2013 BMI Film & TV Awards - Composer Interviews

On May 15th, BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) held their annual awards gala, The Film & TV Awards, where they honor the composers of the years top-grossing films and top-rated television programs.

As they have done of late, they offer short videos with many of the top composers in the industry via their Youtube channel.  They've created a playlist of them all, which we offer to you above.  Interviews included are:  Christopher Lennertz, John Williams, Brian Tyler, Mark Isham, Cliff Martinez, Mike Post, David Buckley, Nathan Barr, Theodore Shapiro, iZler, Blake Neely and more!

As always, its great to see and hear from the people behind some of the past year's best music.  In addition to Cliff Martinez (this year's recipient of the Richard Kirk Award winner), Christopher Lennertz shares about playing the role of James Bond as a 9-year-old.  John Williams talks about scoring Lincoln (and looks great... strong enough to pull the ears off a gundark...or score a Star Wars film or something.).  Mark Isham shares about scoring the weekly "Once Upon a Time" and biopic "42." while David Buckley shares about scoring season-to-season on The Good Wife.  Brian Tyler talks about scoring a "post-Avengers" film, Iron Man 3, and iZLER reveals how gratifying and hair-raising it is to score two TV series at one time:  Revenge and Shameless.

Give the entire playlist a listen above and you can see a list of ALL the winners below:


RICHARD KIRK AWARD

CLIFF MARTINEZ

ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS

MYCHAEL DANNA
Life of Pi

ADELE (PRS)
"Skyfall," from Skyfall

BMI FILM MUSIC AWARDS

ALAN SILVESTRI
The Avengers

THOMAS NEWMAN
Skyfall

DANNY ELFMAN
Oz the Great and Powerful

JOHN WILLIAMS
Lincoln

DANNY ELFMAN
Men in Black 3

BRIAN TYLER
Iron Man 3

ALAN SILVESTRI
The Croods

MARK MOTHERSBAUGH
Hotel Transylvania

NATHANIEL MECHALY (SACEM)
Taken 2

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (SACEM)
Argo

CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Identity Thief

DANNY ELFMAN
Silver Linings Playbook

MYCHAEL DANNA
Life of Pi

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (SACEM)
Rise of the Guardians

ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (SACEM)
Zero Dark Thirty

ALAN SILVESTRI
Flight

CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Think Like A Man

THEODORE SHAPIRO
The Campaign

BRIAN TYLER
The Expendables 2

JOE KRAEMER
Jack Reacher

DANNY ELFMAN
Dark Shadows

AARON ZIGMAN
Madea's Witness Protection

STEVE JABLONSKY
Battleship

ALAN MENKEN
Mirror Mirror

JOHN OTTMAN
Jack the Giant Slayer

THEODORE SHAPIRO
Hope Springs

MARK ISHAM
The Lucky One

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS
Total Recall

LYLE WORKMAN
American Reunion

AARON ZIGMAN
Escape From Planet Earth

BMI SPECIAL CITATION OF APPRECIATION

LAURA DUNN

BMI MINISERIES MUSIC AWARD

TONY MORALES
Hatfields & McCoys

BMI TELEVISION MUSIC AWARDS

BRIAN KIRK
NCIS

CHUCK LORRE
Two and a Half Men

BLAKE NEELY
Golden Boy

JOS JORGENSEN
America's Got Talent

ANDY LOVE
America's Got Talent

BLAKE NEELY
The Mentalist

PETE TOWNSHEND (PRS)
CSI

CHRISTOPHER FRANKE
The Amazing Race

VAUGHN JOHNSON
The Amazing Race

LEE SANDERS
The Amazing Race

MARK MANCINA
Criminal Minds

ROB SIMONSEN
Blue Bloods

ROB CAIRNS
The Bachelor

GEORGE RITTER
Rules of Engagement

BERT SELEN
Rules of Engagement

CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ
Revolution

KEITH POWER (SOCAN)
Hawaii Five-0

BRIAN TYLER
Hawaii Five-0

CARIM CLASMANN (PRS)
Grey's Anatomy

GALIA DURANT (PRS)
Grey's Anatomy

PETER BJORN AND JOHN (STIM)
2 Broke Girls

JOHN FRIZZELL
The Following

PETE TOWNSHEND (PRS)
CSI: NY

BILL BROWN
CSI: NY

KEB' MO'
Mike & Molly

DAVID BUCKLEY (PRS)
The Good Wife

JOS JORGENSEN
The X Factor

ANDY LOVE
The X Factor

SCOTT KIRKLAND
Bones

KENNETH BERRY
Undercover Boss

EHREN EBBAGE
Undercover Boss

MATT KOSKENMAKI
Undercover Boss

JOHN NOONEY
Undercover Boss

CRAIG OWENS
Undercover Boss

CHAD FISCHER
Scandal

iZLER
Revenge

CARTER BAYS
How I Met Your Mother

CRAIG THOMAS
How I Met Your Mother

MARK ISHAM
Once Upon a Time

MIKE POST
Law & Order: SVU

BLAKE NEELY
Arrow

BMI SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION MUSIC AWARDS

JOSE ANGEL
La Patrona

MARLU
La Patrona

PACO PANIAGUA
La Patrona

JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
La Patrona

ALEJANDRO SIRVENT BARTON
Abismo de Pasión

BMI CABLE TELEVISION MUSIC AWARDS

TREE ADAMS
Perception

JIM JOHNSTON
WWE Raw

MICHAEL BOLGER
SpongeBob SquarePants

SAGE GUYTON
SpongeBob SquarePants

EBAN SCHLETTER
SpongeBob SquarePants

JEREMY WAKEFIELD
SpongeBob SquarePants

JACE EVERETT
True Blood

NATHAN BARR
True Blood

CHARLIE CLOUSER
American Horror Story

CESAR DAVILA-IRIZARRY
American Horror Story

DAMON CRISWELL
Fish Hooks

ANDY STURMER
Fish Hooks

BRANDON KINDER
Bering Sea Gold

J.G. QUINTEL
The Regular Show

JOHN ENROTH
The Regular Show

ALBERT FOX
The Regular Show

MARK MOTHERSBAUGH
The Regular Show

CRAIG OWENS
Dance Moms

RONNIE VAN ZANT
Mountain Men

JACOB SHEA
Mountain Men

ROLFE KENT
Dexter

DANIEL LICHT
Dexter

iZLER
Shameless

Find out more at the official BMI site

Soundcast Interview: Theodore Shapiro (Year One)

Interview: Theodore Shapiro (Year One)

Marius Masalar speaks with composer Theodore Shapiro regarding his latest effort for the film YEAR ONE. He shares about his approach to scoring comedies as well as the unique musical opportunities YEAR ONE afforded him.

Recorded June 04, 2009
Published June 24, 2009

Episode Highlights

00:00 - Opening
00:30 - Part I: The King of Comedy Scoring?
03:10 - Part II: Musical deadpan versus slapstick
06:01 - Part III: Unique opportunities in Year One
10:24 - Part IV: Keeping it all together
16:15 - Part V: Deadlines
19:28 - Part VI: Breaking new ground and conclusion


Music Clips (Select music clips contained in this podcast)

00:00 Bazaar - Year One (Theodore Shapiro)
05:23 Zed to the Rescue - Year One (Theodore Shapiro)
09:47 Abraham and Isaac - Year One (Theodore Shapiro)
16:01 Hut Burner - Year One (Theodore Shapiro)
19:34 The Chosen Ones - Year One (Theodore Shapiro)

Download this interview here

Subscribe and get more info here

Year One (Soundtrack) by Theodore Shapiro - Review

"A Knowledge-y Sort of Taste..."

Review by: Marius Masalar

If, on a lazy sort of Sunday afternoon, your mind wanders to the depths of history in search of humanity's first forays into the realm of heroics, I will forgive you if Jack Black and Michael Cera are not the first potentials that come to mind. Nevertheless, the comedic duo is filling those hero shoes enthusiastically in Harold Ramis' latest film, YEAR ONE. Even though, for some of us, just the promise of having these two misfit characters doing their thing is enough to get us into the theatre to watch this film, there is another incentive in the form of a fun, evocative, and surprisingly intelligent score from THEODORE SHAPIRO, whose various credits have earned him the title of the "king of comedy scoring".

Though the film itself hardly breaks any new comedic ground, it offers up a unique set of opportunities for SHAPIRO to develop his technique of providing large-scale, serious, and impressive musical scores for projects —something we've seen previously in TROPIC THUNDER as well. "Serious" does not seem like a word I should be using to describe a comedy score, and I'm by no means implying that the score isn't entertaining and fun —because it is —but it carries the comedy in a dignified way.

Read the full review here

Lakeshore to Release Tropic Thunder by Theodore Shapiro

Lakeshore Records will release the original score by Theodore Shapiro for TROPIC THUNDER. Once again, like Blades of Glory, Shapiro delivers a surprisingly dramatic score for this over-the-top comedy. Below is the official press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



LAKESHORE RECORDS TO RELEASE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE HILARIOUS FILM TROPIC THUNDER

Soundtrack Features Original Music by Teddy Shapiro

(July 29, 2008- Los Angeles, CA) – Lakeshore Records will release the soundtrack for TROPIC THUNDER, available via iTunes and in stores on August 5. The soundtrack contains original music composed by Theodore “Teddy” Shapiro (Blades of Glory, The Devil Wears Prada).

Teddy Shapiro is a composer for film, television and the concert stage. BBC Music Magazine, in 1997, said of Shapiro, “At 25, he's had performances at Carnegie Hall and on MTV — part of the new group of composers who can work in both places.”

Shapiro received his B.A. in music from Brown University and his Masters from the famed Julliard School of Music. His concert works have been performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York and by the L.A. Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, The Milwaukee Symphony, the NY Chamber Orchestra, and the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra.

Teddy Shapiro has developed a special knack for composing music for comedy. In 1993 he began scoring for the acclaimed TV series The State. He has also composed for the comedy films Not Another Teen Movie, 13 Going on 30, Fun With Dick And Jane, The Devil Wears Prada, You, Me and Dupree, Idiocracy, and Blades of Glory.

TROPIC THUNDER is an action comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors who set out to make the biggest war film ever. After ballooning costs (and the out of control egos of the pampered cast) threaten to shut down the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia for “increased realism,” where they inadvertently encounter real bad guys. Ben Stiller plays pampered action superstar Tugg Speedman, who is cast in the biggest, most expensive war movie ever produced. He sets out to Southeast Asia with a "Who's Who" of celebrity co-stars --include Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), an intense, three-time Oscar®-winning actor who decides to go black for the role; Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), star of the popular gross-out comedy franchise "The Fatties"; multi-platinum hip-hop-star-turned-actor Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson); and newcomer Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel).

Dreamworks Pictures present TROPIC THUNDER in theaters on August 15, 2008. TROPIC THUNDER original soundtrack on Lakeshore Records will be available via iTunes and in stores on August 5.

Blades of Glory (Soundtrack) by Theodore Shapiro

Not Exactly Glorious…But Fun Nonetheless
Review by Cap Stewart

In the realm of sports, the phrase “Blades of Glory” might conjure up images of amazing feats and astounding accomplishments. The last thing that would naturally come to mind (before the release of this movie, anyway) would be Will Ferrell and John Heder, let alone as men in tights…on ice…in skates. Of course, that’s kind of the point. Comedy springs from the unexpected, and the plot of BLADES OF GLORY is no exception.

Not exactly unexpected was the selection of THEODORE SHAPIRO to provide the score. No stranger to comedy, Shapiro had previously written the music to STARSKY & HUTCH, DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY, and THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (just to name a few). The composer has stated that he prefers not forcing comedic elements into a film, but rather to play seriously and let the comedy come out of the story. This tendency is evident in BLADES OF GLORY. The musical devices and genres Shapiro uses are rather varied, but the most prominently used is the heroic sports music, and this music ends up being the score’s saving grace.

Read the full review