John Ottman | |
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Background information | |
Born | San Diego, California, U.S. | July 6, 1964
Genres | Film score |
Occupation(s) | Composer and film editor |
Years active | 1993–present |
Website | www |
John Ottman (born July 6, 1964) is an American film composer, director, and editor. He is best known for collaborating with director Bryan Singer, composing and/or editing many of his films, including Public Access (1993), The Usual Suspects (1995), Superman Returns (2006), Valkyrie (2008) and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), as well as the X-Men film series. For his work on Singer's 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody , Ottman won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing.
Ottman was born in San Diego, California. Growing up in San Jose, Ottman made many amateur films garnering local attention in the community. He attended De Anza College and then transferred to the School of Cinematic Arts of the University of Southern California, where he graduated in 1988. [1] [2] One of his first assignments was to provide original music for the computer game I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream . In 2007, Ottman appeared in the documentary Finding Kraftland for his agent Richard Kraft.
He is best known for his multi-tasking as editor and composer for Bryan Singer's films, and on a few occasions, producer roles to boot. The Usual Suspects , Apt Pupil , X2 , Superman Returns (including adapting themes originally composed by John Williams), Valkyrie , Jack the Giant Slayer , X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse . Other notable films he worked on as composer are Snow White: A Tale of Terror , the 2005 remake of House of Wax, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang , Fantastic Four and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer , The Invasion , and Astro Boy .
He also directed (in addition to editing and scoring) the 2000 horror film Urban Legends: Final Cut . He won a BAFTA Award for Best Editing for The Usual Suspects, as well as two Saturn Awards for Best Music for The Usual Suspects and Superman Returns. In 2019, he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Editing and won the ACE Eddie Award and the Academy Award his work on Bohemian Rhapsody, a film Ottman saw through on his own after both directors' departure (Bryan Singer being fired and Dexter Fletcher beginning pre-production on "Rocketman" shortly after finishing the shoot.) Ottman navigated the film's development in post and the tricky waters between film-maker and studio, working with producer Graham King and Dennis O'Sullivan. Upon Bohemian Rhapsody getting nominated for, and winning its Best Editing awards, a scene of the band outside a pub went viral online after a post by Youtuber Thomas Flight, who was critical of the editing style. Ottman, aware of the clip, explained that for a test screening, a heightened pace for the first act was asked for by the studio. After the test, Ottman returned the scene to its original pace and design. Ottman regretted that he missed returning the scene outside the pub closer to his original version. The scene (directed by Fletcher) contained no master shot of the band at the table. [3]
Discography | ||||
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Feature films | ||||
Year | Title | Director | Notes | Distributed by |
1993 | Public Access | Bryan Singer | Occidental Studios Cinemabeam | |
1995 | The Usual Suspects | Spelling Films International Gramercy Pictures PolyGram Filmed Entertainment | ||
Night Train | John Coven | Short film | ||
The Antelope Chess Game | Lance Tracy | |||
1996 | The Cable Guy | Ben Stiller | Columbia Pictures | |
1997 | Snow White: A Tale of Terror | Michael Cohn | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Interscope Communications | |
Incognito | John Badham | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
1998 | Goodbye Lover | Roland Joffé | ||
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | Steve Miner | Themes by: | Miramax Films | |
Apt Pupil | Bryan Singer | TriStar Pictures | ||
1999 | Lake Placid | Steve Miner | 20th Century Fox | |
2000 | Urban Legends: Final Cut | Himself | Also director | Columbia Pictures |
2001 | Bubble Boy | Blair Hayes | Buena Vista Pictures | |
2002 | Pumpkin | Anthony Abrams Adam Larson Broder | United Artists | |
Eight Legged Freaks | Ellory Elkayem | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
Trapped | Luis Mandoki | Columbia Pictures | ||
2003 | X2 | Bryan Singer | 20th Century Fox Marvel Entertainment | |
Gothika | Mathieu Kassovitz | Composed with: | Warner Bros. Pictures Columbia Pictures | |
2004 | Cellular | David R. Ellis | New Line Cinema | |
Imaginary Heroes | Dan Harris | Main theme only | Sony Pictures Classics | |
Lonely Place | Kevin Ackerman | Short film | ||
2005 | Hide and Seek | John Polson | 20th Century Fox | |
House of Wax | Jaume Collet-Serra | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang | Shane Black | |||
Fantastic Four | Tim Story | 20th Century Fox | ||
2006 | Superman Returns | Bryan Singer | Themes by: | Warner Bros. Pictures |
2007 | Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | Tim Story | 20th Century Fox | |
The Invasion | Oliver Hirschbiegel James McTeigue | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
2008 | Valkyrie | Bryan Singer | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
2009 | Orphan | Jaume Collet-Serra | Warner Bros. Pictures | |
Astro Boy | David Bowers | Summit Entertainment | ||
2010 | The RRF in New Recruit | Short film | ||
Astro Boy vs. The Junkyard Pirates | ||||
The Losers | Sylvain White | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
Halloween: The Night He Came Back | Eric Iyoob Darla Rae | Short film | Film It Productions | |
2011 | The Resident | Antti Jokinen | Image Entertainment | |
Unknown | Jaume Collet-Serra | Composed with: | Warner Bros. Pictures Optimum Releasing | |
2013 | Jack the Giant Slayer | Bryan Singer | Warner Bros. Pictures | |
2014 | Non-Stop | Jaume Collet-Serra | Universal Pictures | |
X-Men: Days of Future Past | Bryan Singer | 20th Century Fox | ||
2016 | The Nice Guys | Shane Black | Composed with: | Warner Bros. Pictures |
X-Men: Apocalypse | Bryan Singer | 20th Century Fox | ||
Television | ||||
Year | Title | Director | Notes | Distributed by |
1998 | Fantasy Island | Michael Dinner | TV series theme and pilot score | Columbia TriStar Television |
2002 | Brother's Keeper | John Badham | Television film | USA Network |
Point of Origin | Newton Thomas Sigel | HBO Films | ||
2015 | Battle Creek | Bryan Singer | Episode: "The Battle Creek Way" | CBS Television Studios Sony Pictures Television |
2017 | The Gifted | Bryan Singer | 20th Television | |
Video documentaries | ||||
Year | Title | Director | Notes | Distributed by |
2002 | Round Up: Deposing The Usual Suspects | MGM Home Entertainment | ||
2003 | Evolution in the Details: The Design of X2 | Short | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | |
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2 | ||||
2004 | Celling Out | Jeffrey Schwarz | Short | New Line Home Entertainment |
Dialing Up Cellular | ||||
Video games | ||||
Year | Title | Director | Notes | Distributed by |
1995 | I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream | David Mullich | Cyberdreams |
Editor | |||
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Year | Title | Director | Notes |
1988 | Lion's Den | Bryan Singer | |
1993 | Public Access | ||
1995 | The Usual Suspects | ||
1998 | Apt Pupil | ||
2000 | Urban Legends: Final Cut | Himself | With Rob Kobrin |
2003 | X2 | Bryan Singer | With Elliot Graham |
2006 | Superman Returns | ||
2008 | Valkyrie | ||
2013 | Jack the Giant Slayer | With Bob Ducsay | |
2014 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | ||
2016 | X-Men: Apocalypse | With Michael Louis Hill | |
2018 | Bohemian Rhapsody | Academy Award Winner - Best Film Editing / BAFTA Award Nomination - Best Editing | |
Director | |||
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
1988 | Lion's Den | Himself | Directed with:
|
2000 | Urban Legends: Final Cut | Also composer | |
Producer | |||
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
1998 | Apt Pupil | Bryan Singer | Associate producer |
2008 | Valkyrie | Executive producer | |
2013 | Jack the Giant Slayer | Associate producer | |
2016 | X-Men: Apocalypse | Co-producer |
Apt Pupil is a 1998 American thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and starring Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro. It is based on the 1982 novella of the same name by Stephen King. In the 1980s in southern California, high school student Todd Bowden (Renfro) discovers fugitive Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander (McKellen) living in his neighborhood under the pseudonym Arthur Denker. Bowden, obsessed with Nazism and acts of the Holocaust, persuades Dussander to share his stories, and their relationship stirs malice in each of them.
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 crime thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Kevin Pollak, Chazz Palminteri, Pete Postlethwaite, and Kevin Spacey.
X2 is a 2003 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris and David Hayter, from a story by Singer, Hayter and Zak Penn. The film is based on the X-Men superhero team appearing in Marvel Comics. It is the sequel to X-Men (2000), as well as the second installment in the X-Men film series, and features an ensemble cast including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Bruce Davison, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Kelly Hu, and Anna Paquin. The plot, inspired by the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, concerns the genocidal Colonel William Stryker leading an assault on Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer, Cerebro, in order to destroy every mutant on Earth and to save the human race from them, forcing the X-Men to team up with the Brotherhood of Mutants to stop Stryker and save the mutant race.
Superman Returns is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris, based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the sixth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a homage sequel to Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), while ignoring the events of Superman III (1983), Supergirl (1984), and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). The film stars Brandon Routh as Clark Kent / Superman, Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane and Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, with James Marsden, Frank Langella, Eva Marie Saint and Parker Posey in supporting roles. The film centers on Superman as he returns to Earth after a five-year absence, whereupon he discovers that his love interest, Lane, has moved on with her life and that his archenemy, Luthor, is plotting a scheme to kill him and reshape North America.
X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film based on the X-Men comic books published by Marvel Entertainment Group. It is the sequel to X2 (2003), as well as the third installment in the X-Men film series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and features an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones, and Patrick Stewart. Written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn, the film is loosely based on two X-Men comic book story arcs, "Gifted" and "The Dark Phoenix Saga", with a plot that revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the resurrection of Jean Grey who unleashes a dark force.
Bryan Jay Singer is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed.
X2: Original Motion Picture Score is the soundtrack to the 2003 film of the same name directed by Bryan Singer. Based on the X-Men superhero team appearing in Marvel Comics. It is the sequel to X-Men (2000), as well as the second installment in the X-Men film series. The film's score was composed by John Ottman, and produced by Casey Stone. The album was released by Trauma Records, three days before the film's release. An expanded version of the film's score, was later published by La-La Land Records and Fox Music in July 2012.
Bad Hat Harry Productions, Inc. is an American film and television production company founded in 1994 by director Bryan Singer. It has produced such films as The Usual Suspects and the X-Men film series, as well as the television series House. The name is an homage to Steven Spielberg and comes from a line uttered by Roy Scheider in the 1975 feature Jaws: an elderly swimmer in a bathing cap teases police chief Martin Brody about not going in the water; Brody replies, "That's some bad hat, Harry." The original 2004 logo paid animated homage to this scene. The current logo, introduced in 2011, is taken from the police lineup scene of the companies' first film,The Usual Suspects.
Damon Intrabartolo was an American composer, orchestrator and conductor. He attended the University of Southern California and departed before graduation to work as an assistant to John Ottman on The Usual Suspects. His most famous work is the musical Bare.
Valkyrie is a 2008 thriller film directed by Bryan Singer, written by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander, starring Tom Cruise. The film is set in Nazi Germany during World War II and depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country. The film was released by American studio United Artists and stars Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, one of the key plotters. The supporting cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp, and Tom Wilkinson.
Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC is an American cinematographer best known for his collaborations with director Bryan Singer on films like The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, and the X-Men film franchise. He has also worked with filmmakers like Haskell Wexler, Mike Newell, David O. Russell, Terry Gilliam, Alan Ball, Robert Redford, and Nicolas Winding Refn. He is a BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, Critics' Choice Award, and Satellite Award nominee.
X-Men is a 2000 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by David Hayter and a story by Singer and Tom DeSanto, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ray Park, and Anna Paquin, the film depicts a world where an unknown proportion of people are mutants, possessing superhuman powers that make them distrusted by normal humans. It focuses on mutants Wolverine and Rogue as they are brought into a conflict between two groups with radically different approaches to bringing about the acceptance of mutant-kind: Charles Xavier's X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto.
Elliot C. Graham is an American film editor and producer known for his work on Milk (2008), Steve Jobs (2015), Captain Marvel (2019), and No Time to Die (2021).
The Film Music Guild (FMG) is a student organization at Biola University in La Mirada, CA. The Film Music Guild was formed to teach film students about music and music students about film.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is a 2014 superhero film directed and co-produced by Bryan Singer and written by Simon Kinberg from a story he created with Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn. The film is based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men, the fifth mainline installment of the X-Men film series, a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men: First Class (2011), a follow-up to The Wolverine (2013), and the seventh installment overall. It stars an ensemble cast, including Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Elliot Page, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart. The story, inspired by the 1981 Uncanny X-Men storyline "Days of Future Past" by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, focuses on two time periods, with Logan traveling back in time to 1973 to change history and prevent an event that results in unspeakable destruction for both humans and mutants.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a 2018 biographical musical drama film that focuses on the life of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the British rock band Queen, from the formation of the band in 1970 to their 1985 Live Aid performance at the original Wembley Stadium. It was directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by Anthony McCarten, and produced by Graham King and Queen manager Jim Beach. It stars Rami Malek as Mercury, with Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joe Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander, and Mike Myers in supporting roles. Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor also served as consultants. A British-American venture, it was produced by Regency Enterprises, GK Films and Queen Films, and was distributed by 20th Century Fox.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is the soundtrack album to the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past, based on the X-Men characters appearing in Marvel Comics, and is the fifth mainline installment in the X-Men film series and the seventh installment overall. Directed and produced by Bryan Singer, the film score is composed by his regular collaborator, composer-editor John Ottman, being the first to score more than one film in the X-Men film series, having previously scored X2 (2003).
Valkyrie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album to the 2008 film of the same name directed by Bryan Singer and stars Tom Cruise. John Ottman composed the film's musical score in his fifth collaboration with Singer after Lion's Den (1988), Public Access (1993), The Usual Suspects, (1995) Apt Pupil (1998), X2 (2003) and Superman Returns (2006).
X-Men: Apocalypse is the soundtrack album to the 2016 film X-Men: Apocalypse, based on the X-Men characters appearing in Marvel Comics, and is the seventh mainline installment in the X-Men film series and the seventh installment overall. Directed and produced by Bryan Singer, the film score is composed by his regular collaborator, composer-editor John Ottman, being the first to score more than one film in the X-Men film series, having previously scored X2 (2003) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).