James Newton Howard

Infobox Actor


name = James Newton Howard
birthdate = birth date and age|1951|6|9
birthplace = Los Angeles, California
yearsactive = 1983 - present
spouse = Rosanna Arquette (1986-1987)
Sofie Howard (1991-2006)
emmyawards = Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
2001 "Gideon's Crossing"

James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951 in Los Angeles) is an Academy Award nominated film score composer and producer.

Biography

Early life and career

Throughout his prolific career, composer/musician/songwriter James Newton Howard has scored films of all scales and genres, earning multiple award nominations for his work. Howard began studying music as a small child and went on to attend the Thacher School in Ojai, California [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thacher_School] ; the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California; and then majored in piano performance at the University of Southern California [ [http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/about/board/newtonhoward.html USC Thornton School of Music : About Us: Board of Advisors: James Newton Howard ] ] . After Howard left college, he toured with Elton John as a keyboardist during the late 1970s and early 1980s before moving into film music in the mid-1980s [ [http://www.ascap.com/eventsawards/awards/filmtv/2000/mancini.html ASCAP Henry Mancini Award Honoring James Newton Howard ] ] .

1990s

By the 1990s, Howard truly hit his career stride, scoring the surprise blockbuster romantic comedy "Pretty Woman" (1990) and receiving his first Academy Award nomination for his score for Barbra Streisand's drama "The Prince of Tides" (1991). Setting the musical mood for numerous films throughout the decade, Howard's skills encompassed a plethora of genres, including four more best original score Oscar nominations, for the Harrison Ford actioner "The Fugitive" (1993), the Julia Roberts romantic comedy "My Best Friend's Wedding", M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" (2004) and most recently, "Michael Clayton" (2008). In addition, Howard scored the Western epic "Wyatt Earp" (1994), Kevin Costner's "Waterworld" (1995), and Primal Fear" (1996).

His collaborations on tunes for "One Fine Day" (1996) and "Junior" (1994) garnered Best Song nods. Along with scoring such smaller, character-driven films as "Five Corners" (1988), "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992), and "American Heart" (1993), Howard proved equally skilled at composing for big-budget Hollywood spectacles, including "Space Jam" (1996), "Dante's Peak" (1997) (theme only - score was composed by John Frizzell), and Collateral (2004). He has also scored three Disney feature films which are "Dinosaur (2000") "Treasure Planet" and "". Though he concentrated primarily on films, Howard has also contributed music for TV series, earning an Emmy nomination in 1995 for his theme to NBC's ratings smash "ER".

He has scored all of Shyamalan's suspense thrillers, "The Sixth Sense" (1999), "Unbreakable" (2000), "Signs" (2002), "The Village" (2004), "Lady in the Water" (2006), and "The Happening" (2008)

2000s

Howard is now one of the most recognized composers for film [ [http://www.mfiles.co.uk/composers/James-Newton-Howard.htm James Newton Howard - film composer] ] . On October 14, 2005, it was officially announced that James Newton Howard would replace Howard Shore as composer for "King Kong", due to "differing creative aspirations for the score" between Shore and director Peter Jackson [ [http://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=670 SoundtrackNet : News : James Newton Howard replaces Howard Shore on King Kong] ] . The resultant score earned Howard his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. His work on "Michael Clayton" earned him his latest Oscar nomination and he collaborated with Hans Zimmer on the score for "Batman Begins" and the record-breaking sequel "The Dark Knight".

Some of his most recent works are "The Happening", his sixth film with M. Night Shyamalan, "Blood Diamond", "Michael Clayton", , "I Am Legend" and "Charlie Wilson's War". It is also rumored that he will be composing music for the M. Night Shyamalan movie adaptation of the Nickelodeon series "". Additionally, in a radio interview [http://podcast.com/show/32910/] from early 2008, James revealed that he will collaborate with Terrence Malick "in about a year", a project likely to be the director's upcoming "Tree of Life" (2009). However, this has not yet been officially confirmed.

According to the website of the Pacific Symphony, Howard will debut an entirely new concert work in February of 2009. [ [http://www.pacificsymphony.org/show_details.php?shid=201 Pacific Symphony - Hollywood's Golden Age] ]

Discography and filmography

Awards and Nominations

In May 2008 he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music.

Nominations

*1991: Academy Award Nomination - Best Original Score "The Prince Of Tides"
*1993: Academy Award Nomination - Best Original Score "The Fugitive"
*1994: Golden Globe Award Nomination - Best Original Song "Look What Love Has Done" from "Junior"
*1994: Academy Award Nomination (1994) Best Original Song - "Look What Love Has Done" from "Junior"
*1996: Golden Globe Award Nomination - Best Original Song "For The First Time" from "One Fine Day"
*1996: Academy Award Nomination - Best Original Song "For The First Time" from "One Fine Day"
*1997: Grammy Award Nomination - Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television "For The First Time" from "One Fine Day"
*1997: Academy Award Nomination - Best Original Musical or Comedy Score "My Best Friend's Wedding"
*2000: Grammy Award Nomination - Best Instrumental Composition “The Egg Travels” from "Dinosaur"
*2001: Emmy Award - Outstanding Main Title Theme Music "Gideon's Crossing"
*2002: Grammy Award Nomination - Best Instrumental Composition - “Main Titles” from "Signs"
*2005: Academy Award Nomination - Best Original Score "The Village (film)"
*2005: Golden Globe Award Nomination - Best Original Score "King Kong (2005 film)"
*2007: International Film Music Critics Association Nomination - Film Composer of the Year
*2008: 80th Academy Awards: Best Original Score - "Michael Clayton"
*2008: Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media – Blood Diamond
*2008: Classical Brit Awards: Soundtrack of the Year - Blood Diamond

ee also

*List of noted film producer and composer collaborations

External links

* [http://james-newton-howard.com James-Newton-Howard.com] (unofficial site)
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:7217gjurj6i9 All Music Guide to James Newton Howard]
*

References

Persondata
NAME= Howard, James Newton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Composer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1951-6-9
PLACE OF BIRTH= Los Angeles, California
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=