The instantly recognizable gramophone trophy considered by many to be one of the music industry’s most coveted prizes did not spring from Zeus’s head fully-formed. In fact, it was created for the Recording Academy (then known as the Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, in the long-winded days before Twitter) by a Colorado artisan who’s […]
Composer James Newton Howard tops the box office charts with Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald and a $62.2 million domestic box office haul in its debut frame. The Warner Bros. film is Howard’s second installment in the wizarding series, continuing the themes he developed in 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The films […]
The Black Panther was the big winner at the Ninth Annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards, copping three trophies and edging out A Star Is Born, which nabbed two wins. Panther composer Ludwig Goransson took home the trophy for original score (sci-fi/fantasy/horror), and the Marvel Comics superhero epic also triumphed in the original song competition (sci-fi/fantasy/horror) with […]
When Bohemian Rhapsody arrives on DVD this season it will contain full-length songs of Queen’s six-tune Live Aid set — an extended 20-minute version of the sequence that closes the film in London’s Wembley stadium. In theaters, the scene lasts 12 minutes and includes four songs. Although the songs were performed by the actors and shot in […]
Composer John Ottman is also an editor (ACE), fulfilling that role on Bohemian Rhapsody, which has no underscore. But to a degree that could definitely be described as extreme, visuals and music placement are entwined in this film. The result is highly imaginative, and Ottman deserves a lot of credit for both the cutting and sound […]
With Bohemian Rhapsody, the filmmakers live up to the promise Queen made to fans in 1977 with the album News of the Day. The film is a sensation of sight and sound, a thrill of dazzling costumes and locations, all at the service of characters ranging from exotic to icky to emotionally wringing. It’s accessible yet […]
Netflix’s ambitious new unscripted reality show Westside had a curtain raiser Tuesday at Variety’s Music for Screens Summit, where the show’s executive team shared the backstory with the magazine’s executive music editor Shirley Halperin. The eight-episode series, which debuts Nov. 9, is not a contest like The Voice or American Idol. Rather, it tracks along […]
From the talking drums of Senegal to influence of Dutch electronica and New Orleans jazz, the globalization of world music was on display at the inaugural Variety Music for Screens Conference, where music Jon Burlingame speculated the powerhouse posse assembled for the “High Scorers – Composer Roundtable” session might be “the most diverse composer panel […]
David Buckley’s main title theme music for The Good Fight earned CBS All Access its first Emmy nomination last year. It lost to Stranger Things, but it should get another shot this year. The piece has drawn rave reviews from fans on YouTube. The harpsichord-like notes that open the piece, joined by violins, get things off […]
Fans of the Nintendo 64 classic The Legend of Zelda can relive the magic with a musical tribute themed around the beloved videogame release Majora’s Mask. The 79-track collection of newly arranged music, Fate: A Tribute to Majora’s Mask, is from Seattle-based Materia Collective. The Legend of Zelda debuted in 1986, and the 19 titles in the franchise have sold […]
