The Rum diary (Soundtrack) by Christopher Young - Review

"Where the Rum has Gone."
Review by Marius Masalar

No one remembers Hunter S. Thompson as an ordinary figure in the history of journalism, and the cultural contributions he is best known for — “gonzo” journalism, Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, and of course The Rum Diary — say a lot about what one can expect from the film adaptation of the latter book. While the film’s vaguely hallucinatory plotline meandered in a meaningful way on paper, the transition to film has been a difficult process, this being the third attempt since the book’s publication.

While critics have been ambivalent and generally unimpressed by this eventual cinematic take on the story, there is no denying its authenticity to the source material, for better or worse, and much of the atmosphere’s uniquely convoluted moods are contributed by film scoring veteran, CHRISTOPHER YOUNG. While most people think of CHRISTOPHER YOUNG as the king of horror scoring (which is understandable given his recent credits for Priest, Drag Me To Hell, The Uninvited, etc.), Young’s expertise reaches far beyond the frightening and macabre to encompass a variety of genres. It is thanks to this diversity of talent and considerable film scoring expertise that Young pulls off a successful score to a difficult film...

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Christopher Young Scores Priest

LEADING SUSPENSE COMPOSER CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
ADDS VAMPIRE SLAYER MUSIC TO HIS REPERTOIRE FOR
PRIEST

COMPOSER SAYS SCORE SOUNDS LIKE ‘GODZILLA F---ING KING KONG’
OPENS MAY 13

(Los Angeles, CA) Film composer Christopher Young scores “Priest,” a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, directed by Scott Charles Stewart (“Legion”). The gripping 3D film is set in an alternate world -- one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. Sony Pictures releases the film May 13. Score album is released by Madison Gate Records and available on iTunes and Amazon.com.

Young quipped that his score is, “Excessively aggressive and enveloping; it swallows you like a leviathan. It’s a powerhouse of constant energy. It’s like Godzilla f--ing King Kong.” It took an 83 piece orchestra and a 32 member choir to create the epic sound Young wanted.

“Priest” is the first collaboration between Christopher Young and director Scott Charles Stewart.

The film stars Paul Bettany as a legendary warrior priest during the last Vampire War, who now lives in obscurity among the other human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities controlled by the Church. When his niece (Lily Collins) is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them.

Christopher Young’s distinctive and imaginative approaches to numerous projects have made him a highly sought-after commodity on films. He has composed music for over 100 films in all genre ranges from horrors including “Hellraiser,” and “The Grudge,” dramas including “The Hurricane,” “Murder in The First,” and “Shipping News,” comedies including “When in Rome,” and “The Man Who Knew Too Little” to action adventures including “Ghostrider” and “Spiderman 3.”

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Creation (Soundtrack) by Christopher Young - Review

Tiny Variations
Review by Christopher Coleman

The Nineteenth Century scientist, Charles Darwin, is, to this day, a hero to many and villain to others. His famous book, "The Origin of the Species" and the theory it contains remains as hotly debated in the 21st century as in Dr. Darwin's day of the 19th century. The film's screenplay was written by John Collee and is based on "Annie's Box," a biography penned by Charles Darwin's great grandson, Randal Keynes; itself written from Darwin's own diaries and family letters. Director John Amiel takes Collee's script and with strong performances from Paul Bettany (Charles Darwin), real-life wife, Jennifer Connelly (Emma Darwin), and newcomer Martha West (Annie Darwin), crafts a film that shows a much different picture of Darwin than what might comprise the popular perception of the man. Instead of the diabolical, scientist out to destroy God, Darwin is portrayed here as a brilliant man tormented by physical ailments, deep emotional wounds, and suffers the ongoing casualties of sitting at the crux of the great idealogical battle of our time: science and religion.

Veteran composer CHRISTOPHER YOUNG filled his 2009 with projects such as THE INFORMERS, THE UNINVITED, and one of his best horror scores in years, DRAG ME TO HELL, yet he transitions from 2009 to 2010 with one of his most beautiful works to date - CREATION. Often, when the name of "Christopher Young" comes up, his work in the horror genre quickly comes to mind and with good reason. With seminal efforts for noteworthy horror films such as: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2, THE GRUDGE, the HELLRAISER franchise, it would be easy to corner Young in this genre. Over the years; however, his, often-time, smaller or more character driven films have made their way into my list of Christopher-Young-favorites. THE SHIPPING NEWS, THE GIFT, THE HURRICANE and UNFINISHED LIFE all demonstrate the considerable talents and range of the composer, but in more subtle ways. I'm quite happy to say that CHRISTOPHER YOUNG's work for CREATION now falls into this category.

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Win Creation (Soundtrack) by Christopher Young

Yes...well, we are a bit late in announcing our current Caption Contest here, but better late than never!  You still have well over a week to enter up to 3 captions for this scene from the new feature film, CREATION.  The film centers on the life and struggles of Charles Darwin and features a beautifully compelling score by CHRISTOPHER YOUNG.  Don't miss your chance to win one of early 2010's best scores.

Bon chance!

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The Informers (Soundtrack) by Christopher Young - Review

Greed is good. Sex is easy. Youth is forever. Only if you're uninformed.

Review by Vince Chang

THE INFORMERS is a 2009 film directed by Gregor Jordan. The script was written by Nicholas Jarecki and Bret Easton Ellis, who wrote the original series of short stories back in 1994. The film contains 7 of the 13 linked, short-stories found in the original book. The stories make up a broader slice-of-life snapshot of an entire week in the lives of social circle of people who represent everything from the cream of the crop to the scum of society. The plot creeps forward mostly just by showing their interactions amongst themselves, always in morally deficient ways. An entire subplot involving vampires was cut-out, presumably because a supernatural theme seemed too out of place for a live-action movie adaptation. The film was given only a limited release on April 24, 2009, in 482 select movie theaters across the nation, and maybe rightfully so, since it received scathing reviews by critics and the general public. While best known for his works in the horror-genre with credits to titles such as DRAG ME TO HELL, THE GRUDGE (the original and sequel), and THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, veteran composer CHRISTOPHER YOUNG was brought on to undergird the darker textures of the film's plot. As a memorial note, this was Brad Renfro's final film before he died on January 15, 2008 of a heroin overdose.

Electric guitar, keyboard synth and bass are the dominant forces in this entire soundtrack, with sparse percussion in the form of triangle, cowbell, and other obscure instruments. There is also prominent use of echo and stereo panning, especially in “What was, it is. What is, it's not” (Track 3). Most of the tracks are slow paced, with many Latin rhythms incorporated via percussion and electric bass. The result is a soundtrack that consists of soft rock combined with elements of samba, salsa and tango. The track titles mostly consist of explicitly sensual references (“Please me, Please, Please”), hinting at the many love scenes throughout.

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The Informers by Christopher Young

LAKESHORE RECORDS TO RELEASE ORIGINAL SCORE FOR THE INFORMERS

Soundtrack Contains Original Score By Christopher Young

(June 1, 2009- Los Angeles, CA) – Lakeshore Records will release the original score for THE INFORMERS, available digitally (iTunes and Amazon Digital) and in stores on June 9, 2009. Christopher Young (The Uninvited, Untraceable) composed the music. The label released the original soundtrack on April 28th.

Golden Globe-nominated composer Christopher Young has scored almost 100 successful features ranging across virtually every genre, all with strikingly original music. Never repeating himself, Young’s works extend from the spine-tingling Hellraiser showcasing his seminal upbringing in horror; to the new-techno sound of Swordfish and the resonant, genuine Celtic sounds of The Shipping News. With each successive Christopher Young crafted score, the composer continually stretches the bounds of his versatility.

Young has worked with some of the top filmmakers of the past ten years including Norman Jewison (The Hurricane and Bandits), Sam Raimi (The Gift, Spiderman 3, The Grudge and The Grudge 2) and Curtis Hanson (Lucky You, Wonder Boys). In addition to his busy film-composing schedule, Young is imparting his experience and knowledge to a new generation of film composers, teaching at USC since the early nineties. He is a two-term past president of The Film Music Society and the president of the Madrid Film Music Festival in Spain.

In such works as Less Than Zero and American Psycho Brett Easton Ellis brilliantly dissects contemporary American society, a culture in which too much is never enough. Now, adapting his own...In such works as Less Than Zero and American Psycho Brett Easton Ellis brilliantly dissects contemporary American society, a culture in which too much is never enough. Now, adapting his own acclaimed novel for the screen, he returns to the Los Angeles of the early 1980's with a multi-strand narrative that deftly balances a vast array of characters who represent both the top of the heap (a Hollywood dream merchant, a dissolute rock star, an aging newscaster) and the bottom (a voyeuristic doorman, an amoral ex-con).

Connecting all his intertwining strands are the quintessential Ellis protagonists -- a group of beautiful, blonde young men and women who sleep all day and party all night, doing drugs -- and one another -- with abandon, never realizing that they are dancing on the edge of a volcano. Filmed with uncommon glamour and grit by acclaimed Australian director Gregor Jordan (Ned Kelly, Buffalo Soldiers), The Informers is an alternately blistering and chilling portrait of hedonism run amuck The film stars Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, Jon Foster and Amber Heard.

Senator Entertainment presents THE INFORMERS released in select theaters on April 24, 2009. THE INFORMERS original score album on Lakeshore Records will be available via iTunes, Amazon Digital and in stores on June 9th, 2009. THE INFORMERS original soundtrack is available digitally and in stores now.

You can also pre-order the THE INFORMERS on compact disc here.

Christopher Young to receive Richard Kirk Award

COMPOSER CHRISTOPHER YOUNG TO RECEIVE RICHARD KIRK AWARD
AT BMI FILM & TELEVISION AWARDS

Ceremony Slated for May 21 in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, April 8, 2008 -

Prolific composer Christopher Young will receive the Richard Kirk Award for outstanding career achievement at the performing right organization’s annual Film & Television Awards on Wednesday, May 21 in Los Angeles. Staged at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the black-tie, invitation-only dinner will also honor the composers of the past year's top-grossing films, top-rated prime-time network television series and highest-ranking cable network programs.

Named in honor of former BMI Vice President and film & television department founder Richard Kirk, the Richard Kirk Award is bestowed on composers who have made significant contributions to the realm of film and television. As the 2008 honoree, Christopher Young joins an elite list of peers that includes George S. Clinton, Jerry Goldsmith, Thomas Newman, Michael Kamen, Danny Elfman, Alan Menken and John Williams.

Award-winning composer Christopher Young has carved out his enviable niche in the upper pantheon of Hollywood composers with unusual speed and unerring flair. The UCLA Film School alumnus first turned heads with fiendish scores for horror and science fiction projects, and he proceeded to garner accolades for work on macabre and fantastical films including Hellraiser, its Saturn award-winning sequel and Species, along with BMI award-winners Ghost Rider, The Grudge and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Young became a master of suspense, composing music for thrillers including Copycat and BMI honoree Entrapment, as well as dramatic and critical tours-de-force including Golden Globe nominee The Shipping News, Wonder Boys, Rounders and BMI award-winner Swordfish. He also fleshed out the haunting nuances and electrifying action sequences of box office gold Spiderman 3. The New Jersey native has also excelled in television composition, earning two Emmy nominations for telefilms Last Flight Out and Norma Jean & Marilyn. A dedicated mentor, Young has taught classes at USC, served as an advisor for the Sundance Institute Film Composers Lab and created an innovative residential development to house aspiring composers in Los Angeles. He describes his progressive two-pronged approach to composition as the exploration of the contemporary music’s abstract ideas and the infinite pursuit of “the great American tune.”

Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI) is an American performing right organization that represents more than 375,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music and more than 6.5 million works. BMI’s most recent financial results, $839 million in performing right collections for its fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, were the highest for any copyright organization in the world. BMI has represented the most popular and beloved music from around the world for over 65 years. The non-profit-making U.S. corporation collects license fees from businesses that use music, which it then distributes as royalties to the musical creators and copyright owners it represents.

Sleepwalking by Christopher Young

Composer Christopher Young's next project opens in just over a week. Check out the official press release below.

COMPOSER CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
SCORES “SLEEPWALKING”

“Sleepwalking” Opens Nationally March 14


(Los Angeles, CA) Award-winning composer Christopher Young adds to an impressive list of nearly 100 feature films in virtually every genre with the score to “Sleepwalking,” the drama stars Charlize Theron (who was also involved as a producer on the film), Nick Stahl, AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Hopper and Woody Harrelson. This is the second time that Young has united on a film with Theron who in 2001 starred in “Sweet November” which Young scored. “Sleepwalking” premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and is scheduled to open nationally on March 14. Young’s music can currently be heard in Screen Gems/Lakeshore Entertainment release “Untraceable,” the latest thriller by director Gregory Hoblit starring Diane Lane.

“Sleepwalking” is the story of James Reedy (Stahl), a simple man who leads a less than ordinary existence. When his sister Joleen (Theron) seemingly abandons her daughter Tara (Robb) with him, Reedy steals away with the girl and takes to the road.

Composer Christopher Young created memorable action scores to two Marvel movies last year Spiderman 3 and Ghostrider. His spine-tingling score for The Grudge helped propel the film to a sleeper hit. His distinctive and imaginative approaches to several unusual projects have made him a highly sought-after commodity on films with unusual subject matter. He wrote an ingenious score incorporating breathing effects for the offbeat film "The Vagrant"; provided a darkly dramatic score to the Christian Slater/Kevin Bacon prison drama "Murder in the First"; and tuned in perfectly to the offbeat sensibility of the Bill Murray comedy "The Man Who Knew Too Little." His long list of works include the scores for "Hellraiser" "Runaway Jury," "The Shipping News," and "The Core"

Christopher Young has received numerous awards and nominations throughout a celebrated career. He was recently honored at the 13th Annual Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival with the award for Outstanding Career Achievement in Film Composing. He has been nominated for two Emmys (“Norma Jean & Marilyn,” “Last Flight Out”) and received both Golden Globe and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award nominations for the “The Shipping News.” In addition to his busy film-composing schedule, Young is imparting his knowledge to a new generation of film composers. He has taught at USC since the early Nineties.

Ghost Rider (Soundtrack) by Christopher Young

Blazing New Trails

by Cap Stewart

Collisions at intersections are never a pretty sight. Malfunctioning lights, bad weather, driver error—whatever the cause of the accident, the results aren’t pleasant. Passenger cars simply weren’t designed to be bumper cars.

Some might say the same thing about certain musical genres. For example, western and horror elements don’t readily come to mind as being inherently compatible. Neither would a rock band and a gothic choir be considered the best combination.

In the case of the movie GHOST RIDER, however, director Mark Steven Johnson and composer CHRISTOPHER YOUNG thought otherwise. Indeed, the musical approach to the film is quite unique. The combination of western, horror, gothic choir, and rock elements is largely successful—almost good enough to be called a beautiful collision.

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