Alan Silvestri Alan Silvestri

Born: 26 March 1950, New York, New York.

Biography:
Alan Silvestri was born in New York but grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and chose a career in music over his first love, baseball. He attended Boston's Berklee College of Music, undertook arranging work for a variety of artists including R&B legend Wayne Cochran, Quincy Jones alumnus Bradford Craig, and the C.C. Riders band, and scored a couple of small feature while working in Las Vegas. Silvestri's big break came when he was hired to score the popular 1970s TV series "CHiPs", which eventually led to his first encounter with director Robert Zemeckis when he was asked to write the music for the popular Michael Douglas/Kathleen Turner vehicle "Romancing the Stone" in 1984. The Zemeckis/Silvestri partnership remains one of the strongest of all current composer/director relationships, and has resulted in such breakthrough works as the "Back to the Future" trilogy, "Death Becomes Her" (1992), "Forrest Gump" (1994), "Contact" (1997), "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" (1988), "Castaway" (2000), "What Lies Beneath" (2000) and “The Polar Express” (2004). Equally at home writing for a full orchestra, electronics, or his instrument-du-jour, the saxophone, Silvestri has grown to become one of the most sought-after composers working today. Among his credits are commercially successful and critically acclaimed movies such as "Predator" (1987), "The Abyss" (1989), "The Bodyguard" (1992), "Stuart Little" (1999), "What Women Want" (2000), "The Mummy Returns" (2001) and "Lilo & Stitch" (2002). He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1994 for his work on "Forrest Gump", and again a decade later for his song writing prowess on “The Polar Express”. Interestingly, away from film music, Silvestri and his wife Sandra own and run a successful vineyard in the hills above Carmel, California, where they bottle their own brand of wine.

Reviews:
The Abyss, Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III, Beowulf, The Bodyguard, Cast Away, A Christmas Carol, Contact, Death Becomes Her, Father of the Bride, Forrest Gump, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Judge Dredd, Lara Croft - Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, Night at the Museum, Nightmare at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, The Parent Trap, The Polar Express, Predator, Serendipity, Stuart Little, Van Helsing, What Lies Beneath, What Women Want and Voyages: The Film Music Journeys of Alan Silvestri (compilation).

Filmography:
A Christmas Carol (2009), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), Beowulf (2007), Night at the Museum (2006), The Wild (2006), The Polar Express (2004), Van Helsing (2004), Identity (2003), Lara Croft - Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life (2003), Lilo & Stitch (2002), Two Soldiers (2003), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Showtime (2002), Stuart Little 2 (2002), The Mexican (2001), The Mummy Returns (2001), Serendipity (2001), Cast Away (2000), Reindeer Games (2000), What Lies Beneath (2000), What Women Want (2000), Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box (1999), Stuart Little (1999), Holy Man (1998), The Odd Couple II (1998), The Parent Trap (1998), Practical Magic (1998), Contact (1997), Fools Rush In (1997), Mouse Hunt (1997), Volcano (1997), Eraser (1996), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), Sgt. Bilko (1996), Father of the Bride Part II (1995), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Judge Dredd (1995), The Perez Family (1995), The Quick and the Dead (1995), Blown Away (1994), Clean Slate (1994), Forrest Gump (1994), Richie Rich (1994), Cop and a Half (1993), Grumpy Old Men (1993), In Search of the Obelisk (1993), Judgment Night (1993), Super Mario Bros. (1993), The Bodyguard (1992), Death Becomes Her (1992), FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Sidekicks (1992), Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992), Dutch (1991), Father of the Bride (1991), Ricochet (1991), Shattered (1991), Soapdish (1991), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Downtown (1990), Predator 2 (1990), Young Guns II (1990), The Abyss (1989), Back to the Future Part II (1989), She's Out of Control (1989), Mac and Me (1988), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), Critical Condition (1987), Outrageous Fortune (1987), Overboard (1987), Predator (1987), American Anthem (1986), The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), Delta Force (1986), Flight of the Navigator (1986), No Mercy (1986), Back to the Future (1985), Cat's Eye (1985), Fandango (1985), Summer Rental (1985), Romancing the Stone (1984), The Fifth Floor (1980), The Amazing Dobermans (1976), The Doberman Gang (1972).

Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2008 (adjusted for inflation):
Forrest Gump ($567.9m), Back to the Future ($427.2m), Cast Away ($312.1m), Night at the Museum ($275.7m), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? ($274.1m), The Mummy Returns ($257.0m), What Women Want ($244.2m), Back to the Future Part II ($214.8m), The Bodyguard ($211.6m), What Lies Beneath ($207.6m)

Awards:
2004 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Song – “Believe” from The Polar Express
1994 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Forrest Gump

2004 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Song – “Believe” from The Polar Express
1994 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Forrest Gump
2005 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television – “Believe” from The Polar Express
1988 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
1986 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Back to the Future

Links:
Official Site maintained by Emile Brinkman
Alan Silvestri Encyclopedia

The Abyss Blown Away The Bodyguard Back to the Future Back to the Future Part II Back to the Future Part III Back to the Future Trilogy (Scores) Beowulf Cast Away Cat's Eye A Christmas Carol The Clan of the Cave Bear Contact Death Becomes Her Eraser Father of the Bride Father of the Bride Part II FernGully: The Last Rainforest Flight of the Navigator Forrest Gump G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Grumpier Old Men Identity Judge Dredd Judgment Night Lara Croft - Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life Lilo & Stitch The Long Kiss Goodnight Maid in Manhattan The Mexican Mouse Hunt The Mummy Returns Night at the Museum Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian No Mercy The Odd Couple II The Parent Trap The Polar Express Practical Magic Predator Predator 2 The Quick and the Dead Richie Rich Ricochet Romancing the Stone Serendipity Shattered Soapdish Stuart Little Stuart Little 2 Van Helsing Volcano What Lies Beneath What Women Want Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The Wild


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