THE TOP FORTY COUNTDOWN 2004: PART ONE

By Scott Bettencourt

In this era of unexpected remakes -- Dawn of the Dead, Man on Fire, Fun With Dick and Jane -- it's time to return to another old chestnut and roast it over an open fire yet one more time. The following is of course only my opinion, so let the informed criticism, bitter partisanship and second-guessing begin!

2003 RANKING: 28
AGE: 56
REPRESENTATION: Soundtrack Music Associates
BACKGROUND: Theater music, English television
1 OSCAR
ONGOING FILMMAKER RELATIONSHIPS: John Madden
FAN FAVORITE: Quills
TYPECAST IN: Period drama
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Shakespeare in Love--100
2. Mystery Men--29
3. Captain Corelli's Mandolin--25
4. Billy Elliot--21
5. Mrs. Brown--9
6. Quills--7
7. Birthday Girl--4

Despite his Shakespeare in Love Oscar and prestigious track record, Warbeck hasn't been especially active in the feature realm lately -- his most recent major score was for ABC's Native-American themed miniseries Dreamkeeper. His next big project is Two Brothers, another animal saga from The Bear director Jean-Jacques Annaud, but Warbeck only got that assignment when original composer Gabriel Yared had to bail because of scheduling conflicts with Troy (a film Yared has since been dropped from).

WHAT'S NEXT: Two Brothers

2003 RANKING: Not ranked
AGE: Unavailable
REP: Gorfaine/Schwartz
BACKGROUND: Grandson of art director Walter Tyler, UCLA, Harvard, independent films
FAN FAVORITE: Timeline
TYPECAST IN: Horror, action
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. The Hunted--34
2. Darkness Falls--32
3. Timeline--19
4. Frailty--13
5. Bubba Ho-Tep--1

Replacing Jerry Goldmsith on Richard Donner's film of Timeline may not have done as much for Tyler's career as had been hoped, since though the score was popular with fans, the film was poorly received and was one of the year's biggest moneylosers. Still, it showed that the young composer was ready to play in the big leagues, and his upcoming projects include some offbeat films with big names attached, such as a futuristic drama starring Robin Williams and a sci-fi horror film featuring Robert DeNiro.

WHAT'S NEXT: Godsend, The Final Cut, Paparazzi

2003 RANKING: Not ranked
AGE: 54
REP: May Artist Management
BACKGROUND: Royal Academy of Music, National Film School, BBC music librarian
RELATIONSHIPS: Alex Proyas, Roger Michell, Barbet Schroeder, John Duigan, Robert Halmi
FAN FAVORITE: The Dark Crystal
TYPECAST IN: Adventure
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Notting Hill--116
2. Cliffhanger--84
3. The Last of the Mohicans--75
4. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen--66
5. Sea of Love--56
6. Arachnophobia--53
7. G.I. Jane--48
8. The Dark Crystal--40
9. Crossroads--37
10. Thirteen Days--34

Jones may not be working as regularly as his fans would like, but he's managed to line up some big budget adventure films, and these are the kind of movies audiences (and film music fans) gravitate towards. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, though a boxoffice disappointment, was the kind of epic period fantasy adventure that is a composer's (and a film music fan's) dream, and his full-blooded score was his most satisfying feature work in years. Later on this year he reteams with Dark City director Alex Proyas on what's certain to be one of the year's most high profile sci-fi films, I Robot with Will Smith.

WHAT'S NEXT: Around the World in 80 Days, I Robot

2003 RANKING: Not ranked
AGE: 42
REP: Gorfaine/Schwartz
BACKGROUND: Child choir singer, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, orchestrator for Stanley Myers, Media Ventures
RELATIONSHIPS: Dreamworks, Tony Scott, Joel Schumacher, Dan Ireland
FAN FAVORITE: Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
TYPECAST IN: Animation
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Shrek--263
2. Enemy of the State--111
3. Spy Kids--111
4. Chicken Run--106
5. Antz--90
6. Spy Game--60
7. The Rundown--47
8. Phone Booth--46
9. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas--26
10. The Borrowers--22

Though none of his 2003 films were big hits, this composer managed to demonstrate a wide range of styles from the nervy electronics of Phone Booth to the engagingly melodic Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. Sinbad's boxoffice failure may have helped sound a premature death knell for traditional animation, but Gregson-Williams' score was his most satisfying yet, benefiting from a catchy main theme. The upcoming Bridget Jones sequel may place more emphasis on songs than score, but a hit romantic comedy can only add to Gregson-Williams' cachet, and the Shrek sequel can't hurt either.

WHAT'S NEXT: Shrek II, Man on Fire, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

2003 RANKING: 35
AGE: 53
REP: Gorfaine/Schwartz
BACKGROUND: Stage actor, theater composer
5 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
RELATIONSHIPS: Nora Ephron, Stephen Frears, Harold Ramis, Andy Tennant, Richard Attenborough, Nicholas Hytner, Ken Loach
FAN FAVORITE: Dangerous Beauty
TYPECAST IN: Romance
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Sweet Home Alabama--127
2. You've Got Mail--115
3. Groundhog Day--70
4. Ever After--65
5. Gandhió52
6. Anna and the King--39
7. Dangerous Liaisons--32
8. Object of My Affection--29
9. Final Analysis--28
10. Multiplicity--20

Fenton is a prime example of the importance of regular director collaborators in a composer's career. Though his creatively fruitful partnership with Neil Jordan ended when Fenton was replaced on Interview With the Vampire and two of his steady directors, Richard Attenborough and Nicholas Hytner, have lost some prestige over the years, Fenton still has two steadies who keep him critically and commercially viable. Ken Loach hires him to score some of the most powerfully dramatic films of our time (Ladybird Ladybird, Sweet Sixteen), while Andy Tennant uses him regularly to score high profile Hollywood romances and comedies -- his next project with Tennant is a Will Smith romantic comedy, Last First Kiss.

WHAT'S NEXT: Last First Kiss

2003 RANKING: Not ranked
AGE: 32
REP: Gorfaine/Schwartz
BACKGROUND: Julliard, concert composer
RELATIONSHIPS: Tod Phillips, John Hamburg
FAN FAVORITE: Heist
TYPECAST IN: Comedy
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Along Came Polly--87 (as of 3/21/04)
2. Old School--74
3. Starsky & Hutch--67 (as of 3/21/04)
4. Not Another Teen Movie--38
5. Heist--23
6. View From the Top--15
7. State and Main--6
8. Girlfight--1

Fans of Shapiro's cool, Goldsmith-ian score for David Mamet's Heist may bemoan the fact that he's become quickly typecast as a comedy composer, but though the surprise hit Along Came Polly didn't give him any particular opportunity to shine, his pitch-perfect, straight faced 70s homage for Starsky & Hutch was one of the film's strongest assets, and it's a great pity no score album is forthcoming.

WHAT'S NEXT: 13 Going on 30

2003 RANKING: 27
AGE: 44
REP: Kraft-Engel
BACKGROUND: Musical director/arranger/pianist for singers, theater songwriter, Saturday Night Live
5 OSCAR NOMINATIONS
RELATIONSHIPS: Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal, Scott Rudin, Sam Weisman, Paul Rudnick
FAN FAVORITE: South Park
TYPECAST IN: Comedy
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. A Few Good Men--141
2. Sister Act--139
3. Patch Adams--135
4. Sleepless in Seattle--126
5. City Slickers--124
6. The Addams Family--113
7. The First Wives Club--105
8. George of the Jungle--105
9. When Harry Met Sally--92
10. Disney's The Kid--69

Shaiman left the movie version of The Cat in the Hat after contributing a pair of songs, and his only movie since his Tony winning Hairspray was the stylish but unsatisfying Hollywood comedy pastiche Down With Love. Shaiman's score worked hard to recreate the sound of the Frank DeVol era, and though the orchestrations were wonderful and his end title song was first-rate, the incessant scoring tended to detract from the comedy rather than enhance it, drawing negative reviews from some mainstream film critics (one reviewer expressed a wish to "throttle" Shaiman). A planned collaboration with the South Park creators should help restore Shaiman's hipster credibility (after all, Shaiman's pretty much the funniest man in film music, though apart from Randy Newman there's not a lot of competition), and there's always Broadway.

WHAT'S NEXT: Team America

2003 RANKING: 34
AGE: 50
REP: Kraft-Engel
BACKGROUND: Rock guitarist for the band Yes, Media Ventures
RELATIONSHIPS: Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay
FAN FAVORITE: Armageddon
TYPECAST IN: Action
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Armageddon--201
2. Bad Boys II--138
3. Remember the Titans--115
4. Enemy of the State--111
5. Gone in 60 Seconds--101
6. Con Air--101
7. Deep Blue Seaó73
8. Kangaroo Jack--65
9. The One--43
10. The 6th Day--34

Mark Mancina's departure from Bad Boys II left Rabin the sole composer on that slick but bizarre example of Hollywood soullessness, and though its reasonably high grosses are good for Rabin's resume, its stratospheric budget means that it's ultimately not a true hit. Rabin should have more range-stretching material with John Dahl's WWII adventure The Great Raid -- assuming Miramax ever takes it off the shelf -- as well as the thriller White on White, based on one of Patricia Highsmith's sequels to The Talented Mr. Ripley.

WHAT'S NEXT: White on White, The Great Raid
 

2003 RANKING: 26
AGE: 46
REP: First Artists
BACKGROUND: UCLA Music Department (under David Raksin), low-budget features
RELATIONSHIPS: Jon Amiel, Lasse Hallstrom
FAN FAVORITE: Hellraiser
TYPECAST IN: Horror, thrillers
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Entrapment--87
2. Swordfish--69
3. Species--60
4. The Hurricane--50
5. Runaway Jury--49
6. Bandits--41
7. Urban Legend--38
8. Set It Off--36
9. The Core--31
10. Sweet November--25

Young had only two features released theatrically in 2003 -- such projects as Scenes of the Crime, Shade, and The Devil and Daniel Webster either went straight to video or stayed on the shelf. The Core featured an exciting orchestral score while Runaway Jury was effectively jazzy, but though both films were highly entertaining studio products neither was a moneymaker. The best news for Young's fans is a reteaming with his prestigious Shipping News director Lasse Hallstrom -- An Unfinished Life, a family drama pairing Robert Redford and Jennifer Lopez.

WHAT'S NEXT: Shade, An Unfinished Life

2003 RANKING: 25
AGE: 37
REP: Gorfaine/Schwartz
BACKGROUND: Eton College, Royal College of Music, apprentice to Michael Kamen
RELATIONSHIPS: Neal Moritz, Iain Softley, Roger Kumble, Peter Howitt
FAN FAVORITE: Count of Monte Cristo
TYPECAST IN: Female action comedy
TOP GROSSING FILMS:
1. Charlie's Angels--125
2. Miss Congeniality--105
3. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle--100
4. Blue Streak--68
5. The Count of Monte Cristo--54
6. K-PAX--50
7. Reign of Fire--43
8. Cruel Intentions--38
9. Johnny English--27
10. The Sweetest Thing--24

The inevitable Charlie's Angels sequel was not much of a creative challenge for this talented composer and wasn't even the blockbuster its studio was counting on, but Shearmur wrote a much more satisfying score for the funny yet inexplicably reviled Johnny English -- as many have pointed out, his music sounds like an audition to be the next Bond composer (and gives David Arnold a run for his money). His upcoming projects include a romantic comedy, a horror film and a period sci-fi adventure.

WHAT'S NEXT: Laws of Attraction, The Skeleton Key, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

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