Danny Elfman Discusses Film Scoring, Getting Along With Tim Burton, Johnny Depp the Thief

Satu lagi liputan QA tanggal 8 Mei kemarin, kali ini dari situs Billboard. Berikut kutipannya:

How did you treat the score when adapting the music for the remake of Psycho?
I didn't really do much of anything. I just tried to not touch it. All I did was make tiny little edits here and there. I didn't want Bernard Herman's ghost walking in the room because he was famously cranky. I just imagined him at the foot of my bed in the middle of the night going, 'You asshole, what did you do to my great score?' I handled the music as if it were like Holy Scripture.

What is your opinion on new programs that composers use, like orchestra programs, versus a full live orchestra?
There are a lot of scores out there that don't use a live orchestra that sound really good. There's nothing that says a score has to have orchestra, but I think if you're going to use orchestra -- a real orchestra sounds better than a sampled orchestra. There's a lot of scores I've done where half of what I've laid down, before going to the orchestra, stays. Really only the strings, brass and woodwinds disappeared. Everything else I've already done myself. I like using my own samples of my own stuff, but I still can't ever top real brass, strings and woodwinds. Even thought the sample libraries are getting better and I think they are suitable, you can't get the nuances out of those instruments yet. Maybe someday they will, but for now I can still hear the difference between a sampled orchestral score. But those work best if the score is not orchestral. I've done scores and pieces where it was almost all samples because there was no money.

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On Dark Shadows – An Evening With Danny Elfman

Berikut ini laporan acara QA kemarin, ini kutipannya:

Though he has made some of the most famous scores to date, he still holds admiration for his peers. Elfman proclaimed Phillip Glass is his greatest inspiration. Surprisingly, when John Bond interviewed Glass at an earlier date, he discovered that he, in return, is a fan of Danny’s.

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22 Things You May Not Have Known About ‘Dark Shadows’ Composer Danny Elfman

Situs Film School Rejects membuat artikel berdasarkan QA kemarin, berikut kutipannya:

Johnny Depp used to steal guitar picks from him. Depp’s band would rehearse in the same space as Oingo Boingo and Depp would steal Elfman’s guitar picks because his band was too broke to afford their own. Depp finally admitted to it much later.

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Dark Shadows composer Danny Elfman on his long collaboration with Tim Burton

A.V. Club mewawancara Danny Elfman, berikut kutipannya:

AVC: When you’re composing the score to a film that’s based on an existing property, like Dark Shadows, do you go ever back and listen to the music from the original in search of inspiration? 

DE: Well, interestingly, this is the first time we have done that. Because on Planet Of The Apes and Charlie [And The Chocolate Factory] and Batman, we made a conscious decision to make no references—ever—to the originals, that they should be their own thing and that we shouldn’t even listen to it. But here, this was different. Tim really did like the tone of the music to the TV show, and he got me listening to it. So half the score is kind of big, melodramatic orchestra, and… We didn’t really know how to approach it at first, but it finally kind of evolved into this clear design where, when we’re in the big part of the love story in the past and how Barnabas became a vampire and his battle with Angelique, we’re using the orchestra in a more or less traditional way. But whenever he’s with the family in the house, we’re going to use an ensemble that’s very much like the ensemble might have been in 1970. A very, very small orchestra, mostly just three solo instruments: a bass clarinet, bass flute, and vibes. And the vibes and the flute very much are taken and inspired from the original TV music. Furthermore, there were these riffs that they did that I really liked, so I did pull some music from the TV show into the score, and Bob Cobert, the writer for that, is credited in the cue sheets for those moments where it kind of becomes a co-composition. So it really was unique. The only time in 75 films or whatever that I’ve ever paid attention to the music of the past was Mission: Impossible, because I knew I was going to use Lalo Schifrin’s song, and Dark Shadows. And it wasn’t a specific piece. It was just a tone, a sound, that we both really liked. So that did make it kind of more fun and special in that way.

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Danny Elfman and the American Youth Symphony

Situs Film Music Society melaporkan konser Danny Elfman oleh American Youth Symphony, berikut kutipannya:

The symposium began with Newman conducting five movements of Elfman's score for Errol Morris' Standard Operating Procedure, the acclaimed documentary on abuses at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Following the performance, Elfman sat in conversation with journalist Jon Burlingame about his life and composing career. Elfman proved a lively raconteur, regaling the audience with stories about London musicians giving conductor Shirley Walker a chauvinistic attitude on the Batman recording sessions; the Tchaikovsky influences on his writing for Edward Scissorhands and how often his fairy-tale, choir-and-celeste ideas have been "borrowed" since; how he left one highly commercial project in order to score the post-Civil War romance Sommersby motivated by the film's unexpected ending where the hero is hanged; and Morris' unusual ideas about scoring Standard Operating Procedure.

Elfman also attended the evening concert and took four curtain calls with Newman and the orchestra at the conclusion, which were met with wild cheers and standing ovations from the packed house at UCLA.

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DANNY ELFMAN TO HOST A LIVE Q+A SESSION MAY 8TH

Berita lama tapi patut diliput karena sudah dekat dengan tanggalnya. Berikut kutipannya:

Grammy Award-winning and four-time Oscar®-nominated composer Danny Elfman will be at Warner Bros. Records in Burbank, CA to host a live Q & A open to the public on Tuesday, May 8 at 6:00pm. The event will be moderated by DANSE MACABRE author, Jeff Bond. Signed DARK SHADOWS CD's and signed DANNY ELFMAN AND TIM BURTON 25TH ANNIVERSARY MUSIC BOXES will be available.

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Barry Sonnenfeld Declares ‘Men in Black III’ a Return to Form

Sutradara Men in Black 3, Barry Sonnenfeld diwawancarai dan berikut kutipannya mengenai Danny Elfman:

I thought the second film was missing a Vincent D'Onofrio, a villain who had real menace to him and raised the stakes. Would you say Jemaine Clement brings that back?

Well, yes, thank you for asking me that. For one, on the second movie, I think we forgot to pay attention to having a really strong villain. D'Onofrio was fantastic, because he was both menacing and also very funny because he was so frustrated by earth. In this movie, Jemaine is an incredibly good villain. For one, Rick Baker's makeup, which took Jemaine four and a half hours every morning to put on, really turned Jemaine from the nicest human being you'll ever meet into someone who both looks and acts really scary. He's a really mean and great-looking villain. We learned from the second one and are back to have a really strong villain. In fact, Danny Elfman, who did the score on all three movies, is huge Jemaine Clement fan and loves every moment of Flight of the Concords. The first time I showed him Men in Black III, he said, "That villain is fantastic. Who is he?" I said his name was Jemaine Clement, and he said "no way." Danny Elfman not recognizing one of his musical idols was very satisfying.

Danny did a fantastic job on the score, with it being reminiscent of the first movie, but also new and hip. Also, by going to 1969, it allowed me to have a lot of really great music from the era. However, some of the music I chose is not so much pop, but Velvet Underground, Cream, and a Rolling Stones I had never heard before called 2,000 Lightyears From Home, and it's a fantastic song.

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Men in Black 3

Studio: Amblin Entertainment, Columbia Pictures
Sutradara: Barry Sonnenfeld
Composer: Danny Elfman
Tanggal rilis film: 25 Mei 2012
Tanggal rilis album: 29 Mei 2012
Label: Sony Masterworks

Track list:
1. Men In Black 3 - Main Titles
2. Spiky Bulba
3. The Set-Up
4. Headquarters
5. Regret
6. Wrong
7. Not Funny
8. Big Trouble
9. Out On A Limb
10. Time Jump
11. Bad Fortune
12. Forget Me Not
13. Goin' Back Or Into The Past
14. Griffin Steps Up
15. True Story
16. The Prize-Monocycles
17. Boris Meets Boris
18. Under The Bridge
19. The Mission Begins
20. Mission Accomplished
21. A Close One
22. Men In Black 3 - Main Title Revisited

Soundtrack Review: Dark Shadows (2012)

Situs Soundtrack Geek membuat review (pertama?) dari score Danny Elfman untuk Dark Shadows. Album ini baru akan dirilis tanggal 8 Mei 2012, kok udah dapat yak. Berikut kutipannya:

I have to admit, during the first seconds of ‘Dark Shadows – Prologue’ I thought I had mistakenly put in my Bob Cobert CD from the television series Dark Shadows. The sound is unmistakable, but that’s where the similarities end (mostly). Step up the real Danny Elfman! From around 4:20 and onwards is the best part where he admittedly stals a little from his excellent Wolfman score, but it sounds better than ever with power and the choir. It has a bit of fun too and cues like ‘Shadows Reprise’ shows off some excellent sound design with some amazing synth work combined with a catchy theme.

The score has lot of great cues and there isn’t a weak cue among them.

Well, not to state the bleeding obvious, but I enjoyed this score a lot. It has a little bit of Bob Cobert in there which ties it nicely to the original TV series and then it’s mostly all Elfman and his excellent take on gothic horror.

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American Youth Symphony Presents Danny Elfman Project

American Youth Symphony di Los Angeles, Amerika akan mengadakan Danny Elfman Project, dimulai tanggal 6 Mei ini di Royce Hall, UCLA. PROYEK TIGA TAHUN ini disponsori oleh BMI dan akan mengeksplorasi dan merayakan musik film dari Danny Elfman. Berikut kutipannya:

At 4 p.m. on May 6, film music historian Jon Burlingame will lead an in-depth symposium discussing Elfman’s career. At 7 p.m., top-drawer BMI composer David Newman will conduct the American Youth Symphony in an inspiring concert featuring Elfman’s compositions.

Oscar-nominated Elfman is a living legend. After composing his first score for Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, he went on to craft ingenious work for some of the most influential and popular films of the last several decades. He has collaborated with directors such as Tim Burton, Gus Van Sant, Sam Raimi, Paul Haggis, Ang Lee, Rob Marshall, Guillermo del Toro, Brian De Palma, and Peter Jackson. His credits include the four Oscar-nominated films Milk, Good Will Hunting, Big Fish and Men in Black, along with Edward Scissorhands, Wanted, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mission: Impossible, Planet of the Apes, A Simple Plan, To Die For, Spider-Man (1 & 2), Batman, Dolores Claiborne, Sommersby, Chicago, Dick Tracy, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland; as well as the famous themes for television series The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives. Most recently he provided the music for Gus Van Sant’s Restless and Shawn Levy’s Reel Steel, and is currently working on Men In Black 3, Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful, and two Tim Burton projects: Frankenweenie and Dark Shadows.

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Dark Shadows: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures, GK Films, Infinitum Nihil, Warner Bros (distributor)
Sutradara: Tim Burton
Composer: Danny Elfman
Tanggal rilis film: 11 Mei 2012
Tanggal rilis album: 8 Mei 2012
Label: Watertower Music

Track list:
1. Nights in White Satin - The Moody Blues
2. Dark Shadows - Prologue - Danny Elfman
3. I'm Sick Of You - Iggy Pop
4. Season Of The Witch - Donovan
5. Top Of The World - The Carpenters
6. You're The First, My Last, My Everything - Barry White
7. Get It On - T. Rex
8. No More Mr. Nice Guy (Album Version) - Alice Cooper
9. Ballad Of Dwight Fry - Alice Cooper
10. The End? - Danny Elfman
11. The Joker - Johnny Depp

DANNY ELFMAN'S DARK SHADOWS ORIGINAL SCORE TO BE RELEASED MAY 8

Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures, GK Films, Infinitum Nihil, Warner Bros (distributor)
Sutradara: Tim Burton
Composer: Danny Elfman
Tanggal rilis film: 11 Mei 2012
Tanggal rilis album: 8 Mei 2012
Label: Watertower Music

Track list:
1. Dark Shadows - Prologue (Uncut)
2. Resurrection
3. Vicky Enters Collinswood
4. Deadly Handshake
5. Shadows - Reprise
6. Is It Her?
7. Barnabus Comes Home
8. Vicky's Nightmare
9. Hypno Music
10. Killing Dr. Hoffman
11. Dumping the Body
12. Roger Departs
13. Burn Baby Burn / In-Tombed
14. Lava Lamp
15. The Angry Mob
16. House of Blood
17. Final Confrontation
18. Widow's Hill - Finale
19. The End? (Uncut)
20. More The End?
21. We Will End You!

Press release mengenai album Dark Shadows dirilis hari ini oleh CineMedia Promotions. Berikut kutipannya:

For more than 25 years, Burton and Elfman have collaborated on some of the cinema's most beloved and recognizable films and soundtracks, including Big Fish, for which Elfman received an Oscar® nomination; Beetlejuice; Batman; Edward Scissorhands; Sleepy Hollow; Corpse Bride; and, more recently, Alice in Wonderland.

"Tim had some specific ideas about the music on Dark Shadows," says Elfman. "I knew that the bigger dramatic scenes would be played in a rather grand theatrical manner, but the real treat was tapping into the retro pallet Tim had imagined. He wanted something that payed homage to both the original TV series and other '70s horror genres as well. For that we kept it minimal, eerie, and atmospheric with only electronics and a few solo instruments carrying the melodies."

Elfman has also received Oscar® nominations for his scores for Barry Sonnenfeld's Men in Black, and Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting and Milk. Movie audiences worldwide have also heard Danny Elfman's unique sound and style in some 80 film scores, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man; Brian De Palma's Mission: Impossible; Martin Brest's Midnight Run; Jon Amiel's Sommersby; the Hughes Brothers' Dead Presidents; Rob Marshall's Academy® Award-winning Chicago; and Shawn Levy's Real Steel.

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Dark Shadows Original Score

Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures, GK Films, Infinitum Nihil, Warner Bros (distributor)
Sutradara: Tim Burton
Composer: Danny Elfman
Tanggal rilis film: 11 Mei 2012
Tanggal rilis album: 8 Mei 2012
Label: Watertower Music

Dark Shadows dibuat berdasarkan soap opera tahun '60-an berisi makhluk-makhluk horor gothic seperti vampir, monster, nenek sihir, werewolves, hantu, dan zombi. Bintang-bintangnya banyak juga yak, the usual suspects are there, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter dan Christopher Lee, plus Michelle Pfeiffer yang jadi Catwoman di Batman Returns. Selain itu ada pula Eva Green yang jadi Bond girl di Casino Royale dan Chloe Moretz yang jadi Hit Girl di Kick-Ass dan baru-baru ini muncul di Hugo bersama Christopher Lee.

Film ini akan menjadi film ke-12 pasangan sutradara-composer Tim Burton dan Danny Elfman (sebenarnya 13 tapi The Nightmare Before Christmas disutradarai oleh Henry Selick). Film Tim Burton sebelumnya adalah Alice in Wonderland di tahun 2010. Film kerja sama mereka berikutnya adalah Frankenweenie.

Bagi Danny Elfman sendiri, Dark Shadows akan menjadi karya pertamanya di tahun 2012, menyusul Men in Black 3 tanggal 25 Mei 2012 dan kemudian Frankenweenie yang rencananya akan dirilis tanggal 5 Oktober 2012. Jadwal film Danny Elfman di tahun 2013 adalah Oz: The Great and Powerful (8 Maret 2013) dan Leafmen (17 Mei 2013).

Film Music Magazine March Soundtrack Picks

Daniel Schweiger di situs Film Music Magazine merekomendasikan musik Danny Elfman untuk Planet of The Apes yang baru dirilis La-La Land Records, berikut kutipannya:

Danny Elfman has often played primal aggressiveness for director Tim Burton in such rampaging scores as “Sleepy Hollow” and “Mars Attacks.” But none of their collaborations would grab the composer’s furious instincts like Burton’s redo for “Planet of the Apes.” Sure Jerry Goldsmith had the percussive idea first when he accompanied Charlton Heston into The Forbidden Zone, but leave it to Danny Elfman to run rampant with those animalistic beats and ethnic wind instruments. While the orchestra is ever present here, it’s a swirling, unbound beast, with anything resembling pleasant melody hosed down in a cage until the climax. Grinding, pounding, screaming brass is the thrust of this “Ape” score, an approach that definitely makes this at times near-dissonant “Planet” soundtrack its own, assaultive animal in the franchise’s cannon, and the one that arguably best conveys the most nightmarish aspects of a future man never reckoned on making. 

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The Elfman Project

Tanggal 8 Maret yang lalu, diumumkan bahwa American Youth Symphony akan menyelenggarakan konser untuk musik-musik Danny Elfman, berikut kutipannya:

Following the success of The Goldsmith Project, AYS explores the work of famed film composer Danny Elfman. This is the first in a 3 year project to explore the music and musical life of this brilliant, four-time Oscar-nominated composer. While Elfman has composed concert works as well, this is a rare opportunity to hear his film scores performed live! The afternoon symposium will feature a live performance and discussion of his innovative work and collaborations.

Konser tersebut akan memainkan musik Elfman untuk Batman, Sommersby dan Edward Scissorhands. Sebelum konser akan diadakan simposium di mana akan dimainkan musik Elfman untuk Standard Operating Procedure. Acaranya akan diadakan tanggal 6 Mei di Royce Hall, Los Angeles. Sebenarnya mau datang ke konser tersebut, tapi agak susah karena persiapan-persiapan menjelang Diablo 3 tanggal 15 Mei, ah well... Baca lengkapnya di sini.

Movie Music UK Awards 2011

Tanggal 6 Maret yang lalu, situs Movie Music UK mengumumkan pemenang penghargaannya, berikut kutipannya:

BEST SCORE – THRILLER, ACTION OR ADVENTURE
ALAN SILVESTRI for Captain America: The First Avenger
CRAIG ARMSTRONG for In Time
PATRICK DOYLE for Rise of the Planet of the Apes
MICHAEL GIACCHINO for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
LARRY GROUPE for Straw Dogs

Other notable thriller/action/adventure scores from 2011 include Chris Bacon’s SOURCE CODE, Roque Baños’s INTRUDERS, Alfons Conde’s VIENTO EN CONTRA, Nicolas Errera’s SHAOLIN, Danny Elfman’s REAL STEEL, David Hirschfelder’s SANCTUM, Luis Ivars’s CAPITÁN TRUENO Y EL SANTO GRIAL, Eric Neveux’s HIDEAWAYS, Naoki Sato’s GAKU, and Brian Tyler’s FAST FIVE.

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Filmtracks announces its 2011 award nominees and winners

Situs Filmtracks mengumumkan penghargaannya dan Danny Elfman mendapat beberapa nominasi dan menang untuk kategori Top Film Cues. Berikut kutipannya:

Top Film Scores:
• La Ligne Droite (The Straight Line) (Patrick Doyle)
• The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (John Williams)
• The Greatest Miracle (Mark McKenzie)
• Priest (Christopher Young)
• Real Steel (Danny Elfman) 
• Soul Surfer (Marco Beltrami)

The nominees this year were relatively easy to determine, the strength of the field demanding the sixth nomination slot that Filmtracks reserves for abnormally solid years. Selecting the winner was extremely challenging, however, only The Greatest Miracle not competing with its peers. To break the tie, all of these films were viewed carefully to account for the impact of the music in context. After this process was completed, it became clear that Doyle's La Ligne Droite and Elfman's Real Steel had the most substantial impact on their films, the former slightly edging the latter because of its remarkable efficiency given such a small ensemble.

Top Film Cues:
• Real Steel (Danny Elfman) "Final Round"

• The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (John Williams) "Sir Francis and the Unicorn"
• Black Gold (James Horner) "Phantom Army"
• Dream House (John Debney) "Dream House End Credits"
• The Greatest Miracle (Mark McKenzie) "Ascension/Gloria Patri"
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Alexandre Desplat) "Statues"
• Hugo (Howard Shore) "Winding It Up"
• La Ligne Droite (The Straight Line) (Patrick Doyle) "Stadium Memories"
• Mars Needs Moms (John Powell) "Gribble's Loss"
• Peak: The Rescuers (Naoki Sato) "Kyuushutsu"
• Priest (Christopher Young) "Fanfare for a Resurrected Priestess"
• Real Steel (Danny Elfman) "Safe With Me"
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Patrick Doyle) "Off You Go"
• Soul Surfer (Marco Beltrami) "Back in the Water"
• Soul Surfer (Marco Beltrami) "Half Pint Boards"
• Super 8 (Michael Giacchino) "Letting Go"
• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (Carter Burwell) "A Wolf Stands Up"
• War Horse (John Williams) "Dartmoor, 1912"
• Water for Elephants (James Newton Howard) "The Circus Sets Up"
• W.E. (Abel Korzeniowski) "Dance for Me Wallis"

This category was extremely difficult to resolve for 2011, the generally high quality of the year as a whole for film music forcing a plethora of difficult choices. After viewing most of the films represented by these contenders, this award came down to three cues that had a tremendous impact upon their scenes: "Stadium Memories" from Doyle's La Ligne Droite, "Final Round" from Elfman's Real Steel, and "Kyuushutsu" ("Rescue") from Sato's Peak: The Rescuers. All three are represented by altered edits on their album releases, though "Final Round" from Real Steel is arguably superior in its film arrangement, giving it the slight advantage over the other two. Any one of these three cues could have won this award, and if a three-way tie were possible, that may have been the best choice.

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Planet of the Apes (2001) (Expanded Edition) Music By Danny Elfman

Situs Examiner me-review rilis Planet of the Apes dari La-La Land Records, berikut kutipannya:

In revisiting Planet of the Apes, ten years later as a whole, it stands out as a solid score that is definitely alot better than alot of scores that have been released in recent years despite the fact that isn't quite as memorable. Yet, the production values and Elfman's tireless and laborious efforts on it, still make this an album worth getting.
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Rockers Who Score Films

Situs Rolling Stone mem-publish artikel mengenai Rockers Who Score Films, tentunya termasuk Danny Elfman, berikut kutipannya:

Before Danny Elfman began composing scores for film and TV, he was the frontman for Oingo Boingo. In addition to composing the theme songs for The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives, Elfman has composed scores for multiple films. He has worked with Tim Burton several times, creating the score for Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks!,Sleepy Hollow, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland.

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The Artist and The Muppets Score Oscar Music Gold

Old news yeah.. Situs The Film Music Society melaporkan segala hal yang terkait dengan musik film dari acara pengumuman pemenang Oscar yang lalu. Berikut kutipannya:

Composer Marc Shaiman, host Billy Crystal's longtime musical collaborator, penned the music and lyrics for Crystal's funny opening Oscar medley. Danny Elfman was announced as having composed the music for the Cirque du Soleil segment. And David Newman's music for Hoffa was heard during the segment recapping the Governors' Awards to James Earl Jones, Oprah Winfrey and makeup artist Dick Smith.

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