John Powell (film composer)

For other people named John Powell, see John Powell (disambiguation).
John Powell
Born (1963-09-18) 18 September 1963
Origin East Sussex, England, United Kingdom
Genres Film scores
Occupation(s) Composer, conductor, producer
Instruments Piano, percussion
Years active 1990–present

John Powell (born 18 September 1963) is an English composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures. He has been based in Los Angeles since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. He is particularly known for his scores for animated films, including Antz, Chicken Run, Shrek (all three co-composed with Harry Gregson-Williams), Robots, Happy Feet (and its sequel), three Ice Age sequels, Rio, How to Train Your Dragon, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award, and its 2014 sequel.[1]

He has also scored many live-action films, of which his collaborations with directors Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass are perhaps the best known. These include the first three Bourne films, United 93, and Green Zone.

Powell was a member of Hans Zimmer's music studio, Remote Control Productions, and has collaborated frequently with other composers from the studio, including Harry Gregson-Williams and Zimmer himself.

Early life and education

Powell was born in London, United Kingdom. He originally trained as a violinist as a child, before studying at London's Trinity College of Music. He later ventured into jazz and rock music, playing in a soul band the Faboulistics. On leaving college, he composed music for commercials, which led to a job as an assistant to the composer Patrick Doyle on several film productions, including Much Ado About Nothing.

Since the age of 6 Powell has been an atheist.[2]

Career

In 1995, Powell co-founded the London-based commercial music house Independently Thinking Music, which produced scores for more than 100 British and French commercials and independent films.

Powell's first film score was for the 1990 film Stay Lucky. He moved to Los Angeles in 1997, and scored his first major film, Face/Off. This was followed by Antz in 1998, the first film produced by DreamWorks Animation which he co-scored with fellow British composer Harry Gregson-Williams. Two years later the two collaborated again to compose the score to Chicken Run, and again the following year on Shrek, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. All subsequent Shrek films however, have been scored solely by Gregson-Williams. During 2001 he also scored Evolution, I Am Sam, Just Visiting, and Rat Race.

In 2002 Powell was hired to score The Bourne Identity, after Carter Burwell left the project, and has gone on to score all of director Doug Liman's subsequent films. He also returned to score the other two films in the series, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, which were both directed by British director Paul Greengrass.

Following the Bourne films, Powell collaborated with Liman again to score the 2005 film Mr. & Mrs. Smith. That year, he also scored Robots, going on to score all but one of subsequent films by Blue Sky Studios.

In 2006, he scored Greengrass' United 93. He also composed music for Ice Age: The Meltdown, following David Newman, who scored the first Ice Age film, as well as X-Men: The Last Stand, and Happy Feet, for which he won a Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for an Animated Feature Film. The following year he scored The Bourne Ultimatum. In 2008 he collaborated with composer Hans Zimmer to score Kung Fu Panda, and also wrote music that year for Jumper, Hancock, and Bolt. In 2009 he scored the third film of Ice Age series; Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

In 2010, Powell composed the score to How to Train Your Dragon. This was his sixth score for a DreamWorks Animation film, although the first where he composed the whole score himself. It also became his first work to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. That year, he has also scored Greengrass's Green Zone, and Knight and Day.

In 2013, he took a sabbatical year from film scoring and in April 2014, following the completion of his scores to sequels Rio 2 and How to Train Your Dragon 2, he announced his decision to take another break to compose concert music, including a 45-minute oratorio to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of World War I. The piece, named "A Prussian Requiem", premiered on 6 March 2016 at The Royal Festival Hall, London with Jose Serebrier conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra and a libretto by Michael Petry.[3]

Discography

John Powell discography
Soundtrack albums 53

Television

Year Title Notes
1989–1993 Stay Lucky
1996–1997 High Incident

Film

1990s

Year Title Director Studio(s) Notes
1997 Face/Off John Woo Paramount Pictures (North America)
Touchstone Pictures (International)		 N/A
1998 With Friends Like These... Philip Frank Messina Miramax Films N/A
Antz Eric Darnell
Tim Johnson		 Pacific Data Images
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Pictures		 with Harry Gregson-Williams
1999 Endurance Leslie Woodhead
Bud Greenspan		 Walt Disney Pictures N/A
Forces of Nature Bronwen Hughes DreamWorks Pictures N/A
Chill Factor Hugh Johnson Morgan Creek Productions
Warner Bros. Pictures		 with Hans Zimmer

2000s

Year Title Director Studio(s) Notes
2000 The Road to El Dorado Don Paul
Bibo Bergeron		 DreamWorks Pictures
DreamWorks Animation		 with Hans Zimmer
Chicken Run Peter Lord
Nick Park		 DreamWorks Pictures
DreamWorks Animation		 with Harry Gregson-Williams
2001 Just Visiting Jean-Marie Poiré Hollywood Pictures N/A
Shrek Andrew Adamson
Vicky Jenson		 DreamWorks Pictures
DreamWorks Animation		 Songs, with Harry Gregson-Williams
Evolution Ivan Reitman DreamWorks Pictures N/A
Rat Race Jerry Zucker Paramount Pictures N/A
I Am Sam Jessie Nelson New Line Cinema N/A
2002 D-Tox Jim Gillespie Universal Pictures N/A
The Bourne Identity Doug Liman Universal Pictures N/A
Drumline Charles Stone III 20th Century Fox N/A
The Adventures of Pluto Nash Ron Underwood Warner Bros. Pictures N/A
Two Weeks Notice Marc Lawrence Warner Bros. Pictures N/A
2003 Stealing Sinatra Ron Underwood Showtime Networks Television film
Agent Cody Banks Harald Zwart Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer N/A
The Italian Job F. Gary Gray Paramount Pictures N/A
Gigli Martin Brest Columbia Pictures N/A
Paycheck John Woo Paramount Pictures N/A
2004 The Bourne Supremacy Paul Greengrass Universal Pictures N/A
Mr. 3000 Charles Stone III Touchstone Pictures N/A
Alfie Charles Shyer Paramount Pictures N/A
2005 Be Cool F. Gary Gray Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer N/A
Robots Chris Wedge 20th Century Fox
Blue Sky Studios		 N/A
Mr. & Mrs. Smith Doug Liman 20th Century Fox N/A
2006 Ice Age: The Meltdown Carlos Saldanha 20th Century Fox
Blue Sky Studios		 N/A
United 93 Paul Greengrass Universal Pictures N/A
X-Men: The Last Stand Brett Ratner 20th Century Fox N/A
Happy Feet George Miller Warner Bros. Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures
Animal Logic
Kennedy Miller		 with Gia Farrell
2007 The Bourne Ultimatum Paul Greengrass Universal Pictures N/A
PS, I Love You Richard LaGravenese Warner Bros. Pictures N/A
2008 Jumper Doug Liman 20th Century Fox N/A
Horton Hears a Who! Jimmy Hayward
Steve Martino		 20th Century Fox
Blue Sky Studios		 N/A
Stop-Loss Kimberly Peirce Paramount Pictures
MTV Films		 N/A
Kung Fu Panda John Stevenson
Mark Osborne		 Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Animation		 with Hans Zimmer
Hancock Peter Berg Columbia Pictures N/A
Bolt Chris Williams
Byron Howard		 Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Animation Studios		 N/A
2009 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Carlos Saldanha 20th Century Fox
Blue Sky Studios		 N/A

2010s

Year Title Director Studio(s) Notes
2010 Green Zone Paul Greengrass Universal Pictures N/A
How to Train Your Dragon Chris Sanders
Dean DeBlois		 Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Animation		 nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Score
Fair Game Doug Liman Summit Entertainment N/A
Knight and Day James Mangold 20th Century Fox N/A
2011 Mars Needs Moms Simon Wells Walt Disney Pictures
ImageMovers Digital		 N/A
Rio Carlos Saldanha 20th Century Fox
Blue Sky Studios		 N/A
Kung Fu Panda 2 Jennifer Yuh Nelson Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Animation		 with Hans Zimmer
Happy Feet Two George Miller Warner Bros. Pictures
Village Roadshow Pictures
Kennedy Miller Mitchell
Dr. D Studios		 N/A
2012 Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Chris Renaud Universal Pictures
Illumination Entertainment		 N/A
Ice Age: Continental Drift Steve Martino
Mike Thurmeier		 20th Century Fox
Blue Sky Studios		 N/A
2014 Rio 2 Carlos Saldanha 20th Century Fox
Blue Sky Studios		 N/A
How to Train Your Dragon 2[4] Dean DeBlois 20th Century Fox
DreamWorks Animation		 N/A
2015 Pan Joe Wright Warner Bros. Pictures N/A
2016 Jason Bourne Paul Greengrass Universal Pictures with David Buckley
2017 Ferdinand Carlos Saldanha 20th Century Fox
Blue Sky Studios		 N/A
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Peter Candeland Universal Pictures
Illumination Entertainment		 N/A
2018 How to Train Your Dragon 3[5] Dean DeBlois 20th Century Fox
DreamWorks Animation		 N/A

Awards and nominations

Awards

Nominations

References

  1. ↑ "From Gigli to Oscar: Composer John Powell Reacts to His Nomination". Movieline. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Thomson, Paul. "John Powell - Exclusive Q & A". Spitfire Audio. Spitfire Audio. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "John Powell’s ‘A Prussian Requiem’ to be performed live in London". SoundtracksAndTrailerMusic.com. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  4. ↑ V., Erin (2 April 2012). "Interview: Dean DeBlois, director of 'How To Train Your Dragon'". One Movie, Five Views. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "How to Train Your Dragon 3 Pushed Back to 2017". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 2 September 2014.

External links

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