Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Trailer

In case you've missed it the full trailer for FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER has recently been released...including High Definition, quicktime versions.

Judging from this trailer (and I know that is not a wise thing to do) but perhaps this sequel will be better than the first film (and I know that isn't saying all that much).

Not exactly sure what music is being used in the trailer, but John Ottman's title theme from the first film doesn't make an appearance. Feel free to post a comment if you know the music used.

You can check the new trailer out here.

A Lonely Sky - Short Film

I recently came across this excellent short film, A LONELY SKY. It's a 10 minute film which shows the life of the X-1 test pilots (in a nutshell). Music is well done by one, Nick Seymour...with the title theme being mindful of James Newton Howard's "Beautiful" theme from King Kong. Look for "Dave Bowman" as in in "Hello Dave. What are you doing, Dave?" from 2001: A Space Odyssee (Actor Keir Dullea) in this film.

You can watch the film below or go to the official website and download a 720p HD version. www.aloneysky.com.

A Lonely Sky
Uploaded by nickryanfilm

Milan Goes Mobile with Ringtones!

Milan Records has recently come out with a new feature - mobile ringtones and wallpapers from a number of their soundtrack releases!

Their initial releases include:

Javier Navarrete (Pan's Labyrinth) and
Clint Eastwood (Flags of our Fathers),
in addition to other artists' content.

They will soon be adding tracks by Kyle Eastwood & Michael Stevens
(Letters from Iwo Jima/Flags special box set) and Susumu Hirasawa (Paprika).

CHECK OUT THE RINGTONES HERE

Music from the Films of Zhang Yimou

Tracksounds latest feature spotlights three of the most recent soundtracks from the films of acclaimed director ZHANG YIMOU.

Included in the feature are reviews of:

HERO (TAN DUN)

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI)

CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (SHIGERU UMEBAYASHI)


CHECK OUT THE FEATURE HERE

THE MARS UNDERGROUND BY JAMES MICHAEL DOOLEY

The Mars Underground...Surfaces!
Review by Christopher Coleman

Mars is certainly no newcomer to Hollywood feature films. We've seen it depicted countless times in the not-so-distant-past: RED PLANET, MISSION TO MARS, and TOTAL RECALL, to name just a few headliners. It certainly hasn't been skipped as a subject for documentary features either. Our fascination with the red planet is no surprise. It being a our closest, potentially-inhabitable, planet, how could we not be intrigued? How could we not speculate about first getting there...and now living there? Dr. Robert Zubrin's ideas about us setting foot on the planet in just a matter of years is the topic for one of the more recent Mars-documentaries, THE MARS UNDERGROUND.

Composer James Michael Dooley was asked if he would provide the musical backdrop for the documentary and embarked along with the director and producers in this labor of love. Musically, the end result certainly communicates at least a portion of the love poured into the project. James Michael Dooley takes the score in a minimalist direction. Ironically, for a minimalist score, there's quite a bit to appreciate. It would be easy to think that Dooley, a professed "follower" of composer Phillip Glass, might have been influenced by Glass' recent effort for ROVING MARS, but the fact is Dooley had long written THE MARS UNDERGROUND before Glass' score for the Disney/Imax production likely came to be. Once you've listened to both, you'll see that there isn't a lot in common between the two. In fact, one would find more commonalities between THE MARS UNDERGROUND and Glass scores such as THE HOURS.


READ THE FULL REVIEW

Live performance of LAST OF THE MOHICANS by BRENT MICHAEL DAVIDS

OPENING CEREMONY & 3 WORLD PREMIERES
APRIL 18, 2007
7 PM — LANDMARK CENTER
(Syracuse, NY)
http://www.syrfilmfest.com/

The Society for New Music and the Syracuse International Film Festival, in cooperation with members of The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra present: World Premiere of an original score by Brent Michael Davids for full orchestra, performed live with the 1920 silent film “The Last of the Mohicans.” Featuring Brent Michael Davids (Mohican) on American Indian flutes, with members of the Syracuse Symphony and Society for New Music, and conductor Paul Hostetter. Master of Ceremonies is George Kilpatrick (WCNY) and the Film Festival’s honored guest is award-winning sound designer Ben Burtt (ET, Star Wars, Indiana Jones).
Singer Susan Taffe (Nanticoke/Lenape) will perform a new song by Brent Michael Davids that honors the Oneida People for providing the Stockbridge Mohicans with a place to live as they struggled for their survival in the 1700s. With nowhere to go and all their lands stolen, the Oneida Nation offered a home to the Mohicans. “Born To Say Thank You” is a song of thankfulness, featuring Susan Taffe along with the orchestra and Brent Michael Davids.

An animation based on an Oneida Indian Legend, “Raccoon & Crawfish” is the story of a hungry raccoon who, searching for food, finds a crawfish on a quest for glory. Their struggle decides the fate between an ego full of pride or belly full of food. “Raccoon & Crawfish” (by Shaun Foster, Heather Carpini, Calvert J. Waller III, Karabo Legwaila, Peter Hale, Mark Edwards) is an 8-min. animation by the Oneida Nation’s Four Directions Media. The original music score is by Brent Michael Davids.
For more info visit: http://www.syrfilmfest.com/


Read more about BRENT MICHAEL DAVIDS here: http://www.composersforum.org/member_profile.cfm?oid=2301

FAITH AND FILM MUSIC - New Tracksounds Feature

Who says you can't mix film music and the current holiday season?

Today we launch a special new feature which focuses on film music tied to films based on the Bible - FAITH AND FILM MUSIC - PART I

"There it sits on many-a night-stand - just as dusty as my father's old Ben Hur records. At least one Bible probably sits on the shelf of every screenplay author or studio executive. The Bible, of course, makes a great deal of sense as movie-material. It is veritable treasure trove of complete stories and even more story seeds. Many of these are full of the two, magic, Hollywood ingredients: sex and violence. Further, the Bible is public domain, so no royalties, no contracts, no one has to pay a thing for portraying any of these tales in whatever manner they so choose (or will they?). Composers have benefited as well. What a platform from which to unleash an orchestra on for an epic confrontation or divine miracle! And that they did."

Included in the feature are all-new reviews for: BEN HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST, PASSION: THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Also updated reviews for THE PRINCE OF EGYPT and JESUS: THE EPIC MINI-SERIES.

Read more here!

New Film and TV Music Awards Announced

Just received this information from the filmmusicworld list:

Film Music Magazine has announced The Film & TV Music Awards, a new annual peer awards program for the film and television music industry. Nominations for the 2007 Film & TV Music Awards will begin June 1, 2007 and industry voting will take place between September 1-15, 2007.

The new awards program addresses the need for a peer awards program in the film and television industry where those in the industry nominate and vote for the people and projects that will receive the awards. The nominating and voting events lead up to a gala awards show in Los Angeles in October that will be webcast worldwide. All nominations and voting will take place online.

"The Film & TV Music Awards program is something that's been badly needed in our industry for a long time," stated Film Music Magazine publisher Mark Northam. "Despite the fact that composers have no guild or union, it's time that composers and others in our industry choose those who are deserving of awards and special attention. This new awards program is truly about the industry's voice - there are no entry fees, and no membership in any organization is required. The industry chooses the projects and people to be nominated, and the industry votes."

The Film & TV Music Awards honors people from across the industry, including composers, songwriters, music supervisors, and more. Composer award categories include best score for reality shows, daytime dramas, prime-time dramas, comedy, animation, science-fiction, and educational programming, plus categories for short films, student films, and indie feature films.
In addition to composing, awards will also be given for music supervision, music editing, orchestration, music prep, contracting, score mixing, songwriting, and instrumental/solo music performance in a film or television score.

Additional awards will be given for best agent, best performing rights society, and three special achievement awards will be given including The Don B. Ray Educational Achievement Award for film and TV music educators and teachers, The Shirley Walker Award for outstanding female composer, and The Jerry Goldsmith Lifetime Achievement Award for film composing.

More information and complete details for nominating productions and individuals for The Film & TV Music Awards will be announced shortly.

For more information on The Film & TV Music Awards, visit:
http://www.filmtvmusicawards.com/

GRINDHOUSE TRAILER features music by TYLER BATES

TYLER BATES' MUSIC FEATURED IN GRINDHOUSE TRAILERS

April 4, 2007 – Los Angeles, CA – Theatrical previews for the double horror feature, Grindhouse, directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, will include The Weinstein Company’s Rob Zombie written and directed HALLOWEEN teaser trailer which features Tyler Bates’ (300 composer) recreation of John Carpenter’s classic Halloween theme, which Fangoria comments, “Spooky haunted-house ambiance. Female gasps of terror. Yep, this is definitely a HALLOWEEN theme done Rob Zombie-style.”

Also as part of Grindhouse, Tarantino and Rodriguez have contracted a group of directors to create trailers for fictitious movies to play between the two features. One such trailer is Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women of the S.S., which features Nicolas Cage and music by Tyler Bates.

Bates received critical acclaim for his music for Rob Zombie’s The Devil’s Rejects, which Cinefantastique called, “seizure-inducing” and “the kind of horror music that gets under your skin like a bad dream-music concrete as a stone block of fear.” In addition to the August release of HALLOWEEN, Bates upcoming projects include Day Of The Dead directed by HALLOWEEN alum Steve Miner, and Warner Bros. Watchmen directed by Zack Snyder (300)

Win the BLACK BOOK soundtrack AND the book INSIDE FILM MUSIC: COMPOSERS SPEAK!

This is the “month of books”…well, sort of. April’s caption contest winner will receive a dual prize! First is the soundtrack to the WWII film "BLACK BOOK" by Anne Dudley. Second is the new book “Inside Film Music: Composers Speak”, by Christian Desjardins (foreword by Christopher Young).

Check out the contest rules HERE. Enter the contest HERE.

TOMORROW IS YESTERDAY by MATTHEW PETERSON

I'm most happy to announce that our own resident reviewer MATTHEW PETERSON (aka Balok) has just released his first album of his own compositions on iTunes! The album, TOMORROW IS YESTERDAY, offers 15 tracks ranging from classical suites to contemporary pieces.


Check it out here!

If you'd like to check out some Matthew's other music for free visit iComposition.

Congrats Matt!