then live-in love Sondra Locke), the Dirty Harry sequels Magnum Force (1973) and The Enforcer (1976), the action-packed road adventures Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) and The Gauntlet (1977), and the prison film Escape from Alcatraz (1979). He branched out into the comedy genre in 1978 with Every Which Way But Loose (1978), which became the biggest hit of his career up to that time; taking inflation into account, it still is. In short, The Eiger Sanction (1975) notwithstanding, the 1970s were nonstop success for Eastwood.
Eastwood kicked off the 1980s with Any Which Way You Can (1980), the blockbuster sequel to Every Which Way but Loose. The fourth Dirty Harry film, Sudden Impact (1983), was the highest-grossing film of the franchise and spawned his trademark catchphrase: "Make my day." He also starred in Bronco Billy (1980), Firefox (1982), Tightrope (1984), City Heat (1984), Pale Rider (1985) and Heartbreak Ridge (1986), all of which were solid hits, with Honkytonk Man (1982) being his only commercial failure of the period. In 1988, he did his fifth and final Dirty Harry movie, The Dead Pool (1988). Although it was a success overall, it did not have the box office punch the previous films had. About this time, with outright bombs like Pink Cadillac (1989) and The Rookie (1990), it seemed Eastwood's star was declining as it never had before. He then started taking on low-key projects, directing Bird (1988), a biopic of Charlie Parker that earned him a Golden Globe, and starring in and directing White Hunter Black Heart (1990), an uneven, loose biopic of John Huston (both films had a limited release).
Eastwood bounced back big time with his dark western Unforgiven (1992), which garnered the then 62-year-old his first ever Academy Award nomination (Best Actor), and an Oscar win for Best Director. Churning out a quick follow-up hit, he took on the secret service in In the Line of Fire (1993), then accepted second billing for the first time since 1970 in the interesting but poorly received A Perfect World (1993) with Kevin Costner. Next was a love story, The Bridges of Madison County (1995), where Eastwood surprised audiences with a sensitive performance alongside none other than Meryl Streep. But it soon became apparent he was going backwards after his brief revival. Subsequent films were credible, but nothing really stuck out. Absolute Power (1997) and Space Cowboys (2000) did well enough, while True Crime (1999) and Blood Work (2002) were received badly, as was Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), which he directed but didn't appear in.
Eastwood surprised again in the mid-2000s, returning to the top of the A-list with Million Dollar Baby (2004). Also starring Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, the hugely successful drama won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Eastwood. He scored his second Best Actor nomination, too. His next starring vehicle, Gran Torino (2008), earned almost $30 million in its opening weekend and was his highest grosser unadjusted for inflation. 2012 saw him in a rare lighthearted movie, Trouble with the Curve (2012), as well as a reality show, Mrs. Eastwood & Company (2012).
Between acting jobs, he chalked up an impressive list of credits behind the camera. He directed Mystic River (2003) (in which Sean Penn and Tim Robbins gave Oscar-winning performances), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) (nominated for the Best Picture Oscar), Changeling (2008) (a vehicle for Angelina Jolie), Invictus (2009) (again with Freeman), Hereafter (2010), J. Edgar (2011), Jersey Boys (2014), American Sniper (2014) (2014's top box office champ), Sully (2016) (starring Tom Hanks as hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger) and The 15:17 to Paris (2018). Back on screens after a considerable absence, he played an unlikely drug courier in The Mule (2018), which reached the top of the box office with a nine-figure gross, then directed Richard Jewell (2019). At age 91, Eastwood made history as the oldest actor to star above the title in a movie with the release of Cry Macho (2021).
Away from the limelight, Eastwood has led an aberrant existence and is described by biographer Patrick McGilligan as a cunning manipulator of the media. His convoluted slew of partners and children are now somewhat factually acknowledged, but for the first three decades of his celebrity, his personal life was kept top secret, and several of his families were left out of the official narrative. The actor refuses to disclose his exact number of offspring even to this day. He had a longtime relationship with similarly abstruse co-star Locke (who died aged 74 in 2018, though for her entire public life she masqueraded about being younger), and has fathered at least eight children by at least six different women in an unending string of liaisons, many of which overlapped. He has been married only twice, however, with a mere three of his progeny coming from those unions.
His known children are: Laurie Murray (b. 1954), whose mother is unidentified; Kimber Eastwood (b. 1964) with stuntwoman Roxanne Tunis; Kyle Eastwood (b. 1968) and Alison Eastwood (b. 1972) with his first ex-wife, Margaret Neville Johnson; Scott Eastwood (b. 1986) and Kathryn Eastwood (b. 1988) with stewardess Jacelyn Reeves; Francesca Eastwood (b. 1993) with actress Frances Fisher; and Morgan Eastwood (b. 1996) with his second ex-wife, Dina Eastwood. The entire time that he lived with Locke she was legally married to sculptor Gordon Anderson.
Eastwood has real estate holdings in Bel-Air, La Quinta, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Cassel (in remote northern California), Idaho's Sun Valley and Kihei, Hawaii.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
The bushy-browed, cigar-smoking wise-cracker with the painted-on moustache and stooped walk was the leader of The Marx Brothers. With one-liners that were often double entendres, Groucho never cursed in any of his performances and said he never wanted to be known as a dirty comic. With a great love of music and singing (The Marx Brothers started as a singing group), one of the things Groucho was best known for was his rendition of the song "Lydia the Tattooed Lady."- Composer
- Music Department
- Producer
Award winning and Emmy and BAFTA nominee composer who combines his activity for the concert hall, with the composition for film and TV.
Federico Jusid has Spanish citizenship and resides between Los Angeles and Madrid. Born in Buenos Aires, as the son of the renowned Argentine film director Juan José Jusid and actress Luisina Brando, Federico grew up among stages and film sets. Soon his passion for music and cinema led him to develop his career as a film music composer. Nowadays he has scored more than sixty feature films and thirty television series.
In the past year Federico developed the score for Hugo Blick's The English (Amazon/BBC) an internationally acclaimed western drama starring Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, for which he has been nominated to the IFMCA Award for Best Series' Original Score and more recently for the 2023 BAFTA Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, under the category of Best Score: Fiction. In addition, Idiewire has selected Federico's score for The English as the best score of the year 2022.
Among his original compositions for film, the score for the Award winning film The Secret In Their Eyes stands out. Federico was nominated for this score for the Goya Award by the Spanish Film Academy and achieved several international recognition. Other notable feature film scores are Federico's compositions for Neruda; Loving Pablo; Misconduct; Kidnap and 7 years for which he was the executive producer and has recently premiered the theatrical version in Spain, France, Greece, Argentina and Mexico. He recently composed the score for the films Cross the Line, El verano que vivimos, Life Itself, A Twelve Year Night and the animated miniseries Watership Down, an ambitious BBC project for Netflix on the classic British tale by Richard Adams and for which score Federico has been nominated to an Emmy Award.
His most recognized concert hall compositions include Tango Rhapsody, a piece for two pianos and symphony orchestra commissioned by the Tiempo-Lechner duo for its premiere at the Martha Argerich Project, which has been programmed worldwide, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the Hollywood Bowl season ; Kinetic Overture, premiered by the RTVE Orchestra at the Monumental Theatre of Madrid; The Silence of Their Names, commissioned by Victims of Terrorism Foundation and premiered at the National Music Auditorium of Madrid in March 2021; Bidaia, an accordion concerto dedicated to Iñaki Alberdi, premiered at The Colon Theatre by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires in 2022; Extimité, commissioned by the Spanish National Center of Music, premiered in 2018 at the Reina Sofía Art Center in Madrid; Enigmas, commissioned by the University of Alcalá de Henares in its V Centenary; Finding Sarasate, premiered at the Pablo Sarasate Centenary Tribute Concert; Danza de Aldeanos, commissioned by the National Center for Music Promotion (CNDM) to commemorate the bicentenary of Prado Museum; and La Librería del Ingenioso Hidalgo, commissioned for the celebrations of the IV Centenary of Don Quijote.
Throughout his career Federico has been distinguished with more than twenty international awards and nominations for both his concert works and his film scores, such as the First Prize of the "Beethoven Piano Competition", First Prize at the "A. Williams Piano Competition", and the First Prize of the "Friends of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra". Federico, is also three-time winner of the International Film Music Critics Awards (for Isabel and Carlos Emperor King); he's got three Platinum Film Award nominations (for Neruda, Magallanes and A Twelve Year Night) and has been distinguished as "Composer of the Year 2016" by the Spanish Music Critics Association. His score for the film El verano que vivimos has been nominated to a Goya Award 2021 and he was also nominated by IFMCA as Composer of the Year 2020. The Secret in Their Eyes, Academy Award Winner for the best foreign film, achieved several international awards including the Havana Film Festival and the Argentinean Academy Awards, and the nomination from the Goya Awards from the Spanish Film Academy. He has been also nominated to an Emmy Award for his score for Watership Down and the BAFTA Award for the original music for The English.
As a pianist and conductor, Jusid has performed as a soloist in some of the most recognized halls in North America, Asia and Europe, including the Carnegie Weill Hall in New York; the Colon Theater in Buenos Aires; the Israel Philarmonic Orchestra House of Tel Aviv and the National Auditorium of Madrid. Since 2005 and for over ten years Federico has been resident composer and pianist of the Sonor Ensemble. During these years he has toured throughout Spain, Europe and Asia performing repertoire music as well as his own compositions. In addition, Jusid has performed with worldwide renowned leading orchestras such as the Argentine National Symphony Orchestra, the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, the Tenerife Symphonic Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires, the Paris Sinfonietta, the Galician Symphony Orchestra, the Spanish National Radio Orchestra, to name a few.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Andrzej Panufnik was born on 24 September 1914 in Warsaw, Poland, Russian Empire [now Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland]. He was a composer, known for Strachy (1938), Drzewa (1996) and Afterimage (2016). He died on 27 October 1991 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Edward Shearmur was born on 28 February 1966 in London, England, UK. He is a composer, known for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Charlie's Angels (2000) and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003). He was previously married to Allison Shearmur.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Carter Burwell was born on 18 November 1954 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Carol (2015), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). He has been married to Christine Sciulli since 1999.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Clinton Darryl Mansell is an English singer, musician and film composer known for his collaborations with Darren Aronofsky. He composed Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan, The Wrestler, Noah, Ghost in the Shell, Peacemaker, Doom Patrol, Loving Vincent, Mass Effect 3, Titans, World Traveler, Smokin' Aces, Doom, The Hole, and Definitely, Maybe.- Composer
- Actor
Ondrej Havlík was born on 8 February 1984 in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He is a composer and actor, known for The Smiles of Sad Men (2018), Milenci & vrazi (2004) and Wonderful Times (2009).- Jen Hovorka is known for The Smiles of Sad Men (2018).
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Eric Serra was born on September 9th, 1959 near Paris in France. His mother died when he was only 7 years old. His father, Claude Serra was a well-know songwriter in France in late 50s and 60s. Serra began to learn play the guitar at 11 years old and became a professional musician for Mory Kante;, Didier Lockwood and Michel Murty at 15 years old.
In the beginning of the 80s Serra met Luc Besson who asked him to compose the score for his first short film titled L'Avant dernier (1981) and later his first feature film Le Dernier combat (1983). As he continues to contribute to every Besson movies, except Angel-A (2005), Serra played bass guitar for French singer Jacques Higelin in studio and on stage from 1980 to 1988.
In 1995s, Serra had opportunity to score James Bond's come back GoldenEye (1995) and to recorded his first rock album titled "RXRA" both in English and French Release also including spanish and Japanese tracks.
In 2000s, Serra distanced himself from Besson by scoring for French and America movies like L'Art (delicat) de la seduction (2000), Wasabi (2001), Decalage horaire (2002), Rollerball (2002), Bulletproof Monk (2003) and Bandidas (2006). He also scored Cirque du Soleil and Criss Angel collaboration called Believe in Las Vegas.
Serra finally resumed his work with Besson for Arthur's trilogy (2006, 2009 and 2010), Adele Blanc-Sec (2010) and The Lady in late 2011.- Composer
- Music Department
- Sound Department
Born on 20th February 1977 in Kraków, Lukasz Targosz is a Polish film composer and music producer. Music was his greatest passion since he was a child. That is why he chose and successfully graduated from Jazz and Pop Music Department at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.
He started his career as a session musician, however he soon decided to incorporate into his plans his second hobby (cinema), and thus devoted himself to composing film music.
He gained recognition after writing music for a movie entitled "Swiadek koronny" ("State Witness"). His first award came only three years later in 2010 - during Roma Fiction Fest he received the prize for the best music composed for a TV series "Naznaczony" ("Marked"). The series was noticed by international critics and was also nominated during festivals: RoseD'Or and Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
Lukasz Targosz has gained popularity thanks to movies for which he composed music and which quickly achieved box-office success, such as a romantic comedy entitled "Listy do M." ("Letters to Santa"), the soundtrack for which quickly reached gold record status; "Kochaj i tancz" ("Love and Dance") - the first Polish dance movie that was watched by a record-breaking number of viewers; "Odwróceni" ("Insiders") - a thriller TV series which was reviewed as one of the best Polish TV series; or an animation entitled "The Game" that he also co-produced and which was awarded during numerous international festivals, e.g. Boston International Film Festival, Mexico International Film Festival, On Location: Memphis International Film and Music Fest, Canada International Film Festival, Indie Fest.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
An extremely versatile and in demand composer, Steve can write distinctive music for any genre: from action to comedy, thrillers to romance, TV theme tunes to serious documentary. He's equally at home writing for orchestra or creating studio based scores, and is used to meeting tight deadlines. His developed sense of drama and ability to write to picture ensures his music always enhances a film and lifts the production values.
In addition to his work as a composer, Steve has been working with several successful producers whose credits include Massive Attack, Peter Gabriel, William Orbit and Goldie. Steve started playing music professionally with a band called Inhale who released 2 singles nationally to great critical acclaim via Universal. Steve's is now currently writing with his partner under the pseudonym of Elcho and his songs can be heard on the award-winning cult animation Monkey Dust and more recently on the Café Del Mar albums to name but a few.- Music Department
- Composer
- Producer
John Ottman holds dual distinctions as a leading film composer and an award winning film editor. Ottman has often completed both monumental tasks on the same films. Such remarkable double duties have included The Usual Suspects, X-Men 2, Superman Returns, Valkyrie, and Jack the Giant Killer. He has also held producer roles on several of these films, as well as directing, editing and scoring Urban Legends 2.
From an early age in San Jose, California, Ottman began writing and recording radio plays on cassette tapes. He'd perform many characters with his voice (and some sound effects), and called upon his neighborhood friends as extra cast members.
By the fourth grade, Ottman was playing the clarinet and continued doing so throughout high school. But his real concentration turned from audio productions to making films. He turned his parents' garage into a movie studio, where multiple sets were interchangeable to accommodate productions - invariably some sort of science fiction film. By high school, his films evolved to hour-long productions complete with large sets and lavish scores edited together from his favorite soundtracks.
Having been a veteran of numerous short films, Ottman excelled at USC film school, receiving accolades for his direction of actors and for how masterfully he edited their performances. It was in this directing course that a graduate filmmaker asked Ottman to re-edit his thesis film. John modified the story from raw footage and also designed the film's extensive sound. The film ended up winning the student Academy Award. On that film, Ottman met a production assistant named Bryan Singer.
Singer, only aware of Ottman's editing (Ottman stayed awake into the wee hours learning midi gear and composing music), asked him to edit a short film starring Ethan Hawke - a childhood friend of Singer's. Ottman ended up co-directing the film (Lion's Den) as well as editing and doing the sound design.
Ottman edited Singer's first feature, Public Access. His effective sequences and editorial montages became the highlight of the picture. In the eleventh hour, the film lost its composer. Singer asked Ottman to write the score, after much prodding from the editor. Public Access received the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, with the score and editing being lauded in reviews.
With The Usual Suspects and future Singer films, Ottman held to a promise that, despite his scoring dreams, he would commit to the months required to also serve as editor on Singer's films. The wary producers of The Usual Suspects gave the go-ahead for him to both edit the complicated picture and write the score, the demands of which no one had undergone. The film was edited in Ottman's living room on a Steinbeck flatbed and a splicer. The Usual Suspects and Ottman's work received widespread acclaim, earning Ottman the British Academy Awards for his editing, a Saturn Award for his score, and a nomination by the American Cinema Editors.
Since then, Ottman has scored numerous films with the intent of keeping thematic film scoring alive. Ottman also made a brief foray into television for which he received an Emmy nomination ("Fantasy Island.")- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Charles Strouse was born on 7 June 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Annie (1982) and Deadpool 2 (2018). He has been married to Barbara Siman since 1962. They have four children.- Composer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Hammond was born on 13 November 1942 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Little Big Man (1970), The Last Castle (2001) and Two-Lane Blacktop (1971).- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Golden Globe nominated composer Brian Byrne moved to Los Angeles from Ireland in July 2003 to expand his career as a film and television composer. Since then, Brian has consistently worked as a composer, conductor, songwriter, arranger and pianist - in the US and in Europe. Brian recently won two World Soundtrack Awards for his music to the song and score for the movie ALBERT NOBBS. From huge orchestral scores to minimal ensemble compositions, Brian has written music for films in many genres. He won the Irish Film and Television Award for his original score for the Irish Sci-Fi comedy ZONAD, directed by John Carney. He then scored an indie drama called THE GOOD DOCTOR, starring Orlando Bloom and has just finished the score to Oscar hopeful ALBERT NOBBS starring Glenn Close. Brian's previous film work includes conducting and arranging the scores to Jim Sheridan's Oscar-nominated IN AMERICA and Kristen Sheridan's drama, DISCO PIGS. Brian has collaborated with such international luminaries as Katy Perry, Bono, Barbra Streisand, Lisa Stansfield, Van Morrison, The Corrs, Sinead O'Connor, Alan Bergman, Ronan Tynan, Luis Miguel, Vince Gill, Gladys Knight, to name a few. He toured with Diane Warren, arranged a song for Sex and the City 2 and played piano on Liza Minnelli's cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on it)." Byrne's varied musical credits also include a score for a short film directed by Eric Stoltz and the theme music to the "Late Late Show". Brian's American conducting debut came in 2004 at Carnegie Hall. He was commission to write all the arrangements and conduct the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the release of Ronan Tynan's first solo album. He continued on as Musical Director for Ronan's Tour and subsequently wrote two original compositions for the album. Ellie and Passing Through As musical Director for the BBC Beautiful Night concert, he conducted the Ulster Orchestra with artists Jamie Cullum, Bob Geldof, Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy), Hot House Flowers, Ronan Keating (Boyzone), Brian Kennedy and Alanis Morissette, performing for 10 million people during a live telecast throughout Ireland, the U.K. and Europe. Brian was educated at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He graduated in 1997 with first-class honors in music and was awarded The Peter Knox Memorial Award for overall performance. Later that year he received the Outstanding Musicianship Award from Berklee College's touring faculty in Scotland as well as winning the PRS Sir Arthur Bliss Prize Scholarship for composition that enabled him to study film composition at London's Royal College of Music. In 2008, Brian added ASCAP's Film and Television Scoring Workshop's Steve Kaplan Scholarship to his already long list of accomplishments and awards. Most recently Brian has been commissioned to write the music to the new Riverdance sequel, HEARTBEAT OF HOME and he had the honor of writing a fanfare for Her Majesty the Queen's state visit to Ireland.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Martial Solal was born on 23 August 1927 in Algiers, Alger, France [now Algeria]. He is a composer and actor, known for The Dreamers (2003), Breathless (1960) and The Trial (1962).- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Rachel Portman, Composer
British composer Rachel Portman became the first female composer to win an Academy Award, which she received for the score of Emma. She was also the first female composer to win a Primetime Emmy Award, which she received for the film, Bessie. She has received two further Academy Nominations for The Cider House Rules and Chocolat, which also earned her a Golden Globe Nomination. Rachel was given an OBE in 2010 and is an honorary fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. She's also a Fellow of the Royal College of Music. Rachel has written stage and concert commissions including a musical of Little House on the Prairie, and an opera of Saint Exupery's, The Little Prince for Houston Grand Opera. For the BBC Proms, she wrote The Water Diviner, a dramatic choral symphony. She also wrote 'Endangered' performed at the World Environment Day Concert, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing. Other works include Earth Song for the BBC Singers, a solo piano album Ask The River and most recently for Joyce Di Donato, The First Morning of the World as part of her Eden programme.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Graeme Revell was born in New Zealand in 1955. He was graduated from The University of Auckland with degrees in economics and politics. He is a classically trained pianist and French horn player. Revell worked for as a regional planner in Australia and Indonesia and as an orderly in an Australian psychiatric hospital. Graeme Revell was a member of SPK, a 70s Industrial music group, for which he played keyboards and percussion. Their single "In Flagrante Delicto" was the basis for his Dead Calm score. This was his first score and won him an Australian Film Industry award. Since then he's done a number of major and minor film soundtracks including The Crow, The Crow: City Of Angels, The Craft, The Saint, and Chinese Box.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Don Ellis was born on 25 July 1934 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a composer, known for The French Connection (1971), Priceless (2006) and French Connection II (1975). He was married to Connie Coogan. He died on 17 December 1978 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Sergey Yevtushenko is a Russian composer, conductor, and music producer from St. Petersburg. He has been a member of the Composers' Union of Russia since 1990.
Having been Professor of the St. Petersburg Conservatoire and Special Music School, in 1990 he became Director of the CAMERATA St. Petersburg Orchestra, later known as the Orchestra of the State Hermitage Museum.
In 1997 he became Director of the Hermitage Music Academy Charity Foundation.
Since 2001 he has also been Artistic Director of the Hermitage Music Academy Program and International Music Festivals in the State Hermitage Museum (The Musical Hermitage and Music of the Great Hermitage).
In 1996 he composed original music for Robert: A Fortunate Life by Alexander Sokurov, and in 2002 did the same for Sokurov's film Russian Ark. Filmed entirely in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Sokurov's breathtaking film recreates 300 years of history and culture and is the first entirely unedited, single take, full-length feature film.
In 2007 Sergey composed and conducted music for the Finnish-Russian co-production RAJA.1918, for which he was nominated in the category of Best Music at the Jussi Awards, the main national film awards in Finland.
After composing the music for The Last Station, Sergey Yevtushenko is currently working as composer for international film feature documentary project tentatively entitled Leo Tolstoy: Genius Alive, which is based on the unique original footage shot 100 years ago and now carefully stored in the Russian State Archives of Film and Photo Documents (RGAKFD, Krasnogorsk).
Yevtushenko is working also on feature film Symphony (2011). Set in the thick of World War II, The Symphony is the based-on-truth story of the performance of Dmitry Shostakovich's 7th Symphony in the city of Leningrad besieged by Nazi troops
As well as writing and performing his own suites, concertos and cantatas, Sergey is an accomplished piano improvisator. In 1994, Hamburg representatives of Sony became interested in his phenomenal talent and offered to record some of his improvisations. They were dumbfounded when he improvised non-stop for eight hours. The whole eight hours of recording were released in a six CD package- Music Department
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Born on February 10, 1929, Jerry Goldsmith studied piano with Jakob Gimpel and composition, theory, and counterpoint with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. He also attended classes in film composition given by Miklós Rózsa at the Univeristy of Southern California. In 1950, he was employed as a clerk typist in the music department at CBS. There, he was given his first embryonic assignments as a composer for radio shows such as "Romance" and "CBS Radio Workshop". He wrote one score a week for these shows, which were performed live on transmission. He stayed with CBS until 1960, having already scored The Twilight Zone (1959). He was hired by Revue Studios to score their series Thriller (1960). It was here that he met the influential film composer Alfred Newman who hired Goldsmith to score the film Lonely Are the Brave (1962), his first major feature film score. An experimentalist, Goldsmith constantly pushed forward the bounds of film music: Planet of the Apes (1968) included horns blown without mouthpieces and a bass clarinetist fingering the notes but not blowing. He was unafraid to use the wide variety of electronic sounds and instruments which had become available, although he did not use them for their own sake.
He rose rapidly to the top of his profession in the early to mid-1960s, with scores such as Freud (1962), A Patch of Blue (1965) and The Sand Pebbles (1966). In fact, he received Oscar nominations for all three and another in the 1960s for Planet of the Apes (1968). From then onwards, his career and reputation was secure and he scored an astonishing variety of films during the next 30 years or so, from Patton (1970) to Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and from Chinatown (1974) to The Boys from Brazil (1978). He received 17 Oscar nominations but won only once, for The Omen (1976) in 1977 (Goldsmith himself dismissed the thought of even getting a nomination for work on a "horror show"). He enjoyed giving concerts of his music and performed all over the world, notably in London, where he built up a strong relationship with London Symphony Orchestra.
Jerry Goldsmith died at age 75 on July 21, 2004 after a long battle with cancer.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Ramin Djawadi is an Iranian-German film score composer known for composing the hit HBO series Game of Thrones and the Marvel films Blade: Trinity, Iron Man and Eternals. He also composed Clash of the Titans, A Wrinkle in Time, Pacific Rim, Westworld, Gears of War 4 and 5, Medal of Honor, Open Season 1 and 2, Jack Ryan and Warcraft. He won two Emmy Awards for Game of Thrones.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Heitor Teixeira Pereira was born in Brazil and has worked for Brazilian jazz musicians such as Ivan Lins and Lani Hall. In July 1988 he joined Simply Red as a guitarist and stayed with the band until 1996. During that time he shortened his name to Heitor TP. In 1994 he released a solo album called "Heitor" with the help of some of the other Simply Red musicians. He now lives in California, USA with his wife and two children and is currently working on film music together with Hans Zimmer as well as his solo career.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Jan P. Muchow was born on 21 June 1971 in Rathenow, German Democratic Republic [now Brandenburg, Federal Republic of Germany]. He is a composer and actor, known for Ve stínu (2012), Jedna ruka netleská (2003) and Grandhotel (2006).- Composer
- Music Department
- Producer
Michal Novinski (1971, Slovak Republic) is a Slovak music composer recognized for his notable achievements in film and theater. He was awarded Czech Film and Television Academy Award (Czech Lion) for "Kooky" ("Kuky se vraci", 2010), directed by the Oscar-winning director Jan Sverak. He also won Slovak Film and Television Academy Award (Sun in a Net) for the Best Original Score for Jiri Chlumsky's film "Broken Promise" ("Nedodrzany slub" 2009).
Novinski's latest works include original score for the critically acclaimed film "In the Shadow" ("Ve stinu", 2012) by David Ondricek, co-written with his long time collaborator Jan P. Muchow, for which they received Czech Film Critics' Award 2012 for the best original score and Czech Film and Television Academy Award - Czech Lion (Ceský Lev) 2012 for best original score.- Composer
- Music Department
- Producer
Harry Gregson-Williams is one of Hollywood's most sought-after and prolific composers whose long list of film and television credits underscore the diverse range of his talents. He most recently wrote the music for "The Last Duel" and "House of Gucci" both directed by Ridley Scott. In addition, he wrote the music for Disney's live action feature film "Mulan" which was directed by Niki Caro with whom he worked previously having scored her film "The Zookeeper's Wife." Gregson-Williams also co-wrote the original song "Loyal Brave True" for "Mulan" performed by Christina Aguilera. He and his brother, composer Rupert Gregson-Williams, wrote the original score for both seasons 1 & 2 of the HBO drama series "The Gilded Age". He also co-wrote the original score for the Netflix documentary "Return to Space" with his friend Mychael Danna, directed by Oscar-winning directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for which he received an Emmy nomination.
Upcoming 2023 releases include "Meg 2: The Trench" starring Jason and directed by Ben Wheatley and Aardman's animated feature "Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget" directed by Sam Fell and the action thriller "Retribution" directed by Nimród Antal and starring Liam Neeson. Gregson-Williams was the composer on all four installments of the animated blockbuster "Shrek" franchise, garnering a BAFTA Award nomination for the score for the Oscar-winning "Shrek." He received Golden Globe and Grammy Award nominations for his score for Andrew Adamson's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." He has collaborated multiple times with a number of directors including Ben Affleck on "Live by Night," "The Town" and "Gone Baby Gone", Joel Schumacher on "Twelve," "The Number 23," "Veronica Guerin" and "Phone Booth", Tony Scott on "Unstoppable," "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," "Déjà Vu," "Domino," "Man on Fire," "Spy Game" and "Enemy of the State", Ridley Scott on "The Martian," "Prometheus," "Exodus: Gods and Kings," "Kingdom of Heaven," "The Last Duel" and "House of Gucci", Bille August on "Return to Sender" and "Smilla's Sense of Snow", Andrew Adamson on the "Shrek" series, "Mr. Pip" and the first two "Narnia" movies, and Antoine Fuqua on "The Replacement Killers," "The Equalizer," The Equalizer 2" and "Infinite". Some of his more recent film projects include Disney Nature's feature film "Polar Bear" which streamed exclusively on Disney+ in 2022, "The Ambush" directed by Pierre Morel, "Life in a Day 2020" directed Kevin Macdonald, "The Meg" directed by Jon Turteltaub, Aardman's "Early Man" directed by Nick Park for which he received an Annie Award nomination and Disney Nature's "Penguins." His television credits include "Whiskey Cavalier," the miniseries "Catch-22" co-composed with his brother Rupert Gregson-Williams and additionally he wrote the main title theme for "Electric Dreams" and earned an Emmy nomination for the episode entitled "The Commuter." Over the past two decades he has scored three of the five games in the highly successful "Metal Gear Solid" franchise for Konami as well as "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" for Activision, which became the top-selling video game of 2014 and earned him various music gaming awards. Throughout his illustrious and successful career, Gregson-Williams has also collaborated with a diverse array of recording artists such as Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, Tricky, Peter Murphy, Flea, Hybrid, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, Trevor Horn, Trevor Rabin, Lebo M., Perry Farrell and Tony Visconti.
Born in England to a musical family, Gregson-Williams earned a music scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge, at the age of 7 and later gained a coveted spot at London's Guildhall School of Music & Drama, from which he recently received an honorary fellowship. He started his film career as assistant to composer Richard Harvey and later as orchestrator and arranger for Stanley Myers, and then went on to compose his first scores for director Nicolas Roeg. His subsequent collaboration and friendship with composer Hans Zimmer led to Gregson-Williams providing music for such films as "The Rock," "Armageddon" and "The Prince of Egypt" and helped launch his career in Hollywood.
In 2018, Gregson-Williams received the BMI Icon Award, in recognition of his unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers, as well as the Society of Composers & Lyricists' prestigious Ambassador Award.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
German-born composer Hans Zimmer is recognized as one of Hollywood's most innovative musical talents. He featured in the music video for The Buggles' single "Video Killed the Radio Star", which became a worldwide hit and helped usher in a new era of global entertainment as the first music video to be aired on MTV (August 1, 1981).
Hans Florian Zimmer was born in Frankfurt am Main, then in West Germany, the son of Brigitte (Weil) and Hans Joachim Zimmer. He entered the world of film music in London during a long collaboration with famed composer and mentor Stanley Myers, which included the film My Beautiful Laundrette (1985). He soon began work on several successful solo projects, including the critically acclaimed A World Apart, and during these years Zimmer pioneered the use of combining old and new musical technologies. Today, this work has earned him the reputation of being the father of integrating the electronic musical world with traditional orchestral arrangements.
A turning point in Zimmer's career came in 1988 when he was asked to score Rain Man for director Barry Levinson. The film went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year and earned Zimmer his first Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Score. The next year, Zimmer composed the score for another Best Picture Oscar recipient, Driving Miss Daisy (1989), starring Jessica Tandy, and Morgan Freeman.
Having already scored two Best Picture winners, in the early 1990s, Zimmer cemented his position as a preeminent talent with the award-winning score for The Lion King (1994). The soundtrack has sold over 15 million copies to date and earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score, a Golden Globe, an American Music Award, a Tony, and two Grammy Awards. In total, Zimmer's work has been nominated for 7 Golden Globes, 7 Grammys and seven Oscars for Rain Man (1988), Gladiator (2000), The Lion King (1994), As Good as It Gets (1997), The The Preacher's Wife (1996), The Thin Red Line (1998), The Prince of Egypt (1998), and The Last Samurai (2003).
With his career in full swing, Zimmer was anxious to replicate the mentoring experience he had benefited from under Stanley Myers' guidance. With state-of-the-art technology and a supportive creative environment, Zimmer was able to offer film-scoring opportunities to young composers at his Santa Monica-based musical "think tank." This approach helped launch the careers of such notable composers as Mark Mancina, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams, Nick Glennie-Smith, and Klaus Badelt.
In 2000, Zimmer scored the music for Gladiator (2000), for which he received an Oscar nomination, in addition to Golden Globe and Broadcast Film Critics Awards for his epic score. It sold more than three million copies worldwide and spawned a second album Gladiator: More Music From The Motion Picture, released on the Universal Classics/Decca label. Zimmer's other scores that year included Mission: Impossible II (2000), The Road to El Dorado (2000), and An Everlasting Piece (2000), directed by Barry Levinson.
Some of his other impressive scores include Pearl Harbor (2001), The Ring (2002), four films directed by Ridley Scott; Matchstick Men (2003), Hannibal (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001), and Thelma & Louise (1991), Penny Marshall's Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), and A League of Their Own (1992), Tony Scott's True Romance (1993), Tears of the Sun (2003), Ron Howard's Backdraft (1991), Days of Thunder (1990), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997), and the animated Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) for which he also co-wrote four of the songs with Bryan Adams, including the Golden Globe nominated Here I Am.
At the 27th annual Flanders International Film Festival, Zimmer performed live for the first time in concert with a 100-piece orchestra and a 100-voice choir. Choosing selections from his impressive body of work, Zimmer performed newly orchestrated concert versions of Gladiator, Mission: Impossible II (2000), Rain Man (1988), The Lion King (1994), and The Thin Red Line (1998). The concert was recorded by Decca and released as a concert album entitled "The Wings Of A Film: The Music Of Hans Zimmer."
In 2003, Zimmer completed his 100th film score for the film The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise, for which he received both a Golden Globe and a Broadcast Film Critics nomination. Zimmer then scored Nancy Meyers' comedy Something's Gotta Give (2003), the animated Dreamworks film, Shark Tale (2004) (featuring voices of Will Smith, Renée Zellweger, Robert De Niro, Jack Black, and Martin Scorsese), and Jim Brooks' Spanglish (2004) starring Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni (for which he also received a Golden Globe nomination). His 2005 projects include Paramount's The Weather Man (2005) starring Nicolas Cage, Dreamworks' Madagascar (2005), and the Warner Bros. summer release, Batman Begins (2005).
Zimmer's additional honors and awards include the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in Film Composition from the National Board of Review, and the Frederick Loewe Award in 2003 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. He has also received ASCAP's Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement. Hans and his wife live in Los Angeles and he is the father of four children.- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Chavela Vargas was born on 17 April 1919 in San Joaquin de Flores, Costa Rica. She was an actress, known for Frida (2002), Julieta (2016) and A Bigger Splash (2015). She died on 5 August 2012 in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.- Music Department
- Composer
- Director
Elliot Goldenthal is an Academy Award-winning composer best known for his original music scores for such films as Frida (2002) and Across the Universe (2007), among his other works.
He was born on May 2, 1954, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a house-painter, and his mother was a seamstress. Young Goldenthal was fond of music and theatre, he played with his school rock band during the 1960s. In 1968, he staged his first ballet at John Dewey High School in Brooklyn, from which he graduated in 1971. He attended the Manhattan School of Music, studied under Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, and earned his MA in composition.
Among Goldenthal's most notable works are his original music scores for numerous films, such as Julie Taymor's Frida (2002), Clark Johnson's S.W.A.T. (2003), Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997). Goldenthal also has been collaborating with director Neil Jordan on five films, among those are Michael Collins (1996), and Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), for which he earned two Oscar nominations.
Since the early 1980s, Elliot Goldenthal has been working together with Julie Taymor. Their partnership in film and in life has been one of the most rewarding in film business; the couple made such acclaimed films as Titus (1999), Frida (2002) and Across the Universe (2007), among their other works, earning numerous awards and nominations for their highly innovative creativity.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Angelo Michajlov was born on 4 October 1939 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was a composer and actor, known for In the Night Kitchen (1987), Arabela se vrací (1993) and S dakh na bademi (1967). He died on 7 July 1998 in Valkerice by Decín, Czech Republic.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Ferdinand Havlík was born on 17 June 1928 in Brno, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was a composer and actor, known for Kdyby tisíc klarinetu (1965), Bylo nás deset (1963) and Utek do vetru (1965). He died on 28 October 2013 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Dalibor C. Vackár was born on 19 September 1906 in Korcula, Croatia. He was a composer, known for Divá Bára (1949), The Proud Princess (1952) and Podobizna (1948). He died on 21 October 1984 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Jon Brion was born on 11 December 1963 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA. He is a composer and actor, known for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Other Guys (2010) and Step Brothers (2008).- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Howard Shore is a Canadian composer, born in Toronto. He was born in a Jewish family. He started studying music when 8-years-old, and played as a member of bands by the time he was 13-years-old. He was interested in a professional career in music as a teenager. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music, a college of contemporary music located in Boston.
For a few years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Shore was a member of Lighthouse, a jazz fusion band. In the 1970s, Shore mainly composed music for theatrical performances and a few television shows. His most notable work was composing the music for the one-man-act show of stage magician Doug Henning. He also served as a musical director in then-new television show "Saturday Night Live" (1975-). He was hired by the show's producer Lorne Michaels, who was a close friend of Shore since their teen years.
In 1978, Shore started his career as a film score composer, with scoring the B-movie " I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses" (1978). His next film score was composed for the horror film "The Brood" (1979). Shore had a good working relationship with the film's director David Cronenberg. Cronenberg would continue to use Shore as the composer of most of his films, with the exception of "The Dead Zone" (1983).
In the 1980s, Shore also composed the film scores of works by other directors, such as "After Hours" (1985) by Martin Scorsese, and "Big" (1988) by Penny Marshall. He received more acclaim for composing the film score for "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), a major hit of its era. Shore was nominated for a BAFTA award for this film score.
By the 1990s, Shore was an established composer of high repute and worked in an ever increasing number of films. Among his better known works were the film scores for comedy film "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993) and crime thriller "Seven" (1995). Shore received even more critical acclaim in the 2000s, when he composed the film score for fantasy film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001). He won an Academy Award and a Grammy for the film score, and received nominations for a BAFTA award and a Golden Globe.
Shore continued his career with the film scores of acclaimed films "Gangs of New York" (2002), "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002), and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). He received his second Academy Award for the film score of "The Return of the King", and his third Academy Award as the composer of hit song "Into the West". He won several other major awards for these film scores. His film scores for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy are considered the most famous and successful works of his career.
For the rest of the 2000s, Shore closely collaborated with director Martin Scorsese. Shore won a Golden Globe for the film score of Scorsese's "The Aviator" (2004). In the 2010s, Shore continues to work regularly, mostly known for composing film scores for works by directors David Cronenberg, Martin Scorsese, and Peter Jackson. He was the main composer for "The Hobbit" trilogy by Peter Jackson, and the fantasy film "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" (2010) by David Slade.- Composer
- Music Department
- Camera and Electrical Department
Marc Streitenfeld was born in 1974 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. He is a composer, known for Prometheus (2012), Robin Hood (2010) and American Gangster (2007).- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Zdenek Liska was born on 16 March 1922 in Smecno by Kladno, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was a composer, known for Das Haus in der Karpfengasse (1965), The Cremator (1969) and Prague Nights (1969). He died on 13 August 1983 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jirí Sust was born on 29 August 1919 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He was a composer, known for Daisies (1966), Larks on a String (1969) and O vecech nadprirozených (1959). He died on 30 April 1995 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
John Powell was born on 18 September 1963 in London, England, UK. He is a composer, known for How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), Happy Feet (2006) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He was previously married to Melinda Lerner.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Karl Ratzer is known for Kopfstand (1981), Es lebe die Liebe, der Papst und das Puff... (1992) and Lodynskis Flohmarkt Company (1971).- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Randy Newman is an American film composer and singer who is well-known for composing The Princess and the Frog, Meet the Parents and various Pixar films including the Toy Story, Monsters, Inc and Cars franchises as well as A Bug's Life. He wrote iconic songs such as "Short People", "You've Got A Friend in Me" and "We Belong Together". He won Best Original Song for Toy Story 3.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
John Barry was born in York, England in 1933, and was the youngest of three children. His father, Jack, owned several local cinemas and by the age of fourteen, Barry was capable of running the projection box on his own - in particular, The Rialto in York. As he was brought up in a cinematic environment, he soon began to assimilate the music which accompanied the films he saw nightly to a point when, even before he'd left St. Peters school, he had decided to become a film music composer. Helped by lessons provided locally on piano and trumpet, followed by the more exacting theory taught by tutors as diverse as Dr Francis Jackson of York Minster and William Russo, formerly arranger to Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, he soon became equipped to embark upon his chosen career, but had no knowledge of how one actually got a start in the business. A three year sojourn in the army as a bandsman combined with his evening stints with local jazz bands gave him the idea to ease this passage by forming a small band of his own. This was how The John Barry Seven came into existence, and Barry successfully launched them during 1957 via a succession of tours and TV appearances. A recording contract with EMI soon followed, and although initial releases made by them failed to chart, Barry's undoubted talent showed enough promise to influence the studio management at Abbey Road in allowing him to make his debut as an arranger and conductor for other artists on the EMI roster.
A chance meeting with a young singer named Adam Faith, whilst both were appearing on astage show version of the innovative BBC TV programme, Six-Five Special (1957), led Barry to recommend Faith for a later BBC TV series, Drumbeat (1959), which was broadcast in 1959. Faith had made two or three commercially unsuccessful records before singer/songwriter Johnny Worth, also appearing on Drumbeat, offered him a song he'd just finished entitled What Do You Want? With the assistance of the JB7 pianist, Les Reed, Barry contrived an arrangement considered suited to Faith's soft vocal delivery, and within weeks, the record was number one. Barry (and Faith) then went from strength to strength; Faith achieving a swift succession of chart hits, with Barry joining him soon afterwards when the Seven, riding high on the wave of the early sixties instrumental boom, scored with Hit & Miss, Walk Don't Run and Black Stockings.
Faith had long harboured ambitions to act even before his first hit record and was offered a part in the up and coming British movie, Wild for Kicks (1960), at that time. As Barry was by then arranging not only his recordings but also his live Drumbeat material, it came as no surprise when the film company asked him to write the score to accompany Faith's big screen debut. It should be emphasised that the film was hardly a cinematic masterpiece. However, it did give Faith a chance to demonstrate his acting potential, and Barry the chance to show just how quickly he'd mastered the technique of film music writing. Although the film and soundtrack album were both commercial successes, further film score offers failed to flood in. On those that did, such as Never Let Go (1960) and The Amorous Mr. Prawn (1962), Barry proved highly inventive, diverse and adaptable and, as a result, built up a reputation as an emerging talent. It was with this in mind that Noel Rogers, of United Artists Music, approached him in the summer of '62, with a view to involving him in the music for the forthcoming James Bond film, Dr. No (1962).
He was also assisted onto the cinematic ladder as a result of a burgeoning relationship with actor/writer turned director Bryan Forbes, who asked him to write a couple of jazz numbers for use in a club scene in Forbes' then latest film, The L-Shaped Room (1962). From this very modest beginning, the couple went on to collaborate on five subsequent films, including the highly acclaimed Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), King Rat (1965) and The Whisperers (1967). Other highlights from the sixties included five more Bond films, Zulu (1964), Born Free (1966) (a double Oscar), The Lion in Winter (1968) (another Oscar) and Midnight Cowboy (1969).
In the seventies he scored the cult film Walkabout (1971), The Last Valley (1971), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) (Oscar nomination), wrote the theme for The Persuaders! (1971), a musical version of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and the hit musical Billy. Then, in 1974, he made the decision to leave his Thameside penthouse apartment for the peace of a remote villa he was having built in Majorca. He had been living there for about a year, during which time he turned down all film scoring opportunities, until he received an invitation to write the score for the American TV movie, Eleanor and Franklin (1976). In order to accomplish the task, he booked into the Beverly Hills Hotel for six weeks in October 1975. However, during this period, he was also offered Robin and Marian (1976) and King Kong (1976), which caused his stay to be extended. He was eventually to live and work in the hotel for almost a year, as more assignments were offered and accepted. His stay on America's West Coast eventually lasted almost five years, during which time he met and married his wife, Laurie, who lived with him at his Beverly Hills residence. They moved to Oyster Bay, New York and have since split their time between there and a house in Cadogan Square, London.
After adopting a seemingly lower profile towards the end of the seventies, largely due to the relatively obscure nature of the commissions he accepted, the eighties saw John Barry re-emerge once more into the cinematic limelight. This was achieved, not only by continuing to experiment and diversify, but also by mixing larger budget commissions of the calibre of Body Heat (1981), Jagged Edge (1985), Out of Africa (1985) (another Oscar) and The Cotton Club (1984) with smaller ones such as the TV movies, Touched by Love (1980) and Svengali (1983). Other successes included: Somewhere in Time (1980), Frances (1982), three more Bond films, and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).
After serious illness in the late eighties, Barry returned with yet another Oscar success with Dances with Wolves (1990) and was also nominated for Chaplin (1992). Since then he scored the controversial Indecent Proposal (1993), My Life (1993), Deception (1992), Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) and has made compilation albums for Sony (Moviola and Moviola II) and non-soundtrack albums for Decca ('The Beyondness Of Things' & 'Eternal Echoes').
In the late nineties he made a staggeringly successful return to the concert arena, playing to sell-out audiences at the Royal Albert Hall. Since then he has appeared as a guest conductor at a RAH concert celebrating the life and career of Elizabeth Taylor and made brief appearances at a couple of London concerts dedicated to his music. In 2004 he re-united with Don Black to write his fifth stage musical, Brighton Rock, which enjoyed a limited run at The Almeida Theatre in London.
He continued to appear at concerts of his own music, often making brief appearances at the podium. In November 2007, Christine Albanel, the French Minister for Culture, appointed him Commander in the National Order of Arts and Letters. The award was made at the eighth International Festival Music and Cinema, in Auxerre, France, when, in his honour, a concert of his music also took place.
In August 2008 he was working on a new album, provisionally entitled Seasons, which he has described as "a soundtrack of his life." A new biography, "John Barry: The Man with The Midas Touch", by Geoff Leonard, Pete Walker, and Gareth Bramley, was published in November 2008.
He died following a heart-attack on 30th January 2011, at his home in Oyster Bay, New York.- Composer
- Music Department
Milos Vacek was born on 20 June 1928 in Horni Roven, near Pardubice, Czechoslovakia. He was a composer, known for The Assassination (1964), Das Geheimnis der chinesischen Nelke (1964) and Ctyri v kruhu (1968). He died on 29 February 2012 in Prague, Czech Republic.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Known best as the record producer for The Beatles, George Martin had a long and varied musical career, and continues to enjoy a rare reputation as one of popular music's true "nice guys."
Martin was born into a working-class family in Drayton Park, England, on 3 January 1926. His classical music training didn't actually begin until his 20s; the only formal musical education Martin had as a child was eight piano lessons from an aunt. He kept up with the piano on his own, though, and by his teens led a small combo called The Four Tune-Tellers, along with his being able to play several classical pieces by ear. He'd also begun composing his own songs, with an eye toward someday writing film scores.
By this time World War II was underway, and at 17 Martin enlisted in the Fleet Air Arm, serving as an aircraft observer. While in the service, he both acquired a mentor in Sidney Harrison, who critiqued his early scores and encouraged him to follow a career in music, and appeared on a BBC radio show, playing an original piece. Returning to civilian life in early 1947, Martin found himself at a career crossroads, without much formal education or training. Sidney Harrison encouraged him to enter the Guildhall School of Music in London, where Harrison taught, and arranged an audition. Martin passed, and studied for three years at the Guildhall, paying for this with a veteran's grant, and studying oboe as a second instrument.
After graduation and a stint with the BBC Music Library, Martin was offered a job with EMI's Parlophone record label, as assistant to its chief Oscar Preuss. Preuss both signed the label's artists and produced most of their recordings, and it was these jobs that Martin gradually took over as Preuss retired, leaving Martin in charge of the label at age 29--the youngest label-head in England in the pre-rock era. Parlophone featured mostly classical and regional music, which Martin conducted and produced; he augmented these later with both highly-successful comedy records (including Peter Ustinov's "Mock Mozart" and several Goon Show recordings with Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, who became close friends) and rock-n-roll when it reached Britain. Despite his triumphs, George Martin nearly went down in music history as "The Man Who Turned Down Tommy Steele," passing up his chance to produce Britain's first genuine rock star to instead sign up Steele's backing group, the Vipers. This mistake was luckily overshadowed by another signing of Martin's, a few years later...
Martin and Beatles' manager Brian Epstein learned of each other when Epstein decided to have acetate test-records made of a Beatles audition tape, during his make-or-break final visit to London to try to get the band a recording contract. Nearly every label in England had turned the band down, and while Martin wasn't bowled over by their demo, he was impressed enough to give them a studio audition. Martin came away from this satisfied with everything he'd heard, except for Pete Best's drumming, and when he offered the band a singles contract in the fall of 1962, it was with the understanding that Best would not play on the records. This was reason enough for the band to want to replace him completely, and Ringo Starr took his place, shortly before the Beatles recorded their first Parlophone single, "Love Me Do".
Martin's first collaboration with The Beatles wasn't a big hit, but their second single with him, "Please Please Me", made an immediate impact, and propelled the band to national stardom in Britain. The hits continued, and Martin's own name began to appear on the recordings he produced (both for The Beatles, and for other artists) a few months later, as the record-producer's role became more widely recognized in the industry. It was Martin's friendship with music publisher Dick James that resulted in the creation of Northern Songs as the Beatles' publishing company; however, Martin never profited directly from this, or even from their early hits--he turned down the chance to become a Northern Songs partner, and as an EMI staff producer, he was paid no royalties. In fact, EMI's antiquated pay-scale was one of the many factors that caused Martin and several other EMI staffers to resign in the mid-Sixties, and establish their own company AIR (Associated Independent Recording). EMI now had to hire Martin back as an independent producer for their artists, and he began receiving producer's royalties on AIR's behalf.
The story of George Martin's relationship with the Beatles has been told again and again, but perhaps best by the man himself, in both radio and television specials, and his own book "All You Need is Ears", which reads both as pop-history and a kind of record-producer's textbook. He has graciously answered questions about the band (sometimes as the only clean-n-sober participant at recording sessions) and his own experiences again and again, proving to be an ideal, well-balanced spokesman. Many of the Beatles' more elaborate productions, especially in their later "studio years," were shaped by George Martin, who arranged their songwriting into final scores and recordings.
Throughout the Beatles' career and beyond, Martin continued to record and produce other artists, including Shirley Bassey, Bernard Cribbins, Flanders and Swann, and later America and Seatrain. He was also able to realize his earlier dream of scoring movies, beginning with his original orchestral score for Yellow Submarine (1968),which he also produced for film and record. In the late 1970s, Martin was approached by RSO's Robert Stigwood to produce the soundtrack for the Bee Gees's Beatles homage Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978); despite his initial misgivings, he signed onto the project knowing nobody else had his insider's knowledge of their music... and the payment to come would erase a lot of earlier financial shortings from his EMI days.
While George Martin supervised parts of "The Beatles Anthology" in 1994 and 1995, the task of producing the new recordings included with the compilation was given to Jeff Lynne; Martin explained to the press, "I don't produce anymore, because I'm too old." Martin recently celebrated his retirement from the music business, with both a knighthood and the release of "In My Life", an all-star tribute album to the band who gave him his biggest success.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Michel Legrand is a three-time Academy Award-winning French composer, conductor and pianist who composed over 200 film and television scores as well as recorded over a hundred albums of jazz, popular and classical music.
He was born on February 24, 1932, in Becon-les-Bruyeres, in the Paris suburbs, France. His father, Raymond Legrand, was a French composer and actor. His mother, Marcelle der Mikaelian, was descended from the Armenian bourgeousie. From 1942 - 1949 young Legrand studied piano at the Paris Conservatoire. There his teachers were Nadia Boulanger and Henri Challan among other renown musicians. He received numerous awards for his skills in composition and piano and mastered a dozen other instruments. In 1947 he attended a concert by Dizzy Gillespie and caught a jazz bug. He started working as a pianist for major French singers. He eventually collaborated with Dizzy Gillespie on several albums and film scores.
In 1954 Legrand became an overnight star after his album "I Love Paris" became a hit, it went on selling over 8 million copies. He followed the success with such albums as "Holiday in Rome" (1955) and "Michel Legrand Plays Cole Porter" (1957). In 1958 he was invited to play at Moscow Festival of Students and Youth. There, in Moscow, he met his future wife, a young French model with who he went on to have three children.
In the late 1950s and 1960s Legrand was caught up in the French New Wave. He scored seven films for jean-Luc Godard, he also made ten films with Jacques Demy, and became responsible for creating the genre of musical in the French Cinema. In 1963 Legrand did The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), the first film musical that was entirely sung. For that film score he received three Oscar nominations. His beautiful, haunting melody, "I Will Wait For You", received nomination for Best Original Song.
In 1966 Legrand decided to take his chances in Hollywood, and moved to Los Angeles with his wife and three children. His friendship with Quincy Jones and Hank Mancini helped him a great deal, especially in meeting the lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman. In 1969 Legrand won his first Oscar for Best Music, Original Song for "The Windmills of Your Mind" and was also nominated for Best Music, Original score for a Motion Picture for The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). Eventually Legrand went on to become a star in the US, he received twelve nominations for Academy Awards, and won two more Oscars. He was also nominated for a Grammy 27 times and received 5 Grammys in the 1970s.
In the 1980s and 1990s Legrand continued giving live concerts with his own jazz trio. He also led his big band which he took on several international tours, accompanying such stars as Ray Charles , Diana Ross , Björk , and Stéphane Grappelli who celebrated his 85th birthday in 1992. He also recorded several classical albums, including an album with cross-genre hits entitled "Kiri Sings Michel Legrand" with the opera singer Kiri te Kanawa. During the 2000s Legrand has been working mainly in the studio, and also made several international tours.
In 2005 a compilation of Legrand's best known film soundtracks was released under the title "Le Cinema de Michel Legrand", featuring 90 songs composed in the course of his career.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Patrick Doyle is a classically trained composer.
His first film score, the acclaimed adaptation of "Henry V" with Kenneth Branagh for Renaissance films was scored in 1989. He has subsequently worked with Kenneth Branagh, a long time collaborator on numerous pictures including "Dead Again", "Much Ado About Nothing", "Frankenstein" and "Hamlet".
Patrick has composed over 45 internationally renowned feature film scores including "Indochine", "Sense and Sensibility", "Carlito's Way", "Gosford Park", "A Little Princess", "Bridget Jones's Diary", "Nanny McPhee" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".
He has collaborated with a host of internationally acclaimed film directors including Robert Altman, Ang Lee, Brian de Palma, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell, Regis Wagnier and Kenneth Branagh.
His concert works include "The Thistle and The Rose", a commission by HRH The Prince of Wales for full choir in honour of the Queen Mother's 90th birthday, "Tam O' Shanter" for the National Schools Orchestra Trust and the violin concerto "Corarsik".
He has recently completed the score for the Marvel Entertainment feature film "Thor," directed by Kenneth Branagh, "La Ligne Droite" for Regis Wagnier and the Twentieth Century Fox film "Caesar Rise of the Apes". He is currently scoring the upcoming Pixar film "Brave" directed by Mark Andrews and after which will score the Sovereign Films film "Effie" directed by Richard Laxton.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Musical talent ran in Marvin Hamlisch's family - his father was an accordionist, and at seven Hamlisch was the youngest student ever accepted by Manhattan's Julliard School of Music. Hamlich furthered his education by taking night classes at Queens College and working during the day as a rehearsal pianist for Broadway shows. He eventually began composing songs for stage productions. In 1968 he met film producer Sam Spiegel, resulting in his first film score for The Swimmer (1968) (he had previously written some songs for a low-budget teen epic, Ski Party (1965), but did not do the score for it). Hamlisch became well versed in the very specialized field of film scoring. In addition to scoring films, he ventured into film production as co-producer of The Entertainer (1975). In 1976 he won a Tony award for his scoring of the Broadway show, A Chorus Line (1985).- Composer
- Music Department
- Director
Elia Cmiral (pronounced smear-al)'s first break came when his father let him score "Cyrano de Bergerac" at his theater when he was just eighteen years old. But before he could build a career in Czechoslovakia, he escaped to Sweden and, to his surprise, was soon asked to score a full-length battle for the National Theater entitled "Nemesis." Deciding to study film scoring in the United States, he moved to Los Angeles in 1987 and enrolled at USC. Through some friends, he had the opportunity to score the cult film "Apartment Zero." In 1989, he was offered a grant from Sweden to produce his own record, and he moved back. Four years later, in the winter of 1993, Elia moved back to Los Angeles and resumed his scoring career. In 1996, Don Johnson hired him to score the first season episodes and theme for his new series, "Nash Bridges, " on CBS. Elia also scored "Somebody Is Waiting, " with the same director from "Apartment Zero, " but it didn't get any US distribution. His big break came when Michael Sandovall, of MGM/United Artists, gave Elia the opportunity to audition for John Frankenheimer's "Ronin." The score was released on Varese Sarabande to rave reviews, and Elia signed to be represented by "The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, " the largest film scoring agency in the world.- Stepán Lucký was born on 20 January 1919 in Zilina, Czechoslovakia [now Slovakia]. He was a composer, known for Nahá pastýrka (1966), 105 % alibi (1959) and O vecech nadprirozených (1959). He died on 5 May 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Michael Kamen was born on 15 April 1948 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Don Juan DeMarco (1994) and X-Men (2000). He was married to Sandra Keenan. He died on 18 November 2003 in London, England, UK.- Karel Sklenicka was born on 17 February 1933 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. Karel was a composer, known for Snatky z rozumu (1968), Kocár nejsvetejsí svátosti (1962) and Drahý zesnulý (1964). Karel died on 26 March 2001 in Prague, Czech Republic.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Producer
Sam is a composer for films, video games and television. He has been writing original music in LA's entertainment industry for over a decade. Most recently his music can be heard in many of EA's Star Wars video games including the recent Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (2023), Star Wars: Squadrons (2020), Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019), Star Wars Battlefront I (2015) & II (2017) and many of the Star Wars: The Old Republic releases from the past decade. These games include music that he has written and orchestrated for a full orchestra and choir which have been recorded in London's Abbey Road Studios and Nashville's Ocean Way Studios. Additionally, his game work includes music for Multiversus (2022), Microsoft's Halo Wars 2 (2017), Disney's Epic Mickey I (2010) & II (2012) and Activision's Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions (2010).
In addition to his orchestral game work, Smythe's original film scores have given him the opportunity to showcase a wide variety of styles. He has scored many of Status Media and Entertainment's film productions including the horror film The Call (2020), Western-style films Traded (2017) and The Outsider (2019). As well as a Morricone-inspired jazz score for Gangster Land (2017), a horror score for The Final Wish (2018) and a hybrid electronic/orchestral score for Silencer (2018).
Sam's television work includes music for NBC's drama Revolution (2013), FX's quirky comedy Wilfred (2011), the CW's medical drama Emily Owens M.D. (2012) and DreamWorks' animated Neighbors from Hell (2010). He has written music for the Oscar-nominated short film Buzkashi Boys (2012) and original award-winning scores for short films Boo (2019) and Buttons in the Ground (2011).- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Michel Michelet was born on 14 July 1894 in Kiev, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. He was a composer, known for Voice in the Wind (1944), The Hairy Ape (1944) and Lured (1947). He died on 28 December 1995 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Music Department
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Elmer Bernstein was educated at the Walden School and New York University. He served in the US Army Air Corps in World War II, writing scores for the service radio unit. He also wrote and arranged musical numbers for Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band. A prolific and respected film music composer, he was a protégé of Aaron Copland, who studied music with Roger Sessions and Stefan Wolpe. Bernstein worked in various artistic endeavors, including painting and the theatre and also performed as an actor and dancer. Among his early composition work were scores for United Nations radio programs and television and industrial documentaries. His original scores for films range over an enormous variety of styles, with his groundbreaking jazz score for The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), light musical comedies such as his Oscar-winning Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) score, and perhaps his most familiar score, for the western The Magnificent Seven (1960). Between 1963 and 1969, Bernstein served as vice president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
A few years before before his death, he acquired something of a cult status among fans of English football when his familiar main theme for The Great Escape (1963) was adopted by them and hummed and played, lustily, during matches.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Stanley Myers was born on 6 October 1930 in Birmingham, England, UK. He was a composer, known for The Witches (1990), The Deer Hunter (1978) and Prick Up Your Ears (1987). He was married to Brigitta Stroeh and Eleanor Fazan. He died on 9 November 1993 in London, England, UK.- Composer
- Sound Department
- Actor
Sune Martin was born on 18 March 1968 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is a composer and actor, known for Land of Mine (2015), The Outsider (2018) and 22 July (2018).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
A classmate of director Sergio Leone with whom he would form one of the great director/composer partnerships (right up there with Eisenstein & Prokofiev, Hitchcock & Herrmann, Fellini & Rota), Ennio Morricone studied at Rome's Santa Cecilia Conservatory, where he specialized in trumpet. His first film scores were relatively undistinguished, but he was hired by Leone for A Fistful of Dollars (1964) on the strength of some of his song arrangements. His score for that film, with its sparse arrangements, unorthodox instrumentation (bells, electric guitars, harmonicas, the distinctive twang of the jew's harp) and memorable tunes, revolutionized the way music would be used in Westerns, and it is hard to think of a post-Morricone Western score that doesn't in some way reflect his influence. Although his name will always be synonymous with the spaghetti Western, Morricone has also contributed to a huge range of other film genres: comedies, dramas, thrillers, horror films, romances, art movies, exploitation movies - making him one of the film world's most versatile artists. He has written nearly 400 film scores, so a brief summary is impossible, but his most memorable work includes the Leone films, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1966) , Roland Joffé's The Mission (1986), Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) and Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso (1988), plus a rare example of sung opening credits for Pier Paolo Pasolini's The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966).- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Dario Marianelli was born in Pisa and studied piano and composition in Florence and London. After a year as a postgraduate composer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he spent 3 years at the National Film and Television School, from which he graduated in 1997. Dario's film scores include 'Paddington 2' (2017), 'Darkest Hour' (2017), 'Kubo and the 'Two Strings' (2016) Everest (2015), 'The Boxtrolls' (2014), 'Anna Karenina' (2012), 'Jane Eyre' (2011), 'Salmon Fishing In The Yemen' (2011), 'Eat Pray Love' (2010), 'The Soloist' (2009), 'Agora' (2009), 'Atonement' (2007), 'V for Vendetta' (2006) and 'Pride and Prejudice' (2005). He has written orchestral music for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and the Britten-Pears Orchestra, as well as vocal music for the BBC Singers, incidental music for the Royal Shakespeare Company, and several ballet scores. Dario won the Oscar, Golden Globe and Ivor Novello Award in the Best Original Score category for the award-winning Working Title film 'Atonement', for which he also won the World Soundtrack Award and was BAFTA nominated. He was also nominated for a Classical Brit Award in the Soundtrack Of The Year category for 'Atonement'. In 2006, Dario was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Score category for his music to Joe Wright's 'Pride & Prejudice'. This score won him the Classical Brit Award in the Soundtrack/ Musical Theatre Composer of The Year category and also earned him an Ivor Novello Award nomination. Dario's collaboration with Joe Wright on the film 'Anna Karenina' led to his nomination for an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Original Score, and in May 2013, he won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Film Score for 'Anna Karenina'. In 2014 Dario composed the score for Laika animation 'The Boxtrolls', which was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award. He has recently completed work on the score to his second Laika animation, 'Kubo and the Two Strings', for which he won an Ivor Novello Award, and also worked on his fifth film collaboration with director Asif Kapadia on live action feature 'Ali and Nino'.
During 2014 Dario's 'Voyager' Violin Concerto also had its world premiere in Brisbane, Australia, performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra as part of a spectacular event combining science, music, voice, and film titled 'Journey Through The Cosmos'. The piece was featured alongside a lecture given by Professor Brian Cox and has since gone on to be performed by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Harding and featuring highly acclaimed violinist Jack Liebeck.
In 2017, Dario continued his working relationship with Joe Wright on 'Darkest Hour' and also scoring Paul King's 'Paddington 2'. Dario was commissioned by The Royal Opera House to compose their new ballet, 'The Unknown Soldier', which premiered in November 2018. He also worked with Travis Knight, composing the score for the latest film in the Transformers film series, 'Bumblebee.' Dario collaborated with Matteo Garrone to score the Italian feature film 'Pinocchio'. Most recently Dario composed the original score for 'A Boy Called Christmas', directed by Gil Kenan, which was released in late 2021.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
As one of the best known, awarded, and financially successful composers in US history, John Williams is as easy to recall as John Philip Sousa, Aaron Copland or Leonard Bernstein, illustrating why he is "America's composer" time and again. With a massive list of awards that includes over 52 Oscar nominations (five wins), twenty-odd Gold and Platinum Records, and a slew of Emmy (two wins), Golden Globe (three wins), Grammy (25 wins), National Board of Review (including a Career Achievement Award), Saturn (six wins), American Film Institute (including a Lifetime Achievement Award) and BAFTA (seven wins) citations, along with honorary doctorate degrees numbering in the teens, Williams is undoubtedly one of the most respected composers for Cinema. He's led countless national and international orchestras, most notably as the nineteenth conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980-1993, helming three Pops tours of the US and Japan during his tenure. He currently serves as the Pop's Conductor Laureate. Also to his credit is a parallel career as an author of serious, and some not-so-serious, concert works - performed by the likes of Mstislav Rostropovich, André Previn, Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gil Shaham, Leonard Slatkin, James Ingram, Dale Clevenger, and Joshua Bell. Of particular interests are his Essay for Strings, a jazzy Prelude & Fugue, the multimedia presentation American Journey (aka The Unfinished Journey (1999)), a Sinfonietta for Winds, a song cycle featuring poems by Rita Dove, concerti for flute, violin, clarinet, trumpet, tuba, cello, bassoon and horn, fanfares for the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2002 Winter Olympics, and a song co-written with Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman for the Special Olympics! But such a list probably warrants a more detailed background...
Born in Flushing, New York on February 8, 1932, John Towner Williams discovered music almost immediately, due in no small measure to being the son of a percussionist for CBS Radio and the Raymond Scott Quintet. After moving to Los Angeles in 1948, the young pianist and leader of his own jazz band started experimenting with arranging tunes; at age 15, he determined he was going to become a concert pianist; at 19, he premiered his first original composition, a piano sonata.
He attended both UCLA and the Los Angeles City College, studying orchestration under MGM musical associate Robert Van Eps and being privately tutored by composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, until conducting for the first time during three years with the U.S. Air Force. His return to the states brought him to Julliard, where renowned piano pedagogue Madame Rosina Lhevinne helped Williams hone his performance skills. He played in jazz clubs to pay his way; still, she encouraged him to focus on composing. So it was back to L.A., with the future maestro ready to break into the Hollywood scene.
Williams found work with the Hollywood studios as a piano player, eventually accompanying such fare such as the TV series Peter Gunn (1958), South Pacific (1958), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), as well as forming a surprising friendship with Bernard Herrmann. At age 24, "Johnny Williams" became a staff arranger at Columbia and then at 20th Century-Fox, orchestrating for Alfred Newman and Lionel Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin, Franz Waxman, and other Golden Age notables. In the field of popular music, he performed and arranged for the likes of Vic Damone, Doris Day, and Mahalia Jackson... all while courting actress/singer Barbara Ruick, who became his wife until her death in 1974. John & Barbara had three children; their daughter is now a doctor, and their two sons, Joseph Williams and Mark Towner Williams, are rock musicians.
The orchestrating gigs led to serious composing jobs for television, notably Alcoa Premiere (1961), Checkmate (1960), Gilligan's Island (1964), Lost in Space (1965), Land of the Giants (1968), and his Emmy-winning scores for Heidi (1968) and Jane Eyre (1970). Daddy-O (1958) and Because They're Young (1960) brought his original music to the big theatres, but he was soon typecast doing comedies. His efforts in the genre helped guarantee his work on William Wyler's How to Steal a Million (1966), however, a major picture that immediately led to larger projects. Of course, his arrangements continued to garner attention, and he won his first Oscar for adapting Fiddler on the Roof (1971).
During the '70s, he was King of Disaster Scores with The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Earthquake (1974) and The Towering Inferno (1974). His psychological score for Images (1972) remains one of the most innovative works in soundtrack history. But his Americana - particularly The Reivers (1969) - is what caught the ear of director Steven Spielberg, then preparing for his first feature, The Sugarland Express (1974). When Spielberg reunited with Williams on Jaws (1975), they established themselves as a blockbuster team, the composer gained his first Academy Award for Original Score, and Spielberg promptly recommended Williams to a friend, George Lucas. In 1977, John Williams re-popularized the epic cinema sound of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Franz Waxman and other composers from the Hollywood Golden Age: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) became the best selling score-only soundtrack of all time, and spawned countless musical imitators. For the next five years, though the music in Hollywood changed, John Williams wrote big, brassy scores for big, brassy films - The Fury (1978), Superman (1978), 1941 (1979), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) ... An experiment during this period, Heartbeeps (1981), flopped. There was a long-term change of pace, nonetheless, as Williams fell in love with an interior designer and married once more.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) brought about his third Oscar, and The River (1984), Empire of the Sun (1987), The Accidental Tourist (1988) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989) added variety to the 1980s, as he returned to television with work on Amazing Stories (1985) and themes for NBC, including NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (1970). The '80s also brought the only exceptions to the composer's collaboration with Steven Spielberg - others scored both Spielberg's segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and The Color Purple (1985).
Intending to retire, the composer's output became sporadic during the 1990s, particularly after the exciting Jurassic Park (1993) and the masterful, Oscar-winning Schindler's List (1993). This lighter workload, coupled with a number of hilarious references on The Simpsons (1989) actually seemed to renew interest in his music. Two Home Alone films (1990, 1992), JFK (1991), Nixon (1995), Sleepers (1996), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Angela's Ashes (1999), and a return to familiar territory with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) recalled his creative diversity of the '70s.
In this millennium, the artist shows no interest in slowing down. His relationships with Spielberg and Lucas continue in A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), the remaining Star Wars prequels (2002, 2005), Minority Report (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002), and a promised fourth Indiana Jones film. There is a more focused effort on concert works, as well, including a theme for the new Walt Disney Concert Hall and a rumored light opera. But one certain highlight is his musical magic for the world of Harry Potter (2001, 2002, 2004, etc.), which he also arranged into a concert suite geared toward teaching children about the symphony orchestra. His music remains on the whistling lips of people around the globe, in the concert halls, on the promenades, in album collections, sports arenas, and parades, and, this writer hopes, touching some place in ourselves. So keep those ears ready wherever you go, 'cause you will likely hear a bit of John Williams on your way.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
James Newton Howard attended the University of Southern California's music school, but dropped out to tour with Elton John, and eventually compose music for film and television. He started with Head Office (1985) in 1985. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards. He currently is a songwriter, record producer, conductor, keyboardist, and film composer.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Atticus Ross was born on 16 January 1968 in England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Mank (2020). He has been married to Claudia Sarne since 2001. They have three children.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actress
Claudia Sarne is known for The Book of Eli (2010), End of Watch (2012) and Triple 9 (2016). She is married to Atticus Ross.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Grandson of a Belorussian and Ukrainian couple in love with music, son of an accordionist who founded "L'Orchestre des Quatre Frères" (he was one of the four brothers), this native of Thionville, in the North East of France, could not (nor wished to) escape Euterpe. The child quickly integrated the brass band of his village, where he learned the clarinet and oboe. Later, with his literary baccalaureate in his pocket, he studied simultaneously at the Metz Conservatory and the city's Faculty of Musicology, before embarking on a two-decade dual career as a music teacher at the Villerupt College and as a multi-card musician. Endowed with an insatiable curiosity, he explored various instruments (playing the bass in a a punk-rock band, the saxophone in a jazz group) as well as the most diverse styles (jazz, electro, punk-rock, electro, techno, world music, rap, improvisation). It was by joining the Acid Jazz Parparu collective that he made a decisive meeting, that of Marc Mergen. Together, they were approached to enter the world of film music. Together, they composed the soundtrack for "Une liaison pornographique". Since then, having resigned from the National Education Department due to overworked employment, André Dziezuk has devoted himself full-time to film music. In 2019 he had written no fewer than 45 scores. Full-time? Well, almost... because this workaholic still finds time to teach oboe and computer music at the music school in Dudelange, Luxembourg.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Known for his wide-ranging talents, Mark Mancina's film scores traverse almost every genre: drama, action, comedy, suspense, and period epic. His dark, edgy music for the Oscar-winning Training Day (2001), is a benchmark score that expanded the boundaries of scoring street-wise drama, and is widely used as a temp track, while his breakout score for Speed (1994), another innovative work, influenced the sound of subsequent action movies. Mancina's orchestral originality on Return to Paradise (1998), reflecting the haunting gloom of its subject, and his score for the period epic Moll Flanders (1996), which appeared on Billboard's Classical Crossover Chart, further point to Mancina's considerable compositional range. Other films include Twister (1996), Bad Boys (1995), Con Air (1997), Domestic Disturbance (2001), Tarzan (1999), Brother Bear (2003), The Haunted Mansion (2003), and Sony's 3-D animated short, Early Bloomer (2003).
But Mancina's achievements as composer for some of the top-grossing films of recent years comprise only one aspect of his diverse career. Composer, producer, songwriter and three-time Grammy winner, he has also added Broadway to his list of accomplishments by writing, producing and arranging the score for Disney's Tony-winning stage production of The Lion King. The foundation for this expansion into theatre was set in the early 1990s when Oscar winning composer Hans Zimmer, recognizing Mancina's varied gifts, asked him to arrange and produce three Elton John songs for what would become the enormously successful original film version of The Lion King. Mancina's efforts on "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "I Just Can't Wait To Be King," and "Hakuna Matata" were rewarded with a multi-platinum record that has sold over ten million copies worldwide, and earned him a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children and two American Music Awards for Best Pop Album. On the heels of the success of The Lion King (1994), Mancina went on to write and produce additional songs for a Lion King follow-up album entitled Rhythm of the Pridelands featuring South African artist 'Lebo M'. One of Mancina's original songs, "He Lives In You," became a thematic centerpiece for The Lion King theatrical production which opened on Broadway in 1997, and has since been performed to great acclaim in numerous cities around the world. In his role as producer of music for the stage, Mancina collaborated with 'Lebo M', and director Julie Taymor to create the distinctive musical atmosphere of the Tony award winning show. Mancina received a Tony nomination, was awarded Britain's Ivor Novello Award for the London production, and earned his second Grammy for producing the Original Broadway Cast Album.
Born in Santa Monica, Mancina spent his childhood in Culver City, then Huntington Beach, California. Commencing his musical training at a very early age, he has performed all his life as a singer, guitarist and pianist. His film and television scores frequently feature Mancina's own performances on piano, guitar, bass, percussion, and drums, highlighting unique sounds harvested from a personal collection of traditional, exotic, and custom instruments from all over the world.
After studying composition and performance as a classical guitar major at Cal State Fullerton, he went on to perform on Trevor Rabin's solo tour, and later to write and produce for Yes. He also worked on several records with producer Trevor Horn, including the song "Crazy," performed by Grammy-winning artist Seal. In 1990, Mancina moved from Los Angeles to London for a year to work with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, producing and composing their "Black Moon" album for PolyGram. More recently, he has composed and arranged songs with Kenny Loggins. His extensive partnership with Phil Collins includes Disney's animated hit Tarzan (1999), for which Mancina composed the score and co-produced several Collins songs. The ballad "You'll Be In My Heart," which Mancina arranged and co-produced, won the Oscar for Best Song. They renewed their collaborative efforts for the recent Brother Bear for which Mancina co-produced songs and co-composed the dramatic score. In addition to his work in film, theatre and the recording industry, Mancina also writes score and themes for many television projects, which have included "The Outer Limits," "Poltergeist," "Millennium," "Lifepod," and HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon." Among his countless television commercial clients are Nike, Mountain Dew, Jaguar, Skittles, McDonald's, Verizon, Computer Associates, Goodyear, The U.S. Army, American Express and AT&T. Working from his studio in Pasadena, and his home studio, a mountaintop farmhouse/barn, he continues to expand his repertoire, and is currently developing songs for musicals and films.