“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!

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?

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?

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?

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.

Thanks Noor!

What do you think of Christina’s Twilight story?

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!)

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)

At what point in the filming process will you come onboard?

Generally, I don’t actually write anything until a film has actually been shot. But, there are some exceptions.
In the movie I’m working on right now, which is “Breaking Dawn: Part II,” they needed Rob Pattinson and the actress who plays his daughter to play piano onscreen. I had to write this duet before they shot the film so they could actually learn the parts. Rob is a musician, so he prides himself on working out the fingering for these correctly.

So, I understand the creative process, the idea of trying to find a character’s motivation. But, how do you even start to put music to it?

I’ll first watch the movie enough to get a definite idea of what I think it wants: there’s a story element that needs a theme, or there’s a character that needs a theme. I’ll have these thoughts in mind, and then I’ll go and play the piano without the movie there and that’s what I do. I’ll sit at the piano for as long as it takes — and hopefully it doesn’t take too long because they don’t give you that much time!

Have you always played piano?

I took lessons as a kid — I really hated it — and came back to it later when I was in my high school years because a friend showed me how to improvise on piano. Playing written music, which is of course what I was doing when I had lessons as a kid, is not really interesting to me. I don’t even like playing my own music once it’s written down.

Read the full interview at The Sag Harbor Express here.

Thanks Noor!

How excited are you to see Rob and Mackenzie playing piano together as Edward and Renesmee?

What are the qualities that makes a song appropriate for film or TV?

We tend to select a mix of established and respected alternative artists and performers that are less known but always the song that is selected is the best to tell the story. I do believe that is why these OST’s connect so strongly with the audience. They are hearing the songs for the first time, certainly and often are experiencing the bands for the first time as they watch the film. Heady stuff.

Read the full interview at American Songwriter here.

Such a pretty song. Christina looked fantastic performing on Ellen, it was fun to see her singing it live! She did a great job, it sounds just like the recording. What a lucky audience to be in attendance on the show that day! Not only did they get to see Christina perform ‘A Thousand Years’ live, but they also got a copy of her CD and a copy of the Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack.

Did you catch Christina when she performed on Ellen? Where does this song rank on your list of Breaking Dawn songs?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (I’ve never understood that saying… how would one live under a rock? they’d surely be squished) – you probably already know that the 4th chapter of the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn – Part 1 is now in theaters all over the globe!!! This is the very first major motion picture that my music has been a part of, and I just couldn’t be more thrilled! “Turning Page” plays twice in the film… SPOILER ALERT: The instrumental version plays while “Bella” walks down the aisle at the infamous Bella/Edward wedding. (Awww) The regular version with vocals plays during the honeymoon love scene. So for those of you Twilight fans (you know who you are) I hope you enjoy the film, and I can’t wait for you to hear/see “Turning Page”! SO grateful to be a part of this! HUGE thanks to Chop Shop Music, Atlantic Records, Summit Entertainment and the director, Bill Condon for allowing this song to be a part of their film!

Go check out more on the band on their website here.

(Thanks to @HeidiJoVT!)

1. The Kingdom Where Nobody Dies
2. Cold Feet
3. What You See In the Mirror
4. Wedding Nightmare
5. Wolves On the Beach
6. Goodbyes
7. A Nova Vida
8. The Threshold
9. Pregnant
10. Morte
11. Honeymoon In Eclipse
12. A Wolf Stands Up
13. Two Man Pack
14. Don’t Choose That
15. O Negative
16. Hearing the Baby
17. Playing Wolves
18. Let’s Start With Forever
19. It’s Renesmee
20. The Venom
21. Hearts Failing
22. Biting
23. Jacob Imprints
24. You Kill Her You Kill Me
25. Bella Reborn

You can purchase the score for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 on iTunes here.

A couple of days ago Laura Jane Scott and Leonard Jackson, AKA Imperial Mammoth, stopped by our offices to perform a (dare we say gorgeous) acoustic set for the staff, including their song ‘Requiem on Water’ which is featured in a key scene in ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.’ The newlyweds (as of like 2 weeks ago, congrats you two!) have a really interesting story about how they became a couple, and then a band, and then how their music got on to one of the most highly anticipated soundtracks in recent memory.

You can also see more on their MySpace page.

(Thanks Noor!)

What did you think of this live acoustic version of ‘Requiem on Water’? Do you like this song?

After the opening sequence with Bella and Edward getting married in front of their friends and family, the video cuts to a love story between Mars, who recorded the track especially for the Bill Condon-directed flick, and his lovely leading lady.

Bruno and his onscreen love experience the many joys, trials and tribulations of being in a relationship. And as is often the case in real life, things starts out cute; every little moment and snuggle is more romantic than the one before. Bruno goes out of his way to court his female friend, even holding a private screening of “Breaking Dawn” to woo her. They share kisses as footage of Bella and Edward’s honeymoon flashes on the wall. But at some point, the pair begin to fight, though Bruno isn’t going to let her go that easily: He uses his songwriting skills to persuade her to stay with him.

The heartbreak expressed on the track is mirrored in solo shots of Bruno standing around looking sullen. As the video closes out, we see that the song Bruno wrote while his lady was asleep turned out to be romantic enough to win her back.

In the final shot, Bruno stands alone while rain hits the window behind him and sings, “Cause there’ll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby/ There’ll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby/ Just like the clouds, my eyes will do the same if you walk away/ Every day, it will rain, rain, rain.”

Read more at MTV here.

What do you think of the video for ‘It Will Rain’? Have you picked up your copy of the soundtrack yet?

The Breaking Dawn Soundtrack is out now! Featuring brand new songs from Bruno Mars, Christina Perri, The Joy Formidable, The Belle Brigade and many more!

Go get the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 on iTunes here.

In addition you can check out the soundtrack on Spotify:

Get the Breaking Dawn Soundtrack experience on Spotify, where you can stream the soundtrack and listen to track by track commentary by Soundtrack Music Supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, plus a Bruno Mars contest, playlists from Christina Perri and The Joy Formidable, AND a bonus track by The Belle Brigade!

Check out the soundtrack on Spotify here.