Hans Zimmer Hans Zimmer

Born: 12 September 1957, Frankfurt, Germany.

Biography:
Arguably the most commercially successful composer working today, Hans Zimmer originally harboured dreams to be a rock musician. After a short career scoring TV projects in his native country, Zimmer moved to England, and formed the Euro-pop group Buggles with producer Trevor Horn (Buggles had just one hit, the classic "Video Killed The Radio Star", famous for being the first video every played on MTV). Following the demise of Buggles, Zimmer was mentored by the late composer Stanley Myers, and worked with him on projects such "Moonlighting" (1982), "My Beautiful Launderette" (1985) and "Paperhouse" (1987). Zimmer made his solo break in 1988 when, shortly after moving to Hollywood, he was signed to score the Dustin Hoffman/Tom Cruise movie "Rain Man". Zimmer received an Oscar nomination for his work, and never returned to Europe. Adopting a highly personal style, in which bolsters a bank of synthesisers with a powerful symphony orchestra, Zimmer has written successful scores such as "Black Rain" (1989), "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "Thelma & Louise" (1991), "Backdraft" (1991), "True Romance" (1993), "The Lion King" (1994), "Crimson Tide" (1995), "The Rock" (1996), "The Preacher's Wife" (1996), "As Good As It Gets" (1997), "The Prince of Egypt" (1998), "The Thin Red Line" (1998), "Gladiator" (2000), "Pearl Harbor" (2001), "Black Hawk Down" (2001), “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), and two movies in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. He is a seven-time Oscar nominee, winning the award in 1994 for the music he wrote for Disney's "The Lion King", and often collaborates with world music artists such as Lebo M and Lisa Gerrard. Ever trying to push boundaries, Zimmer is the head of up "Media Ventures" a one-stop film music shop for the movie industry, providing state-of-the-art technological services to studios, while at the same time nurturing prospective film music talent. Over the years, MV has launched the careers of composers such as Mark Mancina, Harry Gregson-Williams, Trevor Rabin, John Powell, and Klaus Badelt.

Reviews:
Angels and Demons, As Good As It Gets, Batman Begins, Beyond Rangoon, Black Rain, Crimson Tide, The Da Vinci Code, The Dark Knight, Drop Zone, Frost/Nixon, Gladiator, Hannibal, Inception, King Arthur, The Last Samurai, Lauras Stern, The Lion King, Matchstick Men, Mission: Impossible 2, The Pacific, The Peacemaker, Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Point of No Return, The Prince of Egypt, Regarding Henry, The Ring, The Rock, Sherlock Holmes, The Simpsons Movie, Spanglish, Tears of the Sun, The Thin Red Line, Thunderbirds and True Romance.

Filmography:
Henri 4 (2010), Inception (2010), The Pacific (2010), Angels and Demons (2009), It’s Complicated (2009), Sherlock Holmes (2009), The Burning Plain (2008), Casi Divas (2008), The Dark Knight (2008), Frost/Nixon (2008), Kung Fu Panda (2008), Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), The Simpsons Movie (2007), The Da Vinci Code (2006), The Holiday (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Batman Begins (2005), Der Kleine Eisbär 2 - Die Geheimnisvolle Inselr (2005), Madagascar (2005), The Ring Two (2005), The Weather Man (2005), King Arthur (2004), Lauras Stern (2004), Shark Tale (2004), Spanglish (2004), Thunderbirds (2004), The Last Samurai (2003), Matchstick Men (2003), Something's Gotta Give (2003), Tears of the Sun (2003), Invincible (2002), The Ring (2002), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Black Hawk Down (2001), Hannibal (2001), Pearl Harbor (2001), The Pledge (2001), Riding in Cars With Boys (2001), An Everlasting Piece (2000), Gladiator (2000), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Chill Factor (1999), Die Motorradcops (1999), The Last Days (1998), The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Thin Red Line (1998), As Good As It Gets (1997), The Peacemaker (1997), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997), Broken Arrow (1996), The Fan (1996), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), The Preacher's Wife (1996), The Rock (1996), Two Deaths (1996), The Whole Wide World (1996), Beyond Rangoon (1995), Crimson Tide (1995), Nine Months (1995), Something to Talk About (1995), Africa: The Serengeti (1994), Drop Zone (1994), I'll Do Anything (1994), The Lion King (1994), Monkey Trouble (1994), Renaissance Man (1994), Calendar Girl (1993), Cool Runnings (1993), The House of the Spirits (1993), Point of No Return (1993), Sniper (1993), True Romance (1993), Younger and Younger (1993), A League of Their Own (1992), Millennium (1992), The Power of One (1992), Radio Flyer (1992), Toys (1992), Where Sleeping Dogs Lie (1992), Backdraft (1991), K2 (1991), Regarding Henry (1991), Thelma & Louise (1991), White Fang (1991), Bird on a Wire (1990), Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (1990), Code Name: Chaos (1990), Days of Thunder (1990), Fools of Fortune (1990), Green Card (1990), Nightmare at Noon (1990), Pacific Heights (1990), To the Moon Alice (1990), Black Rain (1989), Diamond Skulls (1989), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Paperhouse (1989), Prisoner of Rio (1989), Burning Secret (1988), The Fruit Machine (1988), Rain Man (1988), Spies Inc. (1988), Twister (1988), A World Apart (1988), Comeback (1987), Terminal Exposure (1987), The Wind (1987), Separate Vacations (1986), Insignificance (1985), Wild Horses (1985), The Story of O Part II (1984), Success Is the Best Revenge (1984), Moonlighting (1982).

Highest Grossing Films as at end of 2008 (adjusted for inflation):
The Dark Knight ($542.4m), The Lion King ($538.9m), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest ($465.3m), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End ($323.8m), Rain Man ($302.8m), Mission: Impossible 2 ($287.7m), Pearl Harbor ($252.6m), Gladiator ($250.8m), The Da Vinci Code ($239.1m), As Good As It Gets ($232.9m).

Awards:
1994 Academy Awards - Winner, Best Original Score - The Lion King
2009 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score – Sherlock Holmes
2000 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Gladiator
1998 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score - The Thin Red Line
1998 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score - The Prince of Egypt
1997 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score - As Good As It Gets
1996 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Musical or Comedy Score - The Preacher's Wife
1988 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Rain Man
2000 Golden Globes - Winner, Best Original Score - Gladiator
1994 Golden Globes - Winner, Best Original Score - The Lion King
2008 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score – Frost/Nixon
2004 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score – Spanglish
2003 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - The Last Samurai
2002 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Song - "Here I Am" from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
2001 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Pearl Harbor
1998 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - The Prince of Egypt
2000 BAFTA Awards - Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Gladiator
1994 BAFTA Awards - Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - The Lion King
1991 BAFTA Awards - Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Thelma & Louise
1995 Grammy Awards – Winner, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Crimson Tide
2000 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Gladiator
1994 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – The Lion King
1990 Grammy Awards – Nominee, Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or Television – Driving Miss Daisy

Links:
Official Site
Hans Zimmer.Com
Hans Zimmer Archive by Dirk Hein (in German)

An Everlasting Piece Angels & Demons As Good As It Gets Backdraft Batman Begins Beyond Rangoon Bird on a Wire Black Hawk Down Black Rain Broken Arrow Calendar Girl Cool Runnings Crimson Tide The Da Vinci Code The Dark Knight Days of Thunder Driving Miss Daisy Drop Zone The Fan Fools of Fortune Frost/Nixon Gladiator Green Card Hannibal Henri 4 The Holiday The House of the Spirits I'll Do Anything Inception Insignificance Invincible It’s Complicated K2 King Arthur Kung Fu Panda The Last Days The Last Samurai Lauras Stern A League of Their Own The Lion King Madagascar Matchstick Men Millennium Mission: Impossible 2 Muppet Treasure Island Nine Months The Pacific Pacific Heights Paperhouse The Peacemaker Pearl Harbor Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest The Pledge Point of No Return The Power of One The Preacher's Wife The Prince of Egypt Radio Flyer Rain Man Regarding Henry Renaissance Man Riding in Cars With Boys The Ring The Road to El Dorado The Rock Secret Burning/The Fruit Machine/Diamond Skulls Shark Tale Sherlock Holmes The Simpsons Movie Smilla's Sense of Snow Something to Talk About Something's Gotta Give Spanglish Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron The Story of O Part II Tears of the Sun Thelma & Louise The Thin Red Line Thunderbirds Toys A World Apart


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