Topic: Ginger Rogers
16 JULY 1911 - Birthday Ginger Rogers (Virginia Katherine McMath), Academy Award winning American actress, singer and dancer who partnered with Fred Astaire...("Did everything he did but backwards and in high-heels" ;-)

Died 25 April 1995. Rogers introduced some celebrated numbers from the Great American Songbook, songs such as Harry Warren and Al Dubin's "The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)" from Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), "Music Makes Me" from Flying Down to Rio (1933), "The Continental" from The Gay Divorcee (1934), Irving Berlin's "Let Yourself Go" from Follow the Fleet (1936) and the Gershwins' "Embraceable You" from Girl Crazy and "They All Laughed (at Christopher Columbus)" from Shall We Dance (1937). Furthermore, in song duets with Astaire, she co-introduced Berlin's "I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket" from Follow the Fleet (1936), Jerome Kern's "Pick Yourself Up" and "A Fine Romance" from Swing Time (1936) and the Gershwins' "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" from Shall We Dance (1937). Ginger Rogers won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in 1940s Kitty Foyle...dramatized on radio's Lux, Presents Hollywood:

ON THE WEB | IMAGES | SHOP Ginger Rogers

Topic: Ronald Binge
15 JULY 1910 Birth of British arranger and orchestra leader Ronald Binge. Was chief arranger for Mantovani (1935-1954), where he developed Mantovani's "cascading strings" sound. Binge was also a film composer who wrote for UK films "Desperate Moment", "Our Gal Friday" and composed many light music works. Died 1979.
ON THE WEB | Wiki Bio | SHOP Ronald Binge

Topic: James Newton Howard

Available here

WARNER BROS. RECORDS TO RELEASE THE DARK KNIGHT ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK ON JULY 15, 2008. Soundtrack to Highly Anticipated Summer Release Scored by Acclaimed Film Composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. The Dark Knight Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - the haunting score to the hotly anticipated feature film The Dark Knight - will be released by Warner Bros. Records on July 15, 2008, three days before the movie opens nationwide on July 18th. Composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, who collaborated on the score for the 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins, were asked by director Christopher Nolan to work together again, scoring its follow-up, The Dark Knight. The duo recorded the orchestral soundtrack for the film in London this April. Zimmer and Howard are among the film industry's most respected and sought-after composers. Each has a career encompassing well over 100 film and television scores. Zimmer won an Academy Award for his score for The Lion King, and has earned six additional Oscar nominations for his work on Gladiator, The Thin Red Line, Rain Man, As Good as It Gets, The Preacher's Wife and The Prince of Egypt. He includes among his more recent film credits Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Simpsons Movie, and the Spanish-language Casi Divas.

Topic: Cezary Skubiszewski
Soundtrack Features Original Music By Top Australian Composer Cezary Skubiszewski

AVAILABLE HERE

Lakeshore Records will release the original soundtrack for DEATH DEFYING ACTS via iTunes and in stores on July 8. Called "one of the best Aussie directors of her generation" by Variety, Gillian Armstrong (Charlotte Gray, Oscar and Lucinda) helms this film about Harry Houdini's romance with a con woman. In his attempts to contact his dead mother, the magician (Guy Pearce) meets a beautiful psychic (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who isn't all she appears. Cezary Skubiszewski (Lilian's Story, Two Hands) composed the music for the film. Australia's newspaper The Age called Polish émigré Cezary Skubiszewski Australia's leading film composer. He has received numerous awards for composing in his adopted country, including two each from the Australian Film Institute and Australian Performing Rights Association. He has worked with many of Australia's top directors Gregor Jordan (Two Hands with Heath Ledger), Craig Lahiff (Black & White), Steve Jacobs (La Spagnola), Richard Flanagan (The Sound of One Hand Clapping), Sam Neill (The Brush Off), Dein Perry (Bootmen) writer/producer Andrew Knight (the acclaimed mini-series).

Topic: Mark Kilian
LAKESHORE RECORDS TO RELEASE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE FILM BEFORE THE RAINS, COMPOSED BY MARK KILIAN "Unforgettable... a hothouse of sensuality, empire, class and guilt" - Mira Nair Soundtrack Lakeshore Records will release the soundtrack for BEFORE THE RAINS will be available in stores on July 22. The soundtrack contains original music composed by Mark Kilian. The film was an official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. The South African-born Kilian came to the United States to attend the University of Southern California's graduate program in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television. After leaving USC he began working for film composer Christopher Young where he worked as the composer's assistant and electronic score producer for many films including SPECIES, COPYCAT, VIRTUOSITY, and HARD RAIN. He scored his first film LOVERGIRL in 1997 and would continue on to write for many feature films and TV series including KING SOLOMON'S MINES, THE ANIMATRIX, and JAKE IN PROGRESS. In 2004 Kilian would return to South Africa to score the Oscar®-winning film TSOTSI. He then scored director Gavin Hood's next film RENDITION, traveling to Morocco and South Africa for research and to record. The ability to blend world music, particularly South African, with modern classical and electronica has helped Kilian to carve out a niche in the film music industry. For BEFORE THE RAINS, Kilian traveled to India where he worked with many of the top musicians in the country including the legendary Indian percussionist, Sivamani. Set in 1930s southern India against the backdrop of a growing nationalist movement, BEFORE THE RAINS is the English language debut of acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan (THE TERRORIST, ASOKA). An idealistic young Indian man (Rahul Bose) finds himself torn between his ambitions for the future and his loyalty to the past when people in his village learn of an affair between his British boss (Linus Roache) and a village woman (Nandita Das). Santosh Sivan (ASOKA) directs this film that is presented by Merchant Ivory, the renowned force behind HOWARD'S END and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY.

ON THE WEB | Mark Kilian, composer

Topic: Thomas Newman
Walt Disney Records will release the original soundtrack for Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation Studios WALL.E on June 24, 2008. The recording features score written by 8 time Academy Award®-nominated composer Thomas Newman [photo] (Finding Nemo, American Beauty) and the original song "Down to Earth" written and performed by Peter Gabriel (with music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman). The soundtrack also includes two songs from Hello Dolly performed by Michael Crawford ("It Only Takes A Moment" and "Put On Your Sunday Clothes") and Louis Armstrong's "La Vie En Rose."

AVAILABLE HERE

Academy Award®-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life) didn't wait long to ask Finding Nemo collaborator Thomas Newman to compose the music for WALL.E. Stanton described, "The night of the Oscars in 2004 for Nemo, we went out for a celebratory toast at the bar in the middle of the ceremony, and right there I remember saying, 'Okay, I've got this idea, and it involves Hello Dolly and science fiction.' Wondering if he would still talk to me after that." The Hello Dolly reference didn't scare off Newman - his uncle Lionel was the conductor for the 1969 film. Thomas Newman is member of the film-scoring Newman dynasty (his father and uncle are the legendary composer and conductor Alfred and Lionel Newman respectively, his brother is composer David Newman and cousin is composer/singer/songwriter/recording artist Randy Newman). After studying at Yale University, Thomas Newman joined the family business and began scoring for film in 1984. It was ten years later that he would became a double Academy Award®-nominee with Little Women and The Shawshank Redemption. He has since received 8 nominations for the films American Beauty, Road To Perdition, Finding Nemo, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and The Good German. He also composed the theme music for the television shows Boston Public and Six Feet Under and the miniseries Angels in America. Though he has written music for a wide range of films Thomas Newman has never composed for a science fiction film. He brought his own unique style to WALL.E. Stanton describes, "He's got a very unique style that often involves a lot of overdubs and mixing after he's recorded the orchestra. And it just allows this fresh palette of sounds to come in." "He's really nailed an identity for not only the movie but for the characters and for the moments," Stanton continues, "and I can't imagine it any other way." Legendary artist Peter Gabriel had first contacted Andrew Stanton through a mutual friend, Gabriel's bass player Tony Levin. Gabriel emailed Stanton seeking advice on a different animated feature. The email exchanged ended with Gabriel adding a post script offering "If you ever need a song in one of your movies, just let me know." Stanton called in the marker, and Gabriel to collaborate with Newman on the song "Down To You," which Peter performs. In addition, Gabriel co-composed two additional score cues with Newman. What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL.E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL.E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL.E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.

Thomas Newman Links | IMAGES | SHOP Thomas Newman

Topic: Clint Mansell
LAKESHORE DEFINITELY RELEASES SOUNDTRACK FOR DEFINITELY, MAYBE

Soundtrack Features Original Music By Clint Mansell (June 10, 2008- Los Angeles, CA) -Lakeshore Records will release the original soundtrack for Definitely, Maybe on June 24th. Clint Mansell composed the music for the film, which opened on February 14, 2008. The film has since earned over $50 million at the box office worldwide. Clint Mansell began scoring for film following the break-up of his band Pop Will Eat Itself. His first score was for writer/director Darren Aronofsky's film Pi. He has since composed for Aronofsky's films Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain, the latter of which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. Mansell's credits also include Sahara, Abandon, and Smokin' Aces.

Topic: Danny Elfman
LAKESHORE RECORDS TO RELEASE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE FILM Based On The Graphic Novel Series, WANTED Introduces A Hero For A New Generation . Wes Available Here (June 5, 2008- Los Angeles, CA) - Lakeshore Records will release the soundtrack for WANTED on June 24th. The soundtrack features music composed by Danny Elfman, including the original song "The Little Things". Danny Elfman is a Grammy Award®-winning, Academy Award®-nominated composer who began his career in the Los Angeles-based band Oingo Boingo. A self-taught musician and composer, his brother filmmaker Richard Elfman, asked Elfman to provide music for his first film FORBIDDEN ZONE. Oingo Boingo would go on to release 8 albums and would contribute music for such classic 80s films as FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, BACHELOR PARTY, WEIRD SCIENCE and SOMETHING WILD. It would be 1985's PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE that started a prolific relationship with director Tim Burton. The two would collaborate on such films as BEETLE JUICE, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, BATMAN and BATMAN RETURNS, MARS ATTACKS!, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and CORPSE BRIDE, to name a few. Elfman's non-Burton scores include DICK TRACY, DEAD PRESIDENTS, GOOD WILL HUNTING, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and MEN IN BLACK I & II. Together with the Batman films, Elfman has completed a superhero trifecta, composing for two films in the Batman series, two films in the SPIDER-MAN series, and 2003's HULK. Based upon Mark Millar's explosive graphic novel series and helmed by stunning visualist director Timur Bekmambetov-creator of the most successful Russian film franchise in history, the Night Watch series-WANTED tells the tale of one apathetic nobody's transformation into an unparalleled enforcer of justice. In 2008, the world will be introduced to a hero for a new generation: Wesley Gibson. 25-year-old Wes (James McAvoy) was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. His boss chewed him out hourly, his girlfriend ignored him routinely and his life plodded on interminably. Everyone was certain this disengaged slacker would amount to nothing. There was little else for Wes to do but wile away the days and die in his slow, clock-punching rut. Until he met a woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie). After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society led by Sloan (Morgan Freeman) that trains Wes to avenge his dad's death by unlocking his dormant powers. But, slowly, he begins to realize there is more to his dangerous associates than meets the eye. And as he wavers between newfound heroism and vengeance, Wes will come to learn what no one could ever teach him: he alone controls his destiny

Geoff Love plays movie themes
Topic: Geoff Love
Geoff Love (born 4 September 1917, Todmorden; died 8 July 1991, London) was a British easy-listening orchestra leader. His father was a mixed race American born guitarist and dancer and his mother an actress. As a child he began to learn to play the violin but then switched to the trombone. He played with Jan Ralfini's band and then embarked on a solo career before military service during WW2 in the King's Royal Rifles. After the war he played with Harry Gold. He recorded at least two albums with Shirley Bassey in 1959 and 1960. He also recorded under the name 'Manuel & The Music of The Mountains'.
ON THE WEB | IMAGES | SHOP Geoff Love

BIG LOVE MOVIE THEMES

LP Released in 1971

Label: EMI (MUSIC FOR PLEASURE) – MFP 5221

Big Love Movie Themes

Topic: Cyd Charisse

Cyd Charisse (b. March 8, 1922 - d. June 17, 2008)
Dancer and actress Cyd Charisse, whose legs were insured for a million dollars in the heyday of the Hollywood musical, died at her home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, her agent said. She was 87. Was married to the same husband, singer Tony Martin, for 60 years.
ON THE WEB | IMAGES | SHOP Cyd Charisse