Danny Elfman: ‘I always saw myself as an alien as a child’

The Hero Complex dari LA Times telah mem-publish bagian kedua dari wawancaranya dengan Danny Elfman, berikut kutipannya:

GM: I wonder how many directors have the facility to talk about music in the same way you can.

DE: It’s worse when they have a lot of musical ability, because they’re describing things in a musical way but it still isn’t what they’re expecting. Warren Beatty was like that. He’s a musician. He’s a better musician than I am. He can sit and play the piano. I can’t sit and play the piano to save my life. It doesn’t help. It’s all visceral, it’s all feel. You just have to get to the gut or not.

GM: And “Batman” was the most difficult?

DE: “Batman” was by far the most difficult. I had never done a big film. There was a lot of pressure to bring in another composer. There were actually two different camps wrestling me out of place. One, the initial idea of Jon Peters, was to have Michael Jackson, Prince and George Michael score the film. Prince would do the Joker theme; Michael would do the Batman theme; George Michael would do the love theme. That didn’t really leave much room for me to do anything. Then there was another sensible voice from Warner Bros. to bring in a composer like a John Williams or somebody like that who could do a big film. There was one side wanting it to be like a pop thing, totally different than anybody was expecting. And then the Michael Jackson and George Michael thing kind of fell away and they were just left with Prince. They wanted me to co-write the score with Prince, and I didn’t want to do that.

GM: Since the experience of assembling the “Music Box,” have you gotten better about archiving your own material?

DE: Since the last two months, I’m searching actively now for about 20 other scores. I’m trying to get film mixes for early stuff. I’m talking with older music editors I’ve worked with, looking for old hard drives, and I’m trying to find all my printed music. I didn’t save a single piece of manuscript and so we did find a lot, certainly not everything.

Penting, penting siapa tahu bakal ada Music for a Darkened Theatre vol. 3?? Baca lengkapnya di sini.

The Elfman-Burton Music Box: Less Than 100 Left

Baru tanggal 18 November yang lalu situs BurtonElfman.com mengirim e-mail mengenai tinggal 175 music box yang bisa dipesan melalui situs mereka, ternyata sudah dipesan cukup banyak orang sehingga sekarang kurang dari 100 music box yang bisa dipesan. Pesan di situsnya langsung di sini atau di Amazon atau tempat-tempat lainnya.

Iris: A Journey Through The World of Cinema

Sejak minggu lalu, tiket untuk pertunjukan ini sudah dijual. Berikut deskripsi dari Iris:

This new production from Cirque du Soleil is a lyrical, fanciful, kinetic foray into the seventh art. Bringing together dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation, the show takes spectators on a fantastic voyage through the history of cinema and its genres, taking them into the heart of the movie-making process. From illustration to animation, black and white to colour, silent films to talkies, fixed shots to swooping camera movements, spectators witness the poetic construction/deconstruction of this art as an object and as a way of transcending reality.

Dari bagian para creators-nya, berikut kutipan untuk bagian Danny Elfman:

Danny Elfman is a musician best known for composing music for television and cinema and leading the rock band Oingo Boingo as singer / songwriter for almost 20 years. He is a frequent collaborator of long-time friend Tim Burton and has scored most of his films. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards and won a Grammy Award for Tim Burton's Batman and an Emmy Award for his Desperate Housewives theme. He is also known for creating the main title theme for The Simpsons. IRIS is his first Cirque du Soleil show as Composer and Musical Director.

Lihat situsnya di sini.

Danny Elfman knows the score: Tim Burton ‘opened every door for me’

Hero Complex dari situs LA Times mem-publish wawancara dengan Danny Elfman mengenai Elfman-Burton Music Box. Berikut kutipannya:

I don’t know whether this type of person who’s really interested in this … level of minutiae and detail, whether it’s 10 people, hundreds or thousands, but it doesn’t matter. That’s who we put this together for. However many or few they are. The book, the same thing. At first I thought, this is going to be viewed as the most self-indulgent thing ever. I would die if I read that. Again, Richard was like, “No, no. … You have to think of this not as a biography but really extensive liner notes.”

Especially as I look back, it’s a good thing “Pee-wee” was a very simple score. That was the first thing that struck me when I listened to it because I hadn’t heard it in all these years.

Baca lengkapnya di sini. Ngomong-ngomong soal music box ini, situs BurtonElfman.com meng-update mail list-nya pada tanggal 18 November kemarin, mengabari bahwa kurang dari 175 music box yang masih bisa dipesan dari situs tersebut. Situsnya dapat dilihat di sini.

For Howard Shore, the symphony isn't finished yet

Situs The Province mem-publish cerita mengenai Howard Shore mengerjakan musik untuk The Hobbits. Berikut kutipannya:

"We've talked about making these movies for many years, at least since 2002," Shore says.

"It looks like finally it's going to be happening. I'll be working on it for the next three years -- it's going to consume a lot of my time and work now."

Baca lengkapnya di sini. Akan ada dua soundtrack album untuk The Hobbits ini karena filmnya di-split dua, dirilis Desember 2012 dan Desember 2013.

"The Next Three Days" Los Angeles Special Screening

Pada acara Directors Guild of America diadakan special screening untuk The Next Three Days dan beberapa situs mem-publish foto-foto red carpets dari Danny Elfman bersama anaknya Mali Elfman. Lihat foto-fotonya di Zimbio di sini, di Monsters & Critics di sini, di Film Magic di sini dan di Wire Image di sini.

Situs Thompson on Hollywood melaporkan acara tersebut, berikut kutipannya:

Haggis proudly announced the film (he cast two of his daughters and his son in it), and thanked composer Danny Elfman and leading man Russell Crowe (both in attendance), the latter of whom presumably took off his sunglasses once the lights went down.

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Update on All Things La La Land

Tanggal 12 November yang lalu La-La Land Records membuat posting di bulletin boards-nya, berikut kutipannya:

Batman Returns - as you can expect Mr Elfman and company were very busy with that massive box set coming out at X-Mas and it kinda put a damper on our entire BR release schedule. However, all is good in Gotham now and we might see the caped crusader and his rogue's gallery on our La La Land shelf in the coming months.

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Director George Tillman Jr. On Set Interview FASTER

Tanggal 8 November 2010 (again, old news but I was out of town, so...) situs Collider mem-publish wawancara mereka dengan sutradara George Tillman Jr. Beliau adalah sutradara film Notorious di mana Danny Elfman mengisi score-nya. Saat ini ia sedang menyutradarai film Faster. I don't know what to make of it, so here's the quote:

I think the soundtrack is gonna be great, because I think the whole movie is a journey from where we see the character of the driver driving throughout. You know, the journey throughout the film. And looking at the whole Inland Empire, with the character coming from Los Angeles, from outside Los Angeles, from Bakersfield, also from all the different areas outside of California, there are a lot of opportunities for music. The great thing is, you’ve got a lot of opportunities for… I’m excited by it because I’m going to bring something that we haven’t seen for awhile. There is a lot of blues, gospel stuff that we bring from the Forties and the Fifties that’s going to be thematically played throughout the movie that really has a lot to do with the film. When the driver shows up as this revival tent and there’s this whole religious undertones and overtones for the movie that really guides these characters. So I’m interested in bringing a blues, gospel, religious aspect. A darker side, with blues to the soundtrack that will kind of open it up, so I’m really excited about bringing that aspect to the film.

...I was listening to all kinds of music and there was this one blues song, it’s this song, “John the Revelator” that he sings at the end of the movie I’ll be playing throughout. And then I started listening to other stuff, some of the blues back then and some of Robert Johnson’s stuff. I just thought, this is stuff that you haven’t really seen or heard. I’m hoping too that we are still talking about it, like my relationship with Notorious, just dealing with Danny Elfman and trying to get him back in the movie and just put this and put Danny Elfman, who wants to do different kinds of things and use a lot of his blues soundtrack. I’m just thinking there is a lot of opportunity for that because we have three different stories and three different styles, and there are some really cool things that we can do with that and the soundtrack at some point.

Baca lengkapnya di sini. Faster yang diproduksi oleh studio Castle Rock Entertainment ini akan dirilis tanggal 24 November 2010. Film ini dibintangi oleh antara lain Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Berenger dan Moon Bloodgood.

Johnny Depp To Start 'Dark Shadows' In April With Tim Burton Directing

Tanggal 4 November kemarin, situs Deadline mem-publish artikel eksklusif mengenai Dark Shadows yang akan mulai dibuat oleh Tim Burton pada bulan April 2011 ini. Berikut kutipannya:

The film has been slated to begin production in January but today was pushed back to April. Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and Graham King’s GK Films are producing along with Dick Zanuck. (It's Zanuck's 6th collaboration with Tim Burton.) Warner Bros has been trying for several years to get to the starting line on this movie adaptation of the TV series that ran on ABC from 1966-1971 and had legions of fans frightened by the moody and atmospheric storyline.

Baca lengkapnya di sini. 

The Next Three Days: Music From The Motion Picture

Studio: Lionsgate
Sutradara: Paul Haggis
Tanggal rilis film: 19 November 2010
Tanggal rilis album: 16 November 2010
Label: Lionsgate Record

Track list:
1. Prologue
2. A Way In
3. What She's Lost
4. Pittsburgh's Tough
5. Blood Stain
6. Same Old Trick
7. Don Quixote
8. All Is Lost
9. A Promise
10. That's Ok
11. It's On
12. The Evidence
13. Last Three Months
14. The Bump Key
15. A Warning
16. Breakout
17. Touch
18. Reunion
19. The Switch
20. They're Off
21. Got 'Em
22. The Truth
23. The Aftermath
24. Mistake (Moby)
25. Be The One (Moby)

Ini dia album terbaru Elfman sejak Alice in Wonderland, 23 score tracks plus dua lagu dari Moby. Sampelnya dapat didengar di situs filmnya di sini. CD-nya dapat di-preorder di Amazon di sini.

'Music Box' mines long collaboration

Pada tanggal 4 November kemarin, situs Variety mem-publish tulisan Jon Burlingame mengenai Elfman-Burton Music Box. Berikut kutipannya:

Elfman's assistant and Kraft spent months searching through dusty, half-forgotten storage units looking for every scrap of music that Elfman wrote and found various cassettes, DATs and reels of tape "in between boxes of broken doll parts and old synthesizer equipment," says the composer.

The result is more than seven hours of previously unreleased material, including expanded soundtracks of all the movies and even early demos of Elfman themes and songs. Whether to include those demos was a bone of contention between composer and agent. "We found one of his first demo recordings of 'Batman,' and it sounds like it was recorded on a Casio," says Kraft.

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Ngomong-ngomong soal box ini, lihat di Amazon di sini atau buat yang mau mesen ke Indonesia mungkin paling baik lewat situs Yesasia di sini.

Aaron Sorkin writing Hugh Jackman's Houdini musical: Composer Danny Elfman has 'high hopes'

Pada tanggal 2 November yang lalu, situs Entertainment Weekly mem-publish wawancara dengan Danny Elfman tentang musical Houdini. Berikut kutipannya:

“I’ve written music on and off for two years already,” Elfman tells EW. “It’s such a different process [from my film scoring work]. For me, it’s taking forever. But other people say, ‘Oh, no, you’ve only been on that a couple of years, that’s nothing!’”

Elfman spent the last week in New York meeting with Sorkin, O’Brien, Slater, and a producer to discuss the show. “Right now Aaron Sorkin is writing,” says the composer. “He’s writing away, and we all have high hopes that Aaron’s going to come through and do some good stuff.”

Next up is a first reading of the script, scheduled for January. After that, Elfman estimates that the show could open in early 2012 — though we wouldn’t be surprised to see it on Broadway even sooner if the reading goes well. “I’m just trying to go with it and learn,” says Elfman. “Hopefully [the show] will happen, but I know that there are so many things that need to still happen, and reasons why it may or may not. I just try to take an attitude of, ‘If it happens, great, and if it doesn’t, I’ll have learned what it’s like working on a Broadway musical.’”

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Danny Elfman Recalls 'Batman' Score Stand-Off, 'Craziest Story Of All' With Prince And Studio

Situs MTV mem-publish wawancara mereka dengan Danny Elfman, berikut kutipannya mengenai Elfman-Burton Music Box:

And it’s all there, I just decided, "F--- it. Put it out there." And that’s weird. I am a very, very private person, and there was a lot of arm-twisting. It’s kind of like letting people into that side of me. It’s a great leap forward — let’s put it that way. If you would've asked me a couple years ago if I would do it, I would’ve never even had remotely considered it — just the same way I would never be on Facebook. I’ll be the last person to not be on Facebook. I have no desire to share myself.

Baca lengkapnya di sini. Ini katanya adalah bagian pertama, akan ada bagian lain membahas berbagai macam hal termasuk kerja sama berikutnya antara Danny Elfman dengan... Sam Raimi??? Ada masalah antara Elfman dengan Raimi pada pembuatan Spider-Man 2, mungkin udah baekan lagi ya dan ada kerja sama berikutnya...

Hugh Jackman 'Excited' to Make Musical Magic on Broadway in Houdini

Situs Broadway.com mem-publish artikel mengenai komentar Hugh Jackman untuk musical Houdini pada tanggal 26 Oktober lalu, berikut kutipannya:

“We’re going to do a workshop of that in January [2011], so we’re off and running,” he told Broadway.com on opening night of Driving Miss Daisy. “We have some amazing people on board: [writer] Aaron Sorkin, [composer] Danny Elfman, [director] Jack O’Brien. It’s going to be a really, really interesting group, so I’m excited.”

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

World Soundtrack Awards 2010

Howard Shore: "THAT should've been mine"

Pada tanggal 23 Oktober 2010 kemarin, para pemenang World Soundtrack Awards 2010 sudah diumumkan. Berikut kutipannya:

Alexandre Desplat was chosen as Film Composer of the Year 2010 and took home the award for Best Orginal Film Score of the Year (Fantastic Mr. Fox) for the second year in a row. Ryan Bingham & T Bone Burnett received the World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written for Film (‘THE WEARY KIND’ from “Crazy Heart”) and Abel Korzeniowski is the Discovery of the Year Award and Public Choice for A Single Man. John Barry received the World Soundtrack Lifetime Achievement Award.

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Richard Kraft on the Elfman-Burton Music Box

FSM mem-publish artikel mengenai Elfman-Burton Music Box dari Richard Kraft pada tanggal 15 Oktober 2010 (yeah old news, sorry huhu..), berikut kutipannya:

There are rumors about a scaled-down, CD-only version without the bonus material, or about selling all the discs as individual CDs. What can you tell us about that?

Warner Bros. Records is handling the sales, promotion and marketing on this and doing a fantastic job. I have heard of no plans for them to make anything other than the full Music Box including all the CDs, USB, book, DVD, box and zoetrope. I do know the deals we made with the various studios and record companies were for this Music Box configuration only.

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Exclusive Clip From WB'S 25TH Anniversary Music Box

Laporan situs Ain't It Cool News (AICN) untuk Tim Burton & Danny Elfman Music Box dilampiri dengan video eksklusif obrolan Tim Burton dan Danny Elfman tentang Beetlejuice. Baca lengkapnya dan lihat videonya di sini.

Danny Elfman upcoming projects include Real Steel, Men in Black 3

Ada satu (tepatnya dua) hal yang mungkin terlewat ketika membaca berita Tim Burton & Danny Elfman Music Box yang heboh. Di bagian "about Danny Elfman" dari press release Warner Bros. Records, tercantum upcoming projects-nya dan tercantum di sana Real Steel dan Men in Black 3. Mengenai keterlibatan Elfman di Men in Black 3 sudah dapat diperkirakan namun pengumuman mengenai Real Steel ini adalah hal yang baru. Baca press release-nya di sini.


Real Steel berasal dari cerita pendek karya Richard Mateson mengenai olahraga tinju di masa datang. Cerpen ini pernah diadaptasi menjadi salah satu episode seri TV The Twilight Zone tahun 1963. Film ini diproduksi oleh antara lain DreamWorks SKG, dan produsernya antara lain Shawn Levy yang juga menjadi sutradaranya, kemudian Steven Spielberg dan juga Robert Zemeckis. Tokoh utamanya diperankan oleh Hugh Jackman. Real Steel akan dirilis tanggal 18 November 2011.


Shawn Levy selalu berpasangan dengan composer Christophe Beck untuk semua filmnya termasuk film terakhirnya Date Night yang baru-baru ini diputar, kecuali dua film: Night at the Museum dan Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian yang kedua musiknya dibuat oleh Alan Silvestri. Real Steel akan menjadi pertama kalinya Elfman bekerja sama dengan Shawn Levy tapi belum tentu terjadi karena waktu rilisnya masih setahun lebih dari sekarang.


Berbeda dengan Men in Black 3, film ini akan menjadi kerja sama Elfman dengan sutrada Barry Sonnenfeld untuk ketiga kalinya dan akan menjadi trilogi pertama Elfman (musik Spider-Man 3 dibuat oleh Christopher Young sehingga gagal menjadi trilogi pertama Elfman). 


Men in Black 3 diproduksi oleh antara lain Columbia Pictures dan Amblin Entertainment dan salah satu produsernya adalah Steven Spielberg. Will Smith dan Tommy Lee Jones akan kembali sebagai Agent J dan Agent K, demikian juga Rip Torn sebagai bos mereka Zed dan kali ini ditambah dengan Josh Brolin. Film ini akan dirilis dalam format 3D, seperti telah dikabarkan situs ini di sini, pada tanggal 25 Mei 2012.


Musik Men in Black mendapat nominasi Academy Awards untuk kategori Original Musical or Comedy Score di tahun 1997. Musik Men in Black 2 memvariasikan musik Men in Black dengan highlight jazz treatment untuk tema utamanya yang sayangnya hanya digunakan sebagai source music di dalam filmnya. Untuk film ketiga ini sudah pasti tema utamanya akan kembali, hal yang menarik untuk ditunggu adalah variasi apa yang akan dibuat oleh Elfman kali ini.

The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box Available This December

Situs The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box telah mengeluarkan press release dan meng-update situsnya dengan isi dari Music Box ini, berikut kutipannya:

THE DANNY ELFMAN & TIM BURTON 25TH ANNIVERSARY MUSIC BOX AVAILABLE THIS DECEMBER

Warner Bros. Records will be releasing The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box, a very special limited-edition, numbered box "Collectors Edition" of 1000 that collects expansions of the 13 original scores that Elfman has composed for Burton's iconic films. This is a newly-produced library of 16 CDs each packaged with artwork by Burton, adding up to more than 19 hours of music, including 7 hours of previously-unreleased Masters, demos, work tapes and other rarities.

Additional highlights of The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box include:

• Among the 19 hours of music are seven hours of previously unreleased music including such rarities as additional masters, cut songs, song and score demos, work tapes, orchestra-only song mixes, and foreign-language songs.
• Danse Macabre: 25 Years of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton: A meticulously researched, lavishly illustrated 250+ page fine linen-wrapped hardbound book, entitled with gold foil stamping, and featuring a foreword by Johnny Depp. The book also includes rare photos, stories, and interviews from the cast and crew behind the scenes of this classic music — from the early days of Elfman's band Oingo Boingo to the recent blockbuster film Alice in Wonderland. Interviewed are such collaborators and peers as Guillermo Del Toro, Phillip Glass, Paul Haggis, James Newton Howard, Tom Jones, Michael Keaton, Ang Lee, Errol Morris, Thomas Newman, Catherine O'Hara, Jon Peters, Paul Reubens, David Rockwell, Scott Rudin, Marc Shaiman, Howard Shore, Twyla Tharp, Gus Van Sant, and Richard Zanuck. This comprehensive 10"x10" keepsake book is written by acclaimed film-music journalist Jeff Bond and designed by Grammy-winning designer Matt Taylor.
• An hour-long exclusive, newly filmed DVD featuring an extended conversation between Burton and Elfman as they reflect on their quarter-century collaboration.
• As a collectible created exclusively for this treasure box of music, a distinctive Skeleton Key USB Flash Drive has been designed—inspired by the art of Tim Burton. A pull of the key unlocks a USB drive loaded with MP3s of the entire contents of this Limited-Edition Music Box. From Pee-wee's Big Adventure through Alice In Wonderland, it's all there, including all the bonus tracks, demos, work tapes, and other rarities.
• Newly created liner notes by Elfman discussing each expanded score and their bonus material of additional masters, song and score demos, work tapes, orchestra-only song mixes, and foreign language versions.

A collection of music as unique as Elfman's for the films of Tim Burton needed to be housed in something equally special, wondrous, and whimsical. Designed to evoke a treasure chest found in a mysterious attic, The Danny Elfman & Tim Burton 25th Anniversary Music Box is a work of art in itself. Grammy-winning designer Matt Taylor has transformed previously unseen art by Burton and crafted a large scale, tin-covered music box complete with an embedded music chip playing "The Music Box Suite" arranged and performed by Elfman specifically for this historic collection. And to literally top it all off, with a flip of the lid, a delightful working zoetrope is revealed featuring strips of art and photos by Burton and Elfman that come to animated life with a spin.

Jadi 16 CD berisi score dan bonus tracks dari 13 film kerja sama Tim Burton dengan Danny Elfman plus tiga CD (Oddities and Ends, Curious and Curiouser: Song Demos dan Note and Notations: Orchestra-only Version), satu DVD obrolan Tim Burton dengan Danny Elfman mengenai kerja sama mereka, Danse Macabre: 25 Years of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton yaitu buku hard-cover setebal lebih dari 250 halaman serta satu USB flash drive berisi MP3 dari semua musik dari Music Box ini, semuanya seharga... US$ 499.99. Limited, Numbered "Collector's Edition" ini hanya ada 1000 kopi, kemungkinan akan ada edisi lainnya tapi tentu dengan isi yang tidak selengkap edisi ini.

Isi dari masing-masing (CD, buku, ini, itu) dapat dilihat di situsnya dengan mengklik gambar yang sesuai, situsnya ada di sini. Eniweis, mereka tidak bisa melayani kiriman ke Indonesia.

Situs The New York Times menurunkan artikel mengenai Music Box ini, baca di sini. Tonton juga videonya di situs tersebut.

Batman: (Danny Elfman) - Updated Review, With Additional Album

Situs Filmtracks memperbarui review-nya dengan munculnya soundtrack baru Batman tahun 1989 (Batman: Limited Edition 2 CD set Expanded Archival Edition) dari La-La Land Records. Berikut kutipannya:


...it does bring into question whether the 2010 album is worth its price for fans of the score. In its favor, the additional material is noteworthy, including outstandingly restrained performances of the title theme in "Bat Zone" and "Showdown I." The bonus tracks at the end of the second CD include two alternate versions of the overture, but with only subtle changes. Ironically, the "Joker's Commercial" is the most entertaining (and far better in sound quality). The final track has a hidden recording at the end with the studio crew seemingly drunkenly performing "Beautiful Dreamer" complete with catcalls, testimony to the toll that long days of recording must take on peoples' sanity. 

On the other hand, the La-La Land product really didn't live up to the hype that it initially generated because of its sound quality issues.

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Cirque du Soleil's 'Iris,' featuring music by Danny Elfman, to bow at Kodak Theatre

Berikut kutipan dari tulisan dari LA Times:

The long-awaited Cirque du Soleil production that will take up residence at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood next summer finally has a name and a creative team. "Iris," written and directed by Philippe Decouflé, is set to make its world premiere at the Kodak in the summer of 2011, according to the company. The production will pay homage to the history of filmmaking and is expected to feature dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation. Composer Danny Elfman is writing the original score for "Iris." Elfman is best known for his scores to the movies of Tim Burton as well as the opening theme for the animated TV series "The Simpsons."

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Steven Tyler to sing a theme song for “SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO”

News not related with Danny Elfman yak, hehe. Situs Tokyo Hive melaporkan bahwa Steven Tyler dari Aerosmith akan membuat theme song untuk film live-action Space Battleship Yamato. Theme song berjudul "Love Lives" tersebut akan dirilis pada tanggal 24 November 2010, sebelum filmnya yang akan dirilis di Jepang tanggal 1 Desember 2010.


Film ini adalah versi live-action untuk film animasi layar lebar Space Battleship Yamato tahun 1977 yang di Jepang menjadi fenomena lebih besar daripada Star Wars. Film animasi tahun 1977 ini dibuat berdasarkan film seri animasi TV yang mulai dibuat/diputar tahun 1974. Ceritanya tetap sama mengenai usaha Yamato untuk menyelamatkan Bumi yang dibombardir komet oleh alien race Gamilons. Bintangnya antara lain Takuya Kimura (Kimutaku), aktor-penyanyi terkenal yang juga anggota band SMAP dan Meisa Kuroki. Takuya Kimura looks good as Kodai Susumu, and he's a fan too!!


Keputusan untuk bekerja sama dengan Steven Tyler ini sudah jelas dimaksudkan untuk mendongkrak kesuksesan film ini, seperti lagu "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" dari Aerosmith terhadap film Armageddon tahun 1998. Tema lagunya mengikuti tema standar film-film Space Battleship Yamato (tentang cinta) sedangkan melodi dan aransemennya standar Aerosmith banget.


Music score-nya sendiri kelihatannya akan menggunakan established themes karena musiknya terlalu iconic untuk tidak digunakan. Para composer yang membuat musik-musik Yamato sebelumnya, antara lain Hiroshi Miyagawa dan Kentaro Haneda, sudah pada wafat, untuk film baru ini, composer-nya adalah Naoki Sato. 


Dalam trailer-nya yang terbaru, tema-tema yang ada mendapat aransemen baru. Musik yang kemudian digunakan dalam trailer tersebut adalah musik setipe musik E.S. Posthumus (kalau bukan memang salah satu track dari Unearthed, album pertama E.S. Posthumus) baru kemudian Love Lives. Baca artikelnya di sini. Trailer terbarunya dapat dilihat di sini (looks cool!) dan situs resminya yang berbahasa Jepun ada di sini. Laporan pembuatan film ini dapat dibaca di situs Starblazers.com, bagian pertamanya di sini dan bagian keduanya di sini. I love this series, hope it spawns zillions of new fans!

Minister wants to pick next Venice jury prez

Situs The Hollywood Reporter menurunkan artikel mengenai keinginan Menteri Kebudayaan Italia, Sandro Bondi, untuk memilih presiden tim juri dari Venice International Film Festival tahun depan karena merasa pilihan-pilihan tim juri tahun ini, yang diketuai (dipresideni??) oleh Quentin Tarantino, terlalu "elitist" (baca: nepotisme). Berikut kutipannya:


Minister Sandro Bondi blasted the decision of the jury to award the festival's top prize to Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere." In the wake of the festival, which concluded Sept. 11, the Italian media charged the choice showed favoritism toward Coppola, Tarantino's former girlfriend.


Tarantino was also criticized for the jury's decision to present Tarantino's mentor, iconic independent filmmaker Monte Hellman, with a career award, and for giving two major awards to Alex de la Iglesia, a long-time friend of the 47-year-old Tarantino.


Danny Elfman termasuk juri untuk film-film yang masuk kategori "Venezia 67" yaitu film-film yang diputar perdana di 67th Venice International Film Festival dan berkompetisi untuk mendapatkan penghargaan tertinggi Golden Lion. Baca hasil lengkap pilihan para juri untuk kategori Venezia 67 dan kategori-kategori lainnya di sini. Baca artikel lengkap THR di sini.

Venezia 67 Jury Photocall: 67th Venice Film Festival

Situs Zimbio menampilkan foto-foto para juri untuk kategori "Venezia 67". Seperti telah dikabarkan sebelumnya, Danny Elfman adalah salah satu juri untuk 67th Venice International Film Festival. Juri untuk kategori Venezia 67 ini ada tujuh orang termasuk ketua para jurinya Quentin Tarantino. Berikut deskripsi untuk Danny Elfman di situsnya:


An eclectic, talented and multifaceted musician, actor, singer and composer. In the 1970s, he joined an avant-garde comedy/music/theatre group founded by his brother Richard that would later become the ska-rock band “Oingo Boingo” of which he was the lead singer until the 1990s. Able to mix the most diverse styles, from classical to rock, to jazz, to goth, always with a sardonic touch, Elfman has been working in motion pictures since 1985, when director Tim Burton asked him to write the music for Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. The Elfman-Burton collaboration grew tighter with the music for Beetlejuice and Batman, which earned Elfman a Grammy, and continued with Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mars Attacks!, The Corpse Bride, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland. Elfman’s music for Good Will Hunting, Men In Black, Big Fish and Milk earned him four Oscar nominations. He has also composed the scores for such diverse films as Midnight Run, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Dick Tracy, Sommersby, Mission: Impossible Hellboy 2, Next Three Days and many others. Elfman is also well known for his classic television themes to The Simpsons, Tales from the Crypt and Desperate Housewives. Elfman’s first full-length orchestral commission, Serenada Schizophrana premiered at Carnegie Hall. He made his ballet debut with the American Ballet Theatre with Rabbit and Rogue with choreography by Twyla Tharp.   



Venezia 67 adalah film-film yang diputar perdana di 67th Venice International Film Festival dan berkompetisi untuk mendapatkan penghargaan tertinggi Golden Lion. Ada 23 film yang berkompetisi antara lain Black Swan dari sutradara Darren Aronofsky, Somewhere dari sutradara Sofia Coppola dan Di Renjie Zhi Tongtian Diguo (Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame) dari sutradara Tsui Hark. Baca daftar film lengkapnya di sini. Lihat kelima foto di situs Zimbio di sini.

Danny Elfman attends at the Machete Premiere

Situs Zimbio.com melaporkan bahwa Danny Elfman menghadiri pemutaran perdana Machete di 67th Venice International Film Festival. Machete disutradarai oleh Robert Rodriguez, dibintangi oleh Danny Trejo dan musiknya dibuat oleh John Debney. Iya law datang, kan Elfman tugas jadi juri, datang dengan kacamata khasnya. Baca artikelnya di sini.

Tim Burton Reunites With 'Ed Wood' Scribes For 'Addams Family' And 'Big Eyes'

Situs Deadline.com melaporkan bahwa Tim Burton akan menjadi produser untuk dua film yaitu The Addams Family dan Big Eyes. Berikut kutipannya:


Tim Burton has reunited with his Ed Wood screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski on a pair of projects. They will write The Addams Family, the stop-motion animated film that Burton and Chris Meledandri are producing for Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. At the same time, Burton has come on to be a producer of Big Eyes, the fact-based drama which the duo wrote as a directing vehicle, based on artist Margaret Keane's struggle to get credit for the line of paintings of big-eyed children that became wildly popular in the 60s. Burton will produce with Lynette Howell's Silverwood Films banner.

Jika Tim Burton menjadi produser film, bisa jadi Danny Elfman terlibat untuk musiknya, misalnya 9 yang disutradarai Shane Acker, Elfman membuat tema-temanya sedangkan score-nya dikembangkan dari tema-tema tersebut oleh Deborah Lurie.

Tema asli The Addams Family dibuat oleh Vic Mizzy. Filmnya, The Addams Family dan Addams Family Values, tetap menggunakan tema ini dan score-nya dibuat oleh Marc Shaiman.

Film The Addams Family baru ini belum memiliki tanggal rilis. IMDb hanya mencatat tahun 2014. Big Eyes juga belum memiliki tanggal rilis, film ini rencananya akan dirilis tahun 2011. Baca artikel lengkapnya di sini.

The Next Three Days: Trailer #1

Trailer untuk film Paul Haggis terbaru, The Next Three Days, telah dirilis oleh Lions Gate Entertainment. Di bagian credits di akhir trailer (menit 2:26) dapat dilihat "Music by Danny Elfman", yeah! 


Film yang dibintangi Russell Crowe dan Liam Neeson ini akan dirilis tanggal 19 November 2010, musik film thriller ini akan menjadi score terbaru Danny Elfman sejak Alice in Wonderland di bulan Maret 2010. Lihat trailer-nya di IMDb di sini, hati-hati spoiler ya.

Fable III

Danny Elfman membuat musik pembuka untuk game Fable dan di Fable II pun musiknya masih digunakan (score secara keseluruhan dibuat oleh Russel Shaw. Kelihatannya untuk game ketiga ini musik Danny Elfman sudah tidak lagi digunakan, tapi cinematic pembuka game ini terlalu menarik untuk tidak di-cover, bisa kalau mau dibikin film sendiri, klik di sini untuk melihat di Youtube.


Fable III akan dirilis tanggal 26 Oktober 2010 untuk Xbox 360 sedangkan tanggal rilis untuk versi PC belum diumumkan.

Danny Elfman Out, James Newton Howard In Talks To Take Over 'Green Hornet' Score

Pagi ini beredar kabar bahwa Danny Elfman mungkin batal menjadi composer untuk Green Hornet dan bahwa sedang ada pembicaraan dengan James Newton Howard untuk menjadi composer barunya. Kabar tersebut menyebutkan bahwa mundurnya Elfman bisa jadi disebabkan oleh kepadatan jadwal kerjanya.

Kalau dilihat dari jadwalnya, film-film Elfman adalah The Next Three Days (sutradara Paul Haggis) tanggal 19 November 2010, The Green Hornet (sutradara Michel Gondry) tanggal 14 Januari 2011 dan Restless (sutradara Gus van Sant) tanggal 25 Januari 2011. Plus lain-lainnya seperti Do Not Disturb dan Forbidden Zone 2: The Forbbiden Galaxy.

The Next Three Days 

International jury for the 67th Venice International Film Festival

Situs Indie Wire melaporkan bahwa Danny Elfman akan menjadi salah satu juri di 67th Venice International Film Festival. Berikut kutipannya:

American musician and composer Danny Elfman, famous in the ‘70s with the Mystic Knights of Oingo-Boingo music band, and in the ‘80s became one of the most important composers of film soundtracks (60 scores to his credit) of his generation. In particular he is the author of the scores for Tim Burton’s films (he also is the voice of Jack Skellington) and for many other major Hollywood directors.

Baca lengkapnya di sini.

The Tim Burton & Danny Elfman 25th Anniversary Music Box

Pada tanggal 22 Juli, Danny Elfman mengisi salah satu acara Comic Con di San Diego, Amerika. Di acara tersebut, diumumkan bahwa akan ada box set untuk memperingati kerja bareng Tim Burton dengan Danny Elfman yang sudah berlangsung 25 tahun; Tim Burton dan Danny Elfman bekerja sama pertama kalinya di Pee Wee's Big Adventure di tahun 1985.


Burton dan Elfman telah menjadi pasangan sutradara-composer sebanyak 12 kali yaitu Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride dan Alice in Wonderland. Plus The Nightmare Before Christmas jadi 13.


Box set ini akan berisi 14 CD, satu DVD dan buku. Belum diumumkan secara rinci isi dari 14 CD ini tapi kemungkinan besar akan mencakup unreleased tracks. Box set ini akan dirilis Desember 2010.


Website dari box set ini ada di sini. Baca artikel-artikel mengenai Danny Elfman di Comic Con di sini dan di sini.

Tim Burton Developing Monsterpocalypse

Tanggal 19 Juli 2010, situs Slash Film melaporkan bahwa Tim Burton akan menyutradarai film Monsterpocalypse. Film ini diangkat dari board game dan porsi terbesar adegan filmnya nanti adalah pertarungan antara... para monster dengan para robot uhuk! Dibuat dalam format 3D, Monsterpocalypse kemungkinan akan dirilis akhir 2012. Baca lengkapnya di sini.


Kesannya ditargetkan menjadi (mindless?) popcorn blockbuster, whatever... tapi hampir pasti Danny Elfman yang akan membuat musiknya, musik aksi Elfman yeah!!

Batman & Batman Returns Limited Edition

Pada tanggal 15 Juli 2010 yang lalu, La-la Land Records mengumumkan akan merilis Batman (1989) Limited Edition: 2 CD set (Expanded Archival Collection) pada tanggal 21 Juli di acara Comic Con di San Diego, Amerika. Harganya US$ 29.98 dan dibuat hanya lima ribu kopi. Bagi yang tidak hadir di acara tersebut, La-la Land akan mulai menjualnya secara on-line tanggal 27 Juli 2010. Berikut ini pengumuman lengkapnya:


As part of our Expanded Archival Collection, La-La Land Records presents the World premiere release of the film version of Danny Elfman’s acclaimed original score to the 1989 Warner Bros. blockbuster BATMAN, starring Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger and directed by Tim Burton. With a running time of 144 minutes, this 2-CD SET, produced by Dan Goldwasser, Neil S. Bulk and MV Gerhard, and remastered by James Nelson, features the previously unreleased film version (mix/edit) of Mr. Elfman’s score, as well as a remastered presentation of the 1989 soundtrack album and never-before-released Bonus Tracks. 20 Page CD Booklet features in-depth liner notes by Jeff Bond. Limited Edition of 5000 Units

ABOUT THIS RELEASE: In order to present as much music as possible from Batman in the best possible quality, multiple sources were utilized with the best-quality elements selected for each cue on an individual basis. For disc one and the bonus cues on disc two, three sources were used: Eric Tomlinson’s 35mm 4-track mixes, 1/4 inch stereo mixes and a stereo 35mm music only track. The album cues on disc two were sourced from the original digital album master featuring Shawn Murphy’s stereo album mix.

TRACK LISTING:
Disc One: Original Score (film version)
1. Main Title* (2:42)
2. Family*/First Batman*/Roof Fight* (3:24)
3. Jack Vs. Eckhardt* (1:37)
4. Up Building*/Card Snap* (1:54)
5. Bat Zone*/Axis Set-Up* (1:55)
6. Shootout* (5:42)
7. Dinner Transition*/Kitchen Dinner* (**)/Surgery* (3:00)
8. Face–Off* (**)/Beddy Bye* (3:59)
9. Roasted Dude* (1:03)
10. Vicki Spies (Flowers)* (1:56)
11. Clown Attack* (1:59)
12. Photos*/Beautiful Dreamer* (***) (2:30)
13. Men At Work* (0:33)
14. Paper Spin*/Alicia’s Mask* (0:30)
15. Vicki Gets A Gift* (1:13)
16. Alicia’s Unmasking* (1:10)
17. Batman To The Rescue*/Batmobile Charge*/Street Fight* (4:25)
18. Descent Into Mystery* (1:33)
19. Bat Cave*/Paper Throw* (2:48)
20. The Joker’s Poem* (0:59)
21. Sad Pictures* (0:38)
22. Dream*/Challenge*/Tender Bat Cave* (**) (4:28)
23. Charge Of The Batmobile* (1:43)
24. Joker Flies To Gotham (Unused)*/Batwing I* (0:31)
25. Batwing II*/Batwing III* (6:02)
26. Cathedral Chase* (5:07)
27. Waltz To The Death* (3:58)
28. Showdown I*/Showdown II* (5:05)
29. Finale* (**) (1:47)
30. End Credits* (1:29)
Disc One Total Time: 75:40
Disc Two: Original Soundtrack Album (remastered)
1. The Batman Theme (2:37) 
2. Roof Fight (1:22) 
3. First Confrontation (4:43) 
4. Kitchen/Surgery/Face–Off** (3:09)
5. Flowers (1:51) 
6. Clown Attack (1:46) 
7. Batman To The Rescue (3:57) 
8. Roasted Dude (1:02) 
9. Photos/Beautiful Dreamer*** (2:31)
10. Descent Into Mystery (1:33)
11. The Bat Cave (2:35)
12. The Joker’s Poem (0:59)
13. Childhood Remembered (2:43)
14. Love Theme** (1:30)
15. Charge Of The Batmobile (1:41)
16. Attack Of The Batwing (4:45)
17. Up The Cathedral (5:05)
18. Waltz To The Death (3:56)
19. The Final Confrontation (3:48)
20. Finale (**) (***) (1:46)
21. Batman Theme Reprise (1:31)

Bonus Cues:
22. News Theme* (0:11)
23. Joker’s Commercial* (1:23)
24. Joker’s Muzak (unused)* (1:15)
25. Main Title (alt 1)* (2:42)
26. Photos*/Beautiful Dreamer (alt)* (**) (2:33)
27. Batman To The Rescue (original ending)* (0:52)
28. Charge Of The Batmobile (film edit)* (1:47)
29. Main Title (alt 2)* (2:47)

Disc Two Total Time: 68:20
Total Running Time: 144:00

* Previously unreleased
** includes “Scandalous” composed by Prince with John L. Nelson
*** includes “Beautiful Dreamer” composed by Stephen Foster

Berikut kutipan dari review pertama terhadap album ini oleh Daniel Schweiger di situs Film Music Magazine:

There’s something about clowns and circus evil that brings out Danny Elfman’s best, giddy darkness. Combine that with the first non-superhero to most popularly embody all that is good and brooding, and you’ve got a landmark score that wiped away the smirks of Elfman’s detractors, establishing this art rocker as a symphonic composer of the first order. Since he roared out of that Batcave in 1989, Danny Elfman’s powerhouse work has arguably stood as the most influential “comic book” score of the past two decades.

Baca review lengkapnya di sini.


Selain itu diumumkan pula bahwa La-la Land Records juga sedang memproduksi Batman Returns (1992) Limited Edition tapi kemungkinannya masih beberapa minggu (bulan?) lagi. 

Danny Elfman Enters the Concert World

Majalah FSM Online menyediakan free tour sebagai icip-icip dari isi penuh majalahnya. Salah satunya adalah wawancara dengan Danny Elfman tahun 2006 mengenai musik konsernya, Serenada Schizophrana. Berikut kutipannya:


DA: Congratulations, first of all, on the Serenada. It’s getting a really warm reception in the early press.
DE: Thank you. I’m not really too attuned to that. I always expect the worst, and if it’s anything better than the worst, I’ll be pleased.

Klik di sini untuk FSM Online dan kemudian klik free tour, atau klik di sini untuk langsung mengakses artikel wawancara dengan Danny Elfman.

The Next Three Days

Pagi ini beredar kabar bahwa Danny Elfman akan di-hire untuk menjadi composer film The Next Three Days yang dijadwalkan akan dirilis oleh Lionsgate tanggal 19 November 2010. Elfman akan bekerja sama pertama kalinya dengan sutradara Paul Haggis yang juga menjadi penulis cerita sekalian produser. Dibintangi Russell Crowe, Liam Neeson dan Elizabeth Banks, film ini bercerita tentang nasib sial sepasang suami istri atau pasutri. Film bergenre thriller ini adalah remake dari film Perancis Pour Elle (Anything for Her) tahun 2007. Klik di sini untuk melihat foto-foto pembuatannya.


Film Paul Haggis sebelumnya adalah In the Valley of Elah (2007) dan Crash (2004) yang memenangkan banyak penghargaan termasuk Oscar buat Haggis untuk kategori Best Original Screenplay dan Best Picture (sebagai produser film). Singkat kata, The Next Three Days akan dipegang oleh sutradara yang kompeten.


Berita ini menyenangkan karena berarti para penggemar Elfman tidak harus menunggu lama, dari Alice in Wonderland di bulan Maret 2010 sampai Januari 2011 untuk mendengar karya-karya terbaru Elfman; Sebelumnya, musik Elfman berikutnya adalah The Green Hornet yang akan dirilis 14 Januari 2011 dan Restless buatan Gus van Sant yang akan dirilis 25 Januari 2011. By the way, trailer The Green Hornet baru saja dirilis, lihat di sini tapi hati-hati spoiler.

Q&A with composer Jim Dooley

All Things Fangirl mewawancarai Jim Dooley, salah satu composer Remote Control Productions, berikut ini kutipannya.


And there was one moment I remember clearly in high school, it was [during] a short film a friend of mine made, he was throwing a cue ball down the halls of our school to the music from Danny Elfman's score to Batman. And I was like, "This is the greatest music I've ever heard in my life, I've got to find out who this is" and obviously it was Elfman and I was like "Film music? Cool." So I went to the CD rack, saw Batman, and said "What else has this guy done? Pee-Wee's Big Adventure!" and I fell in love. From that day on, I knew it was what I wanted to do. 

I think most composers can pick the film score that brought the art form into consciousness. For me it was Danny Elfman's score to Batman.


Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Do Not Disturb

Anaknya Danny Elfman, Mali Elfman membuat Do Not Disturb, sebuah film berisi lima cerita yang bertautan, disutradarai lima orang untuk masing-masing cerita. Musiknya akan dibuat oleh lima musisi berdasarkan satu tema yang dibuat Danny Elfman. Situs resminya ada di sini.

Charles Grodin To Make 'Midnight Run 2' The Start Of Movie Comeback?

Situs Deadline melaporkan bahwa Charles Grodin akan mempertimbangkan untuk main di sekuel Midnight Run jika diminta. Martin Brest, sutradara Midnight Run, juga dikabarkan akan dilibatkan dalam film sekuel ini. Baca lengkapnya di sini.


Hal yang menarik adalah: siapa yang akan menjadi composer film ini jika jadi dibuat? Harusnya Danny Elfman yak.


Midnight Run adalah film klasik dan Danny Elfman membuat musik film yang sangat cocok dengan filmnya, score yang dimainkan oleh small ensemble: blues, jazz, musik konyol sampai musik aksi. Musiknya jauh berbeda dengan musik-musik orkestral yang dibuat Danny Elfman untuk film-film sebelumnya. Sebagai bonus, saat end credits diputar, lagunya adalah "Try to Believe" yaitu lagu Oingo Boingo (band-nya Danny Elfman dulu) tapi dalam versi country. Lagu ini juga diputar di radio di salah satu adegan filmnya. Buat penggemar Danny Elfman, album ini adalah salah satu album yang wajib dicari, sayangnya album ini sudah out of print dan hanya bisa dibeli di eBay atau tempat-tempat lain dengan harga mahal.

'Alice' Is a Billionaire!

Tanggal 27 Mei kemarin, Box Office Mojo merilis artikel mengenai pendapatan dari film Alice in Wonderland yang menembus 1 milyar dollar pada hari itu.


Sebelumnya hanya ada lima film yang pendapatan dari seluruh dunianya lebih dari 1 milyar dollar: Avatar (composer: James Horner), Titanic (James Horner), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Howard Shore), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Hans Zimmer) dan The Dark Knight (Hans Zimmer dan James Newton Howard). Tentu saja ini film pertama Danny Elfman yang menembus 1 milyar dollar, Alice in Wonderland adalah film Elfman paling laku saat ini. Film Elfman terlaku sebelumnya adalah Spider-Man dengan pendapatan 821,7 juta dollar. 


Baca artikelnya di sini. Congrats!

Happy Birthday Danny Elfman!

Daniel Robert Elfman, lahir 29 Mei 1953. Memang sekarang tanggal 30 Mei tapi di Amerika sana pas tanggal 29 Mei, uhuk.. So, hepi 57th birthday Danny Elfman! Live long and prosper!

Kick-Ass: The Score

Kick-Ass mulai diputar minggu lalu, composer yang terlibat adalah Henry Jackman, John Murphy, Marius de Vries dan Ilan Eshkeri. Danny Elfman juga mengkontribusi satu track untuk salah satu adegan dalam film ini, "Walk to Rasul's". Track ini singkat dan tidak sampai satu menit, gitar listrik, synth samples dan low string sebagai latar.


Track ini tidak termasuk dalam song album namun masuk di dalam score album-nya, track 13. Kick-Ass: The Score dilaporkan dirilis oleh Universal Records tanggal 26 April 2010.


Daniel Schweiger mewawancarai Henry Jackman dan John Murphy di mana salah satunya, sepertinya John Murphy, berkomentar "Elfman is a genius!", yeah! Dengarkan wawancaranya di acara On the Score di situs Film Music Magazine di sini.