Film and game composer Penka Kouneva has worked for 15 years in Los Angeles on a variety of projects from games, to shorts, to feature films. Her own music is a blend of her Eastern-European upbringing, classical training, modern film & game music, and influences ranging from rock, electronica, Medieval chant to non-Western music. A woman composer role model on the vanguard of the rising momentum for women creatives in entertainment, Penka Kouneva made Hollywood history as the first woman Lead Orchestrator on films with a budget over $100M – Ender’s Game and Elysium. In various capacitites, she has had notable collaborations with the celebrity composers Hans Zimmer (orchestrator: Pirates 3,…
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Interview…Composer Patrick Doyle on His New Collection of Solo Piano Themes
Patrick Doyle has scored over 50 international feature films, including Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, BRAVE, Indochine, Carlito’s Way and A Little Princess. His work has led to collaborations with some of the most acclaimed directors in the world, including Brian De Palma, Alfonso Cuarón, Ang Lee, and Robert Altman. On July 24, Varèse Sarabande released The Film Music of Patrick Doyle: Solo Piano. The first of two planned albums features original performances and arrangements by the Oscar-nominated composer, the collection features some of Patrick’s most revered compositions performed on piano by Doyle himself. This exceptional album highlights eighteen tracks which include music…
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Interview…Composer Bill Brown Scores Season 2 of Dominion for Syfy
Bill Brown is an award-winning composer and creative force behind the musical scores of fan-favorite TV, film and video game thrillers, dramas and super-hero adventures. Widely recognized for his experimental approach to developing a unique sound and for creating dynamic orchestral landscapes, Bill is best known for composing the compelling musical backdrop for all nine seasons of the hit CBS series CSI: NY. Bill’s passion for composing is followed closely by his interest in cutting-edge sound technology. Developers regularly approach him to beta-test new music and sound design products; many in the music community as the go-to resource consider him when a product or technology recommendation is needed. Continually experimenting…
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Interview…Richard Kaufman on John Williams and Being A Session Musician on ‘Jaws’
Richard Kaufman is, and has been, a good friend of the site. Thanks to our contacts at the Dallas Symphony, we always get to catch up with him when he’s in town for a show as their Pops conductor laureate. Richard has had an amazing career being a session musician (violin) on many classic film scores as well as being MGM’s Music Supervisor for 19 years. He’s seen incredible things behind the gates of major Hollywood studios. You’ve seen those Dos XX commercials with “the Most Interesting Man in the World” right? Well, it should actually be Richard they’re talking about. Seriously, name any filmic presonality and Richard either knows them,…
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Video Interview…Michiel Huisman on the Understated Magic of ‘The Age of Adaline’
In this interview, we sit with Michiel Huisman (Game of Thrones, Orphan Black, Nashville) to discuss Lee Toland Krieger‘s modern fairy tale about a young woman, born at the turn of 20th century, who is rendered ageless after an accident. We talked to Michiel about his character, the look of the film, and also had a laugh discussing beards, grooming and co-star Harrison Ford. The film is directed by Lee Toland Krieger and stars Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, and Harrison Ford. Lionsgate’s The Age of Adaline will be released on April 24. A young woman, born at the turn of 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After years of a solitary life,…
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[USA Film Fest Interview]…’Gallows Road’ Star Ernie Hudson
It’s been 30 years since Ernie Hudson starred in Ghostbusters and even today, he’s still working non-stop. After all, he has the tools and he has the talent, right? He’s also got a heart as big as Texas and Hudson’s latest role finds him starring in Gallows Road. Bill McAdams Jr.’s film is a modest effort, but one filled with a lot of heavy issues. Religion, anger, abuse, etc. it’s all in there, but it’s ultimately about compassion and acceptance. As the tag line says, God forgives…Can you? In the film, Bob Collins (Ernie Hudson) finds his faith tested when a night of racially motivated violence takes the lives of his…
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Interview…Film Composer Patrick Doyle Weaves Magic for a Whole New Generation with ‘Cinderella’
If you visit the site often, or know me personally, you know that I love film…but I love film scores a whole lot more. Our “Composer Series” has become a large part of the site, and it has been incredibly rewarding being afforded the opportunity to speak with those who have created some of the most iconic and indelible themes of the last half century. Case in point. When we spoke with Patrick Doyle last year, we discussed his and Kenneth Branagh’s efforts to reboot the Jack Ryan franchise. His hybrid approach to the tech-thriller score was an exercise in tension and excitement, and everything you could want in a…
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Interview…Composer Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) on the Emotion Behind the Adrenaline in ‘Run All Night’ and ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
When it comes to working in the film industry, and if you happen to be a talented and in-demand composer like Junkie XL, 16-to-18 hour days are the norm. Suffice to say, a composer’s work is never done but they also need to carve out time for necessary levity. A bit of a practical joker when it suits him (just ask his then assistant and now good friend Sam Estes about the in-office pranks), Tom Holkenborg has put his stamp on the music world with his bombastic drum kit and adrenaline-themed cues. He also knows how to help the director get to the heart of their story. Whether it’s a segment or two in The Animatrix,…
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Interview…Film Composer Mark Adler on Robert Kenner’s ‘Merchants of Doubt’
Mark Adler brings to his work as a composer a broad background in both film and music. At 16 he created an award-winning animated short which the New York Museum of Modern Art acquired for its permanent archive collection. A year later, he was the recipient of an American Film Institute grant for his original screenplay. He studied piano privately for fifteen years, and was initially a music major. His return to music followed graduation from film school at UCLA, where he studied film scoring with David Raksin. The 1980s were a renaissance for documentary film in the San Francisco Bay Area and Mark was soon scoring many of those projects. During…
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Interview…Sound Designers/Composers Sam Estes and Michael Hobe
When it comes to music as a profession, composer Robert O. Ragland might have said it the best, “The film composer has two main pressures…time and quality“. Sam Estes and Michael Hobe can certainly relate to all the hurdles in the creative process. They have seen their fair share of films, TV shows and video games and learned from the best in the industry while working as composers and sound designers at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions. Following their time there, they went on to produce private sound design and samples for the likes of Danny Elfman, Michael Giacchino, Junkie XL (Tom Holkenborg), and Christopher Lennertz. Sam specializes in taking a…
