On saturday october the 22th, The beautiful city of ghent (Belgium) organised its 11th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards as its Filmfestival closing ceremony.
This year, the concert was dedicated to Miss Ronni Chasen, who was the agent of many Hollywood Talents like actor Michael Douglas, for the Gent Film Festival at Hollywood & composers like Elliot Goldenthal, Howard Shore & Hans Zimmer who were there (except Mr Shore who was in New Zealand working on Peter Jackson's Hobbit) to perform pieces of their compositions for the cinema. Performed by the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and directed by Dirk Brossé, this concert was a tribute to this great Lady in the film industry who was murdered last year just after the "Burlesque" premiere. A shock for all her friends who describe her as a really nice and caring person.
11 years after the Hans Zimmer' notorious concert live in Ghent, which led to the "Wings Of A Film" cd, it was for us the great opportunity to meet the composer and focus on his current motivations. Time for us to have our very first interview with Mr Zimmer and share with you this great moment in our website history... Here's a 16 minutes video which summarizes this day of work, to testify that Miss Ronni Chasen remains in the heart of everyone. We have to thank the filmfestival organizers who made this interview possible & Mr Dirk BROSSE for authorizing our cameras in the heart of the orchestra.
Another friendly meeting was the one with composer Lorne BALFE who is becoming the systematic name attached to Hans ZIMMER. Thanks to his talent and friendly relationship with the german born composer, he has become maybe the most famous and followed Remote Control composer. It is with great enthusiasm that he agreed to answer our short interview...
Hans-ZIMMER.com : After that Ghent concert, what is your feeling about this event ?
Lorne BALFE : It was such an enjoyable evening. The privilege of performing with such a fantastic orchestra and soloists was unbelievable but, most importantly being able to perform the music in honor of Ronni Chasen was most important. She was a truly wonderful woman, and was always very encouraging to younger composers like myself. She would have been looking down smiling and listening I am sure. The first time I met her was actually at Ghent 11 years ago. I also loved Hans' new arrangement of Driving Miss Daisy with Satnam doing human beat box. BRILLIANT. The festival is a wonderful event. Everyone that works there gives their hearts to it, making sure it happens perfectly.
H-Z.com : What kind of preparation is necessary for such a performance ?
LB : IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK AND TIME ! Hans is very lucky to have a great team around him. Slamm Andrews and Chuck Choi had managed to have everything set up and running for us when we arrived. Dirk had done a wonderful job rehearsing the orchestra. Having Gavin Greenaway there also was a fantastic help with the general sonic environment. Hans is fantastic when it comes to our performances. He is very hands on and always has a very clear concept for the shows. He wants the show to be visual as well as a musical performance. Hans spent a while making the structure of our performance. It had to tell a story musically, and it couldn't simply be pieces of music randomly slapped together.
H-Z.com : A composer is usually someone in the shadow, to be a performer in the light is that something you appreciate, after all could you be done for that ?
LB : When I rarely do perform, I realize what a great talent soloists have. It is the most never raking thing I have ever done ! I am far too used to sitting in my room and due to my bad piano playing, having ever third note wrong ! It is just nice to be able to play with your friends and after working with the music for so long, be able to perform it and enjoy the experience with the orchestra. Normally I see them through the glass of the studio, so it is great to be part of them. You have to pinch yourself also, you're playing and Johnny Marr is 5 feet away playing. I would have never believed it, if you were to tell me I would have been doing that a few years ago .
A more complete interview will be released in the media section very soon !
The Hans-ZIMMER.com team would like to thank Hans ZIMMER, Andrew ZACK, Jeff SANDERSON, Jan VERVAET and all at the Film Festival, Lorne BALFE & Dirk BROSSE.
More details about the winners of the World Soundtrack Awards 2011 HERE
Hans Zimmer, along with all of the artists associated with Save An Angel, have donated 100% of their royalties from the sale of the Save An Angel single to the Remote Control Charitable Foundation,which supports the work of:
Save an Angel, by 17-year-old LA high school student Rachel Eskenazi-Gold, is a beautiful and inspiring song about the love of a mother for her child and how each of us can help ease the suffering of women and children around the world. It is the centerpiece of a fundraising campaign for Mother’s Day (May 9th) that will focus on the plight of women and children globally.
The song will be available to download on iTunes beginning Monday, May 3, 2010 in time for Mother’s Day. The money raised from the sales of the song will be distributed by the Remote Control Charitable Foundation, which supports the vital work of these international, non-governmental organizations and charities: the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, mothers2mothers, ENOUGH Project, Human Rights Watch, Aid Still Required, TheCommunity.com and DoSomething.org.
Award winning composers Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe produced the song and were joined by a group of international musicians, all of whom will donate 100% of their royalties from the sale of the single. The artists who have committed their time and talent to this campaign include: Rachel Eskenazi-Gold, singer/songwriter; Lorne Balfe, producer; Hans Zimmer, producer; Martin Tillman, musician; Lili Haydn, musician; Heitor Pereira, musician; Michael Levine; Nico Abondolo; Satnam Ramgotra; filmmaker Rachel McDonald and editors Kevin Klauber and Max Carlson. Global distribution of the song will be provided by Ingrooves.
Zimmer first heard the song when he offered his studio to Rachel to record Save an Angel for a community service project. After hearing the song, he suggested bringing in his colleagues to fully produce a song that could be downloaded from iTunes in order to raise money for the organizations.
Quotes:
"This is a song that offers hope and inspiration with its powerful message that one person can make a difference in the lives of the most needy and vulnerable in society. By downloading this song, you show Mom how much she means to you by helping women and children around the world – in her name," said Hans Zimmer.
Rachel Eskenazi-Gold said, “I was inspired to write the song and use it as a fundraising project by the work of mothers2mothers, and other international organizations who help empower, encourage and support women to become independent and help themselves and other women in their communities. To offer women in the poorest villages in Africa, for example, the tools, knowledge and ability to help themselves, to help create a grass roots movement to support families.”
For more information about the Save an Angel Campaign, and to obtain a copy of the song, music video, photos and promotional materials, please contact: Bonnie Abaunza and Tiffany Bordenave at 310-401-6770.
Hans Zimmer has scored over 100 films, grossing more than 13 billion dollars at the box office worldwide. He has been honored with an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and three Grammys. In 2003, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers presented him the prestigious Henry Mancini award for Lifetime Achievement for his impressive and influential body of work.
Hans’ interest in music began early, and after a move from Germany to the U.K., would lead to playing with and producing various bands, including The Buggles, whose “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video to ever appear on MTV. But the world of film music was where Hans really wanted to be. Not long after meeting established film composer Stanley Myers, the two founded the London-based Lillie Yard Recording Studios together, collaborating on such films as My Beautiful Laundrette.
It was Hans’ solo work in 1988’s A World Apart, however, that gained the attention of director Barry Levinson, who then asked Hans to score Rain Man, Hans’ first American film. Levinson’s instinct was right – the score’s Oscar nomination that followed would be the first of eight.
With Hans’ subsequent move to Hollywood, he expanded his range of films to include his first venture into the world of animation, 1994’s The Lion King, which brought Hans the Oscar. The Lion King’s soundtrack has sold over 15 million copies to date, and The Lion King Musical has gone on to win a Tony Award, and to become Broadway’s ninth-longest-running show in history.
A number of animated film scores have followed, including co-writing four Bryan Adams songs for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, including the Golden Globe nominated “Here I Am.” More recently Hans collaborated with John Powell on Kung Fu Panda, and with will.i.am on Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
Hans’ career has been marked by a unique ability to adeptly move between genres – between smaller films and comedies (such as Driving Miss Daisy, Peter Weir’s Green Card, Tony Scott’s True Romance, Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise, James L. Brooks’ As Good As It Gets, Nancy Meyers’ Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday, and It’s Complicated) and big blockbusters (including Tony Scott’s Crimson Tide, John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2, Ridley Scott’s Hannibal and Black Hawk Down, Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai, Gore Verbinski’s Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and Ron Howard’s The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.)
In the middle of Hans’ unparalleled pace of taking on new projects, his ability to innovate and re-invent genres is what is perhaps most striking. The film scores Hans has done this for speak for themselves, whether it has been for drama in Barry Levinson’s Rain Man, action in Ridley Scott’s Black Rain, war in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, or most recently the dark comic book world of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
It was Hans’ unique take on the historical in Gladiator that earned him another Golden Globe. The album sold more than three million copies worldwide and spawned a second album “Gladiator: More Music from the Motion Picture.”
Hans’ roots in performing never left him, and in 2000, Hans performed his film music live for the first time in a concert at the 27th annual Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent, Belgium. With a 100-piece orchestra and 100-piece choir, he performed a number of newly orchestrated concert versions of a selection of his work. The concert was recorded by Decca and released as a concert album entitled “The Wings of a Film: The Music of Hans Zimmer.”
His background in collaboration and mentoring never left Hans either, and he created a Santa Monica based musical ‘think tank’, Remote Control Productions, in order to build a creative environment to nurture the talent of those new to the composing world. In the process, he has launched the careers of an unparalleled number of film and television composers, including John Powell (the Bourne Trilogy), Harry-Gregson Williams (Shrek, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Geoff Zanelli (Disturbia), Heitor Pereira (Curious George), Henry Jackman (Monsters vs. Aliens), James Dooley (Pushing Daisies), James Levine (Nip / Tuck, Glee), Ramin Djawadi (Iron Man), Rupert Gregson-Williams (Hotel Rwanda), Steve Jablonsky (Transformers), and Trevor Morris (The Tudors).
Hans has received a total 9 Golden Globe Nominations, 7 Grammy Nominations, and 8 Oscar Nominations, for Rain Man, Gladiator, The Lion King, As Good As It Gets, The Preacher’s Wife, The Thin Red Line, The Prince of Egypt, and Sherlock Holmes. He has also been honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in Film Composition from the National Board of Review.
None of this has slowed his pace. In 2008 Hans scored six films, including his Golden Globe Nominated Frost / Nixon score, and Grammy Award winning The Dark Knight score. In 2010, Hans’ music for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes brought Hans his eighth Oscar Nomination. Upcoming films for Hans include Christopher Nolan’s Inception, and Gore Verbinski’s Rango.
Rachel Eskenazi-Gold
At the tender age of 17, Rachel Eskenazi-Gold is an aspiring singer-songwriter. She began writing music when she was 14 years old. One of her early songs was premiered in a concert sponsored by the Festival of New American Musicals. That early success gave her encouragement to continue writing, which led to her writing the song Save An Angel for a benefit concert held by her piano teacher to support the Mothers2Mothers organization. She is presently working on a full-length musical about the Greek Goddess of Innocence, Persephone.
Rachel is also a seasoned performer of eighteen musical theater productions. Some of these include Cinderella in Into the Woods and Cinderella, Maria in West Side Story, Beth in Merrily We Roll Along, Glinda in Wicked, Hodel in Fiddler On The Roof, Cosette in Les Miserables, Laurie in Oklahoma, and – of course – Annie in Annie. She has attended the highly-esteemed Interlochen Arts Camp for the past 7 summers.
Rachel has been recognized with a number of prestigious awards. She has just been named a grand prize finalist of the 2010 Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards in the Non-Classical Voice category and is also a semi-finalist in the Classical Voice category. At Interlochen, she has won both the Concerto Competition and the Fine Arts Award for Theater Arts.
Lorne Balfe was born in Inverness, Scotland in 1976. He was a Major Music Scholar at Fettes College, and studied Composition and Percussion at Trinity College of Music, London. Whilst at college, he performed with The London Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
After leaving college, Lorne set up Metrophonics, a music production company specializing in music for TV and Commercials. Clients included Coca-Cola, BMW, Xbox and Siemens, BBC, MGM and MTV.
Lorne has provided additional music on several feature films, including: the Pirates of the Caribbean films, The Simpsons Movie, Madagascar 2,Angels & Demons, Iron Man, and on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
Lorne also composed additional music on 2009's Golden Globe nominated Frost/Nixon.
His role as a producer on 2008's The Dark Knight earned Lorne a Grammy for "Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture."
In 2009, Lorne was composer on the film Crying With Laughter (2009), of which the score was nominated for the Discovery of the Year award at the
Ghent World Soundtrack awards. That same year, Lorne was involved in two other major projects: he was music producer and composer of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 videogame, and score producer on Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes. The Sherlock music earned a 2010 Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.
Heitor Pereira is establishing a reputation for bringing international flavors to mainstream, American scores. From a Santa Monica studio jammed with hundreds of instruments from around the world, Heitor has composed scores for: CURIOUS GEORGE, ASK THE DUST, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES, HAVANA NIGHTS, RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS.
Heitor attracted Hans Zimmer’s attention for his outstanding skills as a guitarist. He hired Heitor to play on a few scores, and soon Heitor was following in the footsteps of other well known musicians turned film composers – Hans, James Newton Howard, Danny Elfman. He played guitar on and/or contributed music to the scores of: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II, BLACK HAWK DOWN, SPANGLISH, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, I AM SAM, THE PLEDGE, SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE, SHREK 2, MADAGASCAR, MAN ON FIRE, SPY KIDS, THE RUNDOWN.
Born to a family of musicians in the south of Brazil, Heitor completed his conservatory studies in guitar, harmony, counterpoint and composition in Rio De Janeiro. He quickly began playing with some of the leading artists in Brazil, and attracted the attention of the producer of SIMPLY RED. He entertained millions of fans around the world as that band’s lead guitarist. He has also released three solo albums of his own music. Throughout his career, Heitor has played guitar on the albums of widely diverse artists who esteem him as much for his unique sensibility as his astonishing guitar virtuosity. These artists include: SERGIO MENDES, CAETANO VELOSO, IVAN LINS, JACK JOHNSON, BRYAN ADAMS, ELTON JOHN, WILLIE NELSON, SHANIA TWAIN, SEAL, NELLY FURTADO.
Lili Haydn
George Clinton calls her "The Jimi Hendrix of the violin."
Rolling Stone called her music “fiery and virtuosic...”
Lili Haydn has released four critically acclaimed major label recordings as a solo artist. Lili (1997 Atlantic Records), Light Blue Sun (2003 BMG Music), Goodbye Stranger Ep (2007 Nettwerk Music Group), and Place Between Places (2008 Nettwerk Music Group). She has played with, sung with, and opened for everyone from Roger Waters, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Josh Groban, Seal, Matchbox 20, Cyndi Lauper, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and George Clinton's P-Funk All Stars to name a few. Both as a solo artist and as support, Lili has performed in premiere concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Opera House and the Hollywood Bowl.
Her latest cd, titled “Place Between Places,” was a favorite on NPR, and Lili performed the single "Strawberry Street" on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the HBO hit Californication. Her songs have also been licensed for TV, film, and commercials, including Army Wives, Dharma and Greg, the film Anywhere But Here, and adverts for Jaguar, and Folders Coffee, among others.
In addition to Lili's extensive recording and touring career, Lili is the featured voice and violin on several films with Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (2007), The Burning Plain (2009), Casi Divas (2009), The Boat that Rocked (2009), as well as with composers Ramin Djwadi, Henry Jackman, Cliff Eidelman, Paul Cantelon, Tom Petty, (The Unborn (2009), (Henry IV 2010), Open Window (2006), She’s the One (1996 )), among others.
After performing and improvising on filmscores for several years, Lili has launched her own film scoring career, with three feature films to her credit, including Jacklight (1999), the award winning film The Horse Boy (2009), and The Lightmaker (2009). The soundtrack for The Horse Boy is available on Itunes. The Sundance Film Institute recently awarded Lili a fellowship to their prestigious Composers Lab, which she attended in summer 2009.
A humanitarian and activist, Lili also performs regularly for various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Action Center, the Global Security Institute (for whom she performed a concert at the UN), Code Pink, John Wayne Breast Cancer Center, Indigenous Land Rights Fund, El Faro Orphanage, Peter Gabriel’s Witness Foundation, National Civil Rights Museum, among many others; and recently contributed her song “Unfolding Grace” to a CD compilation benefiting Ang San Suu Kyi and the Burmese pro-democracy movement which features U2, Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Paul McCartney.
Lili Haydn was also an accomplished actress growing up, paying her way through Brown University (where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science), performing in TV and film such as NBC’s Mrs. Columbo, The New Gidget, Rodney Dangerfield’s Easy Money, and Jack Frost, among many others.
At the center of all Lili Haydn’s musical ventures is a belief that music has the power to uplift and to heal, no matter what the medium. For an artist whose music has always been eclectic, cinematic, and broad in scope, film and television are the perfect next step.
Martin Tillman, Swiss composer and world renowned cellist has established himself in the motion picture and recording world as one of the most sought after talents of experimental acoustic and electric cello. He has created a revolutionary sound of his own by extending the traditional boundaries of the cello. Since his arrival in the USA in 1988, Martin Tillman has composed and/or performed on over 100 feature films, television series, commercials as well as performances on TV and on international tours.
Tillman began his studies in Europe and continued with the internationally celebrated cellist, Lynn Harrell. He received his Masters Degree in Performance from the University of Southern California in 1989. Most recently, Tillman has been focusing his creative energy on his own compositions and recording projects.
Tillman’s highly distinctive style has inspired many musical artists. For Michael Mann’s movie ALI, Tillman created a wonderful chamber-cello score which also features 2 original instrumental songs from his album Eastern Twin.
One of the most fruitful collaborations started when Martin recorded with Hans Zimmer on the Ridley Scott movie The Fan. Since then, Tillman has been given the chance to compose and perform for scores such as Black Hawk Down, Hannibal, The Pledge, An Everlasting Piece, and The Ring. In the beginning of 2004, Martin completed his first score for Melissa Painter’s film Admissions.
He has been invited to perform with many renown recording artists, including Sting, Elton John, Alison Krauss, B.B. King, Beck, Better Than Ezra, Tracy Chapman, among many others. He is also the featured cellist in films such as: King Arthur, Cold Mountain, Passion, Something’s Gotta Give, Pirates of the Caribbean, Bad Boys II, Armageddon, Face Off, The Fan, Kiss the Girls, Replacement Killers, and Bait.
Martin Tillman lives in Los Angeles and Zurich. He is happily married. He loves arts, skiing, and nature.
working in over 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, protection, emergency relief, and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States. Despite extraordinary progress, 24,000 children still die each day from preventable causes. Our mission is to do whatever it takes to make that number zero by giving children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood.
For more information about the U.S. Fund for UNICEF visit http://www.unicefusa.org/
Our vision is a world in which babies are not infected with HIV and where mothers with HIV/AIDS live long and healthy lives, caring for their families and having hope for the future.
Funds raised will support their work in South Africa.
Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough focuses on crises in Sudan, eastern Congo, and areas of Africa affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Enough’s strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises.
Funds raised will support the Raise Hope for Congo Campaign focusing on ending violence against women and girls in the Congo.
Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.
Funds raised will support their work on maternal health/mortality around the world.
Started in 1999 by leaders in technology and social change, TheCommunity.com brings you fresh, relevant information and media from sources you don't get elsewhere, including the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize and some of the world's leading artists.
Funds raised will support their campaigns to help Burmese refugees and children in East Timor.
Restoring communities in the aftermath of natural disasters and human crises.
Aid Still Required champions forgotten people and issues after the media spotlight has faded. We raise awareness through innovative outreach, foster collaboration, and work to implement sustainable projects that make a lasting difference. At Aid Still Required, we believe everyone, everywhere is entitled to live in dignity, health and peace.
Funds raised will support women's livelihood training, youth environmental education and community disaster preparedness in Aid Still Required's Southeast Asia tsunami recovery projects
Do Something believes teenagers and young people everywhere can improve their communities. We leverage communications technologies to enable teens to convert their ideas and energy into action. It is our aim to inspire, empower and celebrate a generation doers: young people who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action.
Simon Wullens for all your help on this project.
Klaus Badelt for answering to our "no question" interview : we'll do better next time.
Maestro Dirk Brossé, David De Geest, M. Dino Anglani and M. Jacques Dubrulle for being friendly toward us.
Fabien Fournier for encoding all our videos.
Main Title Composed by Hans Zimmer
Original Score Composed by Hans Zimmer, Steve Jablonsky and David Vanacore
You can download the opening title with the main theme composed by Hans Zimmer :
contender.mp3
Video version :
contender.avi
The Contender www.Hans-Zimmer.com versions :
The Contender Medley by Nicolas
Composed by Hans ZIMMER & Steve JABLONSKY
Arranged by Hans ZIMMER, Steve JABLONSKY & Nicolas
Performed and Produced by Nicolas
Short description From NBC :
Sixteen of the most promising fighters in the country arrived at their specially constructed Contender Gymnasium to live, train and fight. Each boxer had a different story, but all shared the same goal: to fight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for one million dollars and the chance to change their lives and the lives of their family.
Show Stars :
George Foreman - Boxing Mentor
Tommy Gallagher - Himself/Head Trainer
Sugar Ray Leonard - Boxing Mentor
Sylvester Stallone - Host/Boxing Mentor
Anthony Bonsante - Himself - West
Jesse Brinkley - Himself - West
Miguel Espino - Himself - West
Joey Gilbert - Himself - West
Alfonso Gomez, Jr. - Himself - West
Sergio Mora - Himself - West
Tarick Salmaci - Himself - West
Ishe Smith - Himself - West
Brent Cooper - Himself - East
Jeff Fraza - Himself - East
Ahmed Kaddour - Himself - East
Jimmy Lang - Himself - East
Jonathan Reid - Himself - East
Juan De La Rosa - Himself - East
Najai Turpin - Himself - East
Peter Manfredo, Jr. - Himself - East - 16th Place
Show Crew :
Mark Burnett - Executive Producer
Jeffrey Katzenberg - Executive Producer
Sylvester Stallone - Executive Producer
Mark Burnett - Creator
Jeffrey Katzenberg - Creator
to summarize, you could say its the Pop/American Idol of boxing. 16 of the most promising boxers are assembled on a set, and the idea is to give the winner a fight at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and a 1 million dollar cash sum, two defining lifechanging prizes. Its somewhat unfortunate that one of the less lucky contestant, Najai TURPIN (23 years old), commited suicide last february in the parking lot behind the trainging room, leaving behind a wife and a two year old daughter. NBC has started a fund for the now fatherless little girl.....
What are their motiviations ?
For the contestants, the show is clearly presented as a lifechanging experience. Its a chance for them to excel in front of their loved ones, to offer them everything they've ever dreamed of (leaving behind day to day troubles). No one on the set minimises this fact, and it woud be a heresy to call this "just a game". Under such conditions, its only natural that a psychological profiling of each contestant be made..... with always the risk of letting through an .
For the producers, MR BURNETT (producer of Survivor) and MR KATZENBERG (Dreamworks CEO), who put 2 million dollars on the table for each show (13 in all), it is all about giving the art of boxing a new limelight, the pressures, the effects of success and failure.... To convince you, what better example of a great on-screen boxing champion than Rocky BALBOA (Sylvester stallone) to serve as a mentor to all these young contestants ?
The show also has impressive ingredients to rally the unconvinced. Well known actors, massive production, real life gambles, realTV concept, Hans Zimmer action driven music. Come on, youd have to be dead inside not to even want to check out the premiere....
For the viewer, what does this show have that the others don"t ?
without a doubt its the movie point of view KAZENBERG brings to the show, which gives it a cinematic quality comparable to a movie blockbuster. The RealTV concept quickly conveys the sense of real life drama, and the movie angle which is used to give us context, an exercise in putting the viewer in a certain predisposition for emotions to unfold and a connection to be made with the events on screen; here everything that is said is authentic and the implications become obvious. One quickly becomes attached to the contestants (their goal is honorable) : their motivations, joy, doubts, sadness dont need any explanation or lengthy exposition, the viewer immediately identifies with their plight.
With innovative camera angles, editing, interviews, light and sound effects, the viewer finds in less than 55 minutes the same emotion as in a John Avidsen Movie, a Rocky or a Karate Kid (maybe karate could be the next revolutionnary concept ?).
In the end, its the nervous tension during the final bout, each contestants personal fears and dreams firmly anchored in each viewers mind, its the joy and sadness when one or the other is declared the winner. Behind the scenes you can see one of the defeated, hurt and crying under the shower, repeating over and over how he failed in his chance to change his life for the better, under the eyes of his lttle girl and his wife, also crying, with a moving and tearful soundtrack, which is akin to the saddest parts of Backdraft..... After watching that scene, one believes every little girl on that show should have her own donation fund.
And the music in all of this ?
lets be specific, there's 57 minutes per episode, and i don't think im exagerating when im saying that there has to be at least 56 minutes and 59 seconds of music....
Its apparent that Zimmer is doing a innovative exercice in at least one area : his music covers every emotion every second.
For the rest you could wonder how far friendship can drive a composer like Hans ZImmer, composer of many masterpieces, lets just take "The Thin Red line" as an example, to become a composing machine for RealTV for a result, let's be honest, which only tends to play on the primary instincts of the viewer. Other than this question that will remain the big mystery on this tv show, my second question is from a Zimmer fan who was also thrown into the action : will there be a CD and if so when ? :)
Zimmer's choice isn't without reason, he who impressed Spielberg with his envigorating music for "Crimson Tide", was hired by dreamworks thanks to that score and composed for that company many other great scores, like "Prince of Egypt", "Gladiator" or "Spirit". If you add special scores like "Testosterone", "Backdraft" or "The Peacemaker", you get the ideal composer for such a series.
During these 57 minutes, what is most striking is the theme. It has that Zimmer signature, which underlines the importance of the stakes, the efforts everyone will be doing to become THE contender, the influence on each contestants lives, in short, it glorifies the overachievements and gives a hint of patriotism that Zimmer fans will remember for a long time.... This theme is used many times in the series, sometimes in a simpler form, sometimes more personal (piano, guitar and violin), or in its most primal form, depending on whats happening on screen. Just for those theme variations a CD realease would be warranted.
The rest is very diverse, moody, patriotic, emotional "Thin red line" or "Last samurai" style (while one can regret its complacency on one occasion), all together making it one of the best Zimmer score....
To make a 57 minute score per episode, Hans Zimmer had hired help in the name of Jim DOOLEY. However, the score is divided in several sections, each one very distinct in its emotional message. Its therefore not impossible that many of these will be reused in following episodes, more or less rearranged, but there sure won't be 13 times 57 minutes of *original* scoring. The rehashing of certain passages during an episode confirms this.
This is the Zimmer we like, but attached to a questionnable TV show. It doesnt change the listening experience, not always delicate,but always well produced, a real pleasure....
Interview of Nick Glennie-Smith realized Sunday December 4th 2005, in the city of La Gaubretière in Vendée (France) by Dominique Michonneau
The New French visual show of the big park of “Puy du Fou” in Vendée (France)‚ "Musketeer of Richelieu"‚ will begin Sunday April 23rd 2006‚ on the rhythm of an original music which you currently work. The first principal musical themes are splendid‚ with parts of lyric or exotic bravery. How many pieces will you compose‚ in principle‚ for this show?
N G.-S. : I compose twenty three pieces for "Musketeer of Richelieu"‚ which can appear much‚ but there is also a part of only five seconds! On the whole‚ the original soundtrack last 27 minutes‚ for a show of forty minutes. I work on the themes in a studio at home in Virginia‚ or in Los Angeles. The music will be recorded in London‚ Budapest‚ or Bratislava. I hope we’ll be able to record it in London‚ but that will depend at the same time on the financial budget‚ and of a choice in common with the Puyfolais managers. I will also direct the recording‚ but we don’t know yet if this original soundtrack will be published on compact disc. To compose it‚ I made many inquiries to inspire myself about the century of the French history the music must refers‚ but also about Spain‚ Flamenco‚ the tango‚ and I utilize also the guitar... In general‚ I like to work on the alliance of traditional or modern musical styles‚ a little as for the original soundtrack of "the Man to the Iron Mask".
For the music of "Musketeer of Richelieu"‚ I have already written four very important pieces in the unfolding of the show: the scenic introduction of the beginning‚ "the combat"‚ "the wild horse" and "Flamenco". But some parts will probably last five minutes! Each writing of film music begins in the same way‚ with a white page and twelve notes. From there‚ you must give all that you can‚ by adapting your own style to the characteristics of the history. Personally‚ the musical inspiration really comes to me from my heart‚ then grows gently with the evolution of the principal themes...
Video Clips (rehearsals)
Your original soundtracks or additional musics often approach musical registers completely different each others‚ moreover‚ from "the Man to the Iron Mask" to "We Were Soldiers" or "Sound of Thunder"‚ in passing by the cartoons original soundtracks like "King Lion 2"‚ "Ella Enchanted"‚ "Lauras Stern"‚ or recently "Der Kleine Eisbar 2" Polar Bear)?
N G.-S.: I don’t like to compose the same kind of music all the time! So‚ for example‚
even the music for the children of "Polar Bear 2" was different than the music of "Lauras Stern". Written jointly with Hans Zimmer‚ "Polar Bear 2" is more mysterious‚ because creatures appear in the film... In another kind of music‚ I also liked to collaborate in the keyboard with pop stars and‚ for the moment‚ I don’t accompany them anymore as musician‚ but just like the scene and the recording of their albums‚ I miss that kind of work. It is difficult to reconcile several musical activities at the same time!
from left to right : Frédéric Bourgeais (sound engineer), Nick Glennie-Smith and Malcolm Luker (sound engineer)
Which are your projects for 2006 ?
N G.-S.: It’s a theatrical project! I must compose a music for the piece of Shakespeare "Macbeth"‚ performed by the local company of my city in Virginia: Charlottestown!
And perhaps‚ in the immediate future‚ if I don’t sign other contracts‚ I will assist my friends in keyboard in their own projects‚ as with Hans Zimmer and Ruppert Gregson-Williams for the orginal soundtrack of "King Arthur"‚ which I also directed the recording.
Hans Zimmer works‚ in particular‚ on the music of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" and undoubtedly "3"‚ and it’s not impossible that he calls me...
Video Clips (rehearsals)
And your favorite composers ?
N G.-S.: I appreciate in particular Thomas Newman (composer of the original soundtrack of "American Beauty") and his cousin Randy Newman‚ or else Mark Mancina‚ but it’s difficult to answer to this question‚ because most of composers are talented! For the classical musicians‚ I like Jean Sebastien Bach‚ Beethoven‚ Mozart‚ Tchaïkovski …
Interview by Dominique MICHONNEAU
(Translation : Myriam SCHAFFHAUSER)
Special Thanks to Nick Glennie-Smith & Dominique MICHONNEAU
"Musketeer of Richelieu" at the rhythm of Nick Glennie-Smith
Since April 23‚ 2006‚ the Big Park of Puy du Fou, (Vendée‚ France) presents Musketeer of Richelieu, a new generation of alive spectacle played in the largest private theatre of France‚ and whose superb original music of Nick Glennie-Smith carries the action! It’s a real "film" of swords and adventures of approximately 40 minutes‚ played by 35 actors‚ stuntmen and dancers‚ and 42 trained horses. Nick Glennie-Smith worked one year‚ about the eight principal music themes‚ and twenty-three compositions. This 30 minutes original music alternates between the bravery passages and the lyric passages‚ close to "The Rock"‚ "The Man in the Iron Mask"‚ or the traditional flamenco of the Spanish musics. The music of "Musketeer of Richelieu" was recorded in Los Angeles‚ and the first mixing was‚ with the original soundtrack of the spectacle‚ by his friend Malcolm Luker (music scoring mixer)‚ who worked‚ in particular‚ on "The Thin Red Line" and "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1998)‚ "Attila" (2001)‚ "Pirate of the Caribbean" (2003)‚ "Lauras Stern" (2004) or "The Contender" (2005). The final mixing was carried out by Frederic Bourgeais‚ sound engineer in the “Puy du Fou”.
"Musketeer of Richelieu" is the story of a young Vendean orphan‚ named "Bouton d’Or"‚ wrongfully sentenced in absentia after an illegal duel‚ between 1630 and 1650. He ran away towards Spain‚ horse trainer in a theatre company‚ and fall inlove with a young Spanish gipsy. Together‚ they clandestinely return in France to play “Le Cid”‚ when brigands take the theatre hostage. The young hero will save the situation. He will become a musketeer by Richelieu‚ and his destiny will change in the great royal festival... We hope that original soundtrack will be broadcast soon.
By Dominique MICHONNEAU
(Translation : Myriam SCHAFFHAUSER)
Video Clips with original Nick Glennie-Smith music (rehearsals) :
Thanks to :
Nicolas de Villiers (director)
Laurent Albert (general manager of the Grand Parc du Puy du Fou)
David Nouaille (manager of marketing & communication)
Frédéric Bourgeais (sound engineer at the Puy du Fou)
Special Thanks to Nick Glennie-Smith & Dominique MICHONNEAU
On December, the 11th. 2007, Nick Glennie-Smith was recording "Mousquetaire de Richelieu" with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at the Puy Du Fou. The theme parc, created by Mr Philippe De Villiers in 1978, celebrates indeed its 30th. birthday and the leading team decided to release a special anniversary DVD which will offer, among others, a 6 minutes interview from the composer, speaking from the beginning of the musical process for the park and from his own work on the Cinéscénie.
Nick Glennie-Smith recorded his score for the new theme park attraction, "Mousquetaire de Richelieu", with full orchestra & choral, mixed by Frédéric Bourgeais, the Puy Du Fou' Sound Engineer.
Before Nick's arrival, music at the Puy Du Fou were a mix of tracks from movies soundtrack, like Hans Zimmer's Gladiator & many other Remote Control musics. Nick Glennie-Smith brought original composition (and themes from "The Rock"'s rejected score) to the park, trying to give a flavour from Vendée instead of Hollywood taste, as he explains himself in the DVD interview. Here's an extract : (special thanks to David Nouaille & Nicolas De Villiers)
Click on the picture to play the video
This dvd will be on the Puy Du Fou's store in a few days.
Check the online store (Music heard is from upcomming score "Mousquetaire de Richelieu"). Credit card and international shipment will be allowed then !
For french people, you can pourchase it right now by writing a mail to CONTACT@PUYDUFOU.com ; do not forget to give your postal address & a cheque from the total amount (price + shipment) !
Send your Cheque at :
GIE Puy du Fou
30 rue Georges-Clemenceau
B.P. 25
85.590 Les Epesses - FRANCE
DVD 30th. Birthday CINESCENIE 2008 with "Birth Of Music" (6' interview with Nick Glennie-Smith) Zone 2 (Europe & Japan) Price : 20 €
CINESCENIE Original Soundtrack (Music by Nick Glennie-Smith) (CD)
Price : 15 €
+ add 6 euros for shipment whatever you buy (cd, cd+dvd...) (10 Euros for international shipment).
BECOMING A MOUSQUETAIRE
After the CINESCENIE success, the theme park asked Nick to compose something original for their new attraction, which would be performed in the new and amazing "Grand Carrousel" for its premiere. Nick composed about half an hour of new music, with big themes, powerful orchestrations and spanish accents. On december 2007, the Prague Philharmonic orchestra went to the Grand Carroussel to bring the work of Nick Glennie-Smith as a full orchestra & choral masterpiece.
A few months ago, we asked you if you wanted the score of "Mousquetaire de Richelieu" to be release. It seems that the Puy du Fou's team did hear you !
Here's an exclusive behind the scene document during the recording sessions from december 2007 :
Thanks to Dominique & his son Pierre !
Click on the picture to play the video
From the recording sessions, Nick Glennie-Smith kept 23 tracks for a 30 minutes' score. A CD was going to be release in year 2009 ; but at the same time, the park asked him to replace the prestigious temp track used for the shows (gladiator...) and compose original score for all this attractions with various thematic. Nick is currently working on new tracks for the Gladiators and others themes, going to spend time for composing & recording (we will be there) and the cd should be release with Mousquetaire De Richelieu (Prague Philharmonic version) and all this new tracks for a total lenght of 50'... maybe 2009 ?
With Tokyo city Philarmonic Orchestra
Featuring Violet UK
DVD release date : March 29, 2005
Zone 2 (Europ, Japan, South Africa)
Total time : 135 minutes
Composed & Produced by YOSHIKI conducted by Konstantin D. Krimets & Ikuro Fujiwara
orchestration by Ikuro Fujiwara, George Martin, Graham Preskett, Gavin Greenaway, Shelly Berg & YOSHIKI
OPENING
1. Say Anything
2. Amethyst
3. The Last Song
4. Unnamed Song
5. Forever Love
6. Longing
7. Amethyst with Vocal
8. Seize the Light
9. I'll be your love
10. Screaming blue
11. Blind Dance
12. Anniversary
13. Endless Rain
14. Tears
You can download our 10 minutes Video (press conference, rehearsals and more...) WMV - 56 Mos - 10 minutes
Here's the Press conference given on Saturday October the 14th 2006
Mr. John Powell, this performance of your music tonight is quite unusual for a composer to get this kind of an opportunity to hear their music live... Watch Video (wmv - 4Mos)
John Powell : Oh absolutely, for two reasons, one of which is the music is there to support the film. It’s not really there to show its face and flash around. But also, for me personally just the way I go about making music for film. It is such a production technique that you really don’t hear it all put together until all of the elements slowly and hopefully methodically piece together. And really, it’s always going to be, for me... it’s a technical exercise sometimes for the final recording with the orchestra which takes a little bit of the joy out of working with musicians in a way, because you are really trying to get very accurate performances that do exactly what you’ve worked on, you know, quite a lot with the director in a deadline form. And that’s why I only actually, I’m only in the control room. I never even go out and listen to the musicians because it’s depressing.. If you’ve heard them live and then you come in and it’s recorded so this is a thrill.
So it is not teaching you to relax ?
Well, not only that, but I don’t play so.. I’m used to having a clip track going all the time and more than that I’m used to having a big bar captor which tells me exactly which bar I’m in, because now I’ve got Dirk who does this (making tempo gesture with his hand) and it’s like I have to count and do all the things that musicians do.
Just talk a little bit about music with the audience here tonight because it’s quite a mix of things. Let’s start with making Bourne movies because they have been huge and successful; action films in a very particular musical style. Watch Video (wmv - 2Mos)
Yeah, it was nice to sort of think about possibly playing with Bourne. Most of the score is very electronic and a lot of the instrumental elements were added last minute. But this particular piece was the original opening titles from Bourne Supremacy. You know it was one of those pieces where a lot of the style was formulated, the theme was written and of course it was actually changed for the movie. This was the first version, there was a second version after the movie which had to be shaped differently. That didn’t make us.. Even though that version was in the movie, it didn’t make such an interesting piece of music of course … a sort of pairfully arched piece of music so I chose this one to try and play. There’s not that much electronics in it, just a few beats. We’ve reorchestrated some of the percussion elements for live…
What about ice age, you’ve done quite a few computer animations … Just explain the difference between writing music for that kind of film as opposed to a live action. Watch Video (wmv - 2Mos)
There’s about 200 or so notes… There’s a lot of notes always, I don’t know why. It’s always because of traditions of animation music, meaning that there’s a lot more descriptive writing.. On Ice age for instance, we did some key scenes in advance we had to. There was a scene with Sid and what’s called mini slots that we actually had to write in advance, so one of the things that happens on animation is that you need to get involved and even on Robots, I was trying out and really experimenting with sounds. We worked with Blue Man Group.
And there’s one other question I’ve always wanted to ask you is that one of your early collaborators was Harry Gregson-Williams. When he wrote those scores, how did you write them together because composing collaborations are interesting as I guess most of the time it’s that one does one cue and one does another cue how do you work, say for example, on Chicken Run. Watch Video (wmv - 5.7Mos)
Well, to clear the context, I met Gavin Greenaway at music college and we started writing together from then to 1986. So when I came to write with Harry I was quite used to the idea of… Gavin’s father the songwriter and it struck me that you know, songwriters are always, not always strictly musical, music and lyrics as quite often they have hardships where both could work on either element. And so was the case with Gavin and I. We would, you know, we would write thematically. We would write… We would discuss a lot of conceptual elements. We would program. We would play. Everybody would do a little bit of everything. So when I came to work with Harry. It felt completely normal and the joy of it for me was that you normally live in a world where you’re very lonely. You just spend a lot of time alone, banging your head against the brick wall trying to figure out what to do next. If there is two of you, at least you can sort of wallow in the misery together. That is what we would do, we would sit around a lot and bang on the piano and try out themes and eventually once we got themes together and then they were improved. Then we would divide the cues up. The other joy is that you very often have cues thrown out. It’s quite normal. The only reason I haven’t been fired from film is that I’ve written every film I’ve done several times. So the key I think is to be able to come up with another idea for a scene if it’s not working for the director. If there’s two of you, what Harry and I would do is. if you’ve just invested days, weeks possibly a lot of hard taking on a cue that has just been thrown away. If there’s two of you, you can say, look I can’t take this anymore, you do this one now. Or you can.. We would say, I think I know what they want. So you’ve got some choices that really being alone you don’t have.
How do you look back on your training and media ventures because Hans Zimmer has famous influence on his students, like Klaus Badelt with Pirates of the Caribbean. He was really working together with him and he said yes or no so Klaus Badelt had at least something to say. Watch Video (wmv - 6.8Mos)
Sure, there are two elements to it, one of which is that when you’re dealing with some who has done a lot of movies, a lot of successful movies and written a lot of great music, you’ve got to take his advice, otherwise you’re stupid. And the other thing is, if you’re in Hollywood and your working on a movie, my first movie basically was Face Off, a 75 million dollar movie, they wanted Hans, they obviously wanted Hans but I was the first in front of them. I was given the opportunity to write demos which I did. I was just throwing things to the producers, editors and director in an attempt to get over that and “they told me why are you changing your writing?” We love your writing, Hans love your writing and I was like; “sure, sure” so you have to remember it, I wrote tunes, that I knew… I mean they force my hand, I didn’t sit down and write tunes that sound like John Williams that would be a little bit stupid to do, you know, when you’re not John Williams. I had a commitment from a very expensive film to perhaps use me but I have to fit in ……. What they were thinking. So you have that pressure to write to a certain style and that could be honestly just because you’re with Hans and they wanted Hans or could be maybe too because they tempted it with (like in Bourne Identity) a lot of stuff. Like someone said before you turn on the TV, it starts and it’s a hit tv show, I know what a temp is now because I’m on the end of that. We also learn from each others in film compositions, it’s always been the case, everybody has always been given examples of things they’d like and it could be from another film or if you come back far it could start with classical original. The trick is honestly to take advice, take the opportunities, try to work within what people are expecting and … I moved out from the wretches and started to try to experiment and see if I could find things that people wanted that they haven’t done before. And ultimately if you took that line and let me do a bit experiment on the film … for as much as I see there is a fine action style that people like most of the time.
On saturday october the 22th, The beautiful city of ghent (Belgium) organised its 11th edition of the World Soundtrack Awards as its Filmfestival closing ceremony.
And the other thing is, if you’re in Hollywood and your working on a movie, my first movie basically was Face Off, a 75 million dollar movie, they wanted Hans, they obviously wanted Hans but I was the first in front of them. I was given the opportunity to write demos which I did. I was just throwing things to the producers, editors and director in an attempt to get over that and “they told me why are you changing your writing?” We love your writing, Hans love your writing and I was like; “sure, sure” so you have to remember it, I wrote tunes, that I knew… I mean they force my hand, I didn’t sit down and write tunes that sound like John Williams that would be a little bit stupid to do, you know, when you’re not John Williams. I had a commitment from a very expensive film to perhaps use me but I have to fit in ……. What they were thinking. So you have that pressure to write to a certain style and that could be honestly just because you’re with Hans and they wanted Hans or could be maybe too because they tempted it with (like in Bourne Identity) a lot of stuff. Like someone said before you turn on the TV, it starts and it’s a hit tv show, I know what a temp is now because I’m on the end of that. We also learn from each others in film compositions, it’s always been the case, everybody has always been given examples of things they’d like and it could be from another film or if you come back far it could start with classical original. The trick is honestly to take advice, take the opportunities, try to work within what people are expecting and … I moved out from the wretches and started to try to experiment and see if I could find things that people wanted that they haven’t done before. And ultimately if you took that line and let me do a bit experiment on the film … for as much as I see there is a fine action style that people like most of the time.
