iTunes is Now #2

Thanks to all you "tuners" out there - some 50 million of you - Apple's iTunes has now climbed past BEST BUY to become the #2 retailer of music in the United States. iTunes only trails behind Wal-Mart now.

I say, "That's what you get BEST BUY for pushing HD-DVD behind Blu-Ray!"


Read Apple's little press release here.

New IRON MAN Trailer!

Ok...IRON MAN is fast becoming the most anticipated movie of the year...at least for me. If the movie ends up living up to the quality of its trailers...we are in for a true, superhero-treat this May! Let's hope that composer RAMIN DJAWADI's can live up to all the expectations as well.

Check out the latest IRON MAN trailer below or visit the myspace site for high-def versions. You'll be glad you did.

Iron Man Exclusive Trailer

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New Line Cinema to Merge with Warner

A few weeks ago, I made the news of the two upcoming Lord of the Ring's prequels as the TOP NEWS of 2007. Well, this news could certainly qualify for one of 2008's Bottom News stories of the year.

New Line Cinema is being folded into Warner Brothers. It's not being dissolved completely, but "merged." This action was taken as a part of some major cost-cutting decisions by Time Warner's CEO, Jeffrey Bawkes. Oddly enough the news comes simultaneous with the release of New Line's latest release SEMI-PRO.

How could it be that a 40 year old company that just made 3 billion dollars from one franchise (that would be the Lord of the Rings franchise) only a few years ago be in such disrepair? Too many box-office-bombs - that's how. The latest bomb being the highly touted THE GOLDEN COMPASS. There were a lot of eggs in that there basket...and most of them go pretty well smooshed.

Both top execs, Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne are getting the axe as well as potentially hundreds of New Line Staff.

While a handful are worried about the future of THE GOLDEN COMPASS sequels, the bigger worry are THE HOBBIT and its sequel. It's highly unlikely that this move by Warner is going to make either of those films happen any faster...and let's not even dare to think that they may not happen at all now.


You can read more of the details here.

2007 Cue Awards: Disappearing Composer, Best Score on Album, Best Score in Film

Rolling on into Friday, we announce 3 more Cue Awards...

Disappearing Composer of the Year

Best Score as Heard on Album

Best Score as Heard in Film

2007 Cue Awards: Best Cue in Film and Best Cue on Album

The 2007 Cue Awards continue...Today, we announce two more award winners.

Best Cue as heard on Album

and

Best Cue as heard in Film

Cloverfield Poster Winners!

WHO WANTS TO WIN MEMORABILIA? These two do!

The 2 winners of the CLOVERFIELD POSTER are:

Debbie Chioffe

Michelle Quan

*Winners are always contacted via email with instructions on how to claim their prize.

Don't forget you can still enter to win the JUMPER poster!

2007 Cue Awards: Breakout Composer and Best Cover Art

We open up our little envelopes today to reveal our next two CUE AWARD winners! Today we have the winners for BREAKOUT COMPOSER of the year and BEST COVER ART.

See who came away with the Cues here!

2007 Cue Awards Underway!

Now that you've exhausted yourself of discussing The jolly ol' Oscars, it's time to move on...on to THE CUES! Our "annual" award presentations are underway; honoring the best in soundtracks from 2007.

Thanks to all of you who participated in the voting this year! You've help to make this the closest Cue Awards to date...and I mean REALLY close. One winner was determined by a .01 margin! We'll get into all those statistical details at the conclusion of our show, so stay tuned for that. (Don't you wish you could know how close (or not close) the votes were for the Oscars?)

Ok...without further adieu...I give you the first three Cue Awards for 2007: Surprise of the Year, Disappointment of the Year, and Best Score Missed by Oscar.


Check out the Cues Now!

Atonement by Dario Marianelli wins Oscar

It is the rarest of occurences. The Academy got it right. No left-field surprise of THE KITE RUNNER or MICHAEL CLAYTON winning this year's Oscar for Best Original Score. This year the best of the nominees actually won. Congratulations to composer DARIO MARINELLI for his exceptional work for ATONEMENT. It's only too bad the film didn't garner Best Cinematography, Adapted Screenplay, or Best Director. Can't win 'em all, I guess.

As much as The Academy takes it's hits year after year from all sorts of critics, kudos to them for bringing back out the newly crowned Oscar-winner, Marketa Irglova (Best Song) for "Falling Slowly" from ONCE. She actually had something worthwhile to say and they brought her back after unceremoniously cutting her short. I'm sure Bill Conti meant no harm.

So do you think ATONEMENT was the best choice?

J.J. Abrams on STAR TREK, CLOVERFIELD 2, and THE DARK TOWER

Dailies J.J. Abrams

Ok...perhaps you've been in a cave right next door to mine and didn't know that the STAR TREK movie scheduled for a release on December 25, 2008 has been pushed back! I say a big, "Not cool!" to that. Looks like May 8, 2009 is the new date...so we'll have to wait for the film and Michael Giacchino's score.

Well, J.J. Abrams shares about that, the potential for a sequel to CLOVERFIELD, and a possible adaptation of author Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER.

Do you think Giacchino will get that gig?

D-War: Dragon Wars (Soundtrack) by Steve Jablonsky

Big Snake Moan
Review by Christopher Coleman

...Now D-WAR (DRAGON WARS), when compared to most film's of this type produced in the West, is not a great film. In fact, in terms of story and screenplay, it is one of the worst I've seen in a while. If there is one thing we are NOT short on in Western cinema...it's feature films overburdened with look-what-we-can-do-computer-generated-shots and look-how-poor-our-writing-is-screenplays. So another one, even an import from South Korea, isn't going to make too big of a splash with audiences here. While many of the scenes in D-WAR were leaps and bounds ahead of any Korean film before it (if you doubt me...just look at Shim's own film REPTILIAN (2001 Yonggary)), there were still few "wow" moments in the film. And if there were, and I somehow missed them, they were ruined by plastic acting, wobbly writing, and a plot with enough holes for a herd of giant snakes to fall through.

STEVE JABLONSKY's score is certainly one of the better elements of the film. He develops a solid main theme, which we are immediately introduced to in "Imoogi" (track 1). This theme seems to build off of a familiar musical pattern, which I cannot help but associate with James Newton Howard (Signs, Lady in the Water). Under girding the whole thing is this repeating four-note motif, which provides the mysterious, otherworldly feel. The theme's backbone is this circular pattern which continually builds to a powerful and determined crescendo. This Imoogi/Title theme can sit alongside his theme for The Autobots in TRANSFORMERS quite well...and might even be considered superior by some. "Yeouijoo" track 5, is actually a more beautiful instance of this main theme. Being that this "Yeouijoo" is central to the plot of the film, almost as The Force is to Star Wars (but let's not get too crazy here), it makes sense that this is the central musical theme as well. The film's love theme (track 4) is rather mediocre with all the standard elements yearnful strings layered with simple piano and light vocals accents. Even though it is in the same family as The Last Samurai, it doesn't evoke the same level of emotion. You'll hear further connections to THE LAST SAMURAI (and other Zimmer scores) throughout the many, many action sequences, but most clearly in tracks 2 and 3.

Read the Full Review

Don't Just Buy Stuff...Make Stuff - ARTEMIS ETERNAL

You might have read about AMAZON.COM getting into the movie business, as they have acquired the rights to THE STOLEN CHILD and are now in the production business. I don't know about you, but I said, "Say wha????" to that news.

Well, you might be surprised to know that I'm getting into the business too. And to take your state of shock to the next level - YOU can too.

You may have heard of JESSICA MAE STOVER - author, actor, and all-things-creative. She has written and is directing a short film entitled ARTEMIS ETERNAL, which is currently in pre-production. She has a unique vision that goes beyond this film all the way to revolutionizing the actual process of financing, producing and marketing such films.

You have a unique opportunity to be a part of the pre-revolution. You can visit her excellent site at http://www.artemiseternal.com/. There you can get all the details and get involved for as little as $1! So go on over and help make a movie...you might be helping to make history at the same time.

Of course I'm very interested in where this goes musically so I'll do my best to deliver the deets on that as they become available. At this moment - no composer has been signed.

Check out the site here

2007 Cue Awards Voting and Contest - Last Day!

Ok -folks. Today is your last day to vote for the Cues...and enter to win a $10 e-gift card from iTunes AND a $10 e-gift card from Amazon.com. 2 very lucky entrants will win!

Oh no. The award season isn't quite over on Sunday...

Starting TUESDAY, February 26, 2008, the 2007 Cue Award winners will be announced daily through March 2, 2008.

Get Yo' Vote On!

As You Like It (Soundtrack) by Patrick Doyle

Wax On, Doyle-San!

Review by Christopher Coleman

Director Kenneth Branagh's most recent attempt to bring Shakespeare to the big screen is AS YOU LIKE IT - one of the Bard's most popular comedies. Unfortunately, Branagh was only partially successful. While the film made it to theaters in the United Kingdom, AS YOU LIKE IT only made it the DVD racks in the United States. And, especially in light of the amount of shrot that does actually make it to screens here, it is doubly shameful that this release was so confined. As Kenneth Branagh does with his film-adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, he puts an interesting spin on the telling. Instead of being set in France, the setting is 19th century Japan. Among other things, this choice had a significant effect on the film's score, which was, once again, written by Branagh's composer of choice, PATRICK DOYLE. AS YOU LIKE IT makes it the seventh collaboration between the director and composer and Patrick Doyle waxes on with his own musical eloquence to match that of The Bard's words, and Branagh's offbeat vision.

Director Branagh's choice to set the film in Japan remains as much as mystery as it is compelling. It was certainly eye-catching to see actor Brian Blessed dawning full samurai armor as well as many other characters in quasi-Japanese garb. The question as to why this setting was preferrable to France was never apparent to me in the context of the film. Whatever Branagh's reasons, that choice of setting did give PATRICK DOYLE opportunity to do something special for the film's score - the inclusion of Japanese instrumentation.

Read the full review

5 Days to Vote for Your Cue Awards

Only 5 days left to vote! Gettyup!

Jesper Kyd's Assassin's Creed Wins at ELAN Awards

While it didn't quite make it as a 2007 Cue Award nominee, composer JESPER KYD brought home the ELAN award for "Best Original Score in a Video Game" with his score for the hit game ASSASSIN'S CREED. Below is the official press release.


========================================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JESPER KYD HONORED AT ELAN AWARDS

ASSASSIN'S CREED Wins "Best Original Musical Score In a Video Game"
at Canadian Awards for the Electronic and the Animated Arts


Los Angeles – Feburary 18th, 2008 – Jesper Kyd's original score for ASSASSIN'S CREED (Ubisoft) was awarded "Best Original Musical Score in a Video Game" at the 2nd Annual Elan Awards www.theelans.com, the Canadian Awards for the Electronic and the Animated Arts. The awards show was hosted by Seth MacFarlane ("Family Guy," "American Dad") at the Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts on February 15th.

This prestigious industry award follows a series of nominations for Jesper Kyd's ASSASSIN'S CREED score including "Best Original Music" in the GameSpot 2007 Special Achievement Awards and three nominations by the Game Audio Network Guild; "Music of the Year," "Best Original Vocal - Choral" (City of Jerusalem) and "Best Original Vocal - Pop" (Jerusalem Horse Ride). All G.A.N.G. awards nominees and winners are decided by the music and audio professionals of the video games industry. The winners will be announced on February 21st, 2008 at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Visit Jesper Kyd's Official Site

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Trailer Online

Poster Available at Moviegoods.com

You might have been too busy with your Valentine yesterday, so in case you missed it, the INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL trailer has hit the net.

So what music do you think is featured in the trailer? Right. Brian Tyler's music from CHILDREN OF DUNE, of course! Ok that only sets the stage. About half way through, you know what kicks in.

Now, this trailer took me a little by surprise. For one, there are some shots here that are a clear departure from what we have come to expect with an Indiana Jones film. They are much more modern in style and, at least upon first seeing them, don't really fit in the world of Indiana Jones.
Then there is the audio mix of the trailer - the music is really thin and, in the end, doesn't pack the whallop it should have. The goosebumps just weren't there and that really surprised me. I expected I'd be cheering and whistling JOHN WILLIAMS' unforgettable theme by the end, but not the case.

Oh well. It's still Ol Indy and it looks like Spielberg and Lucas have pretty much held to the formula. I just hope they don't try to "appeal to today's kids" too much. Indy may be old, but he ain't broke...so don't try to fix him.

Well enjoy! Only a couple months 'til May 22

You can watch the trailer in HIGH DEF here.

IFMCA Winners Announced!

================================================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2007 AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED BY INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION

Dario Marianelli's Atonement named Best Score of 2007

February 15, 2008. The members of the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) have announced the winners of the 4th Annual IFMCA Awards, honoring achievements in film and television music in 2007.

The Score of the Year award goes to Italian composer Dario Marianelli, for his score for director Joe Wright’s ATONEMENT, which is based on the best-selling romantic novel by Ian McEwan. Marianelli spent the majority of his early working career in the United Kingdom and Ireland before coming to international prominence in 2005 with his scores for THE BROTHERS GRIMM and PRIDE & PREJUDICE, the latter of which received an Academy Award nomination.

In addition to the main award, ATONEMENT picked up two other awards, including Best Original Score for a Drama Film, and Film Music Composition of the Year for Elegy for Dunkirk. ATONEMENT has been one of the soundtrack successes of 2007, winning the Golden Globe for Best Score, receiving Academy Award and BAFTA nominations, and being mentioned by numerous film critics organizations in their annual reviews. ATONEMENT is available on CD from Decca Records.

Alexandre Desplat, who led the 2007 nominations, wins two awards: Composer of the Year, and Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science-Fiction film for his score New Line Cinema’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s convention-challenging children’s fantasy THE GOLDEN COMPASS. The French composer, who was also IFMCA’s Composer of the Year in 2006, enjoyed a similarly stellar year in 2007. In addition to THE GOLDEN COMPASS, his works included director Ang Lee’s controversial political drama LUST, CAUTION, the whimsical fantasy MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER EMPORIUM (co-composed with Aaron Zigman), and the French language feature L’ENNEMI INTIME, which received the Best Score award at the 2008 Cèsar Awards, France’s version of the Oscars.

Other winners in specific genres include Alan Menken, who wins the Best Original Score for a Comedy award for his tongue-in-cheek homage to classic Disney on ENCHANTED; John Powell, who wins Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure Film for his score for THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, the third film based on Robert Ludlum’s best-selling spy thrillers; David Shire, who wins Best Original Score for a Horror/Thriller for his return to mainstream scoring after almost 20 years on director David Fincher’s ZODIAC; and Michael Giacchino, who wins Best Original Score for an Animated Feature for his Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated score for the gastronomic delight RATATOUILLE.

The Best Original Score for Television award goes to Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi and his work on the Korean television series TAE WANG SA SHIN GI (THE STORY OF THE GREAT KING AND THE FOUR GODS), while the inaugural award in the new Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media category goes to John Debney for his epic score for LAIR, and recognizes the increasing level of compositional excellence for this exciting and popular media.

British composer Ilan Eshkeri is named Best New Composer of 2007, for his score for Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of the classic Neil Gaiman fantasy adventure, STARDUST. Eshkeri, a former protégé of the late Michael Kamen, helped complete his mentor’s score for the German animated film BACK TO GAYA after Kamen’s death in 2003, and also worked alongside Shigeru Umebayashi on the high-profile Silence of the Lambs prequel HANNIBAL RISING in 2007, cementing his place as one of the most exciting new composers to emerge in recent years.

The Film Music Label of the Year honor again goes to Oakland, California-based Intrada Records, who somehow managed to surpass their own high standards by re-releasing a number of classic, groundbreaking scores in extended versions with re-mastered sound and expansive packages. Amongst their 2007 releases were a pair of Jerry Goldsmith’s finest - ALIEN (Winner of Best New Release/Re-Release/Re-Recording of an Existing Score) and THE WIND AND THE LION – as well as Alex North’s rejected score from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and the third installment in their anthology of scores from the groundbreaking AMAZING STORIES TV series from the 1980s (Winner of Best Film Music Compilation Album). Douglass Fake is the Owner and President of Intrada.

Despite it not being eligible for competition (as it was not an original 2007 composition), the IFMCA also elected to give special recognition to composer Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman for HAIRSPRAY, the big-screen version of their own smash hit Broadway show, which was itself based on John Waters’ cult 1988 film. A good-natured yet bitingly satirical look at rock and roll in Baltimore in the late 1950s, the film was one of the musical highlights of 2007.

The complete list:

A - SCORE OF THE YEAR
* Atonement, music by Dario Marianelli

B - FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
* Alexandre Desplat

C – BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF 2007
* Ilan Eshkeri for Stardust

D - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
* Atonement, music by Dario Marianelli

E - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
* Enchanted, music by Alan Menken

F - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM
* The Bourne Ultimatum, music by John Powell

G - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM
* The Golden Compass, music by Alexandre Desplat

H - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM
* Zodiac, music by David Shire

I - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
* Ratatouille, music by Michael Giacchino

J - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
* Earth, music by George Fenton

K - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
* Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi (The Story of the Great King and the Four Gods), music by Joe Hisaishi

L - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
* Lair, music by John Debney

M - BEST NEW RELEASE/RE-RELEASE/RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE
* Alien, music by Jerry Goldsmith; Douglass Fake, Michael Matessino and Nick Redman (producers)

N - BEST FILM MUSIC COMPILATION ALBUM
* Amazing Stories: Anthology 3, Douglass Fake (producer)

O - FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
* Intrada, Douglass Fake

P – FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
* Elegy for Dunkirk from Atonement, music by Dario Marianelli

Q – SPECIAL AWARD
* Hairspray, music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman

==================================

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music. The IFMCA Awards are the only awards given to composers by film music journalists.

The IFMCA was originally formed in the late 1990s as the Film Music Critics Jury by editor and journalist Mikael Carlsson, a contributor to filmmusicradio.com and filmmusicweekly.com, and the owner of the Swedish film music label MovieScore Media. Since its inception, the IFMCA has grown to comprise 43 members from countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The IFMCA presented its first awards in 2004.

The IFMCA strongly feels that a film score’s strength lies in the combined impact of two important elements: the effectiveness, appropriateness and emotional impact of the score in the context of the film for which it was written; and the technical and intellectual merit of the composition when heard as a standalone listening experience. As such, the membership votes for the best scores of each year with these two criteria in mind, and strives to recognize scores which excel in both these areas. As an international organization, the IFMCA also makes conscious efforts to celebrate the best film music, not just from mainstream Hollywood productions, but world-wide, wherever it may originate.

Previous winners of the IFMCA Score of the Year Award were James Newton Howard’s LADY IN THE WATER in 2006, John Williams’ MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s THE INCREDIBLES in 2004.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association, please visit http://www.filmmusiccritics.org/ or contact press@filmmusiccritics.org.

Win 1 of 2 Official Posters from JUMPER

The CLOVERFIELD contest has closed! But don't fret. Anyone is possible! - a possible winner, that is. Enter now to win 1 of 2 official posters (the final poster art is much more interesting than the teaser poster) from the JUMPER!

Enter now!

Interview with composers Kaveh Cohen and Michael Nielsen

Tracksounds is able to get both composers Kaveh Cohen and Michael Nielsen on the line for quick chat regarding their upcoming score for the much-anticipated SPLINTER CELL: CONVICTION video game, as well as the new TV animated-series, WOLVERINE and the X-MEN. The co-composers also talk about their library of trailer music entitiled FULL TILT and Kaveh Cohen's score for the 2007 Audio Book of the Year, THE BIBLE EXPERIENCE.

Don't miss this interview plus 7 exlusive streaming tracks from WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, FULL TILT (VOL. 3), AND THE BIBLE EXPERIENCE!

Check out the interview!

How soon we forget! Blu-rays are not your friend!

So be it...early adopters!

Before I call it a night - I wanted to just make this last post. Yesterday I received the following email from Netlfix and it is most disheartening.

===================

We're Going Blu-Ray

Dear Christopher,

You're receiving this email because you have asked to receive high-definition movies in the HD DVD format. As you may have heard, most of the major movie studios have recently decided to release their high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. In order to provide the best selection of high-definition titles for our members, we have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray as well.

While we will continue to make our current selection of HD DVD titles available to you for the next several months, we will not be adding additional HD DVD titles or reordering replacements.

Toward the end of February, HD DVDs in your Saved Queue will automatically be changed to standard definition DVDs. Then toward the end of this year, all HD DVDs in your Queue will be changed to standard definition DVDs. Don't worry, we will contact you before this happens.You can click here to change your format preferences.We're sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call us at 1 (888) xxxxxxx.-

The Netflix Team

=========================

Following this announcement from Netflix came BEST BUY's own that they too would be moving from the HD-Neutral position and begin pushing Blu-Ray to the forefront.

Well, you Blu-rayers are getting what you THINK you've wanted. Those of us in the HD-DVD camp know that something "illusive" has been afoot - swaying so many studio presidents and online retailers without them even knowing it.

Well...in a few years it won't be just an HD-DVD logo getting "blu-rayed" it will be YOU! Someone or something else will take your place at the little blu-disc's side and you'll be left lying on the floor - helmetless, armless, and in desperate need of some sun.

As for me and a few others loyal to the republic...to democracy...we are grabbing our meager HD-DVD libraries and heading to an out of the way little swamp, where we can watch them in peace....

until...

George and the Dragon (Soundtrack) by Gast Waltzing

This George is No Drag
Review by Christopher Coleman


The tale of the heroic George slaying a villainous dragon goes back centuries. Although the tale may most often be associated with the period of the Third Crusades, the essence of the myth reaches back to pre-Christian history. The Roman soldier who was to become Saint George had a far different experience to that of the more legendary George. Around the year 300, the poor fellow was tortured and executed at the hands of the cruel Roman Emperor Diocletian for maintaining his Christian faith. George's martyrdom is said to have caused the conversion of other notable Romans. All pretty serious stuff. Now, Tom Reeves' 2004 film, GEORGE AND THE DRAGON, contains the three main elements of the widely adopted legend: a princess, a dragon, and, of course, George. The film; however, is anything but serious on the surface. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON contains a rather interesting cast for a movie that very few have ever seen: Patrick Swayze, Piper Perabo, James Purefoy and Michael Clarke Duncan and even a cameo by Val Kilmer. The film is actually a quaint little adventure-comedy that isn't quite as tongue-in-cheek as say THE PRINCESS BRIDE, but it does have more laugh-out-loud moments than one might anticipate. It's clear that Tom Reeves and co. were not working with a huge budget (that or they spent most of it on their cast) as the production value and CG work leaves quite a bit to be desired. But the film's true value is in its writing and performances (save Patrick Swayze's attempt at a being English Nobility...even fairy-tale-nobility) and its score by GAST WALTZING.

MOVIESCORE MEDIA found this little gem lounging around unreleased and was wise in picking it up and making it a part of their "Discovery Collection." GAST WALTZING has delivered a very entertaining score - start to finish. As with any good knight and dragon movie, the score is ripe with solid character themes and engaging action cues. And beyond many scores of this genre, the composer is able to keep the score engaging throughout, making it one of the best listening experiences of an entire soundtrack that I've had recently. GAST WALTZING's score hits all the right beats for Reeves' quirkily-entertaining film. You can journey emotionally with the characters while still being able to perceive the director's "winks" to the audience throughout the film through Waltzing's music.


Read the full review here

Official STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS News

So now we have the official announcement straight from "The Ranch" ... err straight from "The Presidio" regarding the new Star Wars series STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS. It's actually been quite some time since I visited ye old starwars.com, but they have a pretty nifty new video player and library and among the niftiness is a teaser for the upcoming series. No mention of who is scoring the series or film, that I can find.

You who are Hyperspace members get access to all sorts of exclusive stuff as well. (I've just never seen enough value to drop $15/mo to be a H-space member.) But with the Lucas-hype-machine starting to roll into high gear...you've got me thinking about it George...you've got me thinkin'.

If you are H-space member, let us know how cool (or not) all the members-only goodies are.

Check out the trailer here.

Star Wars: Clone Wars Coming to Theaters Aug. 15, 2008

USA Today published a story a bit ago about...STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS coming to a theater near you August 15 of....this year! It's been a long while since there has been anything noteworthy to post about regarding the world of Star Wars...but this is certainly a big deal. When did you think you'd get to go to the movies and watch NEW Star Wars material?

Anyway, above is the first picture released from the 3D animated flick. Set between Episodes II and III, this feature film will set the stage for the Cartoon Network and TNTs new animated series to launch this Fall.

Sooooo who do YOU think should score this film and the series? Let me know!

Top Stuff from 2007 #1 - Peter Jackson and The Hobbit

1 - PETER JACKSON and THE HOBBIT

The questions and rumors floated around for months. Would there be a Hobbit feature film and would Peter Jackson and New Line Studios ever work out their differences just in case there a film was green-lit?

Finally at the close of 2007, a great shout of joy swept across the kingdoms of this world as news hit the net that Peter Jackson would indeed be involved with New Line's THE HOBBIT. And not only THE HOBBIT but another film to boot! Oh yes this was indeed the coolest news of 2007.

Ok. So it wasn't perfect news. While it looks like PJ will only be producing and not directing, just having him involved at all brings buoyancy to the hopes of many... not only those who want to see these films done and done properly, but to many who want more from composer Howard Shore. Peter Jackson's involvement has all but cemented the fact that Howard Shore's music will sing out from Middle Earth again. Sure there are a mountain of legalities and contracts and other things that most fans don't care about that could get in the way, but come on! Who could even try to follow up Shore's monumental work for THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY? Only Shore could possibily live up to the ultra-high expectations that will be on music for these two films.

As you may remember, way back in 2006, Howard Shore mentioned to Tracksounds that he had already starting playing with themes and music for a Hobbit-film. Just think about what he's been doing (unofficially) since then?

So why is the Coolest news of 2007? Think about it with me. Now for the next 2 or 3 years, at the very least, we will be fully engaged in clamouring for every bit of HOBBIT movie news we can get ahold of and for every bit of score news as well. Fans can set their sites on 2010...their expectations again on the highest of settings...delighting in their sweet agony of patience. Then, with the release of movies come the original soundtracks. Then, the extended editions of the films will come to DVD. Then, the complete recordings of each score will follow. That single announcement has just set soundtrack-aholics up for the next 4 years.

So there you have it. The Coolest Stuff of 2007. You see, 2007 didn't suck so bad afterall.

Soundtracks at the Super Bowl

During the couple of hours of pre-game, prior to Super Bowl XLII, I started jotting things down on a napkin. Those around me thought I was jotting down "things to do" or football stats. And I was happy to let them think that. Truth was I was jotting down every movie theme I recognized during endless hours of Super Bowl coverage today.

If there was a need to find one more reason to love football, well, this might be it. It uses popular film music more and better than any other sport. (Or maybe I'm just looking for a silver-lining after the Giants robbed me of seeing history. It's highly likely that you and I will never see any team get this close to 19-0 again).

So here is a list that I wouldn't call exhaustive by any means, of the film music I was able to recognize during the Super Bowl coverage today:

• Road to Perdition by Thomas Newman - tribute to those in the NFL who passed away in the last year.
• Lawrence of Arabia by Maurice Jarre - a NASCAR spot, if you can believe that.
• The Island - "My Name is Lincoln" - Video spot narrated by Russell Crowe about the Patriots pursuit of perfection. *Update! Thanks to melman, this piece has finally been nailed down!
• Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot by John Williams - The reading The Declaration of Independence.
• The Last Samurai by Hans Zimmer - Introduction of the New York Giants (Booooo!)
• Unidentified music from Hans Zimmer or one of his Zimmerites - Introduction of the Patriots
• Autobots Theme from Transformers by Steve Jablonsky - Troy Aikman piece for Fox
• Rocky Theme by Bill Conti - Budweiser Clysdale and dalmation commercial.

...and with that the saddest day in my years of watching the Super Bowl comes to a close. The Patriots' historic run was ended by a team that had no business being there. But yet there they were and there they won. So I offer the best "congratulations" I can to the team that ruined history. Congrats Giants. Can't wait for my Cowboys to pound you down next year.

Ok...back to some music.

Your Favorite RAMBO Score is?

With Brian Tyler's new score out for the new (and last) Rambo film, I thought I'd see which of the four Rambo scores is your favorite. While my pick is no secret, feel free to let the rest of the world know which is yours.

Oh - and last month's poll found THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES by James Horner as the most anticipated of quarter 1.

Rambo (Soundtrack) by Brian Tyler

Franchises Don't Die. They Just...Don't Die.
Review by Christopher Coleman

"Nothing is over! Nothing!"

Those were John J. Rambo's spirited words back to ol' Col. Troutman...way back in 1982...as Troutman and Rambo stood surrounded in the shot-up police headquarters in "Jerkwater, USA." Sure seems that Sylvester Stallone has taken those words to heart as he has, some 25 years later, finally brought his two iconic movie franchises: Rocky and Rambo, to a close. Now, when I first heard that another ROCKY movie was being made, I wept a little bit inside. ROCKY BALBOA came and went without much of any reaction from me. Some really seemed to feel the Rocky film had a fitting end and well executed. But, well, it sort of knocked me out...with boredom. Then I heard that another RAMBO was being made...and I wept inside...a lot. I was certain a true train-wreck of a film was on its way. Apparently, just like some "heroes" we know, some movie franchises just won't die. With one of the Hollywood's most beloved composers, Jerry Goldsmith, no longer around to write the score, I wept a little more. I couldn't help but think of the franchise being further butchered by some sort of hyper-electronic-grungy-guitar fest. However, with the announcement of BRIAN TYLER as composer, my inner-tears began to dry up.


Read the full review

Mongol Trailer

With all the of the Cue Award hub-bub and reviews I've been trying to knock out...I've neglected to post a great trailers that were recently released. I'll start with the latest one for the Oscar Nominated "MONGOL."

I'm really looking forward to this one - what I've heard of composer Tuomas Kantelinen's score for the film is pretty doggone on good as well. The release date is in June 6, 2008.

Check out the MONGOL trailer here.

More trailer stuff on the way...

Win THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (by James Horner)!

During the month of February, you can compete in the Tracksounds caption contest for a chance to win a copy of the soundtrack "THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES", composed by James Horner!

Familiarize yourself with the contest rules HERE. Then enter the contest HERE.