Category: Soundtrack

Watch Composers Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt From BARBIE Film Score – Available To Stream Now

“BARBIE is a great time at the movies, perfect for the Summer. And to paraphrase the old ad line from Mattel, BARBIE…it’s swell!!” – Jim Batts review

Today, WaterTower Music released Barbie (Score from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), composed by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. The score is featured in the juggernaut film Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures – listen HERE.

The film, currently in theaters everywhere, has already shattered numerous records and is on its way to earning $1 billion at the global box office.

On composing the score, Ronson says, “Greta’s Barbie overflows with emotion in a way that inspired us to no end, not just with harmony and melody but also textures, sonics and rhythms. Sometimes Greta wanted us to elicit tears, sometimes she wanted it to feel like a disco. Sometimes she loved the warmth of vintage analogue synthesizers, sometimes she wanted the richness of the orchestra. Often, she wanted both.

“Creating a connection between the score and the amazing breadth of songs from the soundtrack was always so important to Greta, too. Sometimes a piece of score we wrote would evolve into a song, in the case of ‘Pink,’ or in the case of ‘I’m Just Ken,’ a song we wrote that morphed into score and then travelled back to song again. And with ‘Meeting Ruth’ – one of my favourite moments, we were inspired to reimagine Billie Eilish’s gorgeous ‘What Was I Made For?’ as a wistful 1930s orchestral ballad accompanied by Molly Lewis’s virtuosic whistling. When I think of all the music we wrote between the score and the songs, in some ways, Barbie is damn near a musical – which makes sense because experiencing Greta’s vision makes you feel like you’re going to burst open or walk on air, like all the greatest musicals do.

“The late nights and crazy hours we put into Barbie were all worth it to us, because we were so in love with this film. And we truly hope listening to our score from beginning to end will give others the same emotional, whimsical experience they had watching this magical film.”

The highly anticipated film score vividly brings Gerwig’s vision to life and adds the perfect layer to the film that immerses fans into the Barbie Universe. The score is now available on all digital music platforms and pre-orders are live for vinyl and CD configurations of the album through Waxwork Records. The vinyl will come in a variety of colors (pink, blue, white, and yellow) and will be housed in a heavyweight jacket with high gloss coating.

“Because Barbie’s ‘self’ traversed worlds, we felt it was important for the music to encompass all, or at least feel open to all; classics for the pomp of Will Farrell’s self-image, museum-piece 70s-80s synths to enshrine Barbie’s initial ‘undisputed-champion-of-dolls’ period, minimalism to reflect the spiritual impulse that underwrites the whole enterprise,” says Wyatt.

“Through our conversations with Greta, we came to understand the film was suggesting that, in the midst of an ever-expanding hodgepodge of messaging telling the individual who to be, there is, in fact, an authentic self, which, if allowed to, can emerge and can continue to emerge, and that this freedom to explore is central to the beliefs that created Barbie, and perhaps, created the nation. So the music needed to illustrate the hodgepodge, and yet remain enlivened by rhythm throughout,” Wyatt continues.

“What a privilege to be working with Mark and Andrew on this distinctive and beautifully crafted score album,” comments WaterTower Music head Jason Linn. “They’ve each long inspired us, and this electrifying collaboration resulted in a bona fide phenomenon. We’re proud to be their partners.”

THE BARBIE FILM SCORE
TRACKLIST

  1. Creation of Barbie
  2. Pink (“Barbie” Opening Theme) *Lizzo Cover
  3. Beach Off
  4. Ken Thinks
  5. Stairway to Weird Barbie
  6. Thoughts of Death
  7. Send Me Through the Portal
  8. Ken Makes a Discovery
  9. Bus Stop Billie *Billie Eilish Cover
  10. Mattel
  11. Meeting Ruth *Billie Eilish Cover
  12. Lose These Chuckleheads
  13. You Failed Me!
  14. Alan vs Kens
  15. Deprogramming
  16. Warmth of Your Gaze
  17. An Ending
  18. I Don’t Have an Ending
  19. What Was I Made For? (Epilogue) *Billie Eilish Cover

To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a Heyday Films Production, a LuckyChap Entertainment Production, an NB/GG Pictures Production, a Mattel Production, Barbie is in theaters now. Directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film is written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach, based on “Barbie” by Mattel, and produced by David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner. The executive producers are Gerwig, Baumbach, Ynon Kreiz, Richard Dickson, Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich and Cate Adams. The film’s music supervisor is George Drakoulias, with music by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt.

Listen To The First Music From THE FLASH By Composer Benjamin Wallfisch

WaterTower Music is proud to announce today’s release of “Worlds Collide” and “Run”—the first music to be released from Warner Bros. Pictures’ upcoming film “The Flash.” Directed by Andy Muschietti (the “IT” films, “Mama”), “The Flash” serves as the DC Super Hero’s first-ever standalone feature film. “Worlds Collide” and “Run” were created by lauded two-time GRAMMY- and BAFTA-nominated composer Benjamin Wallfisch (The “IT” films, “Shazam,” “Blade Runner: 2049” [with Hans Zimmer]) and both are now available for streaming (Standard and Dolby Atmos / Spatial Audio configurations) and digital purchase.

The two tracks will also be included on the upcoming The Flash (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), which is scheduled for release the same day the film is set to open in theaters in North America, June 16, 2023.

Wallfisch describes “Worlds Collide” as an important cue—heard at the climax of the movie—which features a new theme representing the meshing/coming together of DC eras past and present.

Wallfisch’s notable projects include It and It Chapter Two, Blade Runner 2049 (with Hans Zimmer), Shazam!, The Invisible Man, Mortal Kombat, Thirteen Lives, A Cure For Wellness, Annabelle: Creation, King Of Thieves, Hidden Figures (with Pharrell Williams and Hans Zimmer), and music based on Elgar’s Enigma Variations for Dunkirk.

Check out our interview from 2017 here: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2017/03/composer-benjamin-wallfisch-talks-composing-scores-for-hidden-figures-a-cure-for-wellness-and-bitter-harvest/

The composer discussed the track in further detail: “Worlds Collide” was a cue that Andy (Muschietti) and I iterated on—probably over 50 times—to get just right, even as the orchestra was recording it. Andy’s incredibly creative ideas meant adjusting the music and musicians in real time. The track is built on a chord progression where the outer voices of the chords move towards each other, almost pulled together by a powerful gravitational force, whilst always building in intensity. At the apex, there’s about 17 layers of orchestra playing together—probably over 1000 musicians! It was one of those moments where we had to ‘go big or go home’ to match the magnitude of what fans will see on screen!”

And “Run” was the very first music Wallfisch wrote for “The Flash,” just over three years ago. He described the genesis of the track and how it was integrated into the film: “Andy invited me to come onboard for the movie in the summer of 2020. Although the script was still being developed, I was inspired by the film concepts we discussed. “Run” was basically the first music I envisioned: a restless, searching piano figure, representing Barry’s crisis after losing his mother, played against insistent staccato strings that are on the edge of being impossible to perform because of their sheer speed.

“A few days later, and months prior to shooting,” Wallfisch continued, “I played this super rough sketch to Andy, alongside a bunch of other ideas for the film. Then, two years later, as Andy was putting together his first cut, he surprised me by putting this little piano sketch up against picture in one of the key moments in the movie, and it stayed there through to the final, almost unchanged. Andy and I have worked together closely for the last six years, and this was a moment I was especially grateful for our relationship. I feel so fortunate to have such a creative shorthand with someone I consider an absolute genius. “

Warner Bros. Pictures presents “The Flash,” directed by Andy Muschietti. Ezra Miller reprises their role as Barry Allen in the DC Super Hero’s first-ever standalone feature film. Worlds collide when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?

“The Flash” ensemble also includes rising star Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue and Michael Keaton. It is produced by Barbara Muschiett and Michael Disco. The screenplay is by Christina Hodson, with a screen story by John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein and Joby Harold, based on characters from DC. The executive producers are Toby Emmerich, Walter Hamada, Galen Vaisman and Marianne Jenkins.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Double Dream/a Disco Factory production of an Andy Muschietti film, “The Flash” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and is set to open in theaters in North America on June 16, 2023 and internationally beginning 14 June 2023.

Listen To The BLACK ADAM Theme From Composer Lorne Balfe

WaterTower Music has released the first music to be heard from the upcoming New Line Cinema action adventure “Black Adam,” starring Dwayne Johnson. The first-ever feature film to explore the story of the uncompromising DC antihero comes to the big screen under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (“Jungle Cruise”). The Black Adam Theme (from “Black Adam”) by highly respected Grammy Award-winning and Emmy-nominated composer Lorne Balfe (“Mission Impossible: Fallout,” “The Lego Batman Movie,” “Black Widow”) has just been released – in advance of the film and soundtrack release. “Black Adam” smashes into theaters and IMAX internationally beginning 19 October 2022, and in North America on October 21, 2022.

Balfe’s vision for the music of Black Adam encompasses an exploration into the back stories that define the characters. The composer commented on that approach. “It was exciting to get into the Black Adam theme, and I really wanted to capture his essence as the DC comic book world’s anti-hero. We had a large brass section across the score to give the weight and power of the main character’s past, which I balanced out with high tempo, more melodic sounds to give the audience that more familiar heroic feel. We also experimented a lot with choir on this project, which was able to contribute a unique and classical sound that ties in nicely with Black Adam’s story.”

Consistently receiving accolades for his musical compositions, he received critical acclaim for his score in the most successful film of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Writer/Director Christopher McQuarrie’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT (Paramount Pictures) and has been announced as the composer of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 & 8.

Other notable credits include TOP GUN: MAVERICK (Paramount), BLACK WIDOW (Disney/Marvel), AMBULANCE (Universal), JUNGLELAND (Paramount), THE LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE (Warner Bros), and the Oscar nominated film THE FLORIDA PROJECT (A24). Coming up Lorne’s work will be heard in ARGYLLE, directed by Matthew Vaughn.

In addition to his work with Christopher McQuarrie, Lorne has worked with many of the most prestigious directors in the industry, including Christopher Nolan, Ron Howard, Michael Bay, Cate Shortland, Ang Lee, Christophe Waltz, Jerry Bruckheimer, Sean Baker, and Chris McKay.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT Interview: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2019/01/composer-lorne-balfe-discusses-mission-impossible-fallout-game-awards-six-underground/

TERMINATOR GENISYS Interview: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2015/07/composer-lorne-balfe-talks-score-for-terminator-genisys/

In ancient Kahndaq, the slave Teth Adam was gifted the almighty powers of the gods. But he used those powers for vengeance and was imprisoned. Now, 5,000 years later, he is freed and once again wields his dark sense of justice onto the world. Refusing to surrender, Teth Adam is challenged by a team of modern day heroes known as the Justice Society— Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone—who seek to return him to eternal captivity.

Johnson stars alongside Aldis Hodge (“City on a Hill,” “One Night in Miami”) as Hawkman, Noah Centineo (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi (“Sex/Life,” “Rush Hour 3”), Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express,” “Aladdin”), Quintessa Swindell (“Voyagers,” “Trinkets”) as Cyclone, Mo Amer (“Mo,” “Ramy”), Bodhi Sabongui (“A Million Little Things”), and Pierce Brosnan (the James Bond and “Mamma Mia!” franchises) as Dr. Fate.

Collet-Serra directed from a screenplay written by Adam Sztykiel and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, based on characters from DC created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck. The film’s producers are Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, with Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Chris Pan, Walter Hamada, Adam Schlagman, Geoff Johns, Eric McLeod and Scott Sheldon executive producing.

The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes Oscar-nominated director of photography Lawrence Sher (“Joker”), production designer Tom Meyer (“Real Steel, ”Finch”), editors Mike Sale (“Red Notice,” “Skyscraper”) and John Lee (“Anyone Home?”), costume designers Kurt and Bart (“Deadpool 2,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 & 2”), Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer (“Life of Pi,” “Wonder Woman”), and composer Lorne Balfe (“Black Widow”).

New Line Cinema Presents a Seven Bucks/Flynn Picture Co. Production, A Jaume Collet-Serra Film, “Black Adam,” distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

https://www.dc.com/BlackAdam

LUCA Soundtrack By Composer Dan Romer Available From Walt Disney Records

In Jim Batts’ review of the new film LUCA, he says, “The music score from Dan Romer never overwhelms or dominates. This is primo Pixar, a glorious feast for the eyes and heart, as satisfying as a family pasta Sunday supper. Bravo and brava to all involved in creating one of the year’s best films, the triumph that is LUCA.” Read our review here.

Walt Disney Records releases Disney and Pixar’s Luca Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, available now (https://disneymusic.co/Luca). Score is composed and produced by Dan Romer (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”). A story about two teenage sea monsters who experience a life-changing summer, Disney and Pixar’s “Luca” is now streaming exclusively on Disney+ (where Disney+ is available).

The score was recorded with an 82-piece orchestra at the Newman Recording Stage, and was orchestrated and conducted by Mark Graham. Romer performed on accordion and acoustic guitar.

“Luca” director Enrico Casarosa turned to Romer to help set the stage and convey the youthful point of view of the main character, Luca. “I love his style—his accordion skills—and his ability to blend his style with the nuances of Italian music for this score,” said Casarosa.

The film is set on the Italian Riviera during the late 1950s, early 1960s. However, said Romer, “Enrico wanted something that felt like more of a nod, or a memory, than something that felt historically accurate. He told me what he really wanted was a more Italian-sounding version of the style of music I already make, which was very exciting and freeing!”

The composer especially liked working on the film’s dream sequences where Luca soars to great heights—feeling the freedom he craves. “They called for the most lush instrumentation, and usually the most wild rhythms,” he says.

Romer added, “It was an absolute joy getting to make such a melodically driven score and I’m excited for everyone to see the film.”

Dan Romer is an award-winning composer, songwriter and music producer based in Los Angeles. Romer’s scores include Disney and Pixar’s feature, “Luca” (Disney+) coming out Summer 2021, four-time Oscar®-nominated “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (Searchlight),” “Maniac” (Netflix), “The Good Doctor” (ABC), “Beasts of No Nation” (Netflix), “Atypical” (Netflix), “Ski” (A24) “Wendy” (Searchlight) and Emmy® award-winning series “Ramy” (Hulu). In 2018, Romer composed the music for Ubisoft’s flagship video game “Far Cry 5.” In addition to his scoring work, Dan produced several worldwide hit singles for numerous acclaimed artists including, A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera’s Grammy®- winning “Say Something,” and Shawn Mendes’ “Treat You Better.

Set in a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, Disney and Pixar’s original feature film “Luca” is a coming-of-age story about one young boy experiencing an unforgettable summer filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca (voice of Jacob Tremblay) shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, Alberto (voice of Jack Dylan Grazer), but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: they are sea monsters from another world just below the water’s surface. Directed by Academy Award® nominee Enrico Casarosa (“La Luna”) and produced by Andrea Warren (“Lava,” “Cars 3”).

Featuring 30 score tracks, the digital Luca Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is now available

The Zack Snyder’s Justice League (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) From Composer Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, Available March 18

WaterTower Music is excited to announce the March 18 release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), which features a completely brand-new score to accompany Snyder’s vision for the film, created by Grammy nominated multi-platinum producer, musician, composer and educator Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL (Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, the upcoming Godzilla Vs. Kong).

The album features Holkenborg’s music from Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the film in which, determined to ensure Superman’s (Henry Cavill) ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) aligns forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions. Now united, Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSaad and Darkseid and their dreadful intentions.

A new track from Holkenborg, “Middle Mass (From Zack Snyder’s Justice League)” was released.

This joins the previously released “The Crew At Warpower (From Zack Snyder’s Justice League)” as opportunities for fans to hear early music from the film.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League will be made available worldwide day and date with the US HBO Max debut on THURSDAY, MARCH 18 (*with a small number of exceptions). The feature film will be available internationally to rent, buy, stream or watch via HBO services, local TV providers, or a range of digital platforms. And the soundtrack releases worldwide the same day.

Tom Holkenborg calls Zack Snyder’s Justice League (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) his “Mount Everest of Scores.” Indeed, the album’s nearly 4 hours of music showcases his colossal output on a project which was a massive and deeply personal undertaking for him, given his and Zack Snyder’s years-deep connection on the film. The two worked together on Snyder’s original musical vision for the film in 2016; and have now come back together to see that vision come to fruition.

“Scoring Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been a project like no other in my career,” explains the composer. “It’s a four-and-a- half-hour movie. I wrote so much music! The score is, at times, fully electronic, and at other times fully orchestral. It included many global elements, rock and even trap. And it was all written during Covid, so it was an incredibly hands on, isolated and intense experience; and I think that comes out in the score. This project demanded so much on so many levels, and all of us involved owed it to the fans and Zack to give it everything we had.”

Unquestionably, the album does showcase the best of Tom Holkenborg, who was inspired to put everything he had into the opus. The soundtrack highlights his full spectrum as a composer, and draws on his experience as a rock producer, electronic music producer, his world music collaborations, and love of classical orchestration and classical film scoring. Yet even with that wide ranging stylistic mix, this body of work brilliantly illuminates a passionate cohesiveness amidst a more aggressive and more dramatic offering than anything the composer has previously put forth.


The Zack Snyder’s Justice League (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) will be available March 18. Two tracks, “The Crew At Warpower (From Zack Snyder’s Justice League)” and “Middle Mass (From Zack Snyder’s Justice League)” now available digitally, and the track list is as follows. All music by Tom Holkenborg unless noted:

Song to the Siren Performed by Rose Betts
A Hunter Gathers
Migratory
Things Fall Apart
Wonder Woman Defending / And What Rough Beast
World Ending Fire
Middle Mass
Long Division
No Paradise, No Fall
The Center Will Not Hold, Twenty Centuries of Stony Sleep
As Above, So Below
No Dog, No Master
Take This Kingdom by Force
A Splinter from the Thorn That Pricked You
Cyborg Becoming / Human All Too Human
The Path Chooses You
Aquaman Returning / Carry Your Own Water
The Provenance of Something Gathered
We Do This Together
The Will to Power
Smoke Become Fire
I Teach You, the Overman
A Glimmer at the Door of the Living
How We Achieve Ourselves
The Sun Forever Rising
Underworld
Superman Rising, Pt. 1 / A Book of Hours
Beyond Good and Evil
Monument Builder
Monument Destroyer
Urgrund
So Begins the End
The House of Belonging
Earthling
Flight Is Our Nature
Indivisible
And the Lion-Earth Did Roar, Pt. 1
And the Lion-Earth Did Roar, Pt. 2
Superman Rising, Pt. 2 / Immovable
At the Speed of Force
My Broken Boy
That Terrible Strength
An Eternal Reoccurrence of Change
We Slay Ourselves
Your Own House Turned to Ashes
All of You Undisturbed Cities
The Art of Preserving Fire
The Crew at Warpower
The Foundation Theme (from Zack Snyder’s Justice League)
Batman, a Duty to Fight / To See
Batman, an Invocation to Heal / To Be Seen
Wonder Woman, a Call to Stand / A World Awakened
Flash, The Space to Win / Our Legacy Is Now
Hallelujah Performed by Allison Crowe

Soundtrack For Francis Lee’s AMMONITE From Composers Dustin O’Halloran and Volker Bertelmann Available Now

Milan Records today releases Ammonite (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) with music by Dustin O’Halloran and Volker Bertelmann. Available everywhere now, the album features music written by the duo for director Francis Lee’s critically-acclaimed film starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. Continuing a fruitful creative partnership, the nine-track album features music co-composed by O’Halloran and Bertelmann, who previously teamed on the Academy® Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe® Award-nominated score for 2016’s Lion, A Christmas Carol and more. 

Following its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), NEON opened the film in select theaters on November 13.

Of the soundtrack, composers O’Halloran and Bertelmann say, 

“Writing music for Ammonite was a smooth and natural process. We already knew from director Francis Lee’s previous work this would be a score full of emotion and restraint. Because the film is a period piece, it also meant finding a tone and instrumentation that would work in this world. The overall length of music recorded is somewhat shorter than our other scores; therefore, we used many natural sounds, so when the pieces arrive, it feels meaningful. We decided for a small chamber group of strings and piano as our palette and worked from there. Francis’s original idea was to find a single piece of music playing in parts and come to a full suite at the end. In some ways, this was how we approached it, save for a few moments of score specific to the scene. We found the strong acting that both Kate and Saoirse brought meant we needed to offer space, and try not to overstep. The last piece of music in the film, during the museum scene, represented a full understanding of the emotions that played out between the two characters.”

https://neonrated.com/films/ammonite

Ammonite tells the story of acclaimed self-taught paleontologist Mary Anning, who works alone on the wild and brutal Southern English coastline of Lyme Regis in the 1840s. The days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now hunts for common fossils to sell to rich tourists to support herself and her ailing widowed mother. When one such tourist, Roderick Murchison, arrives in Lyme on the first leg of a European tour, he entrusts Mary with the care of his young wife Charlotte, who is recuperating from a personal tragedy. Mary, whose life is a daily struggle on the poverty line, cannot afford to turn him down but, proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, she clashes with her unwanted guest. They are two women from utterly different worlds. Yet despite the chasm between their social spheres and personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realization that they are not alone. It is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.

You can listen to the lead single “Fossils” here, and the full album on all major streaming platforms. 

AMMONITE (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)TRACKLISTING –

  1. Fossils
  2. Strong Enough
  3. Dig
  4. Leave
  5. Boat
  6. Post
  7. Beach
  8. End
  9. Aria – Peter Gregson

Dustin O’Halloran is an American pianist and composer with four acclaimed solo albums under his own name, and is a member of the band A Winged Victory for the Sullen with Adam Wiltzie. He released his first EP for renowned classical musical label Deutsche Grammophon in 2019, with a new album currently in the works, and A Winged Victory For The Sullen released their latest album, The Undivided Five, on Ninja Tune the same year. 

O’Halloran’s film career began with Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006), and since then he’s worked on multiple films and TV shows, including Like Crazy (2011) and Breathe In (2013), directed by Drake Doremus and both starring Felicity Jones. He also scored Marc Turtletaub’s Puzzle (2018), for whose closing song he collaborated with veteran Scandinavian chart-topper Ane Brun, and George Tillman Jr.’s critically acclaimed The Hate U Give (2018). He’s the winner of a 2015 Emmy Award for his main title theme to Amazon’s comedy dramaTransparent (2014–2017), and was nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Critics Choice Award for his score to Lion (2016), written in collaboration with Volker Bertelmann (aka Hauschka). He also collaborated with Bertelmann to score A Christmas Carol (2019) starring Guy Pearce, Ammonite (2020) starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, and The Old Guard (2020) starring Charlize Theron. Other collaborations include with Bryan Senti on the Sky TV series Save Me (2018–).

Volker Bertelmann is an internationally-acclaimed pianist, composer and experimental musician. His score for Garth Davis’ Oscar-nominated film Lion, which he composed in collaboration with Dustin O’Halloran, was nominated for multiple awards: for the 2016 Oscar for Best Original Score, for the 2016 Golden Globes for Best Original Score, for Best Score at the 2016 Critics’ Choice Awards, for Best Original Score-Feature Film at the 2016 Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and for Best Film Music at the 2016 British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs. Since then, Bertelmann has provided music for several leading films and television series. He composed the score for Patrick Melrose, Showtime’s Emmy-and BAFTA nominated mini-series, and for Gunpowder, the HBO mini-series starring Kit Harington. He also composed film scores for Adrift, the 2018 romantic drama directed by Baltasar Kormákur, and, again in collaboration with O’Halloran, for The Art of Racing in The Rain, which is based on the best-selling novel by Garth Stein. In 2018, he accepted an invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bertelmann, who in his solo work goes by the name Hauschka, is a uniquely innovative pianist; he is renowned both for his trademark sound, which he achieves by preparing the piano with various small objects, and his ability to improvise entire performances. 

Marco Beltrami’s DRACULA 2000 Limited Edition Soundtrack Will Be Released July 24

Varèse Sarabande Records has announced the upcoming CD release of Dracula 2000 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Academy Award®-nominated Marco Beltrami. The limited edition soundtack will be released on July 24, as a standalone record for the first time ever—with only 1,000 copies available. With the announcement of this exciting upcoming release, pre-order is available now on varesesarabande.com. 

Dracula 2000 made its official CD debut in Varèse Sarabande’s sold-out 2016 box set, “Little Box of Horrors.” The album was mastered by James Nelson from sources provided by Marco Beltrami. The CD booklet includes extensive liner notes by film music journalist Daniel Schweiger.

Marco Beltrami has received Academy Award®-nominations for his iconic scores to 3:10 to Yuma and The Hurt Locker. He has also lent his voice to such hit films as Live Free or Die Hard, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, I, Robot and the Scream series.

See our interviews with Beltrami for WORLD WAR Z here: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2013/06/interview-wamg-talks-to-world-war-z-composer-marco-beltrami/

And THE NOVEMBER MAN here: https://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2014/09/wamgs-conversation-with-the-november-man-composer-marco-beltrami/

In this loose reinvention of the classic Bram Stoker novel, the Count (Gerard Butler) is transplanted to the present day, after a brief prologue where Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer) captures Dracula and conceals him in Carfax Abbey, where he remains for many years. In the future, Carfax Abbey is contained within an office building where Van Helsing’s been using Dracula’s blood to stay alive in order to guard the evil secret. After a band of thieves, led by the malevolent Marcus (Omar Epps), attempts to seize Dracula’s remains, the Count escapes to New Orleans, where Mary Van Helsing (Justine Waddell) currently resides. Mary is eventually persuaded to fight Dracula with the aid of a reluctant Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), one of Van Helsing’s employees, all while trying to escape the newly made vampires of Marcus’ gang and a zealous TV reporter (Jeri Ryan). The film also features Lochlyn Munro, Jennifer Esposito, Vitamin C and Danny Masterson in supporting roles.

Pre-Order: https://www.varesesarabande.com/products/dracula-2000-cd

TRACK LISTING

  1. “Lifeboat (Main Title)” (2:55)
  2. “L2K* / Crossbow” (2:19)
  3. “Mission Impossible” (2:01)
  4. “Vault Vixen” (3:00)
  5. “Coffin’ Blood / Helsing Alarmed” (4:58)
  6. “The Movable Feast / Come To Daddy” (3:41)
  7. “Mary And Priest #1 (Mary’s Theme)” (2:12)
  8. “Mardi Gras In Toronto?” (1:30)
  9. “River Dance” (1:18)
  10. “Town Hall Meeting / Cat Out Of The Bag / Lookin’ Sharp / Pussy Whipped” (6:34)
  11. “Vamps 101” (3:58)
  12. “Mary And Priest #2” (1:43)
  13. “Vamp On A G String” (2:09)
  14. “Takes A Vitamin / Drac Hits A High C” (2:01)
  15. “Marcus Gives Head / Old Blood” (3:40)
  16. “At Home With The Creeps / Old Man In The C / Goodnight Moon” (4:43)
  17. “Mary Reads Dad’s Diary” (1:13)
  18. “Hot Cross Buns / Bible Thumper” (5:02)
  19. “Trimmin’ The Bush” (2:38)
  20. “Gang Fang” (1:04)
  21. “Brotherly Love” (4:10)
  22. “Tickle Me Elmo / Mary, Mary Quite Contrary / Mary & Drac Left Hangin’” (6:27)
  23. “The Sun Also Rises (Film Version)” (2:35)
  24. “Canned Heat” (3:10)
  25. “The Sun Also Rises (Short Version)” (2:18)

WAMG’s Conversation With Composer Christopher Lennertz On His Super-Hero Score For Amazon Prime’s THE BOYS

When Hughie (Jack Quaid, “The Hunger Games”) suffers a devastating loss at the hands of a reckless Supe his devastation turns to outrage when he discovers there is no legal recourse for victims of collateral superhero damage. While still reeling from his trauma Hughie meets a mysterious operative, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, “Star Trek”), who recruits him to join in his pursuit of some vigilante justice against the Supes—who are not exactly what they seem.

“The Boys” is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes – who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven, and Vought – the multi-billion dollar conglomerate that manages these superheroes and covers up all of their dirty secrets. The Boys are rounded out by Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso, “Detroit”), Frenchie (Tomer Capon, “Hostages”), and The Female (Karen Fukuhara, “Suicide Squad”). Simon Pegg (“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”) guest stars as Hughie’s father.

THE BOYS

The Supes of The Seven are led by Homelander (Antony Starr, “Banshee”) who is joined by Starlight (Erin Moriarty, “Captain Fantastic”), Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott, “House of Cards”), A-Train (Jessie T. Usher, “Independence Day: Resurgence”), The Deep (Chace Crawford, “Gossip Girl”) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell, “Supernatural”). Academy Award® nominee Elisabeth Shue (“Leaving Las Vegas”) stars as Madelyn Stillwell, Vought’s Senior VP of Hero Management.

Based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, “The Boys” was developed by showrunner Eric Kripke (“Supernatural”), who also serves as writer, executive producer and directed the season finale. Joining Kripke as executive producers are Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen (“Preacher”), Evan Goldberg (“Preacher”), and James Weaver (“Preacher”), Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz (“Prison Break”), Pavun Shetty (“New Girl”) and Ori Marmur (“Preacher”), as well as Ken Levin and Jason Netter. Ennis and Robertson also co-executive produce. The pilot episode was directed by Dan Trachtenberg (“10 Cloverfield Lane”).

The score is by Christopher Lennertz. He is one of the most prolific and diverse composers working today, creating music in virtually every genre. He has spent weeks on Billboard charts, received an Emmy nomination for the cult hit Supernatural, a Grammy for his arrangements on Ozomatli’s album Street Signs, and won 14 BMI Awards to date.

Recently the composer and I spoke on the phone about creating music for THE BOYS. The show and Lennertz’s score are astounding. I love superhero TV shows and movies, and being a huge fan this skewed twist on the genre has made it my new favorite series.

THE BOYS reunites Lennertz with the series’ creator Eric Kripke, creator and producer of CW’s Supernatural, which Lennertz has scored since the show’s inception in 2005, and for which he received an Emmy nomination. The duo also worked together on the NBC series Revolution.

My previous conversations with Chris have been about his work on Agent Carter HERE and THINK LIKE A MAN TOO here.

During our conversation this time we talked about the Amazon Prime series as well as his recent projects UGLY DOLLS, SHAFT and his return for a second season for NETFLIX’s hit sci-fi show LOST IN SPACE.

WAMG: How was the COMIC CON Anatomy of a Superhero Panel which you attended in July?

CL: I couldn’t believe how many people were there – it was a blast. There were thousands of people there.

WAMG: Over the weekend we binged watch THE BOYS and Oh My Gosh!

CL: It’s really something isn’t it? It’s insane! You think to yourself, ‘I can’t believe they just did that.

WAMG: I kept saying to myself, okay it’s not going to get any crazier… and then it goes right off the rails! Who approached you about working on this project?

CL: I heard about it quite awhile ago when I was working on SAUSAGE PARTY with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and that they were making a show based on the comic about corrupt superheroes driven by greed and power and the team of badass misfits that try to take them down. Then I received an email from Eric Kripke who mentioned it to Seth and they both said they wanted me to do it, so we said, let’s do this!

WAMG: You worked on the Marvel limited series Agent Carter, so you’re well acquainted with composing a musical voice for the superhero genre. The tracks for “Starlight” “Hospital Shootout”, “BOYS” are amazing. Your score had to make these “the Seven” kinda horrible!

CL: Kinda? (Laughs) Your heroes are not the heroes. The music for The Seven, our corrupt hero team, is traditional orchestra and electronics done in as corporate a way as possible, trying to feel like it was created after one too many focus groups…but then we used processing to warp, mangle, and sometimes crush that sound to feel like it was ‘going wrong’ as the perfect stereotypes of comic book heroes begin to shatter. It starts out great but by the end you realize the superheroes are betraying everyone’s trust.

For “The Boys” Eric said he wanted the music to have all the dirt and grime of a messy garage band with the energy of British punk, and that he wanted to poke fun at traditional superhero clichés… Its supposed to sound sloppy on purpose.

WAMG: I love how much percussion runs through the show. What instruments did you use?

CL: Lots of drums and metal – banging on broken instruments. Old amps that we tried to use to get a mix things going horribly wrong. We went with ‘garage band’ sounds of cheap guitars, lo-fi gear, broken cymbals, and… looking for as much noise and feedback as possible.

Listen to Chris’s score on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1KzVgZutMfVuz4lTcYws7F

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Music-Amazon-Original/dp/B07V9JV4J5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+boys+soundtrack&qid=1565013586&s=gateway&sr=8-1

The Boys

WAMG: How did you transition between THE BOYS to the recent UGLY DOLLS and then SHAFT?

CL: SHAFT came first. It had that 70’s sound, so that was a lot of fun. Music has always played a key role in the “Shaft” films, beginning with the instantly recognizable theme from the first film in 1972.

And then at the same time I was working on UGLY DOLLS. I did that score plus recording 8 original songs with Oscar nominated and Tony Award-winning lyricist Glenn Slater (Tangled, Broadway’s School of Rock) for the soundtrack sung by these amazing artists Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monae and Blake Shelton. It was funny going from an R-rated Shaft to a family friendly UGLY DOLLS, and then kicked back into gear with THE BOYS. It was never boring.

LOST IN SPACE

Finally, Chris and I spoke about Netflix’s LOST IN SPACE, one of Lennertz’s best scores of 2018. During its initial release Lennertz said, “From the beginning, the producers wanted a classic main title sequence to play during at least some of the episodes,” said Lennertz. “I wanted to tease the show’s premise with a hint of the Alpha Centauri program theme, then a full statement of the new LOST IN SPACE theme, followed by a triumphant finish that showcased now legendary composer John Williams’ original theme from season 3 that people are so familiar with. It was such an honor to be able to incorporate such a classic melody from the man who made me fall in love with film music from the very beginning.”

WAMG: Being a huge sci-fi geek, I loved your score for LOST IN SPACE on Netflix. The first season was so great, especially for fans of the TV show. I loved how your score was interwoven with the classic music of the 1960’s science fiction series. You recently updated your Instagram account with info about scoring the second season of Netflix’s Lost in Space. Can you give us an update on how it’s coming along?

CL: I just finished a cue for episode 10 for Season 2 as we speak – I finished it, saved it and closed it just before I took your call. We are well into the next season with the score. There are ten more episodes coming out right before Christmas this year so I’m about 80 percent done. They are really good too! Everyone is back plus there are new characters and its really going to be great!

WAMG: What other projects do you have in the works?

CL: I’m working on Tim Story’s next movie for Warner Bros. Pictures and the second season of THE BOYS in October.

Follow Christopher Lennertz on:

Website – http://christopherlennertz.com/

Twitter – @CLennertz

Instagram – clennertzmusic

Listen To Tracks From Composer Rupert Gregson-Williams’ Magnificent Score For AQUAMAN

WaterTower Music is excited to announce the release of the soundtrack to AQUAMAN, the action-packed adventure film from director James Wan that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas.

The soundtrack is now available, and the film is in theaters on December 21.

AQUAMAN features an original score by multi-award-winning composer Rupert Gregson-Williams (Wonder Woman, Hotel Rwanda, Hacksaw Ridge), includes a track by composer Joseph Bishara (The Conjuring, Annabelle) and debuts the new songs “Ocean To Ocean” by Pitbull Feat. Rhea, and the end title song “Everything I Need” by Skylar Grey.

To bring the film’s themes to life musically, Aquaman director James Wan turned to composer Rupert Gregson-Williams, who says, “Writing the themes for the different characters was awesome. Arthur Curry has such a strong character—he’s a real rock star—so I felt he deserved a big melody. He gets to rock out for certain intense moments too. Orm is Atlantean, and the score I wrote for Atlantis is in big contrast to the score for the surface world, epic and glorious. Black Manta inspired a more industrial, electronic feel. And, of course, there’s romance—two in fact. Atlantis and the entire world James created is truly amazing, giving me such a rich opportunity.”

“James Wan has given me such a rare opportunity and I am so unbelievably grateful,” explains Skylar Grey. “James, score composer Rupert Gregson-Williams, as well as every person behind the scenes on this project has been a dream to work with…a team of extremely respectful and professional people who I’m now honored to call friends. ‘Everything I Need,’ written by myself and my fiancé, Elliott Taylor, was inspired by the forbidden love story that is threaded throughout the movie, and we are very passionate about this song.”

“The ocean, the sea and any body of water, to me, is true freedom,” said Armando Christian Perez (Pitbull), who was inspired by the film’s settings and themes, and especially by Aquaman’s struggle between his two worlds—the surface and the sea. “The ocean has always been the border from where my parents came from Cuba and the United States, which gives us freedom. That’s why I respect water. Bottom line: water gives us freedom.”

The Aquaman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is now available for streaming and for purchase digitally and on CD.

The track list is as follows:

Tracklising:
1. Everything I Need (Film Version) – Skylar Grey
2. Arthur
3. Kingdom Of Atlantis
4. It Wasn’t Meant To Be
5. Atlantean Soldiers
6. What Does That Even Mean?
7. The Legend Of Atlan
8. Swimming Lessons
9. The Black Manta
10. What Could Be Greater Than A King?
11. Permission To Come Aboard
12. Suited And Booted
13. Between Land And Sea
14. He Commands The Sea
15. Map In A Bottle
16. The Ring Of Fire
17. Reunited
18. Everything I Need – Skylar Grey
19. Ocean To Ocean – Pitbull feat. Rhea
20. Trench Engaged (from Kingdom of the Trench) – Joseph Bishara

From Warner Bros. Pictures and director James Wan comes an action-packed adventure that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas, Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa in the title role. The film reveals the origin story of half-surface dweller, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime—one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be…a king.

The film also stars Amber Heard; Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe; Patrick Wilson; Dolph Lundgren; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; and Oscar winner Nicole Kidman. Also featured are Ludi Lin and Temuera Morrison. Wan directed from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall, story by Geoff Johns & James Wan and Will Beall, based on characters created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger for DC. The film was produced by Peter Safran and Rob Cowan, with Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Jon Berg, Geoff Johns and Walter Hamada serving as executive producers.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents a Peter Safran Production, a James Wan Film, Aquaman. The film is being released in 3D and 2D and IMAX, and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. Aquaman is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language.

www.aquamanmovie.com

THE PREDATOR Score From Henry Jackman Available September 23 On Digital Download And CD

Lakeshore Records has announced the release of THE PREDATOR – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack EP on Digital Download on September 14, 2018.  The full soundtrack will be available on September 23, 2018 on Digital Download and CD. The Album features original music by blockbuster Composer Henry Jackman (KONG: SKULL ISLAND, THE KINGSMAN).

From the black depths of outer space to the backwoods of southern Georgia, the Predators come to hunt in Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the beloved series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before. And only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biology professor can prevent all humanity from becoming the Predators’ trophies.

“It was an honor to work on a film that had such rich thematic heritage,” said wonderful dynamic Composer Henry Jackman. “Alan Silvestri’s fantastic score from the original has always been a favorite of mine and when asked if I would like to be involved in this project I immediately said yes. Shane was an absolute pleasure to work with from beginning to end – I’m sure audiences will appreciate this addition to the Predator saga.”

Henry Jackman has established himself as one of today’s top composers by fusing his classical training and his experience as a successful record producer and creator of electronic music. His musical versatility ratcheted up the tension in Paul Greengrass’ CAPTAIN PHILLIPS (earning him a BAFTA nomination), super-powered such comic book hits as X-MEN: FIRST CLASS and CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER (INTERVIEW); kicked ass in KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE and KICK-ASS; breathed life into legendary animated characters like WINNIE THE POOH, PUSS IN BOOTS, WRECK-IT RALPH, and Oscar-winner BIG HERO 6. His most recent work can be heard in the standalone Jumanji sequel, JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE, Marvel’s blockbuster hit CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, Naughty Dog’s latest installment in the Uncharted video game franchise, UNCHARTED: THE LOST LEGACY, and the adventure sequel from Warner Bros.’ KONG: SKULL ISLAND starring Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston.

His other diverse credits include the animated features MONSTERS VS. ALIENS and TURBO, period drama HENRI 4, family adventureGULLIVER’S TRAVELS (starring Jack Black), crime thriller MAN ON A LEDGE, horror fantasy ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, and the Seth Rogen / James Franco comedies THIS IS THE END and (the firestorm sensation) THE INTERVIEW. Up next for Jackman is Walt Disney Animation’s adventure sequel RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, the biographical drama TRIAL BY FIRE DIRECTED by Edward Zwick,

Jackman grew up in the southeast of England, where he began composing his first symphony at the age of six. He studied classical music at Oxford and sang in the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir—but simultaneously got involved in the underground rave scene and began producing popular electronica music and dance remixes, eventually working with artists such as Seal and The Art of Noise. In 2006 he caught the attention of film composers Hans Zimmer and John Powell, and began writing additional music for Zimmer and Powell on KUNG FU PANDA, and then for Zimmer on THE DARK KNIGHT, THE DA VINCI CODE, and THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN films, which rapidly led to scoring blockbuster films on his own.

20th CENTURY FOX presents THE PREDATOR in theaters on September 14, 2018 nationwide. Lakeshore Records pleased to announce the release of THE PREDATOR – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack EP on Digital Download on September 14, 2018.  The full soundtrack will be available on September 23, 2018.

Review here