Joel McNeely is a Primetime Emmy Award-winning composer and conductor with more than 100 motion picture and television credits. He maintains a busy schedule recording, producing, conducting and composing for film. As a composer for film and television, McNeely has worked with such respected filmmakers as James Cameron, John Lasseter, Seth MacFarlane and George Lucas, among others. In addition to composing, conducting and orchestrating the score for A Million Ways to Die in the West, McNeely recently completed producing and arranging Seth MacFarlane’s new Christmas album which will be released this Fall. He also produced and arranged MacFarlane’s first album of big band and orchestral standards, “Music Is Better Than…
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Interview…Film Composer Matthew Llewellyn On the New Age Old School Horror Formula
In his latest endeavor emerging film composer Matthew Llewellyn crafts a rich, thematic orchestral score for the Chiller Network original feature film Deep In the Darkness. His sweeping, ominous score evokes classic drama reminiscent of the old school style of horror scores. That combined with Llewellyn’s contemporary yet traditional orchestral textures make him a composer to watch. In the words of director Colin Theys, “Llewellyn found a delicate balance that feels original and intense at the same time, taking the film through some dramatic twists and turns.” Theys continues, “Matthew is delivering world-class scores that elevate the films they help to drive.” Llewellyn’s musical repertoire is grounded in the traditions…
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FourScore Match-Up #20: “The Colossus of Clout”
This year, on the 60th anniversary of Ishiro Honda’s landmark film, we’ll get to see Gareth Edwards’ reinvention of the world-famous Toho monster. In the subsequent decades since Godzilla first lumbered out of the water we’ve see other mightily impressive creatures (with some equally impressive firepower) blaze across the screen yet of the biggest and baddest Gojira reigns supreme. Over the years he’s retained the title of “King of the Monsters” but he didn’t earn his moniker easily – there are some memorable, and equally gargantuan, baddies who can and have gone toe-to-toe with Toho’s big screen icon. Today we look up, way up, like into the clouds up to see…
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Interview…Film Music Composer Stephen Endelman Discusses Scoring ‘Rob the Mob’
Raymond De Felitta’s latest film Rob the Mob is based on the true story of the New York couple who would pulled off Mafia heists during the Gotti trial in the early 1990s. It stars Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy Garcia and Ray Romano and this period film finds composer Stephen Endelman re-teaming with the Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Last week we were fortunate to speak with this seasoned musician to discuss his work on the film. Endelman, who was actually living in NY during the original heist incidents, crafts a wonderfully simple musical backdrop to the love story of this modern day Bonnie & Clyde as well as the grittiness of their…
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Home Grown Texas Talent Interview Series – Film and TV Composer Darius Holbert Talks Peter Berg, Hulu and His Experiences in the Music Industry
Darius Holbert is an award-winning composer of music for film, TV, and new media and has written scores for a gaggle of international films and television shows. Less than a decade in the industry he’s already been afforded the opportunity to work with such film and TV luminaries as Robin Williams, Kevin Spacey, Bobcat Goldthwait, J.J. Abrams, and many more. His work has even been featured in hit TV shows like American Horror Story, Lost, The Client List, Grey’s Anatomy, American Idol, and Crash. Aside from scoring to picture, Darius has been commissioned to compose operas, modern dance pieces, and chamber works. He has appeared on a ton of records…
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Exclusive: Interview…Film Composer William Ross Talks Career Experiences as Music Director for the Academy Awards
William Ross has had a hand in all avenues of the music industry. A four-time Emmy winner, Ross has decades of experience as a composer, orchestrator, arranger, conductor and music director. Aside from scoring titles like Tin Cup and Ladder 49, he’s worked with a dizzying array of artists and musicians over the years from fellow famous Hollywood composers (John Williams, Alan Silvestri) to pop music icons (Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson). Ross has quite a lot of Olympics experience as well as he’s arranged the music for the opening and closing ceremonies for various Olympic games from 1998 to 2010. But beyond that he’s also tasked with the music of Hollywood’s biggest night. This year’s Academy Awards ceremony marks…
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Interview…Film Composer Patrick Doyle Talks ‘Jack Ryan’, Love of Country and Having A Laugh At It All
Hailing from Uddingston, Scotland, musical maestro Patrick Doyle always has the hugest smile on his face, which makes him either the happiest guy on the planet, or someone who just really, really loves his job. Perhaps it’s both, but you can’t go a few seconds without hearing him laugh. Even over the phone you can sense the endless joy in his voice when he talks about his career, his passion and his good friend Sir Kenneth Branagh. In fact, the rare (but widely abundant on the web) photo above is one of the few times you won’t see him grinning like a kid with a key to a candy store.…
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Interview…Film Composer Christopher Lennertz Rewrites the Rules for Comic Soundscapes with ‘Ride Along’
Christopher Lennertz is a composer, producer, conductor, and arranger whose adeptness for a multitude of genres has put him on the map time and time again. You many not recognize his name but if you’ve seen Horrible Bosses, Think Like A Man, shows like Supernatural or played games like Mass Effect 3 and Starhawk then you know Chris’ work. A veritable encyclopedia of musical styles and theories Chris currently writes the music for the hit J.J. Abrams series Revolution on NBC. He’s also celebrated for his video game scores like Steven Spielberg’s Medal of Honor series and he just completed the score for the most recent installment of the iconic…
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CONTEST CLOSED – Win A Copy of the ‘Machete Kills’ Soundtrack Autographed by Composer Carl Thiel
Attention: CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. All winners have been notified. Thanks for your interest in MACHETE KILLS. ———————————————————————————————————————————— Robert Rodriguez’ Machete Kills hits Blu-Ray shelves this week and holy frijoles have we got something for you Grindhouse fans! Aside from insane action, physics defying stunts, gritty and over-the-top characters, Robert Rodriguez’ films have one other staple worth noting – a rocking soundtrack. Prior to its theatrical release last fall we got to speak with award-winning composer, frequent RR collaborator and Chingon band member Carl Thiel. He gave us an idea of what to expect from the film and his music (read Part I and Part II here) and per usual we were blown…
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Interview…Film Composer Alex Heffes on ‘Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom’
The world lost Nelson Mandela in December of this year and so it’s bittersweet that this Winter we are given a powerful film that chronicles the life of such an important man. The film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom is directed by Justin Chadwick, stars Idris Elba and Naomie Harris and features a moving and emotional score from award-winning British composer Alex Heffes. Alex composed over 90 minutes of original music for the film. Traveling to South Africa he recorded choir vocals and South African singing legend Caiphus Semenya’s own voice to depict Mandela’s passing into Manhood as a young boy and ultimately reprising this theme for his inauguration as South Africa’s…
