French composer Maurice Jarre, best known for his music for Hollywood films, has died in Los Angeles at 84, after suffering from cancer.
Jarre, father of the composer Jean-Michel Jarre, rose to prominence relatively late in life. His breakthrough came in 1962 when he wrote the score for Lawrence of Arabia, for which he was [...]

The Daily Film Music Blog is a new entry in the ultra-lucrative business (seriously, it’s a license to print cash) of blogging on film music, and it’s a good one. Their latest article covers temp-tracks, and talks with Scott Stambler and Mark Wlodarkiewicz, two guys who actually pay the bills editing temps for feature [...]

Varese has announced their latest (how many times have I written that phrase?) batch of club releases, including an early all-synth score by James Newton Howard, and as Varese has dubbed it, a John Barry “holy grail”. Here’s the rundown. Better act fast, as your life won’t be worth spit without:
Hanover Street – [...]

La-La Land Records has announced a hat trick of new releases for March, continuing with the limited edition trend. Their second Shirley Walker release in under a year brings a complete (with over 27 minutes of additional score not included on the WEA/Reprise OST, and limited to 3,000 copies) “archival” issue of Batman: Mask [...]

The Academy of Science Fiction and Horror Films announced their 2008 Saturn Awards nominees. The music nominees are:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – Alexandre Desplat
Changeling – Clint Eastwood
The Dark Knight – James Newton Howard
Valkyrie – John Ottman
Jumper – John Powell
Iron Man – Hans Zimmer
Yes, the nominees credit Hans Zimmer for Iron Man, when [...]

Zach Snyder’s Watchmen features one of the most diverse soundtracks in a major studio film in recent time. Including period songs, pre-existing score tracks, classical music, and original music by Tyler Bates, the music of Watchmen is an effective musical travelogue of America from the ’40s to the mid-’80s, a musical accompaniment not seen [...]

The heart-stopping score to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, including the screeching music to the film’s famous shower scene, is being put up for sale, British auction house Bonhams said Tuesday.
The 20-page manuscript is among a collection of composer Bernard Herrmann’s works and books being auctioned off on March 24.
The score, about half of which was written [...]