La-La Land has just announced a handful of upcoming CD releases focusing on superhero scores which will, fittingly enough, first go on sale at ComicCon before being made available to order from their website beginning July 19th -- a four disc (!!!)  episode scores of one of the best-scored TV series of all time: BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (VOLUME TWO), with music by the late, great Shirley Walker and several others (limited to 3500 units). Also coming is a two-disc set of John Ottman's score of the hit superhero sequel X2; a greatly expanded release of David Newman's score for the pulp adventure THE PHANTOM; and a 5000-unit re-release of La-La Land's awesome, out-of-print BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, VOLUME ONE.

The label also announced several upcoming releases, including a 4-disc set of music from STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE; the first release of Alan Silvestri's score for the hit romantic thriller THE BODYGUARD; the first release of Patrick Williams' score for Robert Zemeckis' cult classic comedy USED CARS, paired with Ernest Gold's unused score for the film; Frederik Wiedmann's music for GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES; and a two-disc set of Hans Zimmer's groundbreaking score for Ridley Scott's Japan-set cop thriller BLACK RAIN.

On August 14, LSO Live will release a new CD, THE GREATEST FILM SCORES OF DIMITRI TIOMKIN, with Richard Kaufman conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in a live recording of such classic Tiomkin music as The Alamo, Dial M for Murder, GIant and High Noon.

Intrada has two new releaes due next week, including a two-disc set featuring four scores. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced their yearly list of actors, executive and filmmakers whom they've just invited to join the Academy, 176 names including the latest Oscar winners (Jean Dujardin, Michel Hazanavicius), some top international directors (Wong Kar-Wai, the Dardenne brothers), and five new Music Branch members, all composers -- 2011 Best Score winner Ludovic Bource, three-time nominee Alberto Iglesias, veteran orchestrator-composer Conrad Pope, Last Emperor score winner/co-star Ryuichi Sakamoto, and top comedy composer Theodore Shapiro.

CDS AVILABLE THIS WEEK

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Henry Jackman - Sony
All in a Night's Work - Andre Previn - Kritzerland
The Amazing Spider-Man - James Horner - Sony
Savages - Adam Peters (13 min.), songs - Varese Sarabande
Seeking Justice - J. Peter Robinson - Perseverance

IN THEATERS TODAY

The Amazing Spider-Man - James Horner - Score CD on Sony
Crazy Eyes - Bobby Johnston
The Do-Deca Pentathlon - Julian Wass
The Magic of Belle Isle - Marc Shaiman
Savages - Adam Peters - Score (13 min.) and Song CD on Varese Sarabande

COMING SOON

July 10
Cosmopolis - Howard Shore - Howe (U.S. release)
Ice Age: Continental Drift- Varese Sarabande
Soul of the Ultimate Nation - Howard Shore - Howe
July 17
Batman: The Animated Series, Vol. 1 (re-release) - Shirley Walker, et al - La-La Land
Batman: The Animated Series, Vol. 2 - Shirley Walker, et al - La-La Land
The Dark Knight Rises - Hans Zimmer - Watertower
The Phantom - David Newman - La-La Land
X2 - John Ottman - La-La Land
July 24
The Chorus - Bruno Coulais - Varese Sarabande
Killer Joe - Tyler Bates - Milan
Ruby Sparks - Nick Urata - Milan
July 31
The Bourne Legacy - James Newton Howard - Varese Sarabande
August 14
The Greatest Film Scores of Dimitri Tiomkin - Dimitri Tiomkin - LSO Live
Date Unknown
Assault on Precinct 13/Dark Star (re-recording) - John Carpenter - Buysoundtrax
Black Rain - Hans Zimmer - La-La Land
The Bodyguard - Alan Silvestri - La-La Land
Charmed - J. Peter Robinson - Perseverance
Green Lantern: The Animated Series - Frederik Wiedmann - La-La Land
La Pacifista - Giorgio Gaslini - Quartet
La Sorella - Giorgio Gaslini - Quartet
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - various - La-La Land
Used Cars - Patrick Williams, Ernest Gold - La-La Land
The Wayward Bus/The Enemy Below - Leigh Harline - Kritzerland

THIS WEEK IN FILM MUSIC HISTORY

July 6 - Hanns Eisler born (1898)
July 6 - John Ottman born (1964)
July 6 - Ron Goodwin begins recording his score to Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
July 6 - John Williams begins recording his score for Superman (1978)
July 6 - Frank Cordell died (1980)
July 7 - Johnny Mandel begins recording his score for Point Blank (1967)
July 7 - Gerald Fried's score for the Star Trek episode "Friday's Child" is recorded (1967)
July 7 - Recording sessions begin on James Newton Howard's score for The Fugitive (1993)
July 8 - Bob Alcivar born (1938)
July 8 - Jay Chattaway born (1946)
July 8 - John Addison records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "The Pumpkin Competition" (1986)
July 9 - Richard Hageman born (1882)
July 9 - Earle Hagen born (1919)
July 9 - Paul Chihara born (1938)
July 9 - Harald Kloser born (1956)
July 9 - Conrad Salinger died (1961)
July 9 - Jerry Fielding begins recording his score for The Outfit (1973)
July 9 - James Horner records his score for the Amazing Stories episode "Alamo Jobe"(1985)
July 10 - Georges Delerue begins recording his score for The Pick-Up Artist (1987)
July 11 - Georges Delerue begins recording his score for Maxie (1985)
July 12 - James Bernard died (2001)
July 12 - Benny Carter died (2003)
July 12 - Fred Steiner's score for the Star Trek episode "Who Mourns For Adonais?" is recorded (1967)
July 12 - Fred Steiner's score for the Star Trek episode "Elaan of Troyius" is recorded (1968)

DID THEY MENTION THE MUSIC?

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD - Dan Romer, Benh Zeitlin

"Most cultures have their ancient flood stories, and this flood is explicitly attributed to global warming and the melting of polar ice caps -- Hushpuppy even has visions of Arctic avalanches. Like Malick’s narrators, she has transcendental feelers: 'When it all goes quiet behind my eyes,' Hushpuppy says, 'I see everything that made me flying around in invisible pieces.' We can see them, too, in scenes before the storm that will sweep away everything: Hushpuppy and other children running through the night, laughing and waving sparklers, the swirling lights like the last dance of those invisible pieces -- all underscored by Zeitlin’s own neo-Glassian score, which makes even disparate sequences seem fluid. I hope I’m not raining on 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'’s deluge to say it doesn’t always live up to its pretensions. There’s a lot of unshaped babble and draggy landscape shots, and the music, so lovely in small doses, is numbing when it’s ladled over everything."

David Edelstein, New York

"'Beasts of the Southern Wild' isn’t long on story structure, character motivation, or pacing -- it has a tendency to lurch from one emotional high point to the next, aided by a constant stream of bayou-inflected music (some of it co-composed by the director, much of it quite lovely, but enough already with the music) and a relentless voice-over from the precociously poetic Hushpuppy ('When all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me flying around in invisible pieces.' 'Me and my daddy, we stay right here. We who this earth is for.') Quvenzhané Wallis, only 6 at the time of filming (and 5 when she was first cast) is a remarkably beautiful and self-possessed child, with a serious, thoughtful face that holds the screen all by itself -- she didn’t need to be saddled with lyrical logorrhea to make us root for her survival."

Dana Stevens, Slate.com

THE NEXT TEN DAYS IN L.A.

Screenings of older films, at the following L.A. movie theaters: AMPAS, American Cinematheque: Aero, American Cinematheque: Egyptian, LACMA, New Beverly, Nuart, Silent Movie Theater and UCLA.

July 6
THE APPLE (Coby Recht) [Nuart]
THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (Ennio Morricone, Gillo Pontecorvo), PEPE LE MOKO (Vincent Scotto, Mohammed Ygerbuchen) [New Beverly]
CONTEMPT (Georges Delerue), MISSISSIPPI MERMAID (Antoine Duhamel) [LACMA]
NEVER TOO YOUNG TO DIE (Lennie Niehaus) [Silent Movie Theater]
SHERLOCK JR., THE CAMERAMAN [Cinematheque: Aero]
STAGECOACH (Richard Hageman, Frank Harling, John Liepold, Leo Shuken) [AMPAS]

July 7
THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (Ennio Morricone, Gillo Pontecorvo), PEPE LE MOKO [New Beverly]
NORTH SHORE (Richard Stone) [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (David Newman) [AMPAS]
ROCKY IV (Vince DiCola) [New Beverly]

July 8
DUCK, YOU SUCKER (Ennio Morricone) [New Beverly]
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (Quincy Jones), INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHES (Carmen Dragon) [CInematheque: Aero]
THE LOVE PARADE, THE SMILING LIEUTENANT [UCLA]
SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (Stephen Hague, John Musser), ALL THE RIGHT MOVES (David Richard Campbell) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]

July 9
DUCK, YOU SUCKER (Ennio Morricone) [New Beverly]
IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (Ernest Gold) [AMPAS]
THE SAND ROSE, JAIME [UCLA]

July 10
THE EIGHT DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER (Stephen Shing, Chen-Hau So), FIVE ELEMENT NINJA (Stephen Shing, Chen-Hau So) [New Beverly]
THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY (George Duning) [LACMA]

July 11
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS (Mark Suozzo, Adam Schlesinger), KICKING AND SCREAMING (Phil Marshall) [New Beverly]
PICADILLY [Silent Movie Theater]

July 12
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS (Mark Suozzo, Adam Schlesinger), KICKING AND SCREAMING (Phil Marshall) [New Beverly]
GIMME SHELTER [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
A STAR IS BORN (Ray Heindorf) [Cinematheque: Aero]
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (John Barry), A VIEW TO A KILL (John Barry) [LACMA]

July 13
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Georges Aurice), LA NUIT FANTASTIQUE (Maurice Thieret) [LACMA]
DEEP BLUE SEA (Trevor Rabin) [Silent Movie Theater]
GHOST (Maurice Jarre) [AMPAS]
THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE (Carter Burwell), A SIMPLE PLAN (Danny Elfman) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
711 OCEAN DRIVE (Sol Kaplan), HACKERS (Simon Boswell) [New Beverly]
SEVEN MEN FROM NOW (Henry Vars), DECISION AT SUNDOWN (Heinz Roemheld) [UCLA]
TAXI DRIVER (Bernard Herrmann), THE COLLECTOR (Maurice Jarre) [CInematheque: Aero]

July 14
GONE WITH THE WIND (Max Steiner) [Cinematheque; Aero]
THE MODERNS (Mark Isham) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]
PARTY GIRL (Anton Sanko) [Silent Movie Theater]
THE PRINCESS BRIDE (Mark Knopfler) [AMPAS]
ROLLERBALL (Andre Previn) [New Beverly]
711 OCEAN DRIVE (Sol Kaplan), HACKERS (Simon Boswell) [New Beverly]
THE TALL T (Heinz Roemheld), BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE [UCLA]

July 15
JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (Bernard Herrmann) [Cinematheque: Aero]
THE LEOPARD (Nino Rota) [Cinematheque: Aero]
SOUTH PACIFIC (Richard Rodgers, Alfred Newman) [Cinematheque: Egyptian]