I'm sure you've been overwhelmed by the scenes of destruction caused by the Oklahoma tornado. Phil Watkins, author of  PASSIONATA - A Film Scoring Chronicle , has set up a film music themed silent auction that fe

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Tomorrow night (Saturday, May 11), the Golden State Pops Orchestra is presenting a concert celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Varese Sarabande, with scheduled appearances by John Debney, Cliff Eidelman, Danny Elfman, Michael Giacchino, Mark Isham, Christopher Lennertz, Joel McNeely, Diego Navarro, John Powell, Brian Tyler, Austin Wintory and Hans Zimmer. The concert is currently sold out, but their e-mail address is tickets@gspo.com if you want to inquire about their standby ticket policy.

Intrada plans to release one new Special Collection CD next week.

Groundbreaking stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen died in London on Tuesday, May 7th at the age of 92. Harryhausen was perhaps the only visual effects artist who could truly be called an auteur, as he was unusually involved with the development and production of nearly all of his films, which included many fantasy classics which inspired several generations of filmmakers and fans (including myself -- Harryhausen, Alfred Hitchcock, and Bernard Herrmann, who worked extensively with both filmmakers, were my holy trinity when I was a teenage film obsessive). Harryhausen never won the Visual Effects Oscar, though his first feature, the original Mighty Joe Young, won in that category for Harryhausen's mentor and inspiration, King Kong animator Willis O'Brien, but Harryhausen did win the Academy's 1991 Gordon E. Sawyer Award for his contribution to effects filmmaking. On that year's Oscar ceremony, Tom Hanks remarked that for many, Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever made, but for him it's Jason and the Argonauts. Besides his behind-the-camera contributions, Harryhausen had cameos in his friend John Landis' films Spies Like Us (in a scene with Terry Gilliam, cinematographer Robert Paynter and miniature effects master Derek Meddings), Beverly Hills Cop III and Burke and Hare, and made a brief but charming appearance in the remake of Mighty Joe Young alongside the original film's leading lady, Terry Moore.  Along with cherished films and unforgettable effects sequences -- including the destruction of Washington D.C. in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, the rampage of the Cyclops from 7th Voyage of Sinbad, the battle with the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts, the roping of an Allosaurus in The Valley of Gwangi, the swordfight with the six-armed Kali statue in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and the stalking of the Medusa of Clash of the Titans -- Harryhausen's films and effects inspired some of the finest and most beloved film music ever written. The following are his features and their composers:

The latest CD from Kritzerland features George Duning's score for the 1960, Hong Kong-set romantic drama THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG, pairing William Holden and Nancy Kwan. RCA released a selection of Duning cues on LP at the time of the film's release, while the Kritzerland Suzie Wong features Duning's complete score in film order, followed by extras including album versions of several cues.

La-La Land has announced an impressive slate of CD releases for May and June, including Shirley Walker's terrific score for the underrated remake of WILLARD; a new edition of Jerry Goldsmith's '60s Western BANDOLERO; an expanded two-disc set of John Williams' replacement score for John Singleton's 1997 historical drama ROSEWOOD; a two-disc set of J. Peter Robinson's music for the long-running TV series CHARMED; a two-disc set of Bear McCreary's music for the CAPRICA TV series; a two-disc set of Geoff Zanelli's Emmy winning score for the miniseries INTO THE WEST; Bill Conti's brassy score for the Armand Assante remake of I, THE JURY; and music from the animated TV series YOUNG JUSTICE.

On June 11, Varese Sarabande plans to release the soundtrack to STUCK IN LOVE, the upcoming romantic comedy-drama about a novelist (Greg Kinnear), his relationship with his ex-wife (Jennifer Connelly) and aspiring-writer children (Lily Collins, Nat Wolff), as well as their own love interests (Logan Lerman, Liana Liberato). The CD will feature songs as well as cues from the original score by Mike Mogis and Nathaniel Walcott.

Intrada plans to release two new CDs next week.