Archive
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…
Academy Award Nominations 2008
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 81st Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2008.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- DANNY ELFMAN for Milk
- JAMES NEWTON HOWARD for Defiance
- THOMAS NEWMAN for Wall*E
- A. R. RAHMAN for Slumdog Millionaire
This is the first Oscar nomination for Rahman. It is the 2nd nomination for Desplat, the 4th nomination for Elfman, the 6th nomination for Howard, and the 10th nomination for Newman. None of the nominees have ever won an Academy Award before
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- THOMAS NEWMAN and PETER GABRIEL for “Down to Earth” from Wall*E
- A. R. RAHMAN and SAMPOORAN SINGH KALRA (GULZAR) for “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire
- A. R. RAHMAN and MATHANGI ARULPRAGASAM (M.I.A.) for “O Saya” from Slumdog Millionaire
The winners of the 81st Academy Awards will be announced on February 22, 2009.
Golden Globe Nominations 2008
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has announced the nominations for the 66th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2008.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- CLINT EASTWOOD for Changeling
- JAMES NEWTON HOWARD for Defiance
- A. R. RAHMAN for Slumdog Millionaire
- HANS ZIMMER for Frost/Nixon
This is the first nomination Rahman, the second nomination for Howard, the third nomination for Eastwoood, the fourth nomination for Desplat, and the eighth nomination for Zimmer. Eastwood has also been nominated three times previously as a director, winning for Bird in 1988 and Unforgiven in 1992. Desplat previously won for The Painted Veil in 2006. Zimmer previously won for The Lion King in 1994 and Gladiator in 2000.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- JAMIE CULLUM, CLINT EASTWOOD, KYLE EASTWOOD, and MICHAEL STEVENS for “Gran Torino” from Gran Torino
- MILEY CYRUS and JEFFREY STEELE for “I Thought I Lost You” from Bolt
- PETER GABRIEL and THOMAS NEWMAN for” Down to Earth” from Wall*E
- BEYONCÉ KNOWLES, HENRY KRIEGER, SCOTT CUTLER, and ANNE PREVEN for “Once in a Lifetime” from Cadillac Records
- BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN for “The Wrestler” from The Wrestler
The winners of the 66th Golden Globe Awards will be announced on January 11, 2009.
Leonard Rosenman, 1924-2008
Composer Leonard Rosenman died on March 4, 2008, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. He had been suffering with dementia for many years, and died of a heart attack. He was 83.
Leonard Rosenman was born in September 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrants from Poland. After service in the Pacific with the United States Army Air Forces in World War II he studied piano and composition at Brooklyn College, and later at the University of California, Berkeley. Among his most influential teachers were Arnold Schoenberg and Roger Sessions – figures whose serialist and atonal techniques deeply informed Rosenman’s own compositional voice.
Rosenman’s entranc into the film world came through his friendship with actor James Dean; the two had met at a party for the cast of a Broadway play, and two weeks later Dean appeared at Rosenman’s doorstep wanting to take piano lessons. Dean later personally recommended him to director Elia Kazan for East of Eden in 1955, which proved to be a major breakthrough for the composer. Rosenman followed it later that year with Rebel Without a Cause, further establishing his reputation as a composer capable of capturing psychological intensity through unconventional harmonic language. These early scores were groundbreaking in their integration of dissonance and modernist techniques into mainstream Hollywood cinema. Read more…
Academy Award Nominations 2007
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 80th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2007.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- MARCO BELTRAMI for 3:10 to Yuma
- MICHAEL GIACCHINO for Ratatouille
- JAMES NEWTON HOWARD for Michael Clayton
- ALBERTO IGLESIAS for The Kite Runner
- DARIO MARIANELLI for Atonement
These are the first Oscar nominations for Beltrami and Giacchino. It is the 5th nomination for Howard, the 2nd nomination for Iglesias, and the 2nd nomination for Marianelli. None of the nominees have ever won an Academy Award before
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- GLEN HANSARD and MARKÉTA IRGLOVÁ for “Falling Slowly” from Once
- JAMAL JOSEPH, CHARLES MACK, and TEVIN THOMAS for “Raise It Up” from August Rush
- ALAN MENKEN and STEPHEN SCHWARTZ for “Happy Working Song” from Enchanted
- ALAN MENKEN and STEPHEN SCHWARTZ for “So Close” from Enchanted
- ALAN MENKEN and STEPHEN SCHWARTZ for “That’s How You Know” from Enchanted
The winners of the 80th Academy Awards will be announced on February 24, 2008.
BAFTA Nominations 2007
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 61st British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2007.
In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:
- JONNY GREENWOOD for There Will Be Blood
- CHRISTOPHER GUNNING for La Môme/La Vie En Rose
- ALBERTO IGLESIAS for The Kite Runner
- DARIO MARIANELLI for Atonement
- MARC STREITENFELD for American Gangster
These are the first nominations Greenwood, Gunning, Marianelli, and Streitenfeld. It is the second nomination for Iglesias.
The winners of the 61st BAFTA Awards will be announced on February 10, 2008.
Golden Globe Nominations 2007
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has announced the nominations for the 65th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2007.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- CLINT EASTWOOD for Grace Is Gone
- ALBERTO IGLESIAS for The Kite Runner
- MICHAEL BROOK, KAKI KING, and EDDIE VEDDER for Into the Wild
- DARIO MARIANELLI for Atonement
- HOWARD SHORE for Eastern Promises
These are the first nominations for Brook, Iglesias, King, Marianelli, and Vedder. It is the second nomination for Eastwoood, and the fourth nomination for Shore. Eastwood has also been nominated three times previously as a director, winning for Bird in 1988 and Unforgiven in 1992. Shore previously won for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003 and The Aviator in 2004.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- MARSHALL CRENSHAW, JUDD APATOW, JAKE KASDAN, and JOHN C. REILLY for “Walk Hard” from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
- CLINT EASTWOOD and CAROLE BAYER SAGER for “Grace Is Gone” from Grace Is Gone
- ALAN MENKEN and STEPHEN SCHWARTZ for “That’s How You Know” from Enchanted
- SHAKIRA RIPOLL and ANTONIO PINTO for “Despedida” from Love in the Time of Cholera
- EDDIE VEDDER for “Guaranteed” from Into the Wild
The winners of the 65th Golden Globe Awards will be announced on January 13, 2008.
Remembering Brian May, 1934-1997
Composer Brian May died ten years ago today, on April 25, 1997, in his home in Melbourne, Australia, after a short respiratory illness. He was 62.
May was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1934. A classically trained musician and conductor, May studied at the Adelaide Elder Conservatorium and later joined the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), where he served as conductor of the ABC Showband. He made his transition to film scoring in the early 1970s and quickly became a key figure in the Australian New Wave cinema movement, alongside fellow composers such as Peter Best and Bruce Smeaton, through scores like The True Story of Eskimo Nell (1975) and Patrick (1978).
May’s most famous contributions to film came at the end of that decade, with his scores for George Miller’s Mad Max (1979) and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981). May’s propulsive, percussive orchestral style that matched those films’ raw, dystopian vision, and when they earned global acclaim and popularity, May became one of the first Australian film composers to enjoy a major international career.
Known for his dramatic orchestration and effective use of tension and rhythm, May was equally adept in the horror, action, and suspense genres. His film credits post-Mad Max include Roadgames (1981), Gallipoli (1981), The Survivor (1981), Turkey Shoot (1982), Cloak & Dagger (1984), Sky Pirates (1986), and Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), among many others. Read more…
Academy Award Nominations 2006
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 79th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2006.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The Queen
- PHILIP GLASS for Notes on a Scandal
- JAVIER NAVARRETE for Pan’s Labyrinth
- THOMAS NEWMAN for The Good German
- GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA for Babel
These are the first Oscar nominations for Desplat and Navarrete, it is the 3rd nomination for Glass, the 9th nomination for Newman, and the 2nd nomination for Santaolalla. Santaolalla previously won for Brokeback Mountain, last year, in 2005.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- MELISSA ETHERIDGE for “I Need to Wake Up” from An Inconvenient Truth
- HENRY KRIEGER, SCOTT CUTLER, and ANNE PREVEN for “Listen” from Dreamgirls
- HENRY KRIEGER and SIEDAH GARRETT for “Love You I Do” from Dreamgirls
- HENRY KRIEGER and WILLIE REALE for “Patience” from Dreamgirls
- RANDY NEWMAN for “Our Town” from Cars
The winners of the 79th Academy Awards will be announced on February 25, 2007.
BAFTA Nominations 2006
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the 60th British Academy Film Awards, honoring the best in film in 2006.
In the Best Original Music category, which is named in memory of the film director Anthony Asquith, the nominees are:
- DAVID ARNOLD for Casino Royale
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The Queen
- HENRY KRIEGER for Dreamgirls
- JOHN POWELL for Happy Feet
- GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA for Babel
These are the first nominations Arnold and Krieger. It is the second nomination for Desplat, the second nomination for Powell, and the third nomination Santaolalla. Santaolalla previously won for The Motorcycle Diaries in 2004
The winners of the 60th BAFTA Awards will be announced on February 11, 2007.
Golden Globe Nominations 2006
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has announced the nominations for the 64th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2006.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- ALEXANDRE DESPLAT for The Painted Veil
- CLINT MANSELL for The Fountain
- GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA for Babel
- CARLO SILIOTTO for Nomad
- HANS ZIMMER for The Da Vinci Code
These are the first nominations for Mansell and Silotto. It is the second nomination for Santaolalla, the third nomination for Desplat, and the seventh nomination for Zimmer. Zimmer previously won for The Lion King in 1994 and Gladiator in 2000.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- BRYAN ADAMS, ELIOT KENNEDY, and ANDREA REMANDA for “Never Gonna Break My Faith” from Bobby
- SHERYL CROW for “Try Not to Remember” from Home of the Brave
- BEYONCÉ KNOWLES, HENRY KRIEGER, SCOTT CUTLER, and ANNE PREVEN for “Listen” from Dreamgirls
- PRINCE ROGERS NELSON for “The Song of the Heart” from Happy Feet
- HENRY SAMUEL (SEAL) and CHRISTOPHER BRUCE for “A Father’s Way” from The Pursuit of Happyness
The winners of the 64th Golden Globe Awards will be announced on January 15, 2007.
Shirley Walker, 1945-2006
Composer Shirley Walker died on November 30, 2006, in Reno, Nevada, from complications following a stroke. She was 61.
Born Shirley Anne Rogers in April 1945, in Napa, California, Walker was a musical prodigy. She had an early start performing as a teenager at various hotels, jazz and art bands in tje 1960s, and later attended both San Francisco State University and Berkeley. She began her professional music career in the late 1970s, and for several years she wrote jingles and composed for industrial films.
Her career in film began in 1979, when she was hired to play the synthesizers on Carmine Coppola’s score for Apocalypse Now, and she quickly established herself as one of the most in-demand arrangers, conductors, and orchestrators in Hollywood, working notably with composers such as Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, and Brad Fiedel. Notably, she is credited for being a major influence on the symphonic style Elfman adopted on scores like Scrooged, Batman, and Edward Scissorhands.
Walker was one of the few female film score composers working in Hollywood during her career, and became one of the first female composers to earn a solo score credit on a major Hollywood motion picture when she was hired to score John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man in 1992. Her work on the animated super-hero film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) remains a standout achievement, praised for its operatic intensity and emotional complexity; this film also initiated her long-standing relationship with DC Animation, as over the course of the next decade she would write music for shows such as Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The Flash, The New Batman Adventures, and Batman Beyond, among many others. Read more…
Basil Poledouris, 1945-2006
Composer Basil Poledouris died on November 8, 2006, at his home in Los Angeles, California, after a battle with cancer. He was 61.
Vassilis Konstantinos Poledouris was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in August 1945, to a family of Greek immigrants. A piano player from an early age, Basil moved to Los Angeles in 1964 to study filmmaking and music at the University of Southern California, where he was a contemporary of soon-to-be-directors George Lucas, John Milius and Randal Kleiser, who would go on to be lifelong friends and collaborators. Poledouris dabbled in acting – he had a non-speaking role as a crewmember on the original series of Star Trek – but concentrated on music following his graduation with a BA in film studies.
Poledouris composed music for over 100 educational films before getting his break in feature films, which came in 1978 following the release of the popular cult surfing movie Big Wednesday (directed by Milius), and which he followed by writing music for hit teen romance The Blue Lagoon in 1980, and the action fantasy epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982. The latter film launched the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger, and is considered one of the finest fantasy scores ever written. Read more…
Remembering Toru Takemitsu, 1930-1996
Composer Toru Takemitsu died ten years ago today, on February 20, 1996, in Tokyo, Japan, of pneumonia while undergoing treatment for bladder cancer. He was 65.
FULL REMEMBRANCE COMING SOON.
Academy Award Nominations 2005
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) have announced the nominations for the 78th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film in 2005.
In the Best Original Score category, the nominees are:
- ALBERTO IGLESIAS for The Constant Gardener
- DARIO MARIANELLI for Pride & Prejudice
- GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA for Brokeback Mountain
- JOHN WILLIAMS for Memoirs of a Geisha
- JOHN WILLIAMS for Munich
These are the first Oscar nominations for Iglesias, Marianelli, and Santaolalla, and are the 39th and 40th nominations for Williams. Williams previously won for Fiddler on the Roof in 1971, Jaws in 1975, Star Wars in 1977, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in 1982, and Schindler’s List in 1993.
In the Best Original Song category, the nominees are:
- JORDAN HOUSTON, CEDRIC COLEMAN, and PAUL BEAUREGARD for “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp” from Hustle & Flow
- DOLLY PARTON for “Travelin’ Thru” from Transamerica
- KATHLEEN ‘BIRD’ YORK and MICHAEL BECKER for “In the Deep” from Crash
The winners of the 78th Academy Awards will be announced on March 5, 2006.
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