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John Debney Composer ~ Iron Man 2 ~ Predators

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John Debney head shotJohn Debney deserves an Academy award as he is one busy composer working on 4~5 projects at once!   With work completed on Predators, Iron Man 2, and working again with Robert Rodriguez scoring the upcoming movie Machete.  You can see that John is working on several projects in 2010 and that has always been the case.  You can see his work in action on YouTube, also samples of John work if featured on his website.  John did a live Q and A on Justin.TV June 30 2010, which you can watch here.

Because of John’s crazy scheduled and the amount of coffee (he needs to get stock in StarBucks) , we were able ask a few questions via his PR firm instead of a live on mic conversation.

Here’s what we came up with including an obscure questions about his involving in Disney’s The Strongest Man in The World (1975).

Predators soundtrack cover1. What is your inspiration to your compositions in big budget movies like Iron Man 2, Predators? The film and images within inspire my work. I’m very visually oriented so I usually draw my inspiration from the visuals and the actors and storyline.

2. When working on a project do you use traditional gear (piano, guitar, strings, etc), or all virtual instruments? I usually mock-up every piece of music virtually, then I add “live” instruments on top. I’ve played a lot of guitar on the last few projects and I really enjoy the performance aspect of working on these scores.

3. Looking at your resume on IMDB we notice that you worked on animated, children’s programs sci-fi, action, adventure. Is there such a thing as a favorite genre? I really don’t have a favorite genre. Working on a variety of different projects helps me stay fresh and clears my head. I really enjoy wearing different hats and creating different types of scores.

4. We have listened to your Iron man 2 scores and we love the heard edge you gave the movie and drove the story with your score. How were you able to accomplish such seamless music to on screen synergy? Thank you very much for the compliment! A score in a film especially an action film should propel the story. Iron Man is this really amazing cutting edge, playboy, inventor, super hip guy. In addition to the classical music elements that play throughout the score, I also incorporated al ot of guitar. I played some of the guitar and then Tom Morello who also performed on the first Iron Man score came in and added his playing to the score to further give it an edge.

5. When working in the studio with a live orchestra what does it feel like to hear your music come to life? It is the most exciting part of what I do. Hearing the music played for the first time is still one of the single most fulfilling moments on a film. Crafting a performance is wonderful, especially if you’re given the chance to work with such brilliant musicians as those in L.A. and London for example.

6. You acted in the 1975 Disney movie: The Strongest Man in the World , Would you like to be on screen again? How funny! Well yes I did a number of commercials and such in my younger days. It very well might be fun to say a few lines on camera again!

7. Can you share how all the pieces come together, electronic, live, to final cut? I usually start by viewing the film once or twice. Then, themes start to come into my head and I start to write at the keyboard. It’s really trial and error for me. Sometimes it takes a number of attempts before I discover the tone and direction to take with a score.

8. What has been the largest Orchestra you have worked with live? I believe that the largest orchestra I’ve worked with to date has been about 110 players.

9. Predators is just around the corner.  How has that been to develop another awesome score (from the previews thus far we have seen)? I loved the Predator movies and I wanted to create an original score but at the same time pay homage to Alan Silvestri’s brilliant original Predator score. It was a great experience and the first time I got to work with Nimrod Antal who is a brilliant director. The producer Robert Rodriguez and I had worked together in the past and he was the one who referred me to Nimrod. I am also currently working on music for Robert’s newest film Machete.

10. Any upcoming projects that you can talk about? (Sin City 2, Sin City 3, the double)?? I’m helping my friend Robert Rodriguez on “Machete” right now. The film is just so much fun! Robert has a way of getting all the best actors in Hollywood to work with him. This film is a throw back to some of Robert’s earlier films and it is quite the fun ride. After that is a wonderful thriller called “The Double.” It’s one of the better scripts I’ve read in a long time and I’m looking forward to getting started on it.

PROXIMA ~ THE LAST SCI-FI MOVIE

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From director Carlos Atanes http://www.carlosatanes.com/ Proxima http://www.welcometoproxima.com brings us into a world where a science fiction fan can travel through space and time itself! Here’s we have a transcript between iscifitv and Carlos. This transcript is in text only as Carlos being a resident of Madrid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid asked that we exchange ideas via email since American English is not his preferred language.

Proxima Title

Carlos is a great guy! He sent us a copy of Proxima on DVD , which is in Spanish, with English subtitles too. You should get this movie now!

Proxmia Awards

iSCIFI. tv:Being a fan of many type of science fiction on television

and in movies, we noticed you reference star wars and star trek, is there favorite

Carlos: Yes, I am a Trekkie. ?PROXIMA? is a SF movie about SF and SF lovers and, tastes aside, I think Star Trek is SF and Star Wars is not (it?s just fantasy). That?s what one of the characters is telling at video store sequence. I respect Star Wars liking, but me and my movie, as a pro-SF activists, tends to favor Star Trek, as you can see.

iSCIFI. tv: Proxima felt like a self discovery of ones orgin or creator. Did your religious beliefs influence you when creating the story.

Carlos: My religious culture more than my religious beliefs. When you see ?PROXIMA? you find a lot of religious references. It?s a premeditated exercise. Anyway the movie is about faith. Not about faith in God, but faith in something else. It is a simple question: is life meaningless or is there some kind of order in the universe? When we face faith is not possible to forget our religious influences, our cultural substrate. Apart from it, there are more matter in ?PROXIMA?, not strictly religious. ?Anthropological? questions are: what is our fate as species? Must we live on Earth for ever? Could this sedentarism be dangerous and anti-evolutionary? If we are not alone, what if ?they? find us before we find ?them??

iSCIFI. tv: You were both writer and director, do you prefer performing duel role in the creation of a film, or just behind the camera?

Carlos: Maybe I am basically a writer who makes movies. In fact I devote much more time writing than filming. But I I can’t get these two roles apart, I always write and direct my movies.

iSCIFI. tv: Manel Sol?s who played Felix, was very strong willed in this film akin to Obi Wan (star wars). How is such energy created ?

Carlos: It?s curious this comparison between ?Felix Cadecq? and ?Obi Wan?. I had not thought in it, but it seems a good simile. Anyway, ?Felix Cadecq? is directly inspired by famous SF writer Philip K. Dick (my favorite one together with Lem). The SF convention sequence is an imitation of the scandalous lecture K. Dick did in Metz in 1977. And his peculiar concept about reality/dream mixture spreads along the whole film.

iSCIFI. tv: Was Tony mad (lossing his mind), being brainwashed by Felix CDs?

Carlos: I think no, but the audience can do their own interpretation. Surely it depends on the realism level of each one. I have seen the most ?pragmatist? people interpret it as a progressive hallucination, because they are no willing to believe it can be real. On the other hand, the most ?dreamer? people (like me) prefer to believe. It is a choice. This film is a mirror: according to your interpretation you?ll find what sort of view of the world you have. But let me say I did this movie as a dreamer and thinking about dreamers and their capacity for realize their dreams. For me Tony was ill just before that ?brainwashing?, not after.

iSCIFI. tv: Natalia was not a very nice woman and wanted to control Tony and his way of life. Was Tony traveling in his mind to escape Natalia?

Carlos: Natalia symbolizes the littleness, the people who does not see beyond the tip of his nose, who has lose the capacity of dream. She represents the world of routine, current conventions, prejudices and prefabricated ideas. That?s real life wich devastates fantasy. That?s reality, but some people (?Tony?) thinks that there must be other realities. For him, ?real life? is death.

iSCIFI. tv: Will we on Earth ever seen Tony return from his Journey (without spoiling what may be next for your production team)

Carlos: It?s a warning: probably we will not. If we don?t take conquest of space seriously maybe our fate will be to die like a plant trapped in a flowerpot too small. Let?s ignore demagogic messages and don?t waste time. Shoulders to the wheel!, infinite Space is our natural destination.

iSCIFI. tv: I loved the musical score! Was the music written while filming or in post?

Carlos: In post, of course. I love the music too. A 75% was made by Xavier Tort, a great musician from Barcelona, and a 25% by TMK (Thee Maldoror Kollective), a stunning band from Turin. TMK has edited their soundtrack pieces recently in a CD, called ?Themes for Proxima?. Xavi and TMK are really different but also complementary, and musical score is one of the best things in the movie.

ISCIFI. tv: How long did it take to film the Proxima?

Carlos: Two months filming and six months editing, mixing and making visual effects. It is an ?indy blockbuster?.

iSCIFI. tv: What project are you working on?

Carlos: I have just finished a short film, ?Scream Queen?. You?ll can see it soon. It is not SciFi, just fantasy. But next year I want fo film an old project, my movie about British magician Aleister Crowley. I have been two years working on the screenplay, and I am finishing it now. It will be a very odd movie starred by Manuel Sol?s (?Felix Cadecq? in ?PROXIMA?).

iSCIFI. tv: Thank you so much for your time and we wish you more success.

Carlos: Thank you, it has been a pleasure. Hope someday see you in ?Proxima?.

END

_ blip.tv promo _

flash media from blip.tv

More about Carlos can be found at the following web links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Atanes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Atanes

Myspace

http://www.welcometoproxima.com/ (main)

http://www.welcometoproxima.com/eng_principal.html (ENGLISH)

IMDB : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970187/

Movie Review ~ The Messengers (2007)

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THE MESSENGERS ~ Release date Feb. 2, 2007

IMDB:
Tag line: There is evidence to suggest that children
are highly susceptible to paranormal phenomena.
They see what adults cannot. They believe what
adults deny. And they are trying to warn us.

Plot Outline: An ominous darkness invades a seemingly
serene sunflower farm in North Dakota, and the
Solomon family is torn apart by suspicion, mayhem
and murder

~~ My Review ~~

A city family moves to a farm in North Dakota.
With elements of “The Birds” , “The Grudge”,

“The Messengers” may be a Asian horror genre, but
the flow of this movie is not you asking what is around the
next corner.

The scare or frights in this movie are enough to make you jump,
but do not contain gore or just raw horror.

More than once did I get pulled on by my wife when you
see something that make you jump.

Kristen Stewart play Jess, a typical 15 year old that
just thinks moving from the big city to a farm is a (duh waste).
She is great in this movie, going from brat to heroine in under
90 minutes. You want to smack her for her attitude, then give
her a high 5 the next time.

Penelope Ann Miller is Denise (MOM), and she is showing her
age! Jess and Denis to no get along at all, and Denise is
quick to blame when Jess knows the house has a hidden secret,
but what (go see the movie).

Dylan McDermot plays Roy(Dad). He is single minded and set
on getting the farm going, and meets up with Jon Corbett
(Burwell), who just shows up in their feild shooting crows
(black birds), when they start to swarm around the house.

I will say found that myself on the edge wondering what
the deal was with the birds.
You need to pay attention to this movie, like other
Asian horror movies, things are not what they seem.

The cast is great, however I would have rather seen more character
development with Jess and Mom, and a bit more interaction
with Dad. This movie runs 84 minutes, which was well spent
but I still came out asking , what about this or what about
that ..

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, disturbing violence and terror.

Scale of 1-10: SOLID SEVEN (7).

Mr. Hn@ck

~~~ Additional INFO ~~~

stars:

Kristen Stewart : (Jess); Zurtha, Catch that kid, Panic Room

Dylan McDermott : DAD (Roy); The Pratice,
;Penelope Ann Miller : MOM (Denise); Carlito’s Way,
Kindergarten cop, Adventures in baby sitting.

John Corbett Burwell: Sex and the city; (Aidan ‘AID IN’).

Evan/Theodore Turner (son), little Ben (age 2??)

~ END

deja Vu 2006 (Deja Vu) ~ Movie review

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Deja Vu (2006/II) From IMDB dot com

from imdb.com ::
Directed by
Tony Scott
Writing credits
Bill Marsilii (written by) &
Terry Rossio (written by)
Staring:
Denzel Washington
Paula Patton
Val Kilmer
James Caviezel
Tagline: If you thought it was just a trick of the mind, prepare yourself for the truth.

Plot Outline: An ATF agent travels back in time to save a woman from being murdered, falling in love with her during the process. (view trailer)

Review: Yes I saw this at a screening in SLC on 09-Nov-2006

If you are a person easily confused with flash backs or have had Deja Vu, yourself, then this movie will be a familiar site. Our hero Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) is an ATF agent investigating a terrorist style event on Fat Tuesday. During his investigation he hears and see things that are just too familiar, Has he really seen or done things all ready that have effectively put himself right in the middle of the terror plot to kill hundreds?

He meets Agent Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer), who looks terrible in this movie he looks like he had a stroke and put on 100 pounds. However Pryzwarra shows Doug that the government has the ability to spy in 3D and the computer system used can predict the image so they literrly can walk through the events leading up to the events of Fat Tuesday, however Doug doesn’t believe it, and find out that in reality the governments ‘device’ can look back in the future only 4 days and 6 hours. Doug feels he can change the future or at least the future where the terriost has killed so many. Doug thinks he can jump BACK into the past to stop the events or change their course. Well does he? You will have to go see this movie for yourself.

This movie has some great explosion scene never before scene, its looks just too real. It also have a bit of a political undertone related to Hurricane Katerina, since the movie takes place in the same area as the devastation path of Katerina. We revisit some of the damage. Although it was a very sad event caused by none other than mother nature, Hollywood is using a movie to show us what we all ready know. I can say that it’s a Tony Scott movie, akin to Man on Fire (Denzel again, hmm), SPy Game, Enemy of the State. All of which showcase the government as being all knowing yet clueless to whats standing in front of us. Then again it is a movie, it is Hollywood and it is fiction.

The movie and the paradox is either I am my own grandpa, or Denzel is a time shifting expert. You decide on your own.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, and some sensuality.)

Mr hnack rating : 3 TV’s of a scale of 1-5.

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