James Horner James Horner

Born: 14 August 1953, Los Angeles, California.

Biography:
Massively successful American composer James Horner was born in Los Angeles, the son of respected Hollywood set designer Harry Horner. The Horner family moved to London in the mid-1950s, where young James received his schooling, eventually studying under Györgi Ligeti at the Royal College of Music. Horner returned to the United States in the mid-1970s to study for a doctorate at UCLA, and initially planned on a career in musical academia. Horner wrote an avant-garde concert piece called "Spectral Shimmers", which was performed just once, in Indianapolis in 1977, to half-empty auditorium, and with little publicity. Frustrated by the negativity he experienced towards his work from of the classical establishment, and with the state of classical music in North America as a whole, Horner quickly became disillusioned. Believing films to be the only possible outlet for his tonal, melodic music, Horner began writing scores for student films at the American Film Institute, before becoming involved with producer Roger Corman's New World Pictures sometime in 1979. Writing scores for low-budget fare such as "Humanoids from the Deep" (1980) and "Battle Beyond the Stars" (1980), Horner quickly made a name for himself as a potential rising star. When he was asked to write the score for the second Star Trek movie, "The Wrath of Khan", in 1982, a meteoric rise to the upper echelons of film music was initiated. His work during the 1980s and early 1990s included titles such as "Krull" (1983), "Brainstorm" (1983), "Cocoon" (1984) "An American Tail" (1986), "Aliens" (1986), "Willow" (1988), "The Land Before Time" (1988), "'Glory" (1989), "'Field of Dreams" (1989), "Legends of the Fall" (1994), "Braveheart" (1995) and "Apollo 13" (1995), during which time he struck up a number of successful director-composer collaborations with the likes of James Cameron, Ron Howard, Mel Gibson, Phil Alden Robinson and Edward Zwick. Horner finally achieved world-wide recognition in 1997 when he wrote the score for the blockbuster "Titanic", as well as the smash hit Céline Dion ballad "My Heart Will Go On". Horner won two Oscars, two Golden Globes, and had his soundtrack album top the Billboard charts for an unprecedented twelve weeks. Now a household name, Horner remains a controversial figure in the film music world because of constant criticisms regarding "self-plagiarism", but the commercial success he enjoys continues today, through recent films such as "The Mask of Zorro" (1998), "Bicentennial Man" (1999), "The Grinch" (2000), "A Beautiful Mind" (2002), "House of Sand and Fog" (2003) and “Flightplan” (2005). Horner lives with his wife, Sarah, and two daughters in Calabasas, California.

Reviews:
48 HRS., Aliens - Regular Release, Aliens - Expanded, An American Tail, All the King’s Men, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, Angel Dusted, Another 48 HRS., Apocalypto, Apollo 13, Avatar, Back to Titanic, Balto, Batteries Not Included, Battle Beyond The Stars, A Beautiful Mind, Bicentennial Man, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, Bopha, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Brainstorm, Braveheart, Casper, Class Action, Clear and Present Danger, Cocoon, Cocoon: The Return, Commando, Courage Under Fire, Dad, Deadly Blessing, Deep Impact, The Devil's Own, The Dresser, Enemy at the Gates, Extreme Close-Up, A Far Off Place, Field of Dreams, Flightplan, The Forgotten, The Four Feathers, Freedom Song, Glory, Gorky Park, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Hand, Heaven Help Us, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, House of Cards, House of Sand and Fog, Humanoids from the Deep, I Love You To Death, In Country, Iris, Jack the Bear, Jade, The Journey of Natty Gann, Jumanji, Krull (1992 Release), Krull (1998 Release), The Land Before Time, The Legend of Zorro, Legends of the Fall, The Man Without A Face, The Mask of Zorro, Mighty Joe Young, The Missing, My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys, The Name of the Rose, The New World, Off Beat, Once Around, Once Upon A Forest, The Pagemaster, Patriot Games, The Pelican Brief, The Perfect Storm, A Piano for Mrs. Cimino, Project X, The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper, Ransom, Raptor, The Rocketeer, Red Heat, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Sneakers, Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Spitfire Grill, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Surviving, Swing Kids, Testament, Thunderheart, Titanic, To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday, Troy, Uncommon Valor, Unlawful Entry, Up from the Depths, Vibes, Volunteers, We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story, Where The River Runs Black, Willow, Windtalkers and Wolfen.

Filmography:
Avatar (2009), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008), The Life Before Her Eyes (2008), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), All the King’s Men (2006), Apocalypto (2006), The Chumscrubber (2005), Flightplan (2005), The Legend of Zorro (2005), The New World (2005), Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004), The Forgotten (2004), Troy (2004), Beyond Borders (2003), House of Sand and Fog (2003), The Missing (2003), Radio (2003), The Four Feathers (2002), Windtalkers (2002), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Enemy At the Gates (2001), Iris (2001), Raptor (2001), Freedom Song (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), The Perfect Storm (2000), Bicentennial Man (1999), Epic Journeys: The Great Migrations (1999), Deep Impact (1998), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Mighty Joe Young (1998), The Devil's Own (1997), Titanic (1997), Courage Under Fire (1996), Ransom (1996), The Spitfire Grill (1996), To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday (1996), Apollo 13 (1995), Balto (1995), Braveheart (1995), Casper (1995), Jade (1995), Jumanji (1995), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Legends of the Fall (1994), The Pagemaster (1994), Bopha! (1993), A Far Off Place (1993), House of Cards (1993), Jack the Bear (1993), The Man Without a Face (1993), Once Upon a Forest (1993), The Pelican Brief (1993), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Swing Kids (1993), We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story (1993), Patriot Games (1992), Sneakers (1992), Thunderheart (1992), Unlawful Entry (1992), An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991), Class Action (1991), My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991), Once Around (1991), The Rocketeer (1991), Another 48 HRS. (1990), Extreme Close-Up (1990), I Love You to Death (1990), Dad (1989), Field of Dreams (1989), Glory (1989), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), In Country (1989), Cocoon: The Return (1988), The Land Before Time (1988), Red Heat (1988), Vibes (1988), Willow (1988), *batteries not included (1987), Project X (1987), Aliens (1986), An American Tail (1986), The Name of the Rose (1986), Off Beat (1986), Where the River Runs Black (1986), Cocoon (1985), Commando (1985), Heaven Help Us (1985), The Journey of Natty Gann (1985), Surviving (1985), Volunteers (1985), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), The Stone Boy (1984), Between Friends (1983), Brainstorm (1983), The Dresser (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Krull (1983), Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), Space Raiders (1983), Testament (1983), Uncommon Valor (1983), 48 HRS. (1982), P.K. and the Kid (1982), A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982), Rascals and Robbers - The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (1982), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Angel Dusted (1981), Deadly Blessing (1981), A Few Days in Weasel Creek (1981), The Hand (1981), The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981), Wolfen (1981), Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), Humanoids from the Deep (1980), The Lady in Red (1979), Up from the Depths (1979), The Drought (1978), Fantasies (1978), Gist and Evans (1978), Landscapes (1978), Just for a Laugh (1978), Norman and the Killer (1978), The Watcher (1978).

Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2008 (adjusted for inflation):
Titanic ($942.4m), How the Grinch Stole Christmas ($347.4m), Apollo 13 ($284.8m), The Perfect Storm ($243.9m), Honey I Shrunk the Kids ($237.1m), Ransom ($222.3m), A Beautiful Mind ($217.2m), Deep Impact ($215.6m), Clear and Present Danger ($210.5m), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ($193.3m)

Awards:
1997 Academy Awards - Winner, Best Original Dramatic Score - Titanic
1997 Academy Awards - Winner, Best Original Song - "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic
2009 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score – Avatar
2003 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - House of Sand and Fog
2001 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - A Beautiful Mind
1995 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score - Apollo 13
1995 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score - Braveheart
1989 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Field of Dreams
1986 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Aliens
1986 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song - "Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail
1997 Golden Globes - Winner, Best Original Score - Titanic
1997 Golden Globes - Winner, Best Original Song - "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic
2009 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Avatar
2009 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Song – “I See You” from Avatar
2001 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - A Beautiful Mind
1995 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Braveheart
1994 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Legends of the Fall
1989 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Glory
1997 BAFTA Awards - Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Titanic
1995 BAFTA Awards - Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Braveheart
1998 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic
1990 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Glory
1987 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “Somewhere Out There” from An American Tail
Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – A Beautiful Mind
1995 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “Whatever You Imagine” from The Pagemaster
1989 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Field of Dreams
1987 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – An American Tail

Links:
Official Site from Sony Classical
The WWW James Horner Shrine by Tom Hudson
James Horner Page by Ignasi Nogués

Aliens Aliens (Expanded) All the King’s Men An American Tail An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Another 48 HRS. Apocalypto Apollo 13 Avatar Balto Batteries Not Included Battle Beyond the Stars/Humanoids from the Deep A Beautiful Mind Beyond Borders Bicentennial Man Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius Bopha The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Brainstorm Braveheart Casper The Chumscrubber Class Action Clear and Present Danger Cocoon Cocoon: The Return Commando Courage Under Fire Dad Deep Impact The Devil's Own Enemy at the Gates A Far Off Place Field of Dreams Flightplan The Forgotten The Four Feathers Freedom Song Glory Gorky Park Heaven Help Us Honey, I Shrunk the Kids House of Sand and Fog How The Grinch Stole Christmas Humanoids from the Deeo In Country Iris Jack the Bear Jumanji Krull Krull (Expanded) The Land Before Time The Legend of Zorro Legends of the Fall The Life Before Her Eyes The Man Without A Face The Mask of Zorro Mighty Joe Young The Missing My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys The Name of the Rose The New World Once Around Once Upon a Forest The Pagemaster Patriot Games The Pelican Brief The Perfect Storm Project X The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper Radio Ransom Red Heat The Rocketeer Searching for Bobby Fischer Sneakers Something Wicked This Way Comes The Spiderwick Chronicles The Spitfire Grill Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Swing Kids Testament/In Country Thunderheart Titanic To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday Troy Unlawful Entry Vibes We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story Where The River Runs Black Willow Windtalkers Wolfen/Deadly Blessing More Music from Braveheart Back to Titanic


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