Well, this is another bucket-list project. Ever since I first heard it 22 years ago, James Newton Howard’s score to Waterworld has been one of my favorite scores of the 1990s. Bold, brash, thematic and epic, the soundtrack for this orchestral score got a lot of time in my CD player. Having worked on a few expanded reissues of JNH projects, I would keep asking about the possibility of doing an expanded Waterworld. At one point, I was told it was …
Working on a score like Wyatt Earp was a rather daunting project. First, there’s the scope of the project to consider, and the complexity of the material. In this case, composer James Newton Howard had written and recorded music for two versions of the film. Some material was longer in the extended cut of the film, and some was shorter (oddly enough). There were also alternates to sift through, as well as some different mixes. All told, just figuring out …
I’ve done a lot of work with composer James Newton Howard lately; a few years ago we released The Fugitive, earlier this year we released Dave, and later this year (hopefully!) we’ll be releasing Wyatt Earp. So when I heard we were doing Grand Canyon, I asked the fine folks at La-La Land Records if I could handle the artwork for it. They agreed, and using the available art assets, I put together what I felt was a clean booklet that reflected …
James Newton Howard’s score to Dave was one of the best scores of the 1990s. The main theme was used in countless film trailers, and the score was right in the middle of a very successful run for James, having scored such films as Glengarry Glen Ross, Alive, Falling Down, and afterwards he would tackle The Fugitive (gaining an Oscar nomination), Wyatt Earp, and other great scores. So when we got the green-light to expand the soundtrack to Dave, I was thrilled at the opportunity. We got …
Two of my latest projects were just announced for release on December 1: James Newton Howard’s score to The Fugitive, in a 2-disc set with the complete score, a few alternates, the original album suites, and a few extra bonus tracks! I co-produced the album and wrote the liner notes; Jeff Bond provided a wonderful track analysis. Jerry Goldsmith’s complete score to Innerspace! I didn’t produce this one, but wrote the in-depth liner notes featuring new comments from Joe Dante …
Defiance tells the World War II tale of three Jewish brothers who hide from the Nazis by living in the woods, and in alliance with Soviet partisans, perform raids while trying to survive. The Bielski brothers – Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell) – hide in the forest when their parents and neighbors are slaughtered by the Nazis. Soon they have a small gathering of other refugees, and start to build a camp. Taking the leadership …
Back in 2005, director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) brought us a rather unique and dark re-imagining of the “Batman” story. Until his film, most people’s film experiences of Batman had come from Tim Burton and Joel Schumaker’s versions in the 1990s, and the brightly kitsch-filled Adam West feature film based on the 1960s television show. Nolan’s Batman Begins brought us an emotionally scarred Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), his trusting and reliable butler Alfred (Michael Caine), his assistant DA girlfriend Rachel …
Texas congressman Charlie Wilson apparently singlehandedly won the Cold War. At least, that’s one way to look at it, and the film Charlie Wilson’s War (based on the novel of the same name) looks at the extraordinary events that transpired in the mid-late 1980’s that very well could have resulted in the great Soviet Empire collapsing – all due to the efforts of this one member of Congress. Written by Aaron Sorkin (The American President,”The West Wing”) and directed by …
It’s always pleasant when you leave a movie feeling as though it exceeded your expectations. I will admit that my expectations for I Am Legend weren’t very high. The latest attempt at adapting Richard Matheson’s now-classic tale of the last man on earth stars Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville, a military scientist who seems to be the only human left after a virus has killed off most of the people on the planet, and made the rest into violent …
In Michael Clayton, George Clooney plays the title role, an elite NY attorney who works for the prestigious law firm of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen, “cleaning up” for their clients. When KB&L attorney Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) sabotages a high profile class action lawsuit in which he is defending the multinational corporation U/North by having a mental breakdown, Clayton is called in to help fix the situation. At the same time, U/North’s general counsel (Tilda Swinton) is doing everything she …