The Festival De Cannes website, the official website for The Cannes Film Festival, has a nice little note about the Masterclass that New Moon composer, Alexandre Desplat, will be presenting at the festival this year. According to the official website: “Every year, the Cannes Film Festival invites prominent figures from the world of cinema to give “Masterclasses”.” This appears to be quite the honor for Mr. Desplat! Read all of the details below:

“A personal history of film music” by Alexandre Desplat

A passionate love of music and cinema has resulted in Alexandre Desplat working with some of the greatest film directors of our age – Jacques Audiard, Stephen Frears, David Fincher, Roman Polanski and Terrence Malick. Following in the tradition of the French greats of film music composing, this multi award-winning artist has also composed the music for several films in this year’s Official Selection.

As a result of his 2006 Masterclass which he gave on his own work, this year Alexandre Desplat will talk about fellow composers’ work: “Great film scores, he explains, should enhance the film, the collective body of work as well as being able to exist independently of the images. It was by listening to the compositions of Delerue, Jarre, Waxman, Rota, Herrmann, Goldsmith, and Takemitsu that I was able to develop my own style. Personal and intimate, the job of the film score composer is to reveal and become part of the rhythm, light and framing of the film like an invisible character – a parallel scenario. The composer creates a subtle relationship between the images and the music resulting in an intangible vibration that makes him the third author of the film”.

The Masterclass will take place on Saturday, 19 May at the Buñuel Theatre.

See more at the Cannes Film Festival official site here.

Thanks Noor!

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Thanks to the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra the Twilight Saga scores are getting a brand new life. The Orchestra has taken music from all four movies so far, interpreted and performed it, and then put it all together on a compilation CD. Check out more below:

Featuring tracks from each of the “Twilight” films to date, “Music from The Twilight Saga” isn’t just your average compilation. That’s because the music is interpreted and performed by no less an august body than the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, which was actually founded in 1947 specifically to provide music for movies.

It’s a sonic experience that no “Twilight” fan can afford to miss — and which no “Twilight” fan should miss, considering “Music from The Twilight Saga” is already available for early download right now.

Just goes to show that no matter what other films might try to catch our interest, it isn’t quite twilight for “Twilight” just yet.

See the full story at NextMovie here and go get the album at Amazon here.

Thanks Noor!

What do you think of this new compilation album?

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Glamour caught up with Twilight Saga soundtrack supervisor,
Alexandra Patsavas, at the recent SXSW Music and Film Festival in Austin, where they had the chance to find out which bands Alexandra thinks are the hottest right now. Check out her list below:

Alexandra Patsavas, Owner of Chop Shop Music Group, is the gal behind the tunes for musically brilliant shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, The OC, and the Twilight Soundtrack. We caught up with her after her trip to Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Music Festival, and asked her to share with us her Top 11 (10 just wasn’t enough!) bands to watch this year and why she loves ‘em.

This Head I Hold — Electric Guest: “This is delicious hipster party track produced by Danger Mouse is both vintage and oh so current.”

Myth — Beach House

1901 – Birdy

Read the full story and check out all of the bands at Glamour here.

Which song on Alexandra’s list do you like best?

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Just yesterday I shared the brand new music video from Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald, and now thanks to MTV’s chat with Nikki and Paul, there’s a little more information on Paul’s future songwriting plans. It turns out that Paul is in the early stages of submitting a song to be considered for inclusion on the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Read it all below:

While “Twilight” star Reed didn’t necessarily see the sweet ditty ending up on the “Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ soundtrack, she did reveal that husband McDonald is in the early stages of submitting a song for potential inclusion in the saga’s final installment.

“Paul has been speaking with them about potentially attempting to write something,” Reed said. “Nothing is set in stone. He will be working on songs to submit. It would be a great, great thing. The music supervisor [Alexandra Patsavas] on that, as well as [director] Bill Condon, have great taste.”

“It’s very preliminary,” McDonald confirmed. “It’s kind of one of those things. I write all the time.”

Over the past four years, the “Twilight Saga” soundtracks have gained a reputation for catapulting artists to new heights, with acts like Paramore, Christina Perri and Joy Formidable all benefiting from their confab with the Cullen clan. And as the former “American Idol” contestant looks to join that auspicious group, he’s beginning by doing his homework.

“I watched some of the movies the other day,” he said. “I hadn’t gotten around to watching all of them, so I’m getting familiar with the story lines.”

“He’s trying to say he wasn’t a Twi-hard before knowing me,” Reed teased.

Included in his prep work will likely be an artist’s screening of “Breaking Dawn – Part 2,” which doesn’t hit theaters until November 16. In the meantime, McDonald is working on his album, which he expects to drop early this fall.

Get the full story at MTV here.

Would you like to hear a song from Paul McDonald on the Breaking Dawn – Part 2 soundtrack?

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Billboard has a new interview with the lovely Christina Perri, songwriter and singer of ‘A Thousand Years’ from the Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack. Christina gives us more details on how exactly she ended up on the soundtrack, and what it was like to receive the news that her song was to be included. Check it all out below:

I got involved with ‘Twilight’ in kind of a magical way,” says Christina Perri.

“I’ve been a big fan for years and when I signed a record deal with Atlantic Records, they were doing the writing for ‘Breaking Dawn’,” the 25 year-old Philadelphia-born singer/songwriter recalls. “They asked me to come in and screen the movie and then write something.

“They were going to give me a shot because they knew what a big fan I was,” Perri says.

“So, I saw the movie in this little screening room with, like, all these super-Hollywood-y dudes on their Blackberries not watching … and I’m in the front row crying the whole time.

“I went straight home and wrote ‘A Thousand Years’.”

“I will never, ever forget this phone call I got. It was like, ‘You’ve been chosen for the soundtrack. You’ve been chosen for the single. You’re going to make a music video with clips from the movie and you’re going to go on tour with the cast,” Perri remembers.

“I couldn’t be more stoked. (‘Twilight’) is my favorite book, my favorite movie.

“I’m, like, super-happy over here.”

Get the full story at Billboard here.

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What do you think of Christina’s Twilight story?

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In a very cool turn of events the Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack artist, Ryan O’Neal from Sleeping At Last, announced on his official website that he would begin a spring tour starting in April. The surprise part of his announcement? Ryan will be joining a fellow Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack artist, Christina Perri, on the tour! Check out the announcement from Ryan below which includes dates and cities:

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

SPRING TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT!

I am ecstatic to announce that I will be joining the lovely Christina Perri on Tour this Spring!!

Here are the confirmed dates:

Apr 30 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
May 01 – Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
May 02 – Munhall, PA @ Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
May 04 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
May 05 – South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
May 06 – Clifton Park, NY @ Northern Lights
May 08 – New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place
May 10 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
May 11 – Lansing, MI @ The Loft
May 12 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
May 14 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s
May 15 – Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird Nightclub
May 16 – Columbia, MO @ The Blue Note
May 18 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
May 19 – Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theatre
May 20 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall

NOTE: Tickets are ON SALE NOW –

Christina Perri is such an incrdible artist – a truly lovely soul! She is responsible for the beautiful songs, “Jar of Hearts,” “Arms” and “A Thousand Years” (Which was also featured on the Twilight Saga “Breaking Dawn – Part 1″ Soundtrack with me!) among others. I couldn’t be more excited and privileged to be a part of this tour!! Hope to see you guys very soon!!!

Love, Ryan

Check out a video straight from Christina:

You can go purchase tickets through the links on the official Sleeping At Last website here.

(Thanks Noor!)

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What could be more appropriate for Valentine’s Day than a live version of Christina Perri’s ‘A Thousand Years’ from Breaking Dawn – Part 1? Yesterday, just in time for the big day of love, Christina Perri made an appearance on ‘Live with Kelly’ where she sang her infamous song. Enjoy Christina singing ‘A Thousand Years’ below:

The singer-songwriter stops by Live! to perform her hit song “A Thousand Years” from the original motion picture soundtrack ”The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part1″

I always love it when artists perform their songs for live audiences. Whether it’s an actual concert or just an appearance on a show like this, it always seems to be better live.

What did you think of Christina’s appearance on ‘Live with Kelly’? Did you enjoy ‘A Thousand Years’ live?

Thanks Noor! (Via Spunk-Ransom)

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