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Post by Talon Karrde on Sept 27, 2014 7:17:23 GMT -5
ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE
(August 26, 2014 – Culver City, CA) Sparks & Shadows announces the release of the ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) digitally on September 2, 2014. The soundtrack features original music by Emmy® Award winning composer Bear McCreary for the film based on the popular Angry Video Game Nerd web series. In addition to writing the original music, McCreary remixed two songs for the album, "Sacred Ground of the Golden Turd” and "The Angry Video Game Nerd Theme Song.” The band Young Beautiful in a Hurry contribute two songs, “Nerds Before Birds” and “Barcade.” Both songs were written by the band’s Brendan McCreary, who regularly collaborates with Bear on the TV series Defiance. “I can honestly say that the score for ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE is without doubt the most fun score I’ve ever produced,” said McCreary. “I also got to incorporate the iconic ‘Angry Video Game Nerd Theme Song,’ and collaborate with its composer, Kyle Justin.” James Rolfe (aka “The Nerd”) brings his popular web series to life with ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE. The Nerd became a web sensation with his angry and often foul-mouthed reviews of video games and pop culture. In 2011 The Nerd used his skills in viral marketing to launch a Kickstarter campaign to bring his web series to the big screen. The film is inspired by the famous Atari video game burial of 1982. Atari produced a game based on the biggest blockbuster movie of that year, E.T., and rushed it to meet the deadline for the Christmas shopping season. It was a commercial failure and millions of unsold game cartridges were buried in a desert landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Coincidentally, it’s not too far from Roswell, the landing site of a different kind of E.T. The Nerd sets out on a quest to find and review this video game – finally giving his fans what they have long desired – and leading to hilarious consequences…. For ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE Rolfe turned to Bear McCreary to compose the original music. McCreary had previously composed/arranged music for the 2010 ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD Christmas episode, How the Nerd Stole Christmas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMINBv_Dqvs) “The music combines a full symphonic orchestra, heavy metal rhythm section and custom sampled synthesis from NES, Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis hardware,” McCreary described. “For this score, I got to live out all my musical fantasies, combining influences from my favorite video games and film composers that inspired me when I was a kid. Cinemassacre presents ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE will be available on Video On Demand on September 2nd. Sparks & Shadows presents the ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), available digitally on September 2, 2014. Other releases from Sparks & Shadows include McCreary's two soundtracks for the series Da Vinci’s Demons (featuring the Emmy® Award-winning title theme), Black Sails (featuring the Emmy® Award-nominated title theme), Defiance, as well as motion picture soundtracks for Europa Report and Knights of Badassdom.
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Post by Talon Karrde on Feb 6, 2015 16:14:35 GMT -5
Everly
(December 15, 2014 – Culver City, CA) Sparks & Shadows announces the release date for the EVERLY – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on January 20, 2015. As a special holiday bonus, fans that pre-order the soundtrack on iTunes now will receive the five holiday-themed tracks right away! Composer Bear McCreary (KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM, TV’s THE WALKING DEAD) and the film’s director Joe Lynch have teamed together with vocalist Raya Yarbrough to release a special gift, a video of “Silent Night”, directed by Lynch, arranged by Bear McCreary. The video can be viewed here: youtu.be/XP9Sn6mkbFs “I first conceived of the story for EVERLY, as my ode to Asian cinema, holiday movies like DIE HARD, and entrails,” said Lynch. “Bear McCreary is one of the most eclectic composers working today and there was no-one else I wanted to tell this story with me musically, so much so I named the head Yakuza Boss ‘Taiko’ as an homage to one of Bear’s signature sounds.” “Everly is a film in which Salma Hayek must stay alive in an apartment while confronting wave after wave of increasingly volatile and vicious Yakuza gangsters. It is pretty much as awesome as it sounds,” described BadassDigest. MovieFone described it as “a symphony of exploding heads and bullets.” To score this ‘symphony,’ Lynch turned to frequent collaborator Bear McCreary. Lynch said, “Bear and Team McCreary (including his lovely muse Raya and badass brother Brendan, who worked on the holiday tracks) were the sonic glue that holds the madness together, and I don’t know what the film would be like without his work on it.” Track listing: 1. A Gift from Taiko 2. Deck the Halls (Performed by Raya Yarbrough) 3. Allies 4. Fighting to Survive 5. A Very Merry Christmas (Performed by Brendan McCreary) 6. Dead Man 7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Performed by Brendan McCreary) 8. Fa La La (Performed by Brendan McCreary) 9. The Sadist 10. Taiko 11. Resolution 12. Silent Night (Performed by Raya Yarbrough) 13. Everly End Credits Radius-TWC presents EVERLY, available on iTunes and On Demand January 23, 2015 and in theaters February 27, 2015. The EVERLY - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be available on January 20, 2015 and is available for pre-order at iTunes at: itunes.apple.com/us/album/everly-original-motion-picture/id951143407?ls=1. Pre-order the album and download the 5 holiday-themed tracks in advance of the album’s release. “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals,” joked Lynch.
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Post by Talon Karrde on Feb 6, 2015 16:19:47 GMT -5
"OUTLANDER ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK, VOL. 1 (January 12, 2015 – Culver City, CA) Madison Gate Records is proud to announce the release of OUTLANDER Original Television Soundtrack, Vol. 1 in digital and CD formats on February 10, 2015. The album features original music composed by Emmy® Award-Winner Bear McCreary (EVERLY, THE WALKING DEAD, DA VINCI’S DEMONS) along with period-accurate songs adapted by McCreary for the television series, including the main title theme, “The Skye Boat Song,” performed by Raya Yarbrough. The album was produced in collaboration with McCreary’s Sparks & Shadows label. The OUTLANDER series follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. Adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books, the OUTLANDER series spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history and adventure into one epic tale. Composer McCreary has been fascinated with the folk music of Jacobean Scotland from an early age. “When I first learned to drive, I was blasting bagpipes from my car speakers,” he jokes. His fascination quickly became a passion: “toward the end of high school, I began researching folk songs of the Jacobite uprising. I was awestruck by their ability to communicate tales of tragedy and triumph through lyrics with double meaning, woven along deceptively simple melodic lines and evocative harmonic progressions,” McCreary notes. OUTLANDER Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore, who had also collaborated with McCreary on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, knew of McCreary’s passion for the period’s music, and turned to him for the series, so much of which is set in the era. McCreary was ecstatic about the chance to head to the Highlands for musical inspiration. “From the beginning, I wanted to draw predominantly from Scottish instrumentation and folk music,” he explains. “Instruments such as the fiddle, bagpipes, accordion, penny whistle and bodhrán (a type of frame drum) form the backbone of the score, supported by orchestral strings, haunting vocals and larger percussion.” “OUTLANDER has given me the opportunity to write the kind of score I have been dreaming about for my entire life,” says McCreary. “I am thrilled that Madison Gate Records and Sparks & Shadows have collaborated to release this soundtrack from the first eight episodes, but we’re just getting started; more drama and music await!” The second half of the first season of OUTLANDER returns to STARZ in the U.S. on April 4, 2015. OUTLANDER Original Television Soundtrack, Vol. 1 will be available in digital and CD formats on February 10, 2015. Track List: 1. People Disappear All The Time 2. Outlander – The Skye Boat Song (feat. Raya Yarbrough) [Castle Leoch version] 3. Dance Of The Druids (feat. Raya Yarbrough) 4. Fallen Through Time 5. Castle Leoch 6. Comin' Thro’ The Rye 7. The Woman Of Balnain (feat. Gillebrìde MacMillan) 8. Mrs. Fitz 9. The Losing Side Of History 10. Clean Pease Strae 11. The Marriage Contract 12. The Wedding 13. The Veil Of Time Running Time: 51 minutes
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Post by Talon Karrde on Sept 26, 2015 8:28:10 GMT -5
BEAR McCREARY NOMINATED FOR A PRIMETIME EMMY® AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
Bear McCreary receives nod on his score for STARZ’s Original hit series ‘Outlander’
(July 16, 2015 – Los Angeles, CA) On July 16th, the Television Academy announced the nominations for the 67th annual Primetime EMMY® Awards. Bear McCreary received his nomination in Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score) for Outlander.
“I am tremendously honored to be nominated, alongside some of the most accomplished composers working today, for Outstanding Music Composition for Outlander. I have adored Scottish folk music since I kid, and have spent my career questing for a project that would allow me to channel that passion for bagpipes and penny whistles into something productive. My lifelong dream came true when I signed on to this remarkable series based on Diana Gabaldon’s visionary novels. I am eternally grateful to executive producer Ron Moore, his entire creative team, my friends at STARZ and Sony Pictures Television, and the exuberant fan community for putting their faith in me.”
McCreary earned his first EMMY Award for his main title theme for STARZ’s Da Vinci’s Demons in 2013. He earned his third EMMY nomination in 2014 for STARZ’s Black Sails and this is the third year in a row McCreary has been nominated for his work on a STARZ television series. This is the only category Outlander has been nominated in for this year’s EMMY® Awards.
Bear McCreary is represented by Beth Krakower of Krakower Poling Public Relations.
About Bear McCreary:
It’s because of his out-of-the-box thinking that led WIRED Magazine to call Bear McCreary a “Secret Weapon” in a recent issue. His unique combination of atypical instrumental background (he is a professional accordionist) with rigorous classical training prepared him to compose for disparate genres. By the age of 24, McCreary was launched into pop culture history with his groundbreaking score to Syfy’s hit series Battlestar Galactica, for which he composed “the most innovative music on TV today” (Variety). It “fits the action so perfectly, it’s almost devastating: a sci-fi score like no other” (NPR). Io9.com declared Bear McCreary one of the Ten Best Science Fiction Composers of all time, listing him alongside legends John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Herrmann. In addition to earning his first EMMYy® Award in 2013, McCreary was voted “Composers’ Choice Composer of the Year – Television” for 2013 by his peers in ASCAP, the first award of its kind.
An EMMY® Award winner for Da Vinci’s Demons, McCreary also composes for The Walking Dead (which shattered records with 17.3 million viewers for its fifth season debut), STARZ’s debut series Outlander (for Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore who he previously worked with on Battlestar Galactica), Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—the #1 series debut of the 2013 fall season, NBC’s Constantine for David S. Goyer (Da Vinci’s Demons), BBC America’s Intruders, the Syfy series Defiance, and the feature films Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie and Everly.
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Post by Talon Karrde on Oct 30, 2015 13:14:56 GMT -5
DA VINICI’S DEMONS - SEASON 3 AND DA VINCI’S DEMONS - SEASON 2 COLLECTOR’S EDITION
(October 21, 2015 – Culver City, CA) Sparks & Shadows announces the release of the DA VINCI’S DEMONS - SEASON 3 (Original Television Soundtrack), featuring music by Bear McCreary. The album from the third and final season of the hit STARZ Original series, produced by Adjacent Productions, will be available, both digitally and on CD, November 3, 2015. A 2-CD Collector’s Edition of the DA VINICI’S DEMONS - SEASON 2 (Original Television Soundtrack), featuring 10 bonus tracks–over 28 minutes of music–will also be released on November 3rd. “The score for Season 3 strikes the perfect balance between modern and ancient instrumentation,” said McCreary. “As the series’ composer, I have enjoyed the challenge of blending the Renaissance tones of the viola da gamba, lutes, and Celtic harp with contemporary orchestral writing, subtly-layered modern synth sound design, and heavy percussion. This album reflects the ideal equilibrium.” In season 3 of Da Vinci’s Demons Leonardo Da Vinci's world comes crashing down when the city of Otranto is torn apart by an Ottoman invasion. On the battlefield, the Turks use da Vinci's own weapons against him... The designs for which were stolen by someone he trusted. “Scoring the first season, of DA VINCI’S DEMONS, I was immersed into a rich world of historical fantasy, and tasked with writing over a dozen primary character themes,” McCreary described. “For the second season, I was able to introduce new themes, such as for the mysterious Labyrinth, and our characters from Peru and the Middle East. By the end of the Season 2 finale, the score had evolved into a layered tapestry of musical material. The various stories of the first two seasons culminate their arcs in Season 3 as character allegiances align in unexpected ways.” It’s because of his out-of-the-box thinking that led WIRED Magazine to call Bear McCreary a “Secret Weapon”. His unique combination of atypical instrumental background (he is a professional accordionist) with rigorous classical training prepared him to compose for disparate genres. By the age of 24, McCreary was launched into pop culture history with his groundbreaking score to Syfy’s hit series Battlestar Galactica, for which he composed “the most innovative music on TV today” (Variety). It “fits the action so perfectly, it’s almost devastating: a sci-fi score like no other” (NPR). Io9.com declared Bear McCreary one of the Ten Best Science Fiction Composers of all time, listing him alongside legends John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Herrmann. In addition to earning his first Emmy® Award in 2013, McCreary was voted “Composers’ Choice Composer of the Year – Television” for 2013 by his peers in ASCAP, the first award of its kind An Emmy® Award winner for Da Vinci’s Demons, McCreary also composes for The Walking Dead (which shattered records with 17.3 million viewers for its fifth season debut), STARZ’s debut series Outlander (for Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore who he previously worked with on Battlestar Galactica), Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—the #1 series debut of the 2013 fall season, the STARZ series Black Sails, the Syfy series DefiancE, and the feature films Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie, Everly and Europa Report. McCreary recently earned his fourth Emmy nomination, his first for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Drama), with Outlander. “The score for the third season takes all of the essential thematic ideas developed over the past two years and weaves them together into what I hope is an immensely satisfying musical finale,” said McCreary. “Very few projects have had so profound an impact on my life as Da Vinci’s Demons. I have formed truly wonderful friendships, with producers, actors, writers, crew, and executives alike, relationships I trust will last for many years to come.” STARZ presents the third and final DA VINCI’S DEMONS, premiering on October 24, 2015. DA VINCI’S DEMONS - SEASON 3 (Original Television Soundtrack), the album from the third and final season of the hit STARZ Original series, produced by Adjacent Productions, will be available digitally and on CD November 3, 2015. The 2-CD version of the DA VINICI’S DEMONS - SEASON 2 (Original Television Soundtrack) Collector’s Edition will also be released on CD the same day.
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Post by Talon Karrde on Feb 19, 2016 15:27:38 GMT -5
THE BOY
(January 18, 2015 – Los Angeles, CA) – Lakeshore Records will release THE BOY - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack digitally on January 22nd and on CD February 19, 2016. The album features the film’s original score by Bear McCreary (THE WALKING DEAD, OUTLANDER) with the original song “In My Dream,” written and produced by Brendan McCreary (DEFIANCE, the band Young Beautiful In A Hurry), and performed by Fyfe Monroe. THE BOY is a new psychological thriller from Lakeshore and STX Entertainment, directed by William Brent Bell (THE DEVIL INSIDE) starring Lauren Cohan (THE WALKING DEAD). Greta (Cohan) is a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, only to discover that the family's 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20 years prior. After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring Greta's worst nightmare to life, leading her to believe that the doll is actually alive. “The film’s success comes from the audience following Greta on her journey of discovery. She begins skeptical that Brahms [the boy] is alive, as any sensible person would be,” said McCreary. “This was the character arc I wanted to highlight with the score: Greta’s growing relationship with Brahms, and her transformation from skeptic to believer. I knew that if this character arc works, the film works.” McCreary began by creating musical themes for each of these characters. Greta’s theme, melodic, introspective and brooding, sets the mood in the film’s opening. “The solo piano and large orchestral strings create a gothic mood, evoking the old English countryside home that serves as the film’s setting,” he described. “And yet, the simple waltz melody also suggests that Greta has an inner vulnerability, perhaps even a secret. The whole sequence is beautifully shot and edited, and the score helps draw the audience into the world of the film, before even a line of dialog is uttered.” The theme McCreary created for Brahms was inspired by Johannes Brahms’ Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht – popularly known as Brahms’ Lullaby. “This melody makes a couple brief cameos in the film itself, with Greta tinkering on the harpsichord,” he said. He also incorporated the melody into Brahms’ theme. McCreary believed that finding the right sound for Brahms’ theme was critical. “I sampled an antique music box, a gift from an old friend, for a frail, plunky sound. I then layered in detuned pianos, autoharps, dulcimers, ethnic bells, celeste, glockenspiel and harp, panning them around the mix. The creaky, off-kilter music box sound was the result of hours of tinkering with live instruments and samples, ironically the most time-consuming aspect of the score.” Composer Bear McCreary is known for his out-of-the-box approach to film, television and video games. His unique combination of an atypical instrumental background (he is a professional accordionist) with rigorous classical training prepared him to compose for disparate genres. An Emmy® Award winner for DA VINCI’S DEMONS, McCreary composes for THE WALKING DEAD (which shattered records with 17.3 million viewers for its fifth season debut), STARZ’s debut series OUTLANDER (for Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore who he previously worked with on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA), MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., the STARZ series BLACK SAILS, the feature films ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD: THE MOVIE, EVERLY and EUROPA REPORT. McCreary recently earned his fourth Emmy nomination, his first for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Drama), with OUTLANDER. His 2016 film projects include THE FOREST (produced by David S. Goyer). STX Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment present THE BOY, in theatres on January 22, 2015. Lakeshore Records will release THE BOY - Original Motion Picture soundtrack digitally on January 22nd and on CD February 19, 2016.
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Post by Talon Karrde on Apr 1, 2016 14:59:55 GMT -5
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE (March 9, 2016 – Culver City, CA) Sparks & Shadows, in association with Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures, announces the release of the soundtrack for 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE, featuring music by Bear McCreary (THE BOY, TV’s MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.). The film is the ‘spiritual successor’ to 2008’s CLOVERFIELD, the beloved science fiction/monster horror film. Two years ago McCreary opened an envelope that contained a script with a red cover and a robot staring at him. He knew this might mean his first chance to work with J.J. Abrams and the team at Bad Robot. “I was riveted by the taut storytelling, kept guessing at every turn. I immediately saw the potential for a fantastic film, and was so excited I couldn’t sleep,” said McCreary. A young woman wakes up after a terrible accident to find that she's locked in a cellar with a doomsday prepper, who insists that he saved her life and that the world outside is uninhabitable following an apocalyptic catastrophe. “Bear has written an incredible score for [director] Dan Trachtenberg's 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE,” said producer J.J. Abrams. “It is tense, emotional music that gives the film scope and heart, augments the surprise and horror. It’s an homage to Herrmann, but wholly original at the same time. I'm deeply grateful to Bear for his contribution to this movie.” “Walking out of our first meeting, I had the sensation that J.J. had just given me permission to write the score I’d always wanted to write,” McCreary described. “And Dan knew intuitively that the music could help provide an emotional core to the story, support the tension coming from threats both inside and outside the bunker, and give an epic sense of scale,” said McCreary. With their blessing, McCreary went full steam ahead, assembling four different ensembles for the score: a traditional 90-piece orchestra, a smaller 45-piece string ensemble, a grouping of 30 celli and 8 bass, and a string quartet (The Calder Quartet). He combined these performances with two unusual instruments, the Yayli tanbur (played by Malachai Bandy) and the Blaster Beam. The Blaster Beam is an experimental instrument built and played by Craig Huxley, best known for its use in Jerry Goldsmith’s score for STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. McCreary reached out to Huxley and was invited to explore the instrument. “When I first saw the Blaster Beam, I could barely believe my eyes! I was giddy! It can best be described as a 15-foot-long pedal steel guitar, resembling an alien spaceship that lumbered off the pages of Heavy Metal magazine in the 1970’s. As soon as Craig played it, my imagination went into overdrive.” Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures present 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE in theaters on March 11, 2016. Sparks & Shadows will release the 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE soundtrack digitally the same day, and on CD shortly thereafter.
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Post by Talon Karrde on May 6, 2016 13:11:40 GMT -5
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE (April 27, 2016 – Culver City, CA) Sparks & Shadows, in association with Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures, announces a May 3rd release of the soundtrack for 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE soundtrack CD. The album features the original music by Bear McCreary (THE BOY, TV’s MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.). The first 360 fans that order the CD at www.lalalandrecords.com, will receive their copies autographed by McCreary (while supplies last). “Bear has written an incredible score for [director] Dan Trachtenberg's 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE,” said producer J.J. Abrams. “It is tense, emotional music that gives the film scope and heart, augments the surprise and horror. It’s an homage to Herrmann, but wholly original at the same time. I'm deeply grateful to Bear for his contribution to this movie.” “Walking out of our first meeting, I had the sensation that J.J. had just given me permission to write the score I’d always wanted to write,” McCreary described. “And Dan knew intuitively that the music could help provide an emotional core to the story, support the tension coming from threats both inside and outside the bunker, and give an epic sense of scale,” said McCreary. With their blessing, McCreary went full steam ahead, assembling four different ensembles for the score: a traditional 90-piece orchestra, a smaller 45-piece string ensemble, a grouping of 30 celli and 8 bass, and a string quartet (The Calder Quartet). He combined these performances with two unusual instruments, the Yayli tanbur (played by Malachai Bandy) and the Blaster Beam. The Blaster Beam is an experimental instrument built and played by Craig Huxley, best known for its use in Jerry Goldsmith’s score for STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. McCreary reached out to Huxley and was invited to explore the instrument. “When I first saw the Blaster Beam, I could barely believe my eyes! I was giddy! It can best be described as a 15-foot-long pedal steel guitar, resembling an alien spaceship that lumbered off the pages of Heavy Metal magazine in the 1970’s. As soon as Craig played it, my imagination went into overdrive.” Bad Robot and Paramount Pictures present 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE. A young woman wakes up after a terrible accident to find that she's locked in a cellar with a doomsday prepper, who insists that he saved her life and that the world outside is uninhabitable following an apocalyptic catastrophe.
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Post by Talon Karrde on Nov 24, 2017 19:44:28 GMT -5
HAPPY DEATH DAY
(October 10, 2017 – Burbank, CA) Back Lot Music announces the release of the HAPPY DEATH DAY soundtrack, featuring music by Bear McCreary (Rebel in the Rye, 10 Cloverfield Lane) digitally on October 13 and on CD on October 20, 2017.
Blumhouse (Split, Get Out, Whiplash) produces an original and inventive rewinding thriller in HAPPY DEATH DAY, in which a college student (Jessica Rothe, La La Land) relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer’s identity. HAPPY DEATH DAY is directed by Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) and written by Scott Lobdell.
“When I first saw Happy Death Day, I was immediately struck by the film’s perfect balance of horror and dark comedy,” said McCreary. “The main character, Tree, hilariously captures a millennial spirit the horror is genuinely terrifying, and the comedy pitch perfect. The film is a goldmine for musical inspiration!”
In the thriller, the killer’s identity is hidden behind a baby-face mask. McCreary had to look no further than to his three-year old daughter for inspiration in creating the score. “Christopher Landon and I decided to give this voiceless character a voice in the score,” McCreary explained.
Bear collected recordings of his daughter that he used throughout. “These sounds of her giggling and whispers were digitally mangled and distorted, until they became terrifying vocal textures, with menacing bass, crackling breathy overtones. One baby whimper in particular became the theme for the killer, wailing like a banshee over the score. I combined the baby voice with a full orchestra, and the end result truly terrified me. I am hopeful it will have the same effect on the audience.”
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Post by Talon Karrde on Nov 24, 2017 19:49:08 GMT -5
UNREST
(September 19, 2017 – Culver City, CA) Sparks & Shadows announces the release of the Unrest soundtrack, featuring music by Bear McCreary (Rebel in the Rye, 10 Cloverfield Lane). The documentary, directed by Jennifer Brea, chronicled her ordeal suffering from ME, more commonly known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This intimate and provocative film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where it earned a Special Jury Prize for editing.
Usually writing music for narrative feature films, McCreary had to take a different approach to compose for a documentary. “I learned a lot working with Jennifer Brea on Unrest,” said McCreary. “This is literally her life. So, approaching it as I would a scripted film proved to be pointless.”
In Unrest, twenty-eight year-old Jennifer Brea is working on her PhD at Harvard and months away from marrying the love of her life when she gets a mysterious fever that leaves her bedridden and looking for answers. Determined to live, she turns her camera on herself and her community - a hidden world of millions confined to their homes and bedrooms by ME. Unrest is, at its core, a love story. How Jen and her new husband forge their relationship while dealing with her mysterious illness is at once heartbreaking, inspiring and funny.
One of the inspirations McCreary took from seeing Brea’s journey was the sound of the MRI machine (“I got to write for and orchestrate the sounds of an MRI machine! That was a first!”).
“They say that your composer is the film's first audience,” said Brea in the film’s blog. “In working with Bear, not only did we deepen the emotional journey of Unrest for viewers, as the director it was an opportunity to experience the film from a fresh perspective and add an entirely new layer of meaning.”
“I rewired my thinking so that I was scoring her life, and thought of the film as a byproduct,” McCreary explained. “The film tackles complex social and medical issues, and yet I was inspired by Jennifer’s distinctly personal narrative voice. I strove to support her story with subtle themes, warm string textures, and evocative melodies.”
Unrest will be available on in theaters in limited release on September 22nd, via iTunes in the US and Canada on October 10th and worldwide October 31, 2017. It will be broadcast on PBS's Independent Lens in early 2018. Sparks & Shadows will release the Unrest soundtrack digitally on September 22, 2017.
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Post by Talon Karrde on Nov 24, 2017 19:50:33 GMT -5
THE WALKING DEAD
(October 6, 2017- Los Angeles, CA) - Lakeshore Records and Sparks & Shadows are proud to release the first soundtrack featuring EMMY® award-winning composer Bear McCreary’s (10 Cloverfield Lane, Rebel in the Rye) original score for AMC’s The Walking Dead. The soundtrack will be released digitally and CD on October 20th, on LP October 27, 2017, and is available for pre-order at (http://smarturl.it/TWDscore).
For this long-awaited release, McCreary selected both his personal favorites from the first seven seasons, along with those most frequently requested by fans. He said, “narrowing down the highlights from seven years of work was a tremendous challenge.”
Premiering on Halloween 2010, in 120 countries simultaneously, The Walking Dead became a cultural zeitgeist practically overnight. A deserted car wreck. A policeman walking through it. The back of a little girl. He calls to her. At first she doesn’t respond. Then she turns around… revealing that all is not quite what it seems. The cop left with no choice shoots her, and as she falls, the tremolo string arpeggios of the “Main Title Theme” by McCreary crescendo, drawing millions of viewers into this harrowing world of The Walking Dead.
“When we started discussing the first season we agreed that drama, action, and horror would be felt more intimately if the score were used only in pivotal scenes, and that it should be written with tonal clarity,” McCreary explained of his initial approach to scoring The Walking Dead. During the zombie apocalypse, silence would be the most prevalent – the lack of sound is what survivors would notice. Those moments when McCreary’s music kicks in, viewers know they are about to be treated to something important. “This approach allowed me to create big emotional impacts with sparse musical gestures.”
As the series progressed, McCreary was able to expand the musical palette. For the second and third seasons he did so with “acoustic guitars and drums to connect with the farmhouse setting (check out ‘Message to Morgan’).” He blended these with a small orchestra for the gut-crushing mid-season finale (‘Sophia'). As audiences were introduced to new characters like the Governor, McCreary incorporated a synth pulse to his largely organic instrumentation. When Neegan was introduced a few seasons later, he employed “creepy electric guitar gestures.”
EMMY®-winning composer McCreary is one of the most sought-after talents in the industry today. In 2017, he had an impressive showing at Sundance with three films at the festival: Danny Strong’s drama Rebel in the Rye, the sci-fi thriller Colossal starring Anne Hathaway, and Jennifer Brea’s documentary Unrest.
Some of McCreary’s other film credits include the critically-acclaimed Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot film, produced by J.J. Abrams, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Universal/Blumhouse’s upcoming thriller Happy Death Day, the animated feature Animal Crackers, and Disney’s Step Up 3D. His videogame credits include Sony PlayStation’s highly anticipated new God of War.
McCreary burst onto the scene scoring the influential and revered series Battlestar Galactica. His music for the series was lauded by Variety as “innovative,” and “like no other” by NPR. McCreary won an EMMY® Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme for Da Vinci’s Demons. McCreary also received EMMY® nominations for his work on Black Sails, Outlander, and Human Target. He has twice been awarded “ASCAP Composer of the Year – Television” by his peers. He currently scores Outlander, AMC’s record-shattering global phenomenon The Walking Dead, as well as Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. McCreary frequently performs in concert throughout North America and Europe, including the Getty Center, the Hagen Philharmonic and Ballet in Germany, the Television Academy, and the Golden State Pops Orchestra. In July 2014, Maestro Gustavo Dudamel conducted a suite of McCreary’s music with the L.A. Philharmonic and L.A. Master Chorale at the Hollywood Bowl.
With all of his professional appearances and outreach to fans, on his blog or through social media, it is The Walking Dead that McCreary is asked about the most. “I am thrilled there is finally a way for fans of this global phenomenon to experience my music in an album format,” he said. “Most of all, I am excited because my experience on The Walking Dead continues. As of this writing, I am gearing up to dive into our eighth season, I look forward to many more years of musical exploration!”
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Post by Talon Karrde on Nov 24, 2017 19:53:08 GMT -5
REVOLT (October 11, 2017 – Los Angeles, CA) – Lakeshore Records and Sparks & Shadows will release the REVOLT - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK digitally on October 13, 2017. The album features the original score by Emmy® Award-Winning Composer Bear McCreary (REBEL IN THE RYE, 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE).
Set in the war-ravaged African countryside, an American soldier (Lee Pace) and a French foreign aid worker (Bérénice Marlohe) team up to survive the alien onslaught. As they journey through the battlefield in search of refuge, their bond will be tested when the soldier discovers his true identity.
“From day one, Bear and I agreed that our original scifi movie needed a signature sound. A score that would balance a sinister alien presence with the power of our will to fight back,” said writer/director Joe Miale. “Bear gives our story a distinct voice, one that can waver, whimper or scream. A single solo instrument sails with uncertainty over a relentless rhythm— man against machine. Cue after cue, Bear weaves the story’s dynamics into the music itself; a cherished collaboration that still leaves me wonderstruck."
McCreary is known for his out-of-the-box techniques to create the perfect sonic palette for the score. His recent projects have featured unusual instruments (like the hurdy gurdy, Blaster Beam, and bagpipes) and sampled sounds (including manipulated versions of his three year-old daughter’s voice, a typewriter, and even an MRI machine). "When I saw the staggeringly scary robotic drones stampede towards Lee Pace in Joe Miale's visceral sci-fi film REVOLT, I knew the score needed to be mechanical, pulsing and sonically distinct from anything I'd ever done,” said McCreary. To achieve the perfect backdrop he “assembled an ‘orchestra’ of floppy disc drives, and worked with brilliant sound designer Jonathan Snipes, to get them to create sustained notes I could use in the score. Their chirping, guttural voices permeate the music, giving these killer robots a sense of devious human expression."
EMMY®-winning composer Bear McCreary is one of the most sought-after talents in the industry today. In 2017, Bear had an impressive showing at Sundance with three films at the festival: Danny Strong’s drama Rebel in the Rye, the sci-fi thriller Colossal starring Anne Hathaway, and Jennifer Brea’s documentary Unrest. Some of McCreary’s other film credits include the critically-acclaimed Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot film, produced by J.J. Abrams, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Universal/Blumhouse’s upcoming thriller Happy Death Day, the animated feature Animal Crackers, and Disney’s Step Up 3D. His videogame credits include Sony PlayStation’s highly anticipated new God of War.
McCreary burst onto the scene scoring the influential and revered series Battlestar Galactica. His music for it was lauded by Variety as “innovative,” and “like no other” by NPR. McCreary won an EMMY Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme for Da Vinci’s Demons. McCreary also received EMMY nominations for his work on Black Sails, Outlander, and Human Target. He has twice been awarded “ASCAP Composer of the Year – Television” by his peers. He currently scores AMC’s record-shattering global phenomenon The Walking Dead, as well as Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. McCreary frequently performs in concert throughout North America and Europe, including the Getty Center, the Hagen Philharmonic and Ballet in Germany, the Television Academy, and the Golden State Pops Orchestra. In July 2014, Maestro Gustavo Dudamel conducted a suite of McCreary’s music with the L.A. Philharmonic and L.A. Master Chorale at the Hollywood Bowl.
Voltage Pictures presents REVOLT is in theaters in select cities on November 17, 2017. Lakeshore Records and Sparks & Shadows will release the REVOLT - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK digitally on October 13, 2017.
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