POWELL TO SCORE "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON"

Powell will score the upcoming DreamWorks movie "How To Train Your Dragon" directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders.   Due for release in March 2010 and based on Cressida Cowell's novel, the story follows the son on a Viking who trains his toothless dragon to become a hero.   This will be Powell's fourth animation outing with DreamWorks after "Antz", "Shrek" and "Kung Fu Panda".

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 26th April 2009 | Time:9:46 AM | Edits: 0

POWELL WINS TWO ANNIES

Powell (with Hans Zimmer and Henry Jackman) have successfully won two Annie awards for their work on Kung Fu Panda.   The second award however goes to a nomination I missed completely - Secrets Of The Furious Five - which is a short based around none other than Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper and Crane.   Congratulations to all three of them on their wins!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 1st February 2009 | Time:10:00 AM | Edits: 0

POWELL NOMINATED FOR TWO ANNIES

Powell has been nominated for two Annie awards for his work on "Horton Hears A Who!" and "Kung Fu Panda" (with Hans Zimmer).   In the past, Powell has also been nominated for Annies for "Ice Age: The Meltdown" and "Antz", and he also won one (with Harry Gregson-Williams) on "Shrek".   The winners of the 2008 awards will be announced on January 30th at the UCLA's Royce Hall in LA.   Best of luck to Powell and Zimmer!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 6th January 2009 | Time: 8:35 AM | Edits: 0

JOHN ASHTON THOMAS INTERVIEW ON "BOLT"

Fellow orchestrator and arranger to Powell, John Ashton Thomas, has kindly given an interview with Animated Views on is work on Bolt.   Click here to go to the interview!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 2nd December 2008 | Time: 8:21 AM | Edits: 0

"BOLT" SOUNDTRACK ANNOUNCED

Walt Disney Records will be releasing the soundtrack to "Bolt" on November 18th.   More details to follow soon...

Edit: November 7th - To read the full press release, click here.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 5th September 2008 | Time: 7:26 PM | Edits: 1

POWELL NOMINATED FOR A FIFTH WORLD SOUNDTRACK AWARD

Powell has been nominated for his fifth World Soundtrack Award, once again in the category of "composer of the year" for his score to "The Bourne Ultimatum".   His four previous nominations (but unfortunately no wins) were for "Happy Feet", "Ice Age: The Meltdown" and two for "The Bourne Supremacy".   Other nominated scores in the category this year include "Atonement" by Dario Marianelli  and "The Golden Compass" by Alexandre Desplat.   The results will be announced on October 18th, at the WSA in Ghent, Belgium.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 27th August 2008 | Time: 7:31 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL ON "DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS"

While certainly not the most surprising news in the world, but still good nonetheless, Powell is set to score "Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs".   The third movie in the Ice Age series sees Sid, Manny and Diego (and Scrat!) go up against our favourite creatures from the Triassic period.   Again voiced by John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Ray Romano, and with Carlos Saldanha at the helm, "Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs" will hit theaters 1st July 2009.

An interesting fact for fans: This will only be the third "sequel" score Powell has written.   The previous two were "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum". 

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 15th July 2008 | Time: 8:03 PM | Edits: 0

GHENT FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATING 35TH YEAR WITH FREE CONCERT

Dirk Brossé will be conducting the Flemish Radio Orchestra on 21st July in Ghent, Belgium.   The free concert is to celebrate the 35th year of the Ghent Film Festival, and several Powell favorites will be performed.   

As heard at the World Soundtrack Awards (part of the festival) in 2006, "The Meltdown" from "Ice Age: The Meltdown" and "Assassin's Tango" from "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" will be played.   Also featured at the awards in 2007, the suite from the "Shrek" films will be performed, which features "Ride The Dragon" (a Powell cue,).

As the name suggests, it's free, so no need to purchase tickets - just turn up!   Rather than being held in the church the awards are usually in, it's an open air concert which will be held outside Sint-Baafs Plein (St. Bavo's Cathedral).   Click here for directions etc. on Google Maps.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 5th July 2008 | Time: 3:35 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL DEFINITELY ON "KUNG FU PANDA"

If you'll look a couple of posts down you'll see the original info I put up about "Kung Fu Panda".   Dreamworks have now confirmed that Powell and Zimmer are teaming up for a third time to score the movie.   The CGI film is about a lazy Panda who must somehow become a Kung Fu master to protect his valley from a villainous snow leopard.   The movie stars (a lot of famous voices including) Jack Black, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Ian McShane and Angelina Jolie, and it's slated for a June release.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 22nd March 2008 | Time: 9:46 PM | Edits: 0

HORTON HITS EARLY

Similar to the recent release of "Jumper", the score to "Horton Hears A Who!" has made its debut on several (area specific!) digital download services.   The CD version isn't available until the 25th March, so if you really want to hear it early then head over to Play.com if you're in the UK or Musicload if you're in Germany.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 16th March 2008 | Time: 3:16 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL (PROBABLY) ON "KUNG FU PANDA"

While we've only recognised "Kung Fu Panda" as being one of Hans Zimmer's latest projects, it's looking very likely that Powell is again joining Zimmer to co-compose the score.   Powell and Zimmer previously teamed up on scores like "The Road To El Dorado" and "Chill Factor".   While nothing has been confirmed (only a few random posts on the internet so far) it's pretty safe to consider this as true.   I'll only add it to the "rumored/unconfirmed list" in the Filmography for now, but hopefully I'll be able to move it to the "main projects" some time soon!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 14th March 2008 | Time: 5:13 PM | Edits: 0

"P.S., I LOVE YOU" GETS A SCORE RELEASE

For all those who had given up hope, Varèse Sarabande have come to lend a hand!   "P.S., I Love You", the romantic comedy starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, will finally get a score release on the 24th April.   Just an interesting fact - this now means that every single Powell score since "Mr. 3000" (way back in 2004) has been released in one form or another.   Pretty impressive.   Keep checking the site for new info on "P.S., I Love You"!   Its block in the Discography has now been added! 

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 11th March 2008 | Time: 5:31 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO SCORE "BOLT"

Powell is down to score the new Disney animation "Bolt".   The film is about a German Shepard dog that stars in his own action TV show, which in turn makes him believe he has super powers.   Not the most realistic story pitch I've heard but nevertheless it's another score to look forward to.   The film is directed by Chris Williams (writer of "Mulan" and "The Emperor's New Groove") and stars John Travolta, Woody Harrelson and Bruce Greenwood.   It's slated for a November release.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 15th February 2008 | Time: 4:58 PM | Edits: 0

"JUMPER" HITS EARLY

For those of you disappointed by the pushed-back release date of "Jumper" (from 12th to the 19th February), don't fret as unsurprisingly it's still had its debut on iTunes on the original planned date.   Yes, that means it's out today, now, this instant!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 12th February 2008 | Time: 6:12 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL JUMPS TO AUSTRALIA

Remote scoring sessions may be the way forward for the music industry, in order to keep costs down and quality high.   "P.S., I Love You" and "Jumper" have been the first "remotely recorded" scores to be completed at Sydney's Trackdown Scoring Stage.   While Powell set foot in Sydney on 8 various occasions to record "Happy Feet", his two latest projects have seen him recording the score from the comfort of his very own home.

The main element of recording this way is a real-time connection between the teams in LA and Sydney.   An audio stream allows Powell and his team of orchestrators in LA to talk privately with the conductor, or to the entire orchestra, and send demos and backing tracks straight to Trackdown.   The sessions are also streamed back live to LA.

Standard policy in Australia allowed the orchestra to be recorded with no residuals, meaning lower production costs.   Keep an eye out for more "virtual" Powell scores in the future!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 9th February 2008 | Time: 9:43 AM | Edits: 0

POWELL THE 52ND HOTTEST PERSON IN HOLLYWOOD

British magazine, Total Film, has ranked Powell as the 52nd hottest person in Hollywood.   The article reads:

'"Tunesmith of choice for Bourne boys Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass, Powell did remarkable note-work on the series - propelling the carnage yet still finding space for emotion.   He's versatile too, with pulsating action scores flip-flopping for comedy-hits.   Past highlights include brilliantly playful compositions for animated fares such as "Shrek", "Robots", "Ice Age: The Meltdown" and "Happy Feet"."

Clint Mansell was the only other composer to rank in the top 100, at number 76.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 21st January 2008 | Time: 6:13 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO SCORE "GREEN ZONE"

Not exactly the biggest surprise in the world, but at least it's now been confirmed - Powell is to score the Paul Greengrass film "Green Zone".   The film stars Matt Damon, Amy Ryan and Greg Kinnear and follows the story of two CIA agents tracking Weapons Of Mass Destruction in the Middle East, and a newspaper correspondent following their mission.   The film is due for release some time in 2009.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 19th January 2008 | Time: 3:24 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO SCORE "HANCOCK"

Powell has been confirmed to score the Peter Berg action/comedy/drama "Hancock" starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize Theron.   The movie is about a hard-living superhero (Smith) who's fallen out of favor with the public and is trying to repair his image.   The film is due for release in early July.   Just so people know, there's already a trailer out there, so check it out if you're interested!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 15th January 2008 | Time: 10:18 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL NOMINATED FOR A GRAMMY

Well it's nearly a year old now, but the score to "Happy Feet" still seems to be impressing people, most recently the judges for the Grammys.   The score falls into the category of "Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media" which also includes scores such as "Blood Diamond" by James Newton Howard, "Pan's Labyrinth" by Javier Navarrete and "Ratatouille" by Michael Giacchino.   The winner will be announced on February 10th 2008.   Best of luck to Powell!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 7th December 2007 | Time: 6:56 PM | Edits: 0

"P.S., I LOVE YOU" SOUNDTRACK ANNOUNCED

Atlantic Records have announced their release of the soundtrack to "P.S, I Love You", which will be in stores on December 4th.   That's the good news.   The bad news however, is that it's just a soundtrack release - not a score one.   While it contains one track by Powell ("Kisses And Cake"), there's still no word of a score release.   I would be surprised if one isn't announced soon, so keep your eyes open.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 15th November 2007 | Time: 3:04 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO SCORE "JUMPER"

Powell is unsurprisingly going to score Doug Liman's "Jumper", a sci-fi adventure film about a young man who can teleport himself anywhere.   The film stars Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson and is due for release in February 2008.   

After taking scoring duties for Liman's past two films, "The Bourne Identity" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", it came as no surprise to see Powell had been called upon again for this movie.   Let's hope we get an interesting and exciting score!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 15th October 2007 | Time: 12:23 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL NOMINATED FOR TWO FILM & TV MUSIC AWARDS

Powell has been nominated for two Film & TV music awards (a new award program for the film and TV industry).   Nominations are in the categories of "Best Score For A Dramatic Feature Film" for "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Best Score For An Animated Feature Film" for "Happy Feet".   The winners will be announced shortly but for now more info about the awards can be found here.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 3rd October 2007 | Time: 10:59 AM | Edits: 0

THE GREAT RETURN

Again, apologies for the downtime over the past couple of weeks.   Moving servers was more of a pain than it should have been but now that's all sorted you can enjoy the new design!

Everything that was on the site before is here now (if it's not then it will be in a few days), however some bits of info have been moved around.   If you glance up to the menu above, you'll see there is a new "Discography" section.   This is replacing the "Collectors' Guide" from the old site and covers each release in more detail.

The "Filmography" has also changed a bit, now serving as a big list of all of Powell's projects instead of a hub to the various commercial releases.   The "Other Projects" list is still located in this.

If there's anything else you can't find, check the new "FAQ" located in the "Features" section, and if that doesn't help then please continue to contact me!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 21st September | Time: 4:56 PM | Edits: 0

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN POWELL

Happy 44th Birthday (for 18th September)!   Again, all the best, and let's hope for another year of interesting and exciting scores!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 18th September | Time: 11:48 AM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO ATTEND THE "MUSIC SOUNDTRACK SERIES"

Powell is to attend the third session of "The Music Soundtrack Series", organised by the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on October 4th.   Held at the Linwood Dunn Theatre in LA, other composers attending the third session include Michael Giacchino and George S. Clinton.   The composers will talk about a variety of topics before handing over to the audience for questions.

Two other sessions, which include composers such as Bruce Broughton and Lalo Schifrin will be held on September 20th and September 27th.   Tickets will soon be available on the Academy's website here.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 30th August 2007 | Time: 2:42 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL NOMINATED FOR ANOTHER WORLD SOUNDTRACK AWARD

Powell has been nominated for another World Soundtrack Award, again, for the Film Composer Of The Year award, this time for his work on "Happy Feet".   Powell was nominated for the same award last year for his score to "Ice Age: The Meltdown" however did not win.   Other nominated composers in this category include Phillip Glass, Alexandre Desplat and Harry Gregson-Williams.

The seventh World Soundtrack Awards will once again be held in Ghent, Belgium, this year on 20th October.   There will once again be a concert after the awards ceremony.   Several guest composers are to attend, however the only one confirmed so far is Mychael Danna.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 21st August 2007 | Time: 2:42 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL'S MUSIC ON BBC PROMS

A suite from "Chicken Run" is to appear tonight on the the BBC Proms on BBC2 at 6:05PM (GMT).   The concert took place on the 14th July and the BBC are showing the highlights this evening.   It was performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and was conducted by John Wilson.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 28th July 2007 | Time: 9:04 AM | Edits: 0

OFF TO ÚBEDA

I'm posting this now as I don't know how early I have to get up tomorrow.   Just thought I'd let people know that there will be no updates to the site or replies to any e-mails for the next five or six days due to Úbeda.   Once again I'll be taking my camera so I hope to get some sessions and interviews recorded, all ready to be put up on the site when I get back!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 17h July 2007 | Time: 3:18 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL SCORES "STOP LOSS"

Earlier this week, Powell was at the Todd-AO scoring stage recording his score to "Stop Loss".   Dan Goldwasser over at SoundtrackNet has provided photos of the session.   Check out the article here.

"Stop Loss", written and directed by Kimberly Peirce is about the story of a soldier who refuses to go back to battle despite a Government mandate that orders him to do so.   The film stars Ryan Philippe and is to be released by Paramount Pictures in April 2008.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 13th July 2007 | Time: 12:47 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO SCORE "P.S., I LOVE YOU"

I won't make a big deal about this as very little information is known at the moment, plus there hasn't been a press release yet.   But anyway, Powell is down to score "P.S., I Love You".   The film is a comedy/drama about a widow who discovers that her late husband left her 10 messages that help her ease the pain caused by her loss, and also help her get her life back together.

The film is directed by Richard LaGravenese and stars Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.

Powell has apparently been busy scoring some (if not all) of the film already, and fans that are lucky enough to attend the International Film Music Conference in Úbeda in a couple of weeks will get to hear the cue "The Meeting" from it!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 9th July 2007 | Time: 12:35 PM | Edits: 0

FINAL ÚBEDA CONCERT DETAILS ANNOUNCED

Yesterday, the BSOSpirit Society released final details about the concert taking place at the International Film Music Conference in Úbeda, Spain between 19th and 22nd July.   While there have been slight changes all around, the biggest are in Powell's court:

- The suite from "X-Men: The Last Stand" has been confirmed to be the "Finale" cue from the film ("The Last Stand" on the soundtrack).   This is the same performance as Ghent, however this time there should be a choir!

- There is no longer going to be a performance from "Ice Age: The Meltdown", which is a shame as it was the best performance at Ghent.

- "Building The Crate" from "Chicken Run" will still be played - excellent!   Kazoos too?

- A cue from "The Bourne Ultimatum" called "Faces Without Names" will apparently be played - this will be a first listen!

- Lastly, a cue called "The Meeting" from something called "P.S I Love You" will be played.   I assume this is an upcoming project that we know nothing about yet!

Also I can confirm I will be in Úbeda from the 18th to 23rd, so expect a lot of information, photos and videos when I get back!   I will hopefully have a T-shirt with the site logo on, so if you see me there then don't hesitate to say hi!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 4th July 2007 | Time: 9:10AM | Edits: 0

ÚBEDA CONCERT DETAILS ANNOUNCED

Concert details for the International Film Music Conference 2007 have been announced.   Among suites from composers David Arnold ("Casino Royale", "Stargate") and John Debney ("Cutthroat Island)", Powell will once again be giving performances of suites from "X-Men: The Last Stand"  and "Ice Age: The Meltdown" along with a brand new concert piece - "Building The Crate" from "Chicken Run".

While the details of the orchestra are currently unknown, the performances are likely to be conducted by Pascual Osa.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 15th June 2007 | Time: 5:45 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO SCORE "STOP LOSS"

Powell is down to score the political drama, "Stop Loss" later this year.   The film, which will be released in April 2008 and is directed by Kimberly Pierce, tells the story of a soldier who refuses to return to the war in Iraq, despite a Government mandate that orders him to do so.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 1st May 2007 | Time: 9:28 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL'S MUSIC USED TO OPEN OSCARS

Those eagle-eyed...or eared Powell fans may have noticed that his arrangement of ''Boogie Wonderland'' from "Happy Feet" was used in a short film-montage shown during the red-carpet show at the opening of the Oscars, which also featured a new little sequence from "Happy Feet".

A little variation from ''Birth Of Mumble'' on the score album was also used in a small dance number during the show along with a variation of ''The Alien Ships'' that was used when the film won an award.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 28th February 2007 | Time: 1:21 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO ATTEND INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CONFERENCE

Powell has announced that he will be attending the International Film Music Conference 2007, which is being hosted in the city of Úbeda in the south of Spain.   Other composers attending include John Debney and David Arnold.   The event will take place between July 19th and 22nd.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 5th February 2007 | Time: 7:30 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL'S MUSIC USED IN SYDNEY NEW YEARS CELEBRATIONS

John Powell fans will be pleased to hear that last night, to turn over the new year, the spectacular Sydney Harbor celebrations featured "Attack On Alcatraz" from "X-Men: The Last Stand" in a montage of music.   A short video of this segment is available on YouTube here.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 1st January 2007 | Time: 12:24 PM | Edits: 0

"HAPPY FEET" SCORE TO BE RELEASED

For those who thought all hope was lost, in a recent interview with Powell (which I'm currently transcribing), he announced that there will be a score release of "Happy Feet".   He said that the slight delay is due to the fact that he is still mixing it, but it is due for release on 19th December.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 11th November 2006 | Time: 9:36 AM | Edits: 0

BASIL POLEDOURIS - 1945 - 2006

It is with great sadness we mourn the loss of composer Basil Poledouris, who Powell worked with on Poledouris' score to "White Fang" in 1991.   Poledouris passed away at the age of 61 from cancer.   He shall be dearly missed.

Basil Poledouris, 1945-2006

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 1st November 2006 | Time: 4:58 PM | Edits: 0

BACK FROM THE WORLD SOUNDTRACK AWARDS

Just to let everyone know, I'm back from the World Soundtrack Awards. 

While Powell didn't win the award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year (it went to Alberto Iglesias), the second half of the concert consisted primarily of his music, with suites from "The Bourne Identity", "X-Men: The Last Stand", "Endurance", "Two Weeks Notice", "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and "Ice Age: The Meltdown", with X-Men and Ice Age being the most impressive.   

Expect a large report of the evening in a couple of days!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 15th October 2006 | Time: 5:40 PM | Edits: 0

POWELL TO SCORE "HORTON HEARS A WHO!"

Powell is down for scoring the Fox and Blue Sky animation, "Horton Hears A Who!" in 2008. 

Based on the book by Dr. Seuss, the film will feature the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell.   Horton, an elephant with incredible hearing, one day hears a spec of dust talking to him.   He eventually discovers the spec of dust is a tiny planet called "Whoville", and its inhabitants ask Horton to protect them.

The film is directed by Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino, who both worked on ”Robots”, and is due for release in March 2008.

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 29th September 2006 | Time: 8:37 PM | Edits: 0

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN POWELL

Happy 43rd Birthday (for 18th September)!   All the best, and lets hope we get some interesting and exciting scores over the next year!

Posted By: Anthony | Date: 28th September 2006 | Time: 8:27 AM | Edits: 0