"The end has come..."
According to this post at theonering.net, director Peter Jackson is out of THE HOBBIT and other LOTR prequel film. Truly bad news for fans.
Suffice it to say, Newline has an uphill battle from here on out to find a replacement for Jackson and co-screenwriter Phillipa Boyens. More questions arise:
What about Weta, Weta Digital, etc.
What about Howard Shore and/or his music?
Let's hope Newline has a quick change of heart. You can read the full report based on an email sent by Peter Jackson to theonering.net directly here:
http://www.theonering.net/staticnews/1163993546.html
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Happy Feet by John Powell and various
Got the Hearsong...but where's the Heartscore?Review by Christopher Coleman
Yet another entry into what has to be a record year for full-length 3-D animated films is Warner Brothers' HAPPY FEET. As is the tradition with more animated feature films than not, HAPPY FEET is highly dependent on its music. In HAPPY FEET, poor emperor penguin, Mumble Happyfeet, can't sing, and hence can't find and display his own "heartsong." Instead, young Mumbles shows that he's got another talent - the boy can dance. Mumbles' object of affection, Gloria, just happens to be one of the best singers of the penguin colony. Becoming an outcast, Mumbles is set on adventure of self-discovery that is set to both a contemporary soundtrack as well as the diverse talents of veteran composer John Powell.
Read the rest of the review here
Epicon by Globus review
A MusicmorphisisReview by Christopher Coleman
We live in a strange era of music - an era that continues to blend more and more genres of music together eventually resulting in entirely new ones. A prime example of this ongoing "musicmorphosis" is the album EPICON by an eclectic group of composers and musicians called, GLOBUS.
For over 15 years, the group's founder, Yorav Goren, under the covering of the company he co-founded, Immediate Music, has written music for movie trailers. Goren and company have added their evocative sounds to some of the most downloaded trailers on the internet such as: Spiderman 2, X-Men III, The Da Vinci Code, War of the Worlds, and The Lord of the Rings.
To answer the ever-increasing public demand for their work, Globus was born and their first project EPICON is based on selections from their trailer-music portfolio. Now, this is no simple copy and paste job. Many of the selections offered on their premiere CD have been re-arranged and re-orchestrated - adding rock band elements and vocals. The listener would be remiss to expect EPICON to simply be another UNEARTHED - the mega-popular album released by the duo, E.S. Posthumus, in 2001. While there are a number of similarities between the two, EPICON, as proclaimed by Yorav Goren, takes film-like music to a new place - something he calls, "cinematic rock." And indeed, by the conclusion of the CD, "cinematic rock" is proven to be an accurate description.
Read the rest of the view here
Monday, November 13, 2006
Howard Shore Interview!
Just posted my recent interview with composer HOWARD SHORE.He shares about his experience in not only writing the original score for THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy but also in the process of putting the music together for the complete recording series.
Howard Shore also shares on his work on the LORD OF THE RINGS SYMPHONY, the video game, SOUL OF THE ULTIMATE NATION...and also on his possible involvement in the feature film project of THE HOBBIT!
Check the full interview here!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
More on the passing of Basil Poledouris
This comes from the Film Music News list:
NEWS FROM FILM MUSIC
November 8, 2006 - Special Edition
============================================
Veteran Film Composer Basil Poledouris Dies at 61
Emmy Award winning film and television composer Basil Poledouris passed away today from cancer in Los Angeles. He was 61.
Poledouris is survived by his former wife Bobbi, his children Zoe and Alexis and a brother and a sister. No services are planned.
Basil Poledouris was born on August 21, 1945 in Kansas City. He started taking piano lessons when he was 7 years old. Eventually he went on to become a student at USC, where he studied the arts of directing, cinematography, editing, sound and of course music. It was also at USC he met John Milius and Randal Kleiser, both acclaimed directors with whom he would work in the future.
Even though Basil had already composed music to John Milius' much talked about Big Wednesday (1978), his real breakthrough came in 1982 when he composed the score to Milius' epic fantasy movie, Conan the Barbarian (1982). The powerful themes that Basil created for this movie opened the eyes of the movie industry, as well as the public, and it is arguably one of the best soundtracks of the 80s. Basil went on to make soundtracks for such movies as: RoboCop (1987) (the first Paul Verhoeven movie of many for which he has composed), "Lonesome Dove" (1989 miniseries) for which he won an Emmy, Farewell to the King (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Free Willy (1993), in Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers (1997) with Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards and Les Miserables (1998).
Composer Christopher Lennertz was a good friend of Basil's and wrote this today:
-------------------
I can't tell you all what a sad day this is. I lost a person today who was very important to me. Basil Poledouris was an amazing mentor, an inspired teacher, and above all, a good friend. Sadly, he lost his hard-fought battle with cancer this afternoon and now can be free of pain and suffering, but he will be so very missed by all of us... perhaps more than he even knew. He and his family were extremely generous and kind to me. I learned so much from him, not only about music, but about the business, life, and even sailing. His daughter, Zoe, even sang on demos for me. Their selfless love and support has lasted years beyond my work with him and never ceased to amaze me.
I truly wish with all my heart that everyone could have known him like I did... but then I realize that we all can: Listen carefully to Conan and you'll know how powerful and passionate he was. Listen to the beautiful love theme from Farewell to the King and you'll know how deeply he loved his daughters, family, and friends. Listen to Wind and you'll know how he felt on his boat, sailing to Catalina. Listen to the subtle strains of It's my Party and you'll hear how he celebrated and valued life. It absolutely breaks my heart to think that I will never be able to see him again... never be able to ask his advice, or look to him for guidance. But then I realize that he left us the greatest gift of all... that we can still hear him: when I put in a CD, turn on my ipod, or put in a favorite DVD. I can listen to his music and be in the presence of him once again... be inspired by him again. And thank God for that. It doesn't make the pain go away, or the loss any less, but after I clear the lump from my throat and wipe my eyes, it does make me smile, if just a little.
I cannot thank him enough for the impact he had on my life, and I'm so positive that the world is a better place with the music he left for all of us. Be at peace now, my friend.
With love, sadness, and admiration,
Chris Lennertz
NEWS FROM FILM MUSIC
November 8, 2006 - Special Edition
============================================
Veteran Film Composer Basil Poledouris Dies at 61
Emmy Award winning film and television composer Basil Poledouris passed away today from cancer in Los Angeles. He was 61.
Poledouris is survived by his former wife Bobbi, his children Zoe and Alexis and a brother and a sister. No services are planned.
Basil Poledouris was born on August 21, 1945 in Kansas City. He started taking piano lessons when he was 7 years old. Eventually he went on to become a student at USC, where he studied the arts of directing, cinematography, editing, sound and of course music. It was also at USC he met John Milius and Randal Kleiser, both acclaimed directors with whom he would work in the future.
Even though Basil had already composed music to John Milius' much talked about Big Wednesday (1978), his real breakthrough came in 1982 when he composed the score to Milius' epic fantasy movie, Conan the Barbarian (1982). The powerful themes that Basil created for this movie opened the eyes of the movie industry, as well as the public, and it is arguably one of the best soundtracks of the 80s. Basil went on to make soundtracks for such movies as: RoboCop (1987) (the first Paul Verhoeven movie of many for which he has composed), "Lonesome Dove" (1989 miniseries) for which he won an Emmy, Farewell to the King (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Free Willy (1993), in Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers (1997) with Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards and Les Miserables (1998).
Composer Christopher Lennertz was a good friend of Basil's and wrote this today:
-------------------
I can't tell you all what a sad day this is. I lost a person today who was very important to me. Basil Poledouris was an amazing mentor, an inspired teacher, and above all, a good friend. Sadly, he lost his hard-fought battle with cancer this afternoon and now can be free of pain and suffering, but he will be so very missed by all of us... perhaps more than he even knew. He and his family were extremely generous and kind to me. I learned so much from him, not only about music, but about the business, life, and even sailing. His daughter, Zoe, even sang on demos for me. Their selfless love and support has lasted years beyond my work with him and never ceased to amaze me.
I truly wish with all my heart that everyone could have known him like I did... but then I realize that we all can: Listen carefully to Conan and you'll know how powerful and passionate he was. Listen to the beautiful love theme from Farewell to the King and you'll know how deeply he loved his daughters, family, and friends. Listen to Wind and you'll know how he felt on his boat, sailing to Catalina. Listen to the subtle strains of It's my Party and you'll hear how he celebrated and valued life. It absolutely breaks my heart to think that I will never be able to see him again... never be able to ask his advice, or look to him for guidance. But then I realize that he left us the greatest gift of all... that we can still hear him: when I put in a CD, turn on my ipod, or put in a favorite DVD. I can listen to his music and be in the presence of him once again... be inspired by him again. And thank God for that. It doesn't make the pain go away, or the loss any less, but after I clear the lump from my throat and wipe my eyes, it does make me smile, if just a little.
I cannot thank him enough for the impact he had on my life, and I'm so positive that the world is a better place with the music he left for all of us. Be at peace now, my friend.
With love, sadness, and admiration,
Chris Lennertz
Composer Basil Poledouris passes away on 11/08/06
Just found out that composer Basil Poledouris passed away yesterday. Very sad news. He was only 61 years of age.
You can post your memories, comments, and condolences at his official website.
You can post your memories, comments, and condolences at his official website.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Selections from FINAL FANTASY XII now available!
Tofu Records recently released a new disc featuring selections from the massively popular score from FINAL FANTASY XII!Order from Amazon.com!
Press Release:
Tofu Records announces the release of the FINAL FANTASY® XII Original Soundtrack, a collection of selected music from the newest installment of the blockbuster video game series on October 31, 2006(Simultaneous release with the video game). The U.S. release of the FINAL FANTASY XII Original Soundtrack contains a bonus DVD featuring the music video of Kiss Me Good-Bye by Angela Aki.
FINAL FANTASY XII is a console role-playing game developed by Square Enix Co., Ltd for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. One of the most successful and longest-running role-playing game series in video games history, FINAL FANTASY has continued to attract game fans since its first release in 1987 and has sold over 68 million units worldwide.
FINAL FANTASY XII, which was released in Japan in March 2006, has sold over 2.4 million units to date. Though not yet released stateside, FINAL FANTASY XII has already garnered accolades on top of receiving perfect reviews overseas from top gaming publications. FINAL FANTASY XII will be available at North American retailers on October 31, 2006.
The soundtrack for FINAL FANTASY XII contains selected musical tracks from the game, composed and produced by famed composer Hitoshi Sakimoto. Also included is the Angela Aki song Kiss Me Good-Bye, the ending theme for the game, composed by Japanese game music giant Nobuo Uematsu. Angela Aki is one of the most promising singers in today's Japanese pop music scene, and this beautiful ballad, released as a single in Japan, was a smash hit.
The first pressing of the FINAL FANTASY XII Original Soundtrack will also be packed with a limited addition sticker featuring video game artwork. http://www.tofurecords.com/
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Win 24: Seasons 4 and 5 Soundtrack!
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