Composer Threads John Powell kicks ass

[Charlie Brigden 7]

It looks awful. The only John Woo movie I like is Face/Off, and that's probably because I grew up with it. Broken Arrow is also awesome... well, both of them are pretty bad, but they're funny.

Watch THE KILLER, BULLET IN THE HEAD, and HARD-BOILED.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Meltdown > Dawn Of The Dinosaurs

[ChuckM 1]

Meltdown > Dawn Of The Dinosaurs

I agree. Both are pretty good though.

[ChuckM 1]

Meltdown > Dawn Of The Dinosaurs

I agree. Both are pretty good though.

You know, after listening to both of these more, I'm going to have to retract and reverse my original assessment.

[Richard Penna 3,664]

Dawn of the Dinosaurs >>>>>>> The Meltdown

Best movie of the three IMO too.

I need to give Bolt another listen too, having seen the movie last week.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Powell's next 5 movies, according to IMDb, will be animated films. Can't wait for next year!

2011

Mars Needs Moms

Happy Feet 2

Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom Of Doom

Winnie The Pooh

2012

King Of The Elves

Both Kung Fu Panda and Winnie The Pooh are collaborated with Hans Zimmer! They will be awesomeness.

[ChuckM 1]

Next year nothing. We've still got Knight and Day, Jonah Hex, and Fair Game for this year!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I haven't heard of Fair Game, but Powell left Jonah Hex due to their insane amount of production delays and problems. Beltrami is scoring now, although I believe it's another Wolfman situation, where parts of his score will still be used.

I too, am excited for Knight And Day.

[ChuckM 1]

You gotta be kidding me? That sucks!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah they wanted to him to rescore it because they were constantly reshooting and re-editing, and I believe he said something along the lines of "If you don't know what you're doing, I gotta go."

[Richard Penna 3,664]

Both Kung Fu Panda and Winnie The Pooh are collaborated with Hans Zimmer! They will be awesomeness.

You have an interesting definition of 'awesomeness'

Zimmer co-scoring Winnie the Pooh? hehehehehehe.

But Powell seems to have 5 movies on his plate for the next year or two, so I guess maybe even he needs some help.

[Wojo 2,453]

2011

Winnie The Pooh

Why? Why why why are they doing this?

WTF?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I never knew about it until I checked Powell's IMDb either. Honestly, I was excited about the prospect, as long as they do it right. And judging purely by the cast list, it ain't bad so far. I'm all for reigniting Winnie The Pooh, do kids these days know about it?

Both Kung Fu Panda and Winnie The Pooh are collaborated with Hans Zimmer! They will be awesomeness.

You have an interesting definition of 'awesomeness'

Zimmer co-scoring Winnie the Pooh? hehehehehehe.

But Powell seems to have 5 movies on his plate for the next year or two, so I guess maybe even he needs some help.

Have you not heard Kung Fu Panda or The Road To El Dorado?

[indy4 155]

Powell's animated scores are my favorites, I'm excited for Pooh.

[Jay 37,249]

Knight And Day

By John Powell

In the sexy action-comedy KNIGHT AND DAY, Tom Cruise is a covert agent sent on a mission he was never meant to complete, and Cameron Diaz is a woman caught between the agent and those he claims set him up. As their globetrotting adventure erupts into a maze of double-crosses, close escapes and false identities, they come to realize that all they can count on is each other.

Action score specialist John Powell (The Bourne Trilogy) is called to duty for another adrenaline-pumped workout.

20th Century Fox will open KNIGHT AND DAY nationwide on June 23.

Varese Sarabande Catalog #: 302 067 034 2

Release Date: 07/06/10

1. At The Airport (4:42)

2. Rough Landing (3:45)

3. Trouble On I-93 (4:06)

4. Running From Roy (2:21)

5. Hostage (3:34)

6. Car Ferry (1:34)

7. To the Island of Love (4:21)

8. In Austria (1:32)

9. Galley Fight (3:38)

10. Five Star (2:16)

11. June Spies (3:28)

12. He's A Spy (1:13)

13. Rooftops (3:20)

14. The Villa (2:27)

15. Reunion (4:26)

16. Bull Run (4:55)

17. Going To Cape Horn? Take a Jacket (3:07)

http://www.varesesar...d-302-067-034-2

[stewdog1 50]

Mars Needs Moms has the potential to be great. I love reading that story to my children. I could really see some gorgeous themes coming from it.

[ChuckM 1]

Just an FYI, there's an expanded Hancock floating around out there now. It has some good unreleased stuff, but still not that Superman cue I really want.

[Morlock 11]

That's the only unreleased cue I have any interest in hearing...

[Richard Penna 3,664]

I think it has about 5-10 mins of unreleased stuff, along with a ton of alternates.

It doesn't have the film versions of Hollywood BLVD (some orchestration differences) or The Moon and the Superhero (despite having two alternates for that!), and I'd also like the cue for when Hancock moves the policewoman out of danger. There's also some cute stuff towards the beginning with the 'love' theme.

This seems to be a scary new minor trend - someone with the full sessions leaks some, but not all. I wonder when an expanded CoS will surface and add another 15 mins worth?

[ChuckM 1]

The replacement score for Jonah Hex is officially one of the most annoying soundtracks I have ever made myself endure through. So frustrating after building up so much excitement for Powell to be scoring it.

I wonder if anything was recorded before the switch happenned?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yes. Powell scored the whole film, but they kept reshooting and reediting and they wanted him to make the proper adjustments, but he had other commitments and had to leave.

[ChuckM 1]

So the original score was actually recorded then? That means there's hope for a rejected score to pop up!

[ChuckM 1]

Some of the pieces being played at Concert for Care have been announced.

http://www.concertforcare.com/2010/09/12/repertoire-news/

It seems Powell will be conducting a new suite for HTTYD. I so wish I could go to this!

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Some of the pieces being played at Concert for Care have been announced.

http://www.concertforcare.com/2010/09/12/repertoire-news/

It seems Powell will be conducting a new suite for HTTYD. I so wish I could go to this!

Awesome! Dragon is Powell's best work to date! (or one of them) I wish I could go too!

[Jay 37,249]

Fair Game info

http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2010/09/exclusive-john-powells-score-to-doug.html

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Fair Game info

http://theplaylist.blogspot.com/2010/09/exclusive-john-powells-score-to-doug.html

Nice! Can't wait to listen to this one.

[Neimoidian 14]

A few minutes from Monday Concert for Care with Powell conducting How to Train a Dragon suite - one of the most excting performances I've ever seen.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Awesome! Thanks a lot for sharing!

[ChuckM 1]

Yes, thanks indeed! Seeing that it's labeled "part 1," is part 2 coming soon?

[Laserschwert 473]

Fantastic!

Would it be possible to put together this suite using the OST, or are the pieces on there too different to work together?

[Neimoidian 14]

Yes, thanks indeed! Seeing that it's labeled "part 1," is part 2 coming soon?

I have no idea... It's not my clip and I didn't find the rest of it on YT. I wish someone uploaded more videos from the concert, including brilliant performances of Dudley's American History X and Arnold's You Know My Name and Independence Day.

EDIT:

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Richard Penna 3,664]

Oh man I should've gone to that concert. Sounds exactly like my sort of thing.... dammit.

And that was an amazing performance of HTTYD. Definitely in my top 3 scores of the year.

Fantastic!

Would it be possible to put together this suite using the OST, or are the pieces on there too different to work together?

Only tricky bit I noticed was the end of This is Berk going into Romantic Flight as soon as it reached the love theme. The former goes to a crescendo, the other starts quiet.

Some nice reorchestrations too, since he didn't had a choir.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Someone should have recorded the Chicken Run piece that was rehearsed but dropped at the last minute because of time limits.

Oh, and a few changes I would have made to the Dragon suite: I would have stared it with the opening of "This is Berk" instead of the action part directly. Those horns are really beautiful. And I would have ended it, right after "Test Drive" with the ending part from "Coming Back Around".

However, the suite was excellent nonetheless! I really hope Powell gets an Oscar nomiation for this one. I don't care if he doesn't win, I just wanna see him recognised! And besides, he could be the first ex-MV member to get an Oscar nomination!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

He definitely deserves one. It appears the Academy is warming up to contemporary animated scores. Ratatouille, WALL-E, and then Up. Not to mention How To Train Your Dragon is just a brilliant score no matter how you look at it. My friend even listens to it frequently, and he isn't into film scores at all.

[Richard Penna 3,664]

Makes me wonder what else has nomination potential this year. I hope Powell does get one.

Inception will of course - mega big movie, popular composer with the masses, and music that overwhelmed the film. Perfect.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Inception is tough. If they nominate Zimmer two years in a row, it'll show a serious change in the Academy. I don't think it'll be nominated, Sherlock Holmes was better.

[Neimoidian 14]

Have you heard Inception score ridiculed in the recent South Park ep.?

[Jay 37,249]

Why yes, we've been talking about it in the South Park thread actually!

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Anybody else think that Powell would have been a cool choice for a HP film? I think it would have been awesome to hear another of his orchestral serious works.

[Wojo 2,453]

Maybe when they turn the Beedle Bard book into a movie, they'll invite Powell.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Anybody else think that Powell would have been a cool choice for a HP film? I think it would have been awesome to hear another of his orchestral serious works.

I think the only serious film Powell ever scored was United 93.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

I think the only serious film Powell ever scored was United 93.

I was referring to X-Men 3 to be honest. While I think the film isn't exactly serious, the score takes itself very seriously.

[David Coscina 3]

I have to say, I love How to Train Your Dragon. There is so much subtlety and development of the major themes and motives in this score. I would be quite happy if Powell or Desplat picked up an Oscar for their work this year because they are both excellent composers. HTTYD is the best score I have heard from Powell. And he's produced a lot of winners IMO.

[Wojo 2,453]

[Charlie Brigden 7]

Anybody else think that Powell would have been a cool choice for a HP film? I think it would have been awesome to hear another of his orchestral serious works.

I think the only serious film Powell ever scored was United 93.

What about the Bourne films?

[David Coscina 3]

I think Powell would have been an interesting choice for HP. I certainly think he's got the chops for it. I will say the only detractor for me in his style is his constant reliance on a steady percussion or drum beat on his more propulsive tracks. I do wish, like Desplat and Williams, he would relinquish this reliance and use rhythmic ostinatos more to carry the driving component of his music. His quieter sections from HTTYD clearly indicate that he can write flowing, dynamic music without that "metronome feel", something that is often endemic with current composers working in the system these days. I'm not saying he should abandon it altogether because I do think his rhythmic sensibilities are part of his style. I just wish he could mix things up once in a while. Still a big fan though.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Fiery Angel, could you care to elaborate which tracks in HTTYD fall into the metronome feel and which don't? I imagine "Test Drive" falls into that feel, but I would love to know more. The insights of a real composer around here are always fascinating

[David Coscina 3]

Fiery Angel, could you care to elaborate which tracks in HTTYD fall into the metronome feel and which don't? I imagine "Test Drive" falls into that feel, but I would love to know more. The insights of a real composer around here are always fascinating

Test Flight doesn't bother me that much although it does almost seem like a song rather than a cue. The part where Hiccup free-falls (and amazing sequence) is a little bit of a problem with me because Powell sticks with the same tempo (which is actually kind of moderate) whereas someone like Goldenthal or Giacchino would most probably have changed the tempo to a faster pace during this harrowing sequence. By keeping the music static in terms of its pace, it doesn't help to underline the danger of the moment. I'm sure Goldenthal would have done an aleatoric thing with the brass at that moment too but cannot be totally sure. I don't think you have to Mickey-Mouse every scene but some contrast at the moment would have been good. Once Hiccup regains control, it would have been fine to resume the moderate tempo.

I think tracks like Forbidden Friendship have that metronomic feel because of the steady repeating rhythmic figures in the drums/percussion. I know that scene is almost a montage because time elapses during the course of it and having a unifying musical element helps to create some thematic cohesion, but once again, a little reprieve would have made the track breath a big more.

But these are actually minor niggles. I really like both tracks musically very much. They are my two favorite tracks from the score. Probably why I can elaborate on them because I've played 'em a hundred times!

You do have to realize that as a composer, sometimes my own personal bias or preference comes into play. I see a scene and hear how I would score it which doesn't mean that is the best way to do it. The director probably wanted exactly what Powell gave them and he delivered bigtime for the most part.

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Well, Forbidden Friendship seems to be inspired from this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqedKa5-1K0

... So it could be possible that it was temp-track case, although I think that Powell's result is much better. If there's one little change I'd made to that scene is this... When the "Friendiship theme" kicks in in its full glory (at 2:58) I've would have cutted the picture to reveal the drawing right at that point, you know what I mean? Then continue the rest naturally, as it is on the film. Would have made a little more impact, I think...