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Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard interview

Batman — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:58:55 +0000

Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard were recently featured on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic”; on their website you can listen to the interview and excerpts of the soundtrack or read the transcript.

Zimmer explains that each of the characters were so distinct, clearly defined and powerful that each could have musical identities that were very separate. In fact, the collaborators often split the work — Newton tackled the music for Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart, while Zimmer created the Joker’s theme.

“I kept churning around…how do you describe anarchy, how do you describe a villian and not do it in a way that’s been done before? One of the things I got very much from the character was a fearlessness, and an evenness in a way. The Joker is the only person you can trust in the movie. The Joker is the only one who will never lie to you because he is consistent about his philosophy,” said Zimmer.

“I really wanted to do the whole thing just with one note. I had this idea that rather than what a note is in the context of the notes surrounding it, what could I do emotionally through a performance within one note? How much can I stretch the meaning of a single note and get it down to such minimalism. I failed slightly. I had to use two notes in the end.”

Thanks Rachel!

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Soundtrack now eligible for Oscar nomination

Batman — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:21:37 +0000

In a turnaround it appears that the James Newton Howard/Hans Zimmer soundtrack is once again eligible for an Academy Award nomination. It had previously been ruled out (Nov 10th) because 5 composers were named on the cue sheet; which was deemed to be too many. In response the ‘affected parties’ submitted information to the contrary, leading The Music Branch Executive Committee to conclude that Zimmer and Howard had authorship of the score, putting the music back in contention for an Oscar.

Source: Variety

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Dark Knight 2 disc special edition soundtrack

Batman — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:09:42 +0000

A 2 CD special edition of the Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard soundtrack featuring bonus remixes and new tracks will be released on December 9th.

From the press release,

‘The Dark Knight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’ returns with the ASCAP-winning composers from Batman Begins– Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard for a powerful orchestral score. The Special Edition features the complete score on two CD’s plus four bonus remix tracks; it also contains an 8x8x40 page hardbound book.

Disc: 1
1. Why So Serious?
2. I’m Not A Hero
3. Harvey Two-Face
4. Aggressive Expansion
5. Always A Catch
6. Blood On My Hands
7. A Little Push
8. Like A Dog Chasing Cars
9. I Am The Batman
10. And I Thought My Jokes Were Bad
11. Agent Of Chaos
12. Introduce A Little Anarchy
13. Watch The World Burn
14. A Dark Knight

Disc: 2
1. Bank Robbery (Prologue)
2. Buyer Beware
3. Halfway To Hong Kong
4. Decent Men In An Indecent Time
5. You’re Gonna Love Me
6. Chance
7. You Complete Me
8. The Ferries
9. We Are Tonight’s Entertainment
10. A Watchful Guardian
11. Why So Serious?(The Crystal Method Remix)
12. Poor Choice Of Words(Paul van Dyk Remix)
13. Gunpowder And Gasoline(Remix by Mel Wesson)
14. Rory’s First Kiss(Remix by Ryeland Allison)

Buy the Dark Knight 2 Disc Special Edition Soundtrack from Amazon | Official Score Website

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The Dark Knight Soundtrack

Batman — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:39:40 +0000

The release date for the soundtrack has been announced. It will be released on July 15th. More information can be found here.

Warner Bros. Records will release four different configurations of The Dark Knight soundtrack: a standard jewel case CD, a 2 LP set of heavy-weight 180 gram vinyl version, a special edition digipack, and a collector’s edition with special artwork to come after release.

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