Justin Hurwitz

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Justin Hurwitz
Justin Hurwitz (30116702391) (cropped).jpg
Hurwitz in 2016
Born (1985-01-22) January 22, 1985 (age 39)
Los Angeles, California, U.S. [1]
Education Nicolet High School
Alma mater Harvard University
Occupation(s)Composer, screenwriter

Justin Hurwitz [2] (born January 22, 1985) [1] is an American film composer and a television writer. He is best known for his longtime collaboration with director Damien Chazelle, scoring each of his films: Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009), Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016), First Man (2018), and Babylon (2022). [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

For La La Land, Hurwitz won two Academy Awards, Best Original Score and Best Original Song (for "City of Stars"), as well as the Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music. [7] He won two more Golden Globes for Best Original Score for First Man and Babylon. [1]

Early life

Hurwitz is the son of Gail Hurwitz (née Halabe), a professional ballet dancer turned registered nurse, and Ken Hurwitz, a writer. [8] [9] [10] He is of Jewish heritage (from Russia, Poland, Damascus in Syria, and Beirut in Lebanon). [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] His family moved to Wisconsin in 1998, [9] where he attended Nicolet High School. [16] [17]

Hurwitz attended Harvard University, where he was roommates with director Damien Chazelle. [18] They collaborated on a student film that would become Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench , which was released in 2009. [9] [6] While in school, Hurwitz was a member of the Harvard Lampoon and was an original member of the indie-pop band Chester French with Chazelle. [19]

Career

After college, Hurwitz and Chazelle moved to Los Angeles, where Hurwitz wrote comedy for the sitcom The League and one episode of the animated comedy TV series The Simpsons . [9] Thanks to the success of Guy and Madeline, they were able to obtain financing for their next collaboration, the 2014 film Whiplash – with Hurwitz scoring the film and Chazelle writing and directing. [9] Hurwitz also scored Chazelle's 2016 film La La Land , for which Chazelle won the Oscar for Best Director, and Hurwitz won two Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Hurwitz, Pasek, and Paul will return as songwriters for the upcoming stage musical adaptation of the film, directed by Bartlett Sher from a book by Ayad Akhtar and Matthew Decker, with Marc Platt and Lionsgate returning to produce. [20]

Filmography

Films

YearFilmRole
2009 Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench Composer
2014 Whiplash
2016 La La Land
2018 First Man
2022 Babylon

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011 Perfect Couples WriterEpisode: "Perfect Exes"
2011 The Simpsons Episode: "The Falcon and the D'ohman"
2011–2015 The League 7 episodes
2017–2024 Curb Your Enthusiasm Writer/producer12 episodes

Awards and nominations

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<i>First Man</i> (soundtrack) 2018 soundtrack album by Justin Hurwitz

First Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2018 film First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle. The musical score was composed by Chazelle's usual collaborator and Harvard University classmate, Justin Hurwitz. The score uses electronic, orchestral and vintage sounds. In addition to a 94-piece orchestra, an electronic theremin, a moog synthesiser and several other instruments were used, fused with vintage sound-altering machines during the audio mix. The soundtrack released by Back Lot Music on October 12, 2018, received positive reviews from critics, who praised it for its balance of softer melodic passages and powerful themes. Hurwitz's score received several awards and nominations, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.

<i>Whiplash</i> (soundtrack) 2014 soundtrack album by Justin Hurwitz

Whiplash (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2014 film Whiplash, directed by Damien Chazelle. The soundtrack was released on October 7, 2014, by Varèse Sarabande and features 24 tracks, which were split into three parts. Each part, consists of varied musical selections, original jazz pieces, original underscore parts and classical jazz standards that featured various artists, including Stan Getz, Duke Ellington and other musicians. A deluxe edition of the soundtrack was released in March 2020.

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Babylon (Music from the Motion Picture) is the score album to the 2022 film of the same name directed by Damien Chazelle. The original music composed by Justin Hurwitz, Chazelle's frequent collaborator, which is set for release on December 9, 2022 by Interscope Records, two weeks ahead of the film's release on December 23, features 48 tracks running over an hour. Two of the tracks "Call Me Manny" and "Voodoo Mama" were released on November 11.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Justin Hurwitz". Golden Globes. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  2. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 13, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars". JWeekly .
  3. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 10, 2016). "How 'La La Land' Director Damien Chazelle, His Team & Lionsgate Faced the Music & Resurrected the Original Hollywood Musical". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  4. ↑ "'Moonlight' Named Best Picture by L.A. Film Critics". Yahoo! . 5 December 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ Orr, Christopher (December 9, 2016). "The Novelty and Nostalgia of 'La La Land'". The Atlantic . Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Bryan Abrams (September 23, 2014). "Whiplash Composer Justin Hurwitz Settles the Score". wheretowatch.com.
  7. ↑ "Justin Hurwitz wins best original score in a motion picture at Golden Globes". The Hollywood Reporter . 8 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 13, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars". J. The Jewish News of Northern California . Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Bloom, Nate (February 27, 2017). "News go to the Oscars; Justin Hurwitz's proud Marin mom; etc". J. The Jewish News of Northern California . Both my children are very proud of their Middle Eastern heritage and culture
  10. ↑ Levy, Piet (February 17, 2017). "Oscar-nominated 'La La Land' composer Justin Hurwitz got his start in Milwaukee". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  11. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 23, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars, 2017". Jewish Standard. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  12. ↑ Times of Israel: "La La Land: Who knew it was so Jewish" by Francine Wolfsiz February 27, 2017
  13. ↑ Jerusalem Post: "HOW DID JEWISH TALENT FARE AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES?" January 9, 2017
  14. ↑ Jewish Telegraph Agency: "Oscars 2017: 7 unexpected Jewish facts" By Gabe Friedman February 23, 2017
  15. ↑ Connecticut Jewish Ledger: "La La Land's Jewish composer nominated for Oscar" January 25th, 2017
  16. ↑ Chris Foran (January 9, 2017). "Nicolet's Justin Hurwitz wins 2 Golden Globes". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel .
  17. ↑ TMJ4 News: "Nicolet HS graduate Justin Hurwitz wins 2 Golden Globes for 'La La Land'" by Brandon Rook January 9, 2017
  18. ↑ Walsh, Colleen (January 20, 2017). "From Harvard to 'La La Land'". Harvard Gazette.
  19. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Chester French - Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  20. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (February 7, 2023). "'La La Land' to Become a Broadway Musical". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
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