Howard Shore has begun work on THE HOBBIT

The good folks at THEONERING.NET have posted a transcript of a recent inteview with composer HOWARD SHORE regarding the status of THE HOBBIT score. Apparently, things are moving! Of course, way back before the Peter Jackson/Newline skif, he mentioned in our interview with him, that he was already playing around with ideas. With so much time to be mulling and tinkering (and now getting down to the business at hand) my hopes for THE HOBBIT score are starting to soar.

Here is a bit of the conversation with fictionalfrontiers.com.

"Yes I am starting to work on the Hobbit. A lot of the group is coming back together to work on it. It’s really a wondrous occasion. It’s fantastic guide for me to be able to go back to Middle earth and create more music , ‘cause these films, the films, are placed before Fellowship of the Ring, so I have to go back into Middle earth a little earlier and pick up my writing, and write a piece that would grow and take you right into Fellowship of the Ring."


Check out more here

Fantastic new trailer for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Back in May of this year the teaser trailer for director David Fincher's next visual treat debuted with the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The mesmerizing and tantalizing images were musically backed by the equally mesmermizing and tantalizing piece "The Aquarium" from Carnival of the Animals. It was nearly a perfect trailer and, to tell you the truth, I was more excited about the potential of this THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON than what the latest Indy film did for me.

For sometime it has been a toss up as to which film I was most looking forward to seeing this December: AUSTRALIA or BENJAMIN BUTTON.  Recently a second full length trailer was released and with that, "Old" BENJAMIN BUTTON is by far the front runner now.

While the first trailer emphasized the wonderous and mystical, this new trailer grounds the drama a bit more.  Included in that "grounding" is "new" musical accompaniment.  Now, I 'm not certain if these are excerpts of ALEXANDRE DESPLAT's new score for the film, but  I do not recognize it off-hand.  What we hear certainly could be...as the score was recorded some time ago (check out scoringsessions.com's coverage) and is certainly in Desplat's minimalist vein.

Regardless, this movie looks amazingly good.  With the under-appreciated Brad Pitt, the always fantastic Cate Blanchette at the heart of the film and with David Fincher as the mastercraftsman over the entire project, my hopes could be no higher.   I'm also betting that THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is going to be a far better showcase for Desplat's talents than the overly-gushed GOLDEN COMPASS was last year.  So what do you say?

Check out the new trailer here

Upcoming Soundtrack: Blindness Soundtrack by Uakti

Press Release

MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE BLINDNESS
STARRING JULIANNE MOORE AND MARK RUFFALO
TO BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 30 ON DECCA

** FEATURING AN ORIGINAL SCORE BY ACCLAIMED BRAZILIAN INSTRUMENTAL GROUP UAKTI **


(New York, NY) - Decca will release the soundtrack for the new film Blindness starring four time Academy Award® nominee Julianne Moore ("Far From Heaven," "The Hours") and Mark Ruffalo ("Zodiac," "Reservation Road"). The film is based on the internationally best selling novel of the same name by Nobel Prize® winner Jose Saramago and features Danny Glover ("Dreamgirls," "The Color Purple") and Golden Globe®-winner Sandra Oh of "Grey's Anatomy".

UAKTI, a Brazilian instrumental quintet formed in 1979, and heard on Paul Simon's album The Rhythm of The Saints, provide the evocative score. They are known for using custom made instruments, built by themselves, which lends a great deal of personality to the group's minimalist musical style. Of these, marimbas and string instruments are prominently featured throughout the soundtrack and are used to create a simple, eerie theme that lingers through most of the tracks. Uakti's album Aguas Da Amazonia has scanned over 25,000 units in the United States alone and the quintet has an even greater following internationally.

Academy Award® nominated director Fernando Meirelles ("The Constant Gardener," "City of God") brings the compelling story of humanity in the grip of an epidemic of mysterious blindness to life. The journey shines a light on the dangerous fragility of society and the exhilarating spirit of humanity. The screenplay is by Tony Award®-winner Don McKellar and recently debuted to critical acclaim at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Blindness opened the Toronto Film Festival in September and will show on screens nationwide beginning October 3rd, 2008.


Order BLINDNESS from amazon.com

Upcoming Soundtrack: Splinter by Elia Cmiral

Press Release

COMPOSER ELIA CMIRAL
SCORES SPLINTER

Premieres at ScreamFestLA on October 16, 2008

In Theaters Halloween 2008

(Los Angeles, CA) Composer Elia Cmiral creates a haunting score for “Splinter,” the first full-length film by award-winning director Toby Wilkins. In the film, a convict and his girlfriend carjack a couple on a weekend retreat in the woods. The couples soon find themselves trapped together in an isolated gas station, on the run from a deadly parasite that occupies the woods outside. Cmiral will attend the film’s premiere at ScreamFestLA as the festival’s Centerpiece film on October 16, 2008. It opens in theaters on October 31, 2008.

ScreamFestLA, a film festival devoted entirely to the horror genre, showcases some of the best independent short and full-length horror films each year. “Splinter” director Toby Wilkins won Best Horror Short for his film “Staring at the Sun” in 2005, garnering the attention of producer Sam Raimi, who then chose Wilkins to produce, direct, and write a number of short films for his production company, Ghost House Pictures. This year, the festival runs from October 10th to October 19th at Grauman’s Mann Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, Calif.

No stranger to the world of thrillers, Cmiral scored “Tooth & Nail” and “The Deaths of Ian Stone,” both featured at last year’s After Dark Horrorfest. Most recently, he finished scoring “Pulse 2: Afterlife,” the sequel to last year’s Wes Craven film, “Pulse,” for which he also wrote the score. This was Cmiral’s second collaboration with Craven, having scored “Wes Craven Presents: They” in 2002. In addition, he scored John Frankenheimer’s suspense thriller “Ronin,” starring Robert DeNiro. Cmiral continues to provide highly original and evocative scores for major Hollywood studios as well as independent filmmakers, including “Journey to the End of the Night,” “Stigmata,” “Bones” and “Species 3.”

Born in Czechoslovakia, Elia Cmiral quickly established himself as one of Europe’s leading young composers after graduating from the prestigious Prague Music Conservatory. He wrote scores for several European films and three ballets before coming to the United States to attend USC’s famous Film Scoring Program, after which he was hired to produce tango-based music for “Apartment Zero,” composing a now-classic full length score in a scant ten days. By the mid-1990s, Cmiral had garnered a reputation with Hollywood executives, leading to his scoring the successful “Nash Bridges” television series.

Medal of Honor Exclusive Soundtrack in 10th Anniversary Release

As a part of ELECTRONIC ART's special 10TH ANNIVERSARY RELEASE of the PC versions of the MEDAL OF HONOR series, a special, 14-track, soundtrack compilation will be included. The CD will contain previously released music by composer MICHAEL GIACCHINO. This special release will cost around $40 and will also include:

* All five Medal of Honor games released for the PC, including

• Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
• Medal of Honor: Allied Assault -- Spearhead
• Medal of Honor: Allied Assault -- Breakthrough
• Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
• Medal of Honor Airborne

* Strategy guides covering every mission in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
* Exclusive in-game weapons
* Documentaries on the use of propaganda and battlefield training in World War II
* Interviews with WWII veterans
* Behind the scenes footage on the making of the Medal of Honor franchise

If you don't already own these games OR do not own any of Giacchino's top-notch work for the series, this might be the perfect time to invest.

Fallout 3 Sampler Soundtrack by Inon Zur

A Taste of Capital Apocalypse
Review by Christopher Coleman

In the ever-growing process of pre-release hype (ie. marketing), Bethesda Softworks offered a special sampler soundtrack in its $5.00 pre-order package. Included inside the standard DVD, snap-box comes a FALLOUT 3 poster and this sampler CD. Roaming an alternative timeline of post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., your highly customizable player will see familiar monuments and vistas of "the district," but complete with post-nuclear holocaust "renovations." Additionally, there are some true baddies that also roam the lands. No, not politicians, but mutants, and ghouls, and other monstrosities. Gaming insiders are saying that FALLOUT 3 promises to be one of the most anticipated action-rpgs for the Xbox 360 and PC since OBLIVION (also from Bethesda).

What helps to define the FALLOUT franchise is it's setting. Marked by the quirky and somewhat misguided worldviews of the 1950s and certainly by the visual design style of the era, the environment of FALLOUT is an odd juxtaposition of idealism and destruction. Fortifying this very feeling are the musical choices for the game. On the one hand, music from the 40s and 50s is again integrated into the game experience and on the other, composer INON ZUR provides an uneasily mournful, but powerful score - at least as measured by the two tracks released here.

Read the full review here

Viking: Battle for Asgard Soundtrack Announcement

I haven't heard a note of this yet, but if the press release below is any indication, this could be another winner.

SUMTHING ELSE MUSIC WORKS ANNOUNCES
RELEASE OF VIKING: BATTLE FOR ASGARD - THE SOUNDTRACK 

Epic Original Score Performed by The City of Prague Philarhmonic Orchestra and Choir  

New York – September 18th, 2008 – Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc., through its licensing relationship with SEGA, proudly presents VIKING: Battle For Asgard - The Soundtrack. The original soundtrack album to the combat action video game will be available at retail outlets on September 23rd through Nile Rodgers’ Sumthing Else Music Works label www.sumthing.com and digital download service www.sumthingdigital.com and will also be released on iTunes.

VIKING: Battle For Asgard - The Soundtrack features the epic orchestral score composed by Richard Beddow, Walter Nair, Simon Ravn and performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir.

Developed by The Creative Assembly, creators of the award-winning Total War™ series, VIKING: Battle for Asgard throws the player into the middle of a fierce struggle taking place within the realm of the Norse Gods. As Skarin, the player experiences a beautifully realized Viking landscape filled with discovery, stealth and epic battles. For more information on the game, visit www.sega.com/viking.

SEGA, the SEGA logo and Viking: Battle for Asgard are registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. The Creative Assembly is a trademark of The Creative Assembly Limited.  All rights reserved.

About Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc.

Since its creation in the late 1990’s by the world-renowned song writer, musician and record producer, Nile Rodgers, Sumthing Else Music Works has become the acknowledged industry leader in licensing and distributing video game soundtracks. Possessing full in-house services worldwide, from creation of original video game soundtracks through physical distribution, Sumthing is partnered with the world’s leading video game developers and publishers including BioWare, Bungie Studios, Capcom, Crytek,  Eidos Interactive, Epic Games, Gearbox Software, Microsoft, Mistwalker, Rare, SEGA, Silicon Knights, Sony Computer Entertainment and Ubisoft.  Their catalogue of titles includes the best selling video game soundtrack of all time, Halo 2: Volume One, as well as award-winning titles Crysis, Advent Rising, Fable, Gears of War, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 Volume Two, Halo 3, Hitman: Contracts, Hitman: Blood Money, Jade Empire, Kameo: Elements of Power, Mass Effect, Red Steel, Unreal Tournament 3 and many others.

For Sumthing’s full catalogue please visit www.sumthing.com and their digital download service at www.sumthingdigital.com.

Sumthing Else Music Works and Sumthing Distribution logos are copyright of their respective companies. All other names of companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Be 1 of 2 Winners of the poster print from TWILIGHT

Here's your chance to be 1 of 2 lucky winners of a poster print from the highly anticipated film, TWILIGHT.  Enter the WHO WANTS TO WIN MEMORABILIA contest today!

Enter here

The SoundCast: Episode 1 - Superhero Film Music

The SoundCast is a brand new podcast co-hosted by Christopher Coleman (Tracksounds.com) and Jorn Tillnes (Soundtrackgeek.com). Each episode of the SoundCast will be centered on the genre of film, television and video game music. The cast launches with the topic of Superhero film music! Christopher and Jorn discuss their favorite and least-favorite's of 2008 and also which they are most looking forward to in the upcoming months.

Download The SoundCast here


0:00 - Opening with Title theme composed by Mark Griskey

0:30 - Introduction to The SoundCast

4:35 - Favorite Superhero film scores 2008

8:15 - Least Favorite Superhero film scores 2008

12:00 - Upcoming Superhero film scores (The Spirit, Watchmen, X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

23:00 - Superman Trilogy Reboot?

34:53 - Closing thoughts (Closing titles composed by Mark Griskey)



Once you listen through, let us know what you think!

10 Seconds of Gatchaman

Slated for 2010 (pushed back from 2009 apparently), is Imagi Studios 3D Animated project, GATCHAMAN. For most of us westerners, the title of BATTLE OF THE PLANETS is going to be more familiar than GATCHAMAN...or perhaps you'll remember the name G-FORCE? (Not to be confused with the "G-Force" coming out in 2009 which is about special-ops GUINEA PIGS!).

Imagi Studios brought the most recent animated version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the big screen and are also reviving ASTRO BOY, which will come in 2009.

Below you can see a 10 second teaser of a teaser...utilizing Steve Jablonsky's Autobot theme from TRANSFORMERS. I have to say that little bit has got my interest up. It definitely looks like it has some Speed Racer influences...but no live actors...which I think is the better route to go in this case.

So how does this little clip make you feel? Who might make a good choice for the score's composer? Whoever it is, I hope they make use of Hoyt Curtain and Bob Sakuma's original themes from the late 70s cartoon series.

Lord of the Rings: Conquest with music by Howard Shore

Composer Howard Shores epic score from the LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY will be getting a "new" context in a few short weeks. EA's LORD OF THE RINGS: CONQUEST is a new video game developed by Pandemic in the tradition of STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT.

Whether or not any additional music is being composed for the game has not been revealed. EA's implementation of Shore's music for the BATTLE FOR MIDDLE EARTH series was more than adequate, but even if they do add a few new pieces hopefully they'll bring in JAMIE CHRISTOPHERSON once again...who likewise did a great job on BATTLE FOR MIDDLE EARTH I and II. (BFME II still remains a favorite of mine, so if any of you are also into it and want to go a few rounds, just lay your challenge down here and I'll see you on Xbox Live.)

For now, enjoy the first teaser trailer for the game below or pre-order yours here.

Win EAGLE EYE (Soundtrack) by Brian Tyler!

Your chance to win BRIAN TYLER's upcoming score for the film EAGLE EYE has just come your way! The new caption contest has just launched! Rumors are that EAGLE EYE is one of Brian Tylers best works to date, so don't miss your chance to get your mits on it all for the price of only the most clever, witty, and creative entry.


Get more infor here ... or Enter the contest here!