WARNER BROS. RECORDS TO RELEASE HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK ON JULY 10TH POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

Soundtrack to Fifth Installment of Blockbuster Harry Potter Film Franchise Scored by Award-Winning British Composer Nicholas Hooper (June 14, 2007, Burbank, CA): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - the score to the highly anticipated feature film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - will be released by Warner Bros. Records on Tuesday, July 10th, the day before the movie opens in theatres across the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday, July 11th.

The fifth installment of the blockbuster fantasy adventure franchise has been scored by award-winning British composer Nicholas Hooper, who has enjoyed a long association with the film's director, David Yates. Hooper and Yates have worked extensively together in television, as well as on the feature The Tichborne Claimant. Most recently, Hooper won the 2007 BAFTA TV Award for Best Original Music for his score for the telefilm Prime Suspect - The Final Act, starring Helen Mirren. He was also nominated for a 2006 BAFTA TV Award for his score to the Yates-directed drama The Girl in the Café. Hooper follows in the footsteps of the previous Harry Potter composers: Patrick Doyle, who scored 2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and John Williams, who composed the music for the first three Harry Potter films, which together were nominated for three Grammy Awards and two Oscars, and sold more than a million copies worldwide.

Based on the fifth book in the series of best-selling novels by British author J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) returning for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to discover that much of the wizarding community has been led to believe that the story of the teenager's recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is a lie, putting Harry's integrity in question. Worse, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy), has appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the duplicitous Professor Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). But Professor Umbridge's "Ministry-approved" course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the Dark Forces threatening them, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students, Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

"I saw the scoring of this Harry Potter film as a great opportunity to work with such important themes on a grand scale," Hooper says. "David Yates and I started early, even before filming started, working on such themes as Ministry of Magic, Umbridge, and Voldemort. However, as we came closer to the final cut, the music developed beyond what we had first imagined, so there was that inevitable race against time. My process is one of discovery, rather than having a specific plan. This can be nerve-wracking, but it has its creative benefits." Hooper recorded nearly two hours of music at London's fabled Abbey Road Studios, famous for its acoustics and ambience. His team included engineer Peter Cobbin (the Lord of the Rings trilogy), and conductor Alastair King (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) who conducted the Chamber Orchestra of London. "The team was the best around," Hooper says. "We had a complete rapport and I always felt that they knew what we were trying to achieve."

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films production, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, and Julie Walters. Directed by David Yates, the film is produced by David Heyman and David Barron, with Lionel Wigram executive producing. The screenplay is by Michael Goldenberg, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company, will release the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on July 11th, 2007 in the United States and Canada.

Lyricist songwriter of 'UNCHAINED MELODY' from film 'Unchained' (Score by Alex North) and Your Hit Parade closing theme "So Long For A While" passes away at age 99...MORE...

CONSUMER INFORMATION

The Third Film of the Five Film 'Dirty Harry' Series, The Enforcer Was The Only of the Five Films Composed by Jerry Fielding (May 1, 2007- Los Angeles, CA) - Aleph Records will release the soundtrack for The Enforcer on June 26. The Enforcer was the third film of the five film "Dirty Harry" series, and the only of the films composed by the late composer Jerry Fielding. The other four films all boasted scores by Lalo Schifrin. Aleph Records, has also released the scores for the first two films of the series, Dirty Harry and Magnum Force. The entire original score for The Enforcer has never been released, only excerpts from the score appeared on the original soundtrack LP. The Enforcer, of course starred Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry Callahan. The film also starred Tyne Daly as Inspector Kate Moore, his rookie partner. Callahan and Moore are on the hunt for a group of terrorists blackmailing the city of San Francisco. Though at first he is not pleased to be partnered with Moore, and in truth, Callahan's partners have not fared well in the past, Moore proves herself an able partner. Composer Jerry Fielding had a long and storied career. He began in the 40s as a bandleader with his own television show and fell victim to McCarthysm, blacklisted from Hollywood in the 1950s. His return to Hollywood came in 1962, hired by Otto Preminger to compose the score for Advise and Consent. He began working in episodic television, scoring episodes of both Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. It was his work on Noon Wine that started Fielding's relationship with Sam Peckinpah, which would lead Fielding back to the big screen. When Lalo Schifrin, composer of both Dirty Harry and Magnum Force, was unavailable to compose the score for The Enforcer, the job fell to composer Jerry Fielding. Fielding was perhaps best known for his collaborations with Sam Peckinpah, (The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia) and Michael Winner (Scorpio, The Big Sleep, Lawman). For Fielding The Enforcer led to future collaborations with Clint Eastwood films like The Outlaw Josey Wales (his third and final Academy AwardT nomination), Escape From Alcatraz, and The Gauntlet. The Enforcer Original Score will be released by Aleph Records on June 26, 2007.

CONSUMER INFORMATION

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END SOUNDTRACK FEATURES ORIGINAL MUSIC BY HANS ZIMMER

WALT DISNEY RECORDS TO RELEASE ALBUM ON MAY 22ND

(May 10, 2007- Burbank, CA) - Walt Disney Records will release the soundtrack for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End on May 22, 2007. The third film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, At World's End features music by Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer, who also wrote the music for the second film, Dead Man's Chest and composed original themes for the first, The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, finds our heroes Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones' locker - while the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading Company, wreaks havoc across the Seven Seas. Navigating through treachery, betrayal and wild waters, they must forge their way to exotic Singapore and confront the cunning Chinese Pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Now headed beyond the very ends of the earth, each must ultimately choose a side in a final, titanic battle - as not only their lives and fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving Pirate way, hangs in the balance.

As with the previous Pirates films, and with a nod to its swashbuckling predecessors in the genre, music plays a central role in At World's End. The score features melodies filled with excitement and intrigue as befits the pirates' latest heroic journey. "Many of the sequences are designed as mini operas," explains director Gore Verbinski, "and I like to think of the music as internal to the storytelling rather than score."

Academy Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer creates a number of new themes for the film. "I can't think of anyone else who could compose a simple, dirge-like pirate song, and then expand it into a stirring anthem in three-quarter time," says producer Jerry Bruckheimer, praising Zimmer. The Walt Disney Records soundtrack recording begins with this somber dirge, "Hoist the Colours," co-written by Zimmer and director Gore Verbinski (with lyrics by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio). Zimmer then invites the listener to continue the journey, this time eastward to "Singapore," a thematic track blending Chinese-influenced melodies with pirate attitude.

"We have flutes from all over the world. We have chimalon from Romania. We have banjos from America," reveals Zimmer. "There's an eclectic sort of landscape to the whole thing so it does feel more like a journey, like you're truly going to the end of the world and beyond."

Throughout his career, composer Hans Zimmer has proven himself a versatile composer. "There's seemingly no genre that Hans is incapable of writing for, whether the adventure and fantasy of Pirates, contemporary or historical drama, all with equal passion and skill", says Bruckheimer. "Among so many other accomplishments, Hans has really brought ethnic authenticity into the mainstream of film composition, such as the extraordinary African sounds he melded into films like The Lion King, The Power of One, and our own Black Hawk Down, or the Asian undertones for The Last Samurai."

Recognized as one of the film industry's most respected and innovative composers, Zimmer entered the world of film music in London during a long collaboration with famed composer and mentor Stanley Myers, which included the film My Beautiful Launderette. Having already scored two Best Picture winners, in the early '90s Zimmer cemented his position as a pre-eminent talent with the award-winning score for The Lion King. The soundtrack has sold over 10 million copies to date and earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score, a Golden Globe, an American Music Award, a Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. In total, Zimmer's work has been nominated for 7 Golden Globes, 7 Grammys and 7 Oscars for Rain Man, Gladiator, The Lion King, As Good As It Gets, The Preacher's Wife, The Thin Red Line and The Prince of Egypt.

Walt Disney Pictures, in association with Jerry Bruckheimer Films, presents Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End in theaters on May 25, 2007. The Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Original Soundtrack will be available May 22, 2007 at a suggested price of $18.98 wherever music is sold. All Walt Disney Records audio products also can be ordered by visiting DisneyRecords.com.

I've followed George Fenton's musical career recordingwise for many years, collecting a number of his Original Soundtracks; his soundtrack for the Anthony Hopkins film 'Shadowlands' for me being his most memorable, and I was astounded when it didn't even get the Oscar nod it most richly deserved. He has penned for me many memorable masterpieces over the years but recently appears to have turned his talents to composing music for BBC documentaries such as The Blue Planet which until now was his crowning achievement in music. But this latest recording for the Planet Earth series surpasses even that in my opinion. There is a plethora of astounding beautiful and even majestic pieces which I believe will stand the test of time even against the most popular Classical pieces - and certainly George Fenton should be regarded as being every bit an important composer as say Grieg; Vaughan Williams; Delius etc etc. He is a Giant among modern composers, as this marvellous set - with over two and a quarter hours of stunning music - is testament to. Listen and drool. This really is as good as it gets.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, finds our heroes Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones' locker – while the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading Company, wreaks havoc across the Seven Seas. Navigating through treachery, betrayal and wild waters, they must forge their way to exotic Singapore and confront the cunning Chinese Pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Now headed beyond the very ends of the earth, each must ultimately choose a side in a final, titanic battle – as not only their lives and fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving Pirate way, hangs in the balance. As with the previous Pirates films, and with a nod to its swashbuckling predecessors in the genre, music plays a central role in At World's End. The score features melodies filled with excitement and intrigue as befits the pirates' latest heroic journey. "Many of the sequences are designed as mini operas," explains director Gore Verbinski, "and I like to think of the music as internal to the storytelling rather than score."

Academy Award?-winning composer Hans Zimmer creates a number of new themes for the film. "I can't think of anyone else who could compose a simple, dirge-like pirate song, and then expand it into a stirring anthem in three-quarter time," says producer Jerry Bruckheimer, praising Zimmer. The Walt Disney Records soundtrack recording begins with this somber dirge, "Hoist the Colours," co-written by Zimmer and director Gore Verbinski (with lyrics by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio). Zimmer then invites the listener to continue the journey, this time eastward to "Singapore," a thematic track blending Chinese-influenced melodies with pirate attitude. "We have flutes from all over the world. We have chimalon from Romania. We have banjos from America," reveals Zimmer. "There's an eclectic sort of landscape to the whole thing so it does feel more like a journey, like you're truly going to the end of the world and beyond."

Throughout his career, composer Hans Zimmer has proven himself a versatile composer. "There's seemingly no genre that Hans is incapable of writing for, whether the adventure and fantasy of Pirates, contemporary or historical drama, all with equal passion and skill", says Bruckheimer. "Among so many other accomplishments, Hans has really brought ethnic authenticity into the mainstream of film composition, such as the extraordinary African sounds he melded into films like The Lion King, The Power of One, and our own Black Hawk Down, or the Asian undertones for The Last Samurai."

Recognized as one of the film industry's most respected and innovative composers, Zimmer entered the world of film music in London during a long collaboration with famed composer and mentor Stanley Myers, which included the film My Beautiful Launderette.

CONSUMER INFO ON SOUNDTRACK CD

MOVIEmusic | AWARDwinners | TV reruns