James Newton Howard

Listen to Taylor Swift’s “Safe and Sound” from THE HUNGER GAMES Soundtrack

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 23rd, 2011 at 10:27 am

In addition to weapons and teenage murder, music plays a crucial role in Suzanne Collins‘s The Hunger Games. Director Gary Ross recruited producer/songwriter T. Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart) and composer James Newton Howard (replacing Danny Elfman who dropped out due to scheduling issues) to collaborate on the ambitious soundtrack for the feature film adaptation, which is set to feature music and songs both for the film and ones by new and established artists inspired by the film. Today, none other than Taylor Swift has released the first song from the soundtrack.

Swift and singer-songwriter duo The Civil Wars have collaborated on a track entitled “Safe and Sound.” Given her far-reaching commercial appeal, Swift seems an obvious choice to have the first track out of the gate. While many may groan at the thought of a pop-heavy soundtrack, this is likely the first of many tracks and collaborations we’ll be seeing and I’m hopeful for a diverse talent pool (my fingers are crossed for a Mumford & Sons appearance). Hit the jump to listen to Swift’s track. The Hunger Games opens on March 23rd.

James Newton Howard Replaces Danny Elfman as Composer on THE HUNGER GAMES

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 5th, 2011 at 7:39 pm

Composer Danny Elfman has had to drop out of scoring Gary Ross’ highly anticipated adaptation of The Hunger Games. Variety reports that Elfman is unable to fulfill his commitment on the project due to scheduling conflicts (Men in Black III and Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows), and James Newton Howard has stepped in as his replacement. Back in June it was announced that Elfman would be collaborating on the project with producer T. Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart) on what would be an ambitious multi-album undertaking that included not only music and songs for the film, but a collection of songs influenced by the film from new and established artists.

Though Elfman is departing, Burnett remains onboard and Variety says the transition will be seamless and will have no effect on post-production. Music plays a crucial role in The Hunger Games, with two highly important songs. I’m curious as to whether they had started work on those yet or if Howard will begin from scratch. Howard is an okay choice (his work includes Defiance, Michael Clayton, and The Dark Knight), but I was really looking forward to seeing what Elfman had in store. The Hunger Games opens March 23rd.

Composer’s James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer Exclusive Interview – 2009 Saturn Awards

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: June 28th, 2009 at 9:39 pm

If you watch movies, you’re heard the music of James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer. That’s because between the two of them, they’ve composed the music for over two hundred movies. Take a look at their IMDB pages. You’ll be blown away.

Anyway, the other night was the Saturn Awards and the two won for Best Music for “The Dark Knight”. After they won, I was able to speak with them for a few minutes backstage and after the jump is the interview. We talked about what winning meant to them, composing the music, and what they’re working on now.

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