composer: Last News

Stephen Robinson learned just how important team spirit is when he helped Michael O’Neill guide Northern Ireland all the way to Euro 2016.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Composer Brian Tyler jumped at the chance to write the music for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” He rattles off the games, Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario Kart and Donkey Kong… there are many more, and he’s played them all. “I knew this music,” Tyler shares. “It was a part of my childhood in the same way that I grew up listening to film scores.” Tyler has already worked across a wide swath of genres, from horror (“Scream 6”), romantic comedy (“Crazy Rich Asians”), Western (“Yellowstone”) and action (“Fast X”). But this was special assignment, Tyler tells Variety: “I had gaming magazines and I remember articles about Nintendo’s video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto.”

Harrison Ford is back as Indiana Jones and returns to form in the newly released trailer!

Katherine Ryan has fired back at mum-shamers who criticised her baby daughter's "mouldy" teething toy.The 39 year old American comedian welcomed her third child, baby Fenna, in December 2022 and she's often shared snaps on social media as the little one clutches a Sophie the Giraffe teething toy. Only recently, the toy came under fire after parents shared pictures of it filled with black mould. However, the manufacturer – Vulli – has since hit back, explaining that as long as the toy is cleaned as instructed the problem wont occur.

Ryuichi Sakamoto is standing next to a melting Arctic glacier, tapping finger cymbals together. His face is transformed; the wrinkles of old age become a child’s laugh lines as he absorbs the majesty of the sound, transformed by its environment. Now he’s in a destroyed auditorium in Fukushima, drawn to what he calls “the corpse of a piano” nearly destroyed by the tidal wave disaster but still dutifully creaking out notes from underneath Sakamoto’s fingers.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Prince Eric will not be forcing himself on Ariel through song in Disney’s upcoming live-action “The Little Mermaid,” directed by Rob Marshall. Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who wrote the music for the 1989 animated movie, returned to work on the 2023 live-action remake and updated some of the song lyrics so they wouldn’t be outdated when it comes to consensual relationships. “There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl’ because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” Menken recently told Vanity Fair. “We have some revisions in ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.”

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor World sales agency Impronta Films has boarded “La Ricerca” (“The Quest”) ahead of its world premiere on April 24 at Visions du Reel, a documentary film festival in Switzerland. The film was written, directed, edited and produced by Giuseppe Petruzzellis. Nicolás Jaar composed the original score. The film focuses on the Italian artist Luigi Lineri, who has been working continuously on “The Quest” over the last 60 years. It’s a one-of-a-kind installation made of thousands of stones. Pebbles resembling primitive flint tools and symbolic sculptures illustrate the turning points in humanity’s evolution. Petruzzellis said in a statement: “Luigi’s masterpiece is a formidable tool to investigate universal themes. He has materialized a vast field of anthropological, philosophical and even political topics. Many of these contents are extremely actual and urgent, as, for example, our conflicting relationship with the ecosystem.

The live-action Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King will have some of the songs updated to modern times, composer Alan Menken recently shared.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Ray Shulman, a multi-instrumentalist known for his work with the progressive-rock band Gentle Giant and later a successful producer for the Sundays, Bjork’s early band the Sugarcubes, and many others, died on March 30. He was 73. The news was announced by his brother and Gentle Giant bandmate Derek, who wrote in a statement: “I am deeply saddened to announce that my younger brother and my best friend Ray Shulman passed away on March 30th at his home in London. I was with him until the end as he bravely battled a long illness. At least I know he is now at peace. “Ray really was a genius in so many ways. He was an incredible composer, musician, music producer and tech wizard. Together with myself and my elder brother Philip he was a founding member of Simon Dupree & The Big Sound and subsequently Gentle Giant. He went on to produce artists like the Sundays, the Sugarcubes, Ian McCulloch and many more. More recently he devoted his tech and musical expertise in authoring and remixing other artists like Jethro Tull, Genesis, King Crimson and many more.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Neon’s “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” is perhaps best described as part heist thriller, part climate change documentary. Helmed by Daniel Goldhaber, the film, in theaters April 6, follows a fictional crew of young environmental activists who execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline. Cast members include Ariela Barer, who also produced and co-wrote the film; “Euphoria’s” Lukas Gage, Kristine Froseth, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane, Jayme Lawson, Marcus Scribner and Jake Weary. As soon as composer Gavin Brivik began working on the film, he flew out to the set and recorded music samples that included banging on oil drums in the desert.

Alan Menken, who composed Disney’s most recognizable scores and songs, really enjoyed collaborating with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the live-action version of The Little Mermaid.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic Though his life and accomplishments were largely erased under Napoleon, the extraordinary figure at the center of Stephen Williams’ “Chevalier” really did exist. Born on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, the son of a white plantation owner and his Black slave, Joseph Bologne went on to excel in spheres rarely accessible to people of color in 18th-century French society. Here was a champion swordsman and celebrated musician invited to play his violin at Versailles, where Marie Antoinette reportedly accompanied him on the harpsichord. So why has it taken so long for his story to be told? The time certainly seems right to rediscover the Chevalier — an honorary title that reveals how high Bologne rose under France’s overtly racist Code Noir, as well as a fitting name for the film. A compelling example of Black excellence dating back even before the French Revolution, the English-language “Chevalier” doesn’t feel nearly as fusty as its powdered wigs and period setting might suggest. Like “Chocolat” (not the Johnny Depp confection, but the 2016 Omar Sy vehicle about the circus clown who broke barriers on the Paris stage), this modern-minded if occasionally under-nuanced costume drama fills a historic gap, starting with its fanciful opening scene: a violin showdown between Bologne (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Joseph Prowen) choreographed like a rap battle.

Tim Greiving I’ve been listening to classical music all my life, been to hundreds of symphony orchestra concerts, and even written concert notes for the LA Phil. But I often still feel like a yokel in the woods without a map when it comes to navigating classical music. So, like a hungry mouse in a maze, I journeyed into the new Classical app from Apple. Classical is an entirely different species from popular music — i.e., the music of the people for the past century. Pop artists may crib chord progressions from Bach or add string arrangements for sophistication, and pop music certainly wouldn’t exist without its classy ancestor. But the Classical app makes it clear just how disparate these two animals are, and it starts with the way they’re organized and cataloged.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter WWE’s WrestleMania 39 delivered the highest weekend usage ever on Peacock. The two-night event was up 29% in hours viewed and 32% in reach compared to last year’s WrestleMania, Peacock announced Tuesday. The NBCUniversal-owned streamer also claims that WrestleMania 39 generated the most hours-watched of any live event on Peacock with the exception of the Super Bowl. It should be noted that, like other streaming services, Peacock does not provide specific viewership information to back up these claims. On linear television, the episode of “Monday Night Raw” that aired on USA Network the day after the final night of WrestleMania saw a significant boost in the ratings. This week’s episode nabbed 997,000 viewers in the key adults 18-49 demographic, the highest demo audience for “Raw” since February 2020 and up 37% from last week. In total viewers, the episode averaged 2.26 million viewers, up 23% over last week.

Shakira and Gerard Piqué has been revealed. Following the announcement of the Colombian singer’s new chapter in Miami with her kids Sasha and Milan, it has been reported that custody arrangements were settled before they were able to move from Barcelona to Florida.It was reported by People En Español that the soccer player agreed to give full custody of their kids to Shakira, ahead of her move to Miami.

forever for the live action version of to hit our screens.  was first announced as Ariel in July 2019, but we didn’t get our first of the Disney adaptation until September last year. Luckily, we only have mere weeks to wait now as the film is slated for a May 26 release date, and we’re starting to find out exactly what changes we can expect to see on the big screen—including lyric changes to include consent.In a recent interview with , the film’s composer Alan Menken revealed that there would be tweaks to the lyrics of some of our favorite songs, including “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” “There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl’ because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” Menken said. We assume the lyrics he is talking about include the chorus which goes: “Yes, you want her / Look at her, you know you do / Possible she wants you too / There is one way to ask her / It don't take a word / Not a single word / Go on and kiss the girl.”These lyrics suggest that Prince Eric doesn’t need Ariel’s verbal consent to kiss her, which of course he does, but there’s the slight issue of the fact that she cannot speak. “We have some revisions in ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn,” Menken added.

Thania Garcia On the heels of the Band Perry’s hiatus announcement, co-founder Kimberly Perry has signed to Records Nashville/Columbia Records in pursuit of a solo career. “From the moment I met the team at Records, their appreciation for my journey and my vision for the future as a solo artist has been overwhelming,” Perry commented about the signing. “Everything came together so organically, and it felt right from the very start.” Based in Nashville, Perry will release a new body of work that “promises to be her most honest and intimate,” per the press release. 

Ryuichi Sakamoto have been shared online.The death of the pioneering electronic musician, composer and actor was announced yesterday (April 2) following a battle with cancer.Following the announcement of his death, tributes were paid by the likes of Johnny Marr, Questlove, Massive Attack and David Bowie’s estate.Now, a collection of ringtones and alerts which he created for the Nokia 8800 in 2005, have been shared in a video, which you can view below.In honor of Ryuichi Sakamoto who passed away today, I have created a video compilation of all the ringtones and alerts on the Nokia 8800, most of which are his work. Please take a listen, some lovely sounds here.https://t.co/J9w8AyA8Jc— Tech Product Bangers (@techprodbangers) April 2, 2023The soothing ringtones including compositions entitled ‘Asian-chant’, ‘Duel’ and ‘N-choral’.During his 50 year career, Sakamoto won numerous awards [including an Oscar, a Grammy, a Bafta and two Golden Globes] for his work as a film composer, scoring the likes of The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky, Little Buddha, and The Revenant.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant”, has died. He was 71.

Japanese composer and producer Ryuichi Sakamoto, a pioneer in electronic music and winner of an Oscar, Grammy and BAFTA awards, has died at 71. He died of cancer on March 28, the BBC reported, attributing the confirmation to his office.

Thanks to the 2023 calendar year, April Fool's Day happened to fall on a Saturday, giving the cast of "Saturday Night Live" ample opportunity to be extra silly. During the "Weekend Update" segment with Colin Jost and Michael Che, things went awry when Jost's jokes were not well received by the audience.