30-second snippets of Hans Zimmer‘s Man of Steel score have been released.  Zimmer was tapped to score the film before he was even officially approached for the gig.  Everyone simply assumed that Man of Steel producer Christopher Nolan would move his Dark Knight Trilogy composer over to Zack Snyder‘s Superman reboot.  Zimmer eventually took the job, which came with the unenviable task of being in the shadow of John Williams‘ classic Superman theme.  But Zimmer has a long and fairly diverse filmography, although his work does tend to get parodied for its heavy bass-driven punctuations (or “BWAAAAH”s).  Listening to these snippets, about half the score is unmistakably Zimmer (“I Will Find Him” even has the “BWAAAAH” sound) and the other half, such as “Sent Here for a Reason” and “Goodbye My Son” are soft, meditative pieces that are almost worthy of a day spa.

Click over to Amazon to listen to pieces from the score, which will be released in two versions on June 11th.  There will be a regular edition and a deluxe edition that contains six extra tracks.  Man of Steel opens in 3D on June 14th. [Update: We've been provided with the full press release for the soundtrack, which includes detailed information on the soundtrack release. Both the regular and limited edition soundtracks come with a 28-minute track that allows fans to listen to Zimmer's initial experiments with the score, seeing how he laid the foundation for what was to come. Hit the jump for more.]

The first trailer for Ron Howard’s Rush is now online.  The film takes place in the world of Formula 1 racing and chronicles the 1970s rivalry between Austrian driver Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) and British driver James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth).  It’s tough for me to get excited about Howard’s films since he hasn’t made a great one since Apollo 13.  He does have the talent to tell a good story, but after watching the trailer for Rush, the question remains: will we care about the rivalry between Lauda and Hunt, or will we just talk about the excellence of the racing scenes?

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Olivia Wilde.  Rush opens September 20th. [Update: We've added a track from Hans Zimmer's score for the film.  You can list to it after the jump.]

Warner Bros. is taking another stab at Superman with this summer’s Man of Steel, and on top of the pressure of delivering an entertaining and successful take on Supes in the wake of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, the film also follows in the footsteps of Richard Donner’s iconic take on the character.  Fans are crossing their fingers that director Zack Snyder has done Superman justice, but composer Hans Zimmer also has some big shoes to fill with regards to the pic’s score.  John Williams’ classic theme from Superman is synonymous with the character, and so Zimmer tackles the challenge of crafting something entirely different for this new iteration of Superman.

Zimmer recently talked a bit about his approach to the score and following in Williams’ footsteps, revealing that he enlisted some rather famous drummers to help out in the recording process and talking about approaching the score with an eye towards Superman’s desire to be human.  Hit the jump to read on.

There’s been a bit of a behind-the-scenes change on director Gore Verbinski’s upcoming adventure pic The Lone Ranger.  This past April, welcome news came in the form of Jack White signing on to pen the score to Verbinski’s Western, but it appears that scheduling issues have gotten in the way and White has exited the project.  In his stead will be frequent Verbinski collaborator Hans Zimmer, who of course composed the unforgettable score for the director’s Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Disney explained in a statement (via The Playlist) that White “has contributed several pieces of music to the production,” but became logistically unavailable when the film’s release date was pushed from May to July.  It’s a bummer that we won’t get to hear an original Western score from White, but Zimmer isn’t too shabby as a replacement.  Hopefully White’s work will see the light of day at some point, either in the finished film as a couple of standalone tracks or as part of an EP  The Lone Ranger is set to open on July 3, 2013.

Academy Award-winning scribe Akiva Goldsman’s directorial debut is filling out its cast.  The A Beautiful Mind screenwriter already has Colin Farrell set as the lead in his adaptation of Mark Helprin’s novel Winter’s Tale with Russell Crowe and Will Smith taking (relatively small) supporting roles, and now Deadline reports that Matt Bomer (White Collar), Lucy Griffiths (True Blood) and legendary actress Eva Marie Saint (North By Northwest) have joined the cast.  The fantasy tale tells the story of a thief, a dying girl, and a flying white horse in 19th century and contemporary Manhattan, with Farrell playing the thief.

Bomer and Griffiths will play Farrell’s parents, but Saint’s pivotal role is being kept under wraps.  The report also adds that Hans Zimmer will perform scoring duties on the pic.  Goldsman has rounded up an impressive supporting cast, including William Hurt and Jessica Brown Findlay, with production set to begin in New York on October 27th.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel.

Warner Bros. and director Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel has been a giant question mark for fans for quite some time.  We finally got our look at the first footage from the film at Comic-Con, and the general public was treated to a significantly truncated version of that footage by way of the film’s first teaser trailer.  Noticeably absent were Snyder’s trademark slow motion and stylized camera movements, instead replaced by a grittiness and real world grounding reminiscent of one Christopher Nolan (which isn’t exactly a surprise given that Nolan is Man of Steel’s producer).

Though Snyder and star Henry Cavill took part in the Man of Steel Comic-Con panel, the director didn’t really talk much about his approach to the character at the time.  Snyder has now spoken up a bit about his Superman in Man of Steel and why acknowledging John Williams’ classic score from the previous films wasn’t an option.  Hit the jump for more.

The Dark Knight Rises is a very big movie.  From the large cast, to the massive sets, to the impossible practical effects, Christopher Nolan crafted the film as his “epic” conclusion to The Dark Knight trilogy in every sense of the word.  One of the crucial aspects of the film that people may gloss over is the sound.  A super interesting video featuring composer Hans Zimmer and supervising sound editor/sound designer Richard King discussing the sound of the film has been released via the fine folks at SoundWorks, and it’s a fascinating watch.  Hit the jump for more.

We’re all still reeling from the tragedy that struck Aurora, Colorado last weekend, none moreso than the victims and family members affected by the senseless crime.  Hans Zimmer, who composed the score for The Dark Knight Rises, has now written and recorded a new composition titled “Aurora.” Here’s what Zimmer had to say about the track on his Facebook page:

“Aurora” is dedicated to those who lost their lives and were affected by the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. I recorded this song in London in the days following the tragedy as a heartfelt tribute to the victims and their families.

100% of the proceeds from the track will be donated to the Aurora Victim Relief organization.  It’s a moving composition, and it provides film lovers like us an easy opportunity to pay tribute to those that lost their lives simply for going to the movies.  The track will be up on iTunes shortly, but for now you can head over to this page to download the composition and make a donation.  Even if it’s just 10 cents, every little bit helps.

The full soundtrack for The Dark Knight Rises is now streaming online.  We previously posted 30-second clips from each track, but now you can listen to the every song in its entirety.  After listening to the first few tracks, I like what I’m hearing.  The aggressive blaring horns from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight have been replaced with aggressive percussion that sounds almost tribal.  Also, if you’d like to hear the track that was used in this trailer, it’s “Gotham’s Reckoning”.  It’s worth pointing out that while Hans Zimmer previously teamed with James Newton Howard on the previous two Batman films, this score is Zimmer going solo.

Hit the jump to listen to the soundtrack, which will be available to buy and download on July 16th.  The film stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20th. [NOTE: The track titles don't have a explicit spoilers like "Death of Qui-Gon" or anything like that.]

Still need to hype up even more for the upcoming release of Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight Rises?  Fourteen minutes of samples from Hans Zimmer‘s score for the film are now online in one continuous clip (with track notes), though we previously heard samples of the score early last month. The preview comes on the heels of Warner Bros finally releasing an official plot synopsis that confirms that the events of the new film will take place eight years after the last installment.  Hit the jump for more on the plot as well as the score.

In a move that’s not entirely surprising, composer Hans Zimmer will be handling the score for director Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel.  Zimmer’s frequent collaborator Christopher Nolan is producing Man of Steel, and this news is yet another sign that the exiting shepherd of the Batman franchise is intricately involved in the reimaging of Supes.  This marks the first Snyder film that won’t be composed by Tyler Bates, but I’m not exactly broken up about it.

Variety’s report doesn’t mention whether Zimmer will pay homage to John Williams’ original Superman theme or not, but I would wager no.  John Ottoman already did as much with Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, and Zimmer will likely want to craft a sound that fits Snyder’s iteration of the character.  Judging by the rather dark title treatment and set photos we’ve seen (as well as Nolan’s involvement), Man of Steel will be more Batman Begins than Superman Returns.  If you’re a big Zimmer fan, check out Steve’s video interview with the composer in which he shows Steve around his studio.  Hit the jump to sample some of Zimmer’s more memorable works.

Easily one of the most widely known composers working today, Hans Zimmer’s variety of compositions ranges from bombastic (Pirates of the Caribbean) to ethereal (Gladiator) to bubbly (The Holiday).  In addition to scoring an average of 27 films a year, the composer has also worked up a nice collaboration with director Christopher Nolan having done the first two Batman films and 2010’s Inception.  He returns as composer for The Dark Knight Rises, though this time he’s taking the reins without James Newton Howard, who collaborated with Zimmer on Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  We recently got our first look at the track listing for the Dark Knight Rises soundtrack, and now 30-second samples of Zimmer’s score have landed online that give us a nice tease of what the composer has cooked up for the villain Bane.

Hit the jump to take a listen.  The soundtrack will be available on July 17th, while The Dark Knight Rises opens on July 20th.

Now that you’ve (hopefully) scored your tickets to the concluding entry in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, it’s time to start making logistical preparations for the sure-to-be-packed midnight event at your local theater.  In the meantime, Warner Bros. has marked the ticket sale occasion by releasing a new TV spot for The Dark Knight Rises that shows a bit of new footage.  Yes, the doom and gloom continues with Michael Caine’s Alfred proclaiming that Bane was “born and raised in hell on earth,” but I’m happy to see some shades of the humor that was sprinkled throughout Batman Begins but was more or less absent in the earnest yet swell follow-up The Dark Knight.  Additionally, the soundtrack listing for Hans Zimmer’s score has also landed online along with possible artwork.

Hit the jump to check out the latest TV spot and soundtrack listing.  The film also stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard and Morgan Freeman.  The Dark Knight Rises opens on July 20th.

Admittedly, I have fallen off of the beaten path with regards to checking out awards season contenders in the theaters this year. That said, I’m hoping to begin turning all of that around this afternoon as a matinee of director Jason Reitman’s Young Adult is currently on my Saturday itinerary. While I can’t claim to be a huge Diablo Cody fan (I tend to think her characters all sound the same…as in, exactly like Diablo Cody), I’m almost always happy with Reitman’s work. Moreover, Charlize Theron looks to be in rare comedic form (an arena she doesn’t always find herself in, but one she undoubtedly has the chops to pull off). All in all, here’s to hoping that my Young Adult screening is just the tip of my awards season iceberg. In the meantime…

…In this week’s “Top 5″ installment, you’ll find a slew of interviews for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, a number of new assets from director Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man, a recap of this crazy week in trailers, a rundown of the 69th Annual Golden Globes nods, and a light musing regarding Bridesmaids‘ awards season chances. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each of the above.

With a career that spans three decades and encompasses well over 100 films, Hans Zimmer is one of the film industry’s leading and most influential composers. At the press junket for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Collider got the opportunity to talk to him for this exclusive interview about the challenges of scoring a sequel, incorporating the culture of the characters, particularly with the Gypsy music in the film, how much fun he had scoring for Moriarty, and that he enjoys the family atmosphere of this franchise.

He also talked about his attempt to create a sound for The Dark Knight Rises that nobody has ever heard, opening it up for the fans of the franchise to record themselves chanting, the influence that reviews and online posts have, especially when it comes to The Dark Knight franchise, and his anthem for Amnesty International’s 50^th anniversary. Check out what he had to say after the jump: