‘Avatar’ score will be “epic,” “hugely cinematic”
EXCLUSIVE. James Horner’s score for James Cameron’s upcoming 3-D sci-fi saga Avatar is, without much competition, the film music event of the year. MovieScore Magazine is excited to bring you the first inside look at the creation of the score. Breaking the hush-hush that has been surrounding James Horner’s work on the film for more than a year, Mike Knobloch, the executive vice president of Fox Music, describes James Horner’s music for the film as epic. “It’s a brilliantly unique blend of traditional and contemporary, electronic elements and spans the entire spectrum of attitude and energy – from bombastic action to the delicate, romantic discovery of a new world.” In a nutshell, the film, which is premieres on December 18, tells the story about a war veteran (Sam Worthington) who is sent to Pandora, a planet inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race which is fighting for survival.
One of the reasons behind the heat surrounding the Avatar score is, of course, that the film itself is one of the most anticipated Hollywood movies to hit the big screen in recent years. Another reason is that putting the names Cameron and Horner in one sentence means gold: Aliens from 1986 is regarded to be among the finest action film scores ever written (despite the extremely tight working conditions for the composer) and Titanic… well, do we really need to explain?
Interestingly, the time Horner is being allowed to work on Avatar seems to be the complete opposite of Aliens, where Horner had 3 1/2 weeks to finish about 80 minutes of music.Horner has been working on Avatar for more than a year and was doing pre-records and working on ideas with Cameron already back in June 2008. “The recording of the score has been an ongoing process for months and it’s still in process. Electronic elements of the score are being recorded at a studio assembled specifically for this project. The orchestral component of the score is being recorded in groups of dates that started in June,” Mike Knobloch explained, adding that the orchestral sessions are being held at the Newman Stage at 20th Century Fox.
Talking about the stats and numbers of the score, Knobloch said that they “are still changing and evolving as James Horner is keeping up with James Cameron and the cutting room, who are still busy fine-tuning the film. The film will run the better part of three hours and there will likely be nearly as much score.” The main orchestra used for the score features over 100 musicians, including eight horns, four trumpets and five trombones. The string section is huge, comprising of 70 players. The music also features vocalists singing in the film’s Na’vi language, as well as a few other acoustic and electronic instrumentalists.
Mike Knobloch explained that there “is a great deal of acoustic and electronic rhythmic elements driving the score and vocalists singing and chanting in the fictional Na’vi dialect. Horner is doing a brilliant job of creating music that transports us to another world, but supports the film using the traditional orchestral conventions to make a sound that’s hugely cinematic.”
Working with James Horner on the score are his usual team: recording mixer Simon Rhodes, music editors Jim Henrikson and Dick Bernstein and synth player/programmer Ian Underwood. Other team members include electronic music arranger Simon Franglen and synth programmer Aaron Martin.
The score will, of course, be released on CD and the label that will do the honours is Atlantic Records. “The release dates for both physical and digital products are still being finalized,” Mike Knobloch added.
56-year old James Horner is one of the most experienced film composers working in Hollywood. He wrote his first feature film scores in the late 1970s and early 1980s, getting his big break in the business with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan in 1982. The classically trained composer built his reputation in the business on his solid orchestral scores and dramatic instinct as witnessed in early scores such as The Name of the Rose, 48 hrs., Cocoon, Something Wicked This Way Comes and Krull. To date, he’s written more than hundred feature film scores and worked extensively with many acclaimed directors, including Ron Howard, Mel Gibson, Michael Apted, Edward Zwick and Walter Hill. His latest scores include The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Life Before Her Eyes and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Avatar is Horner’s first science fiction film score since Bicentennial Man which came out ten years ago.
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I hope it sounds better than it currently looks. Maybe the score will be immersive, to this point the CGI isn’t. Also, I have to wonder why Aliens with what amounted to me to be little more than a rework of the truly epic Star Trek II: TWOK score, is so highly regarded. I guess Cameron liked it too… because every time I watch Aliens I can’t help but think, “oh, that’s the STII theme.”
All I can say is – I can’t wait!
James Horner is one of my favorites and I hope for the best to come from over a year’s worth of work!
It’s NICE. But that’s about all I can say from this footage…and I was really hoping to say WOW. The creatures don’t strike me as overwhelmingly original (maybe I’ve read too many comics, or have seen too many Frank Frazetta covers). The jungle looks OK – like a jungle, yet not uniquely distinctive; and I must say that I was hoping that the environment would WOW me.
In the end, I come away with a feeling of seeing a very well-done Japanese anime. And music will embellish the scenes – it won’t fix the designs. I know that James Cameron has come up with a bang-up story/script – he always does. But I wanted it to be as different from everything else as the Ridley Scott’s ALIEN was (no spaceships ever like those in the film…no monster ever like HR Geiger’s design!)
I sincerely hope that we’re not seeing the “money shots” here…. and that James Cameron is ‘holding back’ a LOT of really great WOW stuff. For if the film is simply more variations on these characters & settings, then I know I and many, many others are in for a massive disappointment. Hmmm…I really was hoping to see designs that are not derivative, but I can’t say that I didn’t, here.
Very nice. This is one score I’m really looking forward to this year, and great to know a CD release is already planned! Very interested to see what Mr. Horner delivers here.
LOOKIE lOU is right James Horner may have had a couple of memorable themes but If you listen to Battle Beyond the Stars that’s where he took Ster Trek II from. He repeats himself note by note in some movies. don’t get me wrong most composer may use reworked themess in their movie scores. John williams has. Play the truck scene music in Indiana Jones and then play the beginning space battle scene in Return of the Sith. Same music reworked notes. Williams is still one of my favorites.
Looks very good. Hopefully there is some substance to the story & all the time wasn’t spent on the CGI as many movies do. Judging by the scale of the film, James Horner looks like a good fit.
Just saw the movie the other day, and, almost only because of the score, I nearly cried at the end! The film definitely wouldn’t have been as good for me with a different soundtrack.
I just saw the film today, and was certainly impressed by both the special effects and the score. James Cameron definitely knows how a film should work, and to that end he knows the importance of epic, emotional music in a movie like this one. Very few composers, it seems, are working in Horner’s idiom these days, it’s almost as if big orchestral scores are looked down upon, or, what is more likely, that most current popular film composers don’t have the musical chops to write successfully in the fashion of Horner or John Williams. Give me a great, big, huge sounding score with enough variety of thematic material and the treatment thereof anytime. Horner’s recent score to “The Spyderwick Chronicles” was also quite wonderful, but did not receive much attention. I hope with this score he returns to his rightful place of recognition as one of Hollywood’s most talented and effective composers
I think it’s even funnier that fans compare “Aliens” to “Star Trek II: TWOK”, when the elements of both come from the even earlier “Wolfen” (which is also a favourite of mine, score AND film). Let’s face it. JH rips himself off consistently, but the results are still great! Other score bigwigs do it too. Williams used a bunch of themes and cues from Jurassic Park in Star Wars Ep I and II. Not quite as blatantly as JH, but they’re in there.
James Horner FTW
The trouble with Horner is that his 4-note brass motif that he uses in nearly EVERY score isn’t even his own, he took it directly from Rachmaninoff’s first symphony! How does he get away with it?
The main theme from avatar is very similar to the main theme from Titanic, it even develops using the same structures.
And one of the other themes in avatar, ( i think it’s half way through track 5 on the soundtrack is a TOTAL COPY AND PASTE from his score to Glory)
He hasn’t done anything new since Braveheart and Titanic. Avatar sounded like a James Horner compilation CD.
It’s outrageous that he’s nominated for the oscar with this slush. Hans Zimmer’s Sherlock Holmes deserves to win, as it was the complete opposite of avatar – it was a breath of fresh air and reinvented both zimmer’s style and the action score genre.
“It’s outrageous that he’s nominated for the oscar with this slush. Hans Zimmer’s Sherlock Holmes deserves to win, as it was the complete opposite of avatar – it was a breath of fresh air and reinvented both zimmer’s style and the action score genre.”
Are you serious?
Try listening to more Ennio Morricone.
Virtually NOTHING in Sherlock Holmes was original at all.
Zimmer in fact in this case is far more guilty of “ripping off” than Horner was.
He took the best of Ennio’s Spaghetti Western scores and made them sound crappy via his usual lack of being able to actually orchestrate well, creating that same old manufactured banal sound.
Zimmer win an Oscar for this? Not a chance.
Not a chance indeed.
The “right” man WON.
That makes a change in the joke that is the “Oscars”.
Great movie, but I don’t think
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I thought Avatar was a great movie, and I thought it should of got the oscar for movie of the year. James Horner did an excellent job on the score I can’t wait until its out on blue ray dvd so I can watch it again.
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I have seen this movie 8 times, including 2 times in 3d. Best one the last years.
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