Archive
BAFTA Winners 2010
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have announced the winners of the 64th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2010.
In the Best Original Score category composer Alexandre Desplat won the award for his score for the critically acclaimed drama The King’s Speech.
The other nominees were Danny Elfman for Alice in Wonderland, John Powell for How to Train Your Dragon, A.R. Rahman for 127 Hours, and Hans Zimmer for Inception.
IFMCA Award Nominations 2010
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT RECEIVES 7 INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS AWARD NOMINATIONS, INCLUDING TWO FOR FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
The International Film Music Critics Association has announced its list of nominations for excellence in musical scoring in 2010, with French composer Alexandre Desplat leading the field with 7 nods including THE KING’S SPEECH (3 nominations) and THE GHOST WRITER (3 nominations) for Film Score of the Year. Also nominated in this category are John Powell’s HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (5 nominations), Daft Punk’s score to TRON: LEGACY (3 nominations) and Hans Zimmer’s INCEPTION (3 nominations).
Desplat, who also wrote the nominated score to HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1, is short-listed for Composer of the Year along with John Powell (HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON); James Newton Howard (SALT, THE LAST AIRBENDER, NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS); Danny Elfman (ALICE IN WONDERLAND); and Hans Zimmer (INCEPTION).
Breakout Composer of the Year nominees include Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, better known as the French electronic/dance duo Daft Punk, for TRON: LEGACY; Spanish composer Oscar Araujo for the video game CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW; Spanish composer Arnau Bataller for the mystery film LA HERENCIA VALDEMAR; German composer Herbert Grönemeyer for the George Clooney drama THE AMERICAN; and Portuguese composer Nuno Malo for AMÁLIA, the film about the life of Portuguese fado singer Amália Rodrigues. Read more…
John Barry, 1933-2011
Composer John Barry died on January 30, 2011, at his home in Oyster Bay, New York, after suffering a heart attack. He was 77.
John Barry Prendergast was born in York, England in November 1933, where his father owned a chain of cinemas. He played the organ at York Minster and, after spending some time as a classical pianist, formed a jazz band, The John Barry Seven in 1957. The Seven had a number of popular instrumental hits in the UK, including a cover of “Walk Don’t Run” and the theme from the TV show Juke Box Jury, “Hit and Miss”, before moving into cinema.
Barry made his film music composing debut in 1960 writing music for the Adam Faith film Beat Girl at the age of 27, before establishing himself as a major force in the British film industry when he was brought in to arrange the theme for Dr. No, the first Bond film, in 1962. Though the “James Bond Theme” is credited to Monty Norman, Barry’s unmistakable arrangement—brassy, rhythmic, and insouciantly cool—established the sound of the series. He wrote the entire score for the second James Bond film, From Russia With Love, in 1963, and went on to score ten more, including Thunderball, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, Octopussy, and The Living Daylights. Read more…
Academy Award Nominations 2010
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2010.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The King’s Speech
- JOHN POWELL for How to Train Your Dragon
- A. R. RAHMAN for 127 Hours
- TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS for The Social Network
- HANS ZIMMER for Inception
These are the first Oscar nominations Powell, Reznor, and Ross, although Reznor and Ross picked up a Golden Globe nomination for The Social Network earlier in the season. This is the 4th Oscar nomination for Desplat, the 2nd Oscar nomination for Rahman, who won the Award in 2009 for Slumdog Millionaire, and the 9th Oscar nomination for Zimmer, who previously won in 1994 for The Lion King.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- TOM DOUGLAS, TROY VERGES and HILLARY LINDSEY for “Coming Home” from Country Strong
- ALAN MENKEN and GLENN SLATER for “I See The Light” from Tangled
- RANDY NEWMAN for “We Belong Together” from Toy Story 3
- A.R. RAHMAN, DIDO ARMSTRONG and ROLLO ARMSTRONG for “If I Rise” from 127 Hours
The winners of the 83rd Academy Awards will be announced on February 27, 2011.
BAFTA Nominations 2010
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 64th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2010.
In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The King’s Speech
- DANNY ELFMAN for Alice in Wonderland
- JOHN POWELL for How to Train Your Dragon
- A.R. RAHMAN for 127 Hours
- HANS ZIMMER for Inception
This is the 5th BAFTA nomination for Desplat, the 2nd BAFTA nomination for Elfman, the 3rd BAFTA nomination for Powell, the 2nd BAFTA nomination for Rahman (who won the award in 2008 for Slumdog Millionaire), and the 5th BAFTA film nomination for Zimmer.
The winners of the 64th BAFTA Awards will be announced on February 13, 2011.
Golden Globe Winners 2010
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) have announced the winners of the 68th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2010.
In the Best Original Score category composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won the award for their score for David Fincher-directed Facebook movie The Social Network. In their acceptance speech, Reznor said:
“This is really flattering to be recognized in this field, thank you very much. A year ago I had no idea I’d be having the opportunity to score a film, and the idea of standing up here accepting this award is completely surreal. Thank you. We would like to collectively thank David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin, Scott Rudin, Amy Pascal, Lia Vollack, Ren Klyce, and everyone involved with this picture, as well as our wives and families. Thank you so much.”
The other nominees were Alexandre Desplat for The King’s Speech, Danny Elfman for Alice in Wonderland, A.R. Rahman for 127 Hours, and Hans Zimmer for Inception.
In the Best Original Song category, the winner was Diane Warren won for her song “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from the Christina Aguilera/Cher screen musical Burlesque. Warren dedicated her award to the late music publicist Ronni Chasen, who had been tragically murdered several weeks previously.
The other nominees were Christina Aguilera, Samuel Dixon and Sia Furler for “Bound to You” from Burlesque; Bob Di Piero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey and Troy Verges for “Coming Home” from Country Strong; Alan Menken and Glenn Slater for “I See the Light” from Tangled; and Carrie Underwood, David Hodges and Hillary Lindsey for “There’s a Place for Us” from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Golden Globe Nominations 2010
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) have announced the nominations for the 68th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2010.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The King’s Speech
- DANNY ELFMAN for Alice in Wonderland
- A.R. RAHMAN for 127 Hours
- TRENT REZNOR and ATTICUS ROSS for The Social Network
- HANS ZIMMER for Inception
This is the first major film music award nomination for Reznor and Ross, but Reznor has previously been the recipient of multiple Grammy awards and nominations for his work with Nine Inch Nails. This is the 5th nomination for Desplat, who won the award in 2006 for The Painted Veil, the 3rd nomination for Elfman, the 2nd nomination for Rahman, who won the Globe in 2008 for Slumdog Millionaire, and the 10th nomination for Zimmer, who previously won Globes for The Lion King in 1994 and Gladiator in 2000.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- CHRISTINA AGUILERA, SAMUEL DIXON and SIA FURLER for “Bound to You” from Burlesque
- BOB DI PIERO, TOM DOUGLAS, HILLARY LINDSEY and TROY VERGES for “Coming Home” from Country Strong
- ALAN MENKEN and GLENN SLATER for “I See the Light” from Tangled
- CARRIE UNDERWOOD, DAVID HODGES and HILLARY LINDSEY for “There’s a Place for Us” from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- DIANE WARREN for “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from Burlesque
The winners of the 68th Golden Globe Awards will be announced on January 16, 2011.
Introducing Craig Lysy
I had the good fortune of meeting Jon in 2008 through the Filmtracks scoreboard. We realized that we were both local LA guys and so agreed to setup a meeting. We first met over a cup of tea at the Northridge Borders book store and talked for almost 4 hours about our shared passion – film scores. It was an instant connection that has since evolved into a truly wonderful and rewarding friendship.
Jon has suggested to me on a number of occasions that I consider reviewing and launching my own site. If I was in my twenties and single I would have taken him up on both in a heartbeat, but at 56 and married, the timing and investment is just too ambitious. But on the matter of reviews, I have decided to accept Jon’s generous solicitation. I am honored and gratified to collaborate with Jon by joining one of the finest film score sites on the internet. Read more…
Welcome to the new look Movie Music UK
After many years of a rather stagnant and out of date site design, plus various technological and security-related issues over the past six months, I have decided to bite the bullet and launch a site upgrade, with a new look, and new features intended to make the site more interactive and modern.
The review content and composer biography archive will remain the same (as, hopefully, will the quality of writing!), but in addition to these classic elements the site now has an RSS feed, is set up to allow instant feedback from readers through direct comment areas on each review, and is plugged in to Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Digg, and various other social media outlets to allow easy link sharing.
Over the coming months I will be working on new reviews and content while moving over and converting all the existing reviews and composer biographies to the new style. Currently the majority of the historical reviews and composer bios are unavailable, but this will gradually change over time. I expect all the content to be back live within 10-12 weeks.
I hope you like the all-new MMUK. Comments and questions are always welcome, of course!
IFMCA Award Winners 2009
INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WINNERS FOR 2009; MICHAEL GIACCHINO’S UP WINS BEST SCORE
Michael Giacchino wins the 2009 Score of the Year award from the International Film Music Critics Association for his inventive and nostalgic score for the Disney Pixar film, UP, which also wins Best Original Score for an Animated Feature. Giacchino receives a total of four awards, including Composer of the Year, in part for also writing the Best Original Score to a Fantasy/Science Fiction Feature winner for the JJ Abrams STAR TREK reboot. Giacchino won the Association’s first Score of the Year award in 2004 for another Pixar film, THE INCREDIBLES.
Christopher Young wins two awards for DRAG ME TO HELL: Original Score for a Horror/Thriller Film and Film Music Compostion of the Year for “Concerto to Hell.” Also receiving two awards is James Peterson for Breakout Composer of the Year and Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure Feature for the mixed martial arts prison movie THE RED CANVAS.
Veteran composer Marvin Hamlisch wins Best Original Score for a Comedy Film for Steven Soderbergh’s THE INFORMANT!, while Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski wins Best Original Score for a Drama Film for director Tom Ford’s debut film, A SINGLE MAN. Rounding out the feature film winners is Armand Amar’s Best Original Score for a Documentary Feature for the French nature documentary HOME. Read more…
Academy Award Nominations 2009
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2009.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- MARCO BELTRAMI and BUCK SANDERS for The Hurt Locker
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for Fantastic Mr. Fox
- MICHAEL GIACCHINO for Up
- JAMES HORNER for Avatar
- HANS ZIMMER for Sherlock Holmes
This is the first Oscar nomination for Sanders. It is the second nomination for Beltrami, the 3rd nomination for Desplat, the 2nd nomination for Giacchino, the 8th nomination for Horner, and the 7th nomination for Zimmer. Horner previously won for Titanic in 1997. Zimmer previously won for The Lion King in 1994.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- RYAN BINGHAM and T-BONE BURNETT for “The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart
- RANDY NEWMAN for “Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog
- RANDY NEWMAN for “Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog
- REINHARDT WAGNER and FRANK THOMAS for “Loin de Paname” from Paris 36
- MAURY YESTON for “Take It All” from Nine
The winners of the 82nd Academy Awards will be announced on March 7, 2010.
IFMCA Award Nominations 2009
INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES ITS 2009 NOMINEES FOR SCORING EXCELLENCE; MICHAEL GIACCHINO RECEIVES A RECORD NINE NOMINATIONS
The International Film Music Critics Association announces its list of excellence in musical scoring for 2009 with composer Michael Giacchino receiving nine individual nominations, the most for any composer in a given year since the Association began issuing awards in 2004. Along with multiple mentions for his score to the Disney Pixar movie UP and JJ Abrams’ reinvented STAR TREK, Giacchino receives nominations for his scores to the TV series LOST as well as the documentary EARTH DAYS. Giacchino is also nominated for Composer of the Year along with Alexandre Desplat, James Horner, Christopher Young and Brian Tyler.
Both UP and STAR TREK are nominated for Score of the Year, along with James Horner’s score to the worldwide blockbuster AVATAR and Christopher Young’s score to Sam Raimi’s DRAG ME TO HELL. These film scores are tied with the most nominations this year at four noms each. Alexandre Desplat’s score to THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON rounds out the category. Read more…
BAFTA Nominations 2009
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 63rd British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2009.
In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:
- T-BONE BURNETT and STEPHEN BRUTON for Crazy Heart
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for Fantastic Mr. Fox
- MICHAEL GIACCHINO for Up
- JAMES HORNER for Avatar
- CHAZ JANKEL for Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
These are the first nominations Bruton, Giacchino, and Jankel. It is the third nomination for Desplat, the fourth nomination for Burnett, and the fourth nomination for Horner. Burnett previously won for Cold Mountain in 2003.
The winners of the 63rd BAFTA Awards will be announced on February 21, 2010.
Golden Globe Nominations 2009
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has announced the nominations for the 67th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2009.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- CARTER BURWELL and KAREN ORZOLEK (KAREN O) for Where the Wild Things Are
- MICHAEL GIACCHINO for Up
- MARVIN HAMLISCH for The Informant!
- JAMES HORNER for Avatar
- ABEL KORZENIOWSKI for A Single Man
These are the first nominations for Burwell, Giacchino, Korzeniowski, and Orzolek. It is the third nomination for Hamlisch, and the sixth nomination for Horner. Horner previously won for Titanic in 1997.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- RYAN BINGHAM and T-BONE BURNETT for “The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart
- PAUL HEWSON (BONO), DAVID EVANS (THE EDGE), ADAM CLAYTON, and LARRY MULLEN JR. for “Winter” from Brothers
- JAMES HORNER and THADDIS ‘KUK’ HARRELL for “I See You” from Avatar
- PAUL MCCARTNEY for “(I Want to) Come Home” from Everybody’s Fine
- MAURY YESTON for “Cinema Italiano” from Nine
The winners of the 67th Golden Globe Awards will be announced on January 17, 2010.
Maurice Jarre, 1924-2009
Composer Maurice Jarre died on March 29, 2009, at his home in Malibu, California, after a battle with cancer. He was 84.
Maurice Alexis Jarre was born in Lyon, France, in September 1924, and originally studied engineering at the Sorbonne before turning to music at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied composition, percussion, and conducting. His early career included work in French theatre, notably as musical director for Jean-Louis Barrault’s Théâtre National Populaire.
Jarre’s began scoring films in France in the 1950s, notably for acclaimed director Georges Franju, and came to international prominence in 1962 for his epic, percussive, sweeping masterpiece score for director David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia. The film’s stirring main theme, performed by a full orchestra and augmented with Middle Eastern instruments, became one of the most recognizable in cinema and won Jarre his first Oscar. He capitalized on the success again in 1965 with another David Lean film, Doctor Zhivago, where his romantic and melancholic “Lara’s Theme” became a popular standard. Read more…
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