If you’re a film fan and just now getting interested in film music, we’re going to let you in on a little secret. See the happy guy in the picture above? That is Steve Jablonsky. He works in Hollywood. He writes music, big music in fact, and he’s been at the forefront of high-octane films, video games and TV shows for almost two decades. But if you’re a fan of his, or this site, you already know that. Of all the composers we’ve gotten to know over the years, Steve is one of our favorite people to talk to. Right before Father’s Day, we caught up with Steve to talk…
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Ho-Hum Trailer…’Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’
Yes, Dudes and Dudettes, major-league butt-kicking is back in town. The first trailer (and subsequent ones now that we think about it) for 2014’s Turtles didn’t give us the warm fuzzies. Worse than that, the trailers were actually better than the film and the plot. The only redeeming elements were Brian Tyler’s awesome score and that elevator scene. So it’s with a huge grain of salt that we prepare for this second at bat…and that title. Yikes! Good news is that Steve Jablonsky has stepped in for Tyler and we all know what he brings to his films. To a fault, we’re always hopeful, even if said film looks like…
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Sweet Trailer…’13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi’
If there’s one filmmaker who makes the films that he wants to see, regardless of what the critics say, it’s got to be Michael Bay. A bit of a change from his standard overblown (emphasis on both over and blown) blockbuster fare, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a slightly more sophisticated Bay film. We are fans of his Bayness and while it already looks like he’ll dazzle us with his visuals and cinematography, Steve Jablonsky is also on board to offer his musical energy to this pensive and action-packed thriller. Enjoy the first trailer below… An American Ambassador is killed during an attack at a U.S. compound…
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Interview…Film Composer Steve Jablonsky On Collaboration and the New Sound of Transformers
Fresh off the plane from London, film composer Steve Jablonsky is just starting to wind down from his last project. And why wouldn’t he? Working on Transformers: Age of Extinction (which came out just four weeks ago and will very soon be the first movie of 2014 to reach the $1 billion mark) over the last 6 months has been a whirlwind. Like most other Michael Bay pictures it was a mad dash to the finish line but that’s how it goes when you work on projects of this size and scope. Steve Jablonsky is synonymous with big, bombastic scores yet while the energy and emotion to his music runs high, Jablonsky is…
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Sweet (Teaser) Trailer…’Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’
After suffering months of speculation, less than comforting set shots (with all actors donning CG tracking outfits), a very questionable casting choice and finally a director who draws more criticism than praise, die-hard Turtle fans finally have our first look at the world of the re-imagined Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Oh, did we mention that this is produced by Michael Bay? Anyway have a look at the fearless foursome of subterranean martial artists known simply as TMNT. Tough to believe they’ve been around for more than 25 years, huh? Enjoy the trailer below… The city needs heroes. Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan…
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Sweet Trailer…’Transformers: Age of Extinction’
Michael Bay can’t get enough of the Transformers universe and regardless of the cohesiveness of the story he just loves those autonomous robots. He also knows how to stage kick-ass action and as such he’s jumped back in the sandbox to play, only this time he brought his big boy toys. No Sam Witwicky, no cute-n-hilarious parents, no annoying and/or racist robots (we can only hope), just a down and dirty Transformers flick that true fans have been waiting for. What Bay shared with the world at the Super Bowl had fans clamoring for more and now here’s the first full trailer which focuses less on giant robots and more…
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Exclusive: Interview (Part III)…Film Composer Steve Jablonsky on Experimentation and Career Experiences
We’ve come to the final post, Part III of the 90 minute interview we had with the incomparable Steve Jablonsky. Hitting on a number of topics we got a deeper look into his process and Steve offers even more personal experiences and insight into his phenomenal scores. If you’re just joining us, check out Part I and Part II (really, if you love film music, they’re not to be missed) but if you’re all caught up then enjoy the final leg in this trio of interview posts with amazing composer Steve Jablonsky. ——————————————————————————————————————————— – “Making sounds” as opposed to just composing them is a very proprietary approach. But do you think,…
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Exclusive: Interview (Part II)…Steve Jablonsky’s Big Break, His Process, and Living In Michael Bay’s World
In Part I of our interview with film composer Steve Jablonsky we talked about his recent score for Ender’s Game. A major player in the word of film music Jablonsky has made a name for himself contributing to and fully scoring some of the most successful blockbusters in the last decade. Working with the likes of Harry Gregson-Williams and Hans Zimmer, Jablonsky has become an in-demand composer and he continues to score films for some of the biggest names in the industry. So jump right into Part II as we discuss Steve’s big break, scoring a slew of horror remakes for Michael Bay’s production company Platinum Dunes and of course…
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Exclusive: Interview (Part I)…’Ender’s Game’ Composer Steve Jablonsky
For more than a decade Steve Jablonsky has been composing riveting scores for some of Hollywood’s most bombastic blockbuster films. From the Japanese anime Steamboy (directed by legendary filmmaker Katsuhiro Otomo), to Michael Bay’s The Island and Transformers series to scoring no less than 4 feature films in 2013 alone, Jablonsky’s epic sounds have become a staple in the world of action films. Whether things are blowing up on the silver screen, the TV screen or in video games, Jablonsky is one of only a handful of go-to composers who consistently deliver diversity and complexity along with high energy themes. Originally focused on becoming a recording engineer, Jablonsky’s career as a film composer developed after assisting…
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G-S-T Review…Pain & Gain
What does Michael Bay unhinged look like on celluloid? That’s not a question most of us really need answered; eighteen years spent making glossy, lunkheaded action films, blockbusters based on toy lines, and useless horror remakes speak volumes on the subject of Bay’s auteurdom. But maybe the Transformers mastermind has been done an injustice. Maybe, beneath the frat boy wit and visual chaos of his cinema, Bay has kept his one Big Idea squirreled away for safekeeping, waiting for the right opportunity to unleash his unspoiled artistic vision on his audiences. Or maybe Pain & Gain is just an erroneous high water mark in bad taste filmmaking. Whatever the case may be,…
