James Newton Howard is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores include Pretty Woman (1990), The Prince of Tides (1991), The Fugitive (1993), Space Jam (1996), Dinosaur (2000), Peter Pan (2003), King Kong (2005), Batman Begins (2005) and its sequel The Dark Knight (2008) which he composed with Hans Zimmer, The Hunger Games franchise (2012–2023), Fantastic Beasts trilogy (2016–2022), and Jungle Cruise (2021). He has collaborated extensively with directors M. Night Shyamalan and Francis Lawrence, having scored eight of Shyamalan's films since The Sixth Sense (1999) and all of Lawrence's films since I Am Legend (2007). He has also worked with such other directors as Edward Zwick, Michael Hoffman, P.J. Hogan, Andrew Davis, Lawrence Kasdan, Joe Johnston, Taylor Hackford, Ivan Reitman, Joel Schumacher, David Yates, and Barbra Streisand.
Batman Begins: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. It was released on June 15, 2005. The soundtrack drew from the film score, composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, as well as contributions by Ramin Djawadi, Lorne Balfe and Mel Wesson.
The Dark Knight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2008 film of the same name, which is a sequel to Christopher Nolan's 2005 film Batman Begins. The soundtrack was released on July 15, 2008, in three editions: CD, limited edition CD digipak, and digital download. The 2-CD Special Edition was released on December 9, along with the DVD. A limited edition 180-gram vinyl LP was released on August 12. The soundtrack was composed by Batman Begins collaborators Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard and recorded in April.
Maya Beiser is an American musician, cellist, performing artist and producer who lives in New York City. Beiser was raised on a kibbutz in Israel by her French mother and Argentine father, and graduated from Yale University School of Music. She has been described by the Boston Globe as "a force of nature", "a cello goddess" by The New Yorker and "the reigning queen of the avant-garde cello" by The Washington Post. Beiser is a 2015 United States Artists Distinguished Music Fellow and the Inaugural Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist at the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology.
The Last Airbender is the soundtrack album of the fantasy adventure film The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The score was composed by James Newton Howard. It was released on June 29, 2010, by Lakeshore Records.
Gnomeo & Juliet is the soundtrack to the 2011 film Gnomeo & Juliet released on February 1, 2011 by Walt Disney Records' imprint label Buena Vista Records. The album featured music from Elton John, who was also the film's executive producer, who also composed two original songs for the film with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. The album also featured selections from James Newton Howard and Chris Bacon's score compositions.
"Breath of Life" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, recorded exclusively for the film Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). The song was cowritten and produced by Isabella Summers and orchestrated by James Newton Howard. It was released on 26 April 2012 on iTunes. "Breath of Life" peaked at number eighty-seven on the UK Singles Chart and was nominated for the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.
Snow White & the Huntsman is a 2012 American fantasy film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" compiled by the Brothers Grimm. The directorial debut of Rupert Sanders, it was written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini, from a screen story by Daugherty. The cast includes Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, and Bob Hoskins in his final film performance. In the film's retelling of the tale, Snow White grows up imprisoned by her evil stepmother, Queen Ravenna, a powerful sorceress. After Snow White escapes into the forest, Ravenna enlists Eric the Huntsman to capture her, but he becomes her companion in a quest to overthrow Ravenna.
The 12th World Soundtrack Awards were given on 20 October 2012 at the Kuipke Events Centre in Ghent, Belgium.
The Hunger Games: Original Motion Picture Score is the soundtrack to the 2012 film The Hunger Games, based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins, and it is the first installment in The Hunger Games film series. The score was initially intended to be composed by Danny Elfman in his collaboration with T Bone Burnett, however, James Newton Howard replaced Elfman as the composer. It was released by Universal Republic Records on March 26, 2012.
"The Hanging Tree" is a song by American composer James Newton Howard featuring vocals from American actress Jennifer Lawrence. It was written by Suzanne Collins and composed by Howard, Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz from the band the Lumineers. The song was released by Republic Records on December 9, 2014, as the second single from the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014). It was first included in the film's score album but was later added to the digital extended edition of the film's soundtrack. "The Hanging Tree" is a folk ballad that features orchestral strings and a choir.
The Huntsman: Winter's War is a 2016 American fantasy action-adventure film and both a prequel and sequel to Snow White & the Huntsman (2012). As the directorial debut of Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, it takes place before and after the events of the first film. The screenplay was written by Craig Mazin and Evan Spiliotopoulos and is based on characters created by Evan Daugherty.. Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Nick Frost and Sam Claflin reprised their roles from the first film; the sequel also introduced new characters played by Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain and Rob Brydon.
King Kong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the epic adventure monster film King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson. The film's music was initially set to be composed by Howard Shore, who recorded several cues for the film but opted out due to creative differences with the director. James Newton Howard replaced him and work on the film's score began in late October and was completed in late November, an overall duration of under six weeks. Howard stated that the film "[w]as the hardest to compose" due to the hectic scoring schedule as the film was set for release on December 14, 2005.
Treasure Planet (An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2002 animated science fiction action-adventure film Treasure Planet. The album features seventeen tracks – fifteen tracks from the score composed by James Newton Howard, and also featured two pop singles: "I'm Still Here" and "Always Know Where You Are". Walt Disney Records released the film's soundtrack album on November 19, 2002. The film's score received positive critical reception, with praise directed on Howard's composition.
Raya and the Last Dragon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the 2021 animated film Raya and the Last Dragon. The film score was composed by James Newton Howard, scoring an animated film for the first time in 19 years since Disney's Treasure Planet (2002). The album features 24 tracks and was released by Walt Disney Records on February 26, 2021. Jhené Aiko wrote and performed a song entitled "Lead the Way" for the end credits.
Maleficent (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album composed by James Newton Howard for the 2014 film Maleficent, based on the Disney villain character Maleficent from the animated film Sleeping Beauty (1959). The film is a live-action spin-off of Sleeping Beauty, and is loosely inspired from Charles Perrault's original fairy tale. Directed by Robert Stromberg, the film stars Angelina Jolie in the titular character.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album composed and produced by James Newton Howard for the 2018 film of the same name. The film marked Howard's second score for a live-action Disney film after Maleficent (2014). Howard, about the film score, described it as "The score is very traditional – a big orchestra score – with lots of woodwinds and strings, plus tinkle bells and celeste and chorale music".
The Bourne Legacy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2012 film The Bourne Legacy, which is the fourth installment in the series of films adapted from the Jason Bourne novels by Robert Ludlum and Eric Van Lustbader. The musical score is composed by James Newton Howard, becoming the first film in the series not to be composed by John Powell, who provided music for previous Bourne installments, due to his interest in scoring animated films. The album was digitally released through Back Lot Music on August 7, 2012, and a physical release by Varèse Sarabande on August 21, 2012. The album featured a new version of Moby's "Extreme Ways" subtitled with "Bourne's Legacy" released as a single on July 31. The music received mixed critical response.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is the score album to the 2014 film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, based on the 2010 novel Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. The sequel to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), it is the third installment in The Hunger Games film series. James Newton Howard who composed music for the previous installments, returned to score for Mockingjay – Part 1. The soundtrack was released by Republic Records on November 24, 2014, three days after the film's release. It includes Howard's score along with the original song "The Hanging Tree" performed by Jennifer Lawrence.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is the soundtrack album to the 2015 film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, which is the fourth installment in The Hunger Games franchise. It served as the continuation to Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) based on the 2010 novel Mockingjay and covered the remaining events of the novel. The film is scored by the recurring franchise collaborator James Newton Howard which released on November 23, 2015 through Republic Records, complimenting Howard's original score and the song "Deep in the Meadow" performed by Jennifer Lawrence that originally appeared in the predecessor, and again re-appeared in the film's end credits. In the album, it is accompanied by two suite pieces: "There Are Worse Games to Play" and the Hunger Games suite as a medley. A remixed version of the song, produced by Baauer was later unveiled separately. Unlike the predecessors, there is no additional pop companion album inspired by the film.
