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What piece did Horner rip off in Honey I Shrunk the Kids?


King Mark

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I haven't heard the Main Title in forever, and I can't find any samples of it online, but I've always heard that the music sounds like Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. I'm not sure of that, but I am sure that Bruce Broughton's score to the sequel sounds like Gershwin.

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Raymond Scott's Powerhouse + Nino Rota's Amarcord = James Horner's Honey, I Got Threatened with a Lawsuit

In answer to your question, though...Powerhouse is the one you are thinking of.

This one's really pathetic. I think the man should've gone to jail for it, but instead he just paid off Raymond Scott's people, and now they get money everytime the film airs on TV (like tomorrow on TCM, as a matter of fact).

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For what it's worth, in the main title Raymond Scotts 'Powerhouse' crops up alongside Nino Rota's 'Amarcord'. The scott was used in numerous Warner cartoons.

More interestingly, the love theme remembers me of Billy Joel's 'Leningrad'....the melodic line (and a long one at that) is very similar.

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Here's some info. Looks like it may not have been intended for catoons, but WB bought the rights to it and used it in them.

thank you ,all my questions are answered and Horner did rip it off blatently.

K.M.

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Wow, this tidbit from the FAQ at RaymondScott.com is certainly interesting:

Q: Was Johnny Williams, drummer for the 1930s Raymond Scott Quintette, related to JOHN WILLIAMS, the famous film score (JAWS, STAR WARS, etc.) composer ?

A: Yes, they are father and son.

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Ahh, very interesting indead. I had no idea about this lawsuit, or anything!

I always thought that HISTK sounded, in parts, to of been composed by Elfman. It has the same kind of "Breakfast Machine" from Pee Wee's feel to it.

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Horner also ripped off Grusin's theme to the Goonies, the scene where they find the giant marshmellow cookie.

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Q: Was Raymond Scott's music used in the Disney film HONEY, I SHRUNK THE.KIDS-?

A: The film score was written by noted klepto-composer* James Horner, who cleverly appropriated Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" in approx. 17 scenes, without crediting Scott. Disney was threatened with a lawsuit by Scott's publishers, and after a year of negotiation, the matter was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Although the film's screen credits were not revised, the film's cue sheets (music logs) were revised to reflect a dozen or so uses of "Powerhouse." This means Scott's heirs and publishers earn performance revenue through ASCAP when the film airs on TV and elsewhere. (* see New Yorker magazine, March 9, 1998)

K.M.

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So... what's the story with JW's father? Was the fact that he was a famous musician in the 1930s Raymond Scott group how JW got his start in professional music? Interesting to me that Raymond Scott's music is famous as soundtrack fodder... Also, the Cantina song from STAR WARS actually sounds a lot like the Raymond Scott hits that JW's father played on... could there have been a direct influence in style(s) too? I can't help but ponder the details of JW's early years & the influence his father may have had on him...

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  • 7 months later...
So... what's the story with JW's father? Was the fact that he was a famous musician in the 1930s Raymond Scott group how JW got his start in professional music? Interesting to me that Raymond Scott's music is famous as soundtrack fodder... Also, the Cantina song from STAR WARS actually sounds a lot like the Raymond Scott hits that JW's father played on... could there have been a direct influence in style(s) too? I can't help but ponder the details of JW's early years & the influence his father may have had on him...

Bumpity-bump!

Anyone?

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Well, I know that John Williams played in jazz groups himself, perhaps taking after his father in this sense.

This, as far as I've been told, is how he got 'in.' He played Piano for his jazz group, Augies something or other (hence the title of the Episode I track) and then started out as a studio pianist for film recordings....Eventually becomming an orchestrator when he was then asked to write music for TV and then Film.

And I'm sure the fact that he went to Julliard helped some lol

One such score he played the piano on is a film score written by Elmber Bernstein for the film 'To Kill a Mockingbird."

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No, I had to go do something else after an hour, or I'd've driven my head into the wall. Notice it says I "attempted to endure."

Really, that microwave smilie pretty much sums up the experience of trying to sit through that piece of garbage.

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If he stopped nodding his head when speaking, he might have been.

I always thought Steven Seigal looked like some of the Batman comics. When he wasn't fat. And of course, he would have to lose the pony tail.

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You'd think George Clooney as Batman would be a good idea...

Yes it would have, in the hands of a good director.

Schumacher can go either way depending on the material, and his ultimate vision of the film. For his two Batman films, both were ill-conceived. However, I don't think it's fair to say he's a bad director, just an inconsistent one. He's made a few interesting films, like Tigerland, The Client and Flatliners.

Admittedly, I'm also interested in his forthcoming movie The Number 23. Could be good.

Tim

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