Anyone who knows me knows the Golden State Pops Orchestra (GSPO) in San Pedro, California has been one of my favorite causes ever since I first saw them during their struggling days over ten years ago. This season they will be doing their annual composer tribute and which composer is still up in the air. In the past the likes of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and Alan Silvestri have had these tributes. The only restriction this year is the composer has to be able to attend. Names like John Powell and Hans Zimmer have been bandied about. Since Elfman is in the middle of a 3 year tribute at Royce I would think a competing concert would be out of the question. Also since the budgets have gone up for these I would think a certain recognition factor, with some popular music for the mainstream crowd would be a factor. But are there other suggestions? Arguments?
So my choice, for a boatload of reasons would be Lalo Schifrin. 6 Oscar nominations, 4 Emmy nominations, 3 Golden Globe and 4 Grammy nominations plus a win for his iconic theme, that is still used today, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. With BULLITT, KELLY'S HEROES, the recent SWEETWATER, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, ENTER THE DRAGON, THE CINCINNATI KID, the RUSH HOUR films, the DIRTY HARRY films, MANNIX, and the Oscar nominated THE FOX, AMITYVILLE HORROR and COOL HAND LUKE, his repertoire could easily fill up a spectacular night. Speaking of COOL HAND LUKE the ending of the tar sequence from that film has been used locally and across the nation for the news!
And if he could throw in some offbeat obscure stuff that I would like to hear from THE BROTHERHOOD, SKYRIDERS, CHE!, JOE KIDD, THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE, CHARLIE VARRICK or THE MANITOU I would be a happy camper. Last but not least at 81 there are only so many opportunities left to give him such a wonderful tribute.
Anyone who knows me knows the Golden State Pops Orchestra (GSPO) in San Pedro, California has been one of my favorite causes ever since I first saw them during their struggling days over ten years ago. This season they will be doing their annual composer tribute and which composer is still up in the air. In the past the likes of John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and Alan Silvestri have had these tributes. The only restriction this year is the composer has to be able to attend. Names like John Powell and Hans Zimmer have been bandied about. Since Elfman is in the middle of a 3 year tribute at Royce I would think a competing concert would be out of the question. Also since the budgets have gone up for these I would think a certain recognition factor, with some popular music for the mainstream crowd would be a factor. But are there other suggestions? Arguments?
So my choice, for a boatload of reasons would be Lalo Schifrin. 6 Oscar nominations, 4 Emmy nominations, 3 Golden Globe and 4 Grammy nominations plus a win for his iconic theme, that is still used today, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. With BULLITT, KELLY'S HEROES, the recent SWEETWATER, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, ENTER THE DRAGON, THE CINCINNATI KID, the RUSH HOUR films, the DIRTY HARRY films, MANNIX, and the Oscar nominated THE FOX, AMITYVILLE HORROR and COOL HAND LUKE, his repertoire could easily fill up a spectacular night. Speaking of COOL HAND LUKE the ending of the tar sequence from that film has been used locally and across the nation for the news!
And if he could throw in some offbeat obscure stuff that I would like to hear from THE BROTHERHOOD, SKYRIDERS, CHE!, JOE KIDD, THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE, CHARLIE VARRICK or THE MANITOU I would be a happy camper. Last but not least at 81 there are only so many opportunities left to give him such a wonderful tribute.
...and, just in case the Varese association stays in place they released the scores to RUSH HOUR 2, Sam Peckinpah's THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND, RUSH HOUR 3, THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR Purgatory and there has been Schifrin music in various compilations like the McNeely Hollywood '96 album and the Anniversary ones.
I'm not sure how well a Schifrin tribute would go down with the "general public". He is certainly well-known for his Mission Impossible theme, but as much as *we* all love the other scores you mentioned, I'd be a little concerned as to whether something like that would draw in any non-film music fans.
A better choice might be to capitalize on the hugely positive fallout from the more mainstream contemporary composers that attended the Varese bash. Perhaps dedicate an entire evening to Zimmer? Or have Chris Lennertz program a longer Basil Poledouris tribute?
James Horner seems to have been very supportive in terms of allowing Victor Pesavento to arrange suites from Avatar etc. With him doing the thing in Vienna this year, an evening decidated to Horner would be sure to be a big seller.
I'm not sure how well a Schifrin tribute would go down with the "general public". He is certainly well-known for his Mission Impossible theme, but as much as *we* all love the other scores you mentioned, I'd be a little concerned as to whether something like that would draw in any non-film music fans.
A better choice might be to capitalize on the hugely positive fallout from the more mainstream contemporary composers that attended the Varese bash. Perhaps dedicate an entire evening to Zimmer? Or have Chris Lennertz program a longer Basil Poledouris tribute?
James Horner seems to have been very supportive in terms of allowing Victor Pesavento to arrange suites from Avatar etc. With him doing the thing in Vienna this year, an evening decidated to Horner would be sure to be a big seller.
Well, as mentioned above, the only absolute rule this time out is that the composer must attend so Basil is immediately disqualified, he is no longer with us, unfortunately. As to Zimmer I would make the same argument as you did for Lalo. Outside of PIRATES and a cultish MISS DAISY crowd there is not much public recognition for his music. Not unless you cheat and throw in some Elton John LION KING.
But with Horner you have a point. By all means every effort should be made to get him to attend. TITANIC, STAR TREK, AN AMERICAN TAIL and COCOON alone could definitely bring the crossover crowd in. I'll lend my vote for that. The only problem is the historical difficulty to get him to attend, but if anybody could get him there it would be Townson.
Otherwise I stick to my original idea. BTW the older core subscriber crowd at the GSPO would have more recognition of Schifrin. His Mannix theme or score from BULLITT has "classic" status for many of them. And his MISSION IMPOSSIBLE theme has a throughline that REALLY goes back like the James Bond Theme. And we may not have another opportunity due to Lalo's age.
BTW the Varese Anniversary concert went bonkers box office ONLY after Danny Elfman signed on so he would also make more sense but, as I said, kinda tacky to have a competing concert.
As to Zimmer I would make the same argument as you did for Lalo. Outside of PIRATES and a cultish MISS DAISY crowd there is not much public recognition for his music.
I would highly disagree with this. Driving Miss Daisy probably isn't even his top 10 scores in terms of popularity. Gladiator was insanely popular, perhaps moreso than Pirates. They even released a second album. I'm not sure how well a Zimmer concert would go though, since his music is so electronics-heavy.
As to Zimmer I would make the same argument as you did for Lalo. Outside of PIRATES and a cultish MISS DAISY crowd there is not much public recognition for his music.
I would highly disagree with this. Driving Miss Daisy probably isn't even his top 10 scores in terms of popularity. Gladiator was insanely popular, perhaps moreso than Pirates. They even released a second album. I'm not sure how well a Zimmer concert would go though, since his music is so electronics-heavy.
Sorry, forgot about GLADIATOR. And I have no doubt every action score Zimmer ever did initially sold better than MISS DAISY, but these scores tend to fade into memory quickly unless they become part of a franchise or win best picture. For that latter reason (and it is one of the catchiest themes he ever wrote) DAISY stayed in print for an enormous amount of time having an endurance most of his action pieces didn't.
Indeed Zimmer electronics are quite tricky. If I had to pick the worst piece performancewise at that anniversary concert it would be Zimmer's only because they lost sync with the orchestra a few times.
but these scores tend to fade into memory quickly unless they become part of a franchise or win best picture
Isn't that true regarding MOST music ever written - in all genres - especially as far as the general public is concerned? That says more about society's attention spans than music quality, IMO.
I would say that Zimmer music is as popular as anyone else from the last 20 years. Whether people on the FSM board enjoy his music more than others, that's obviously an often debated topic.
I'm not saying that somebody should put on a Zimmer concert, but I think you are maybe minimizing his contributions and underestimating the appeal of his music.
I would go to a concert for any of the listed names. I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone like a Giacchino - I think they wanted to do a concert of his music a few years back.
My personal preference would be Brian Tyler...that would be awesome.
As much as we love all these guys who compose some of our favorite tunes, I think the GSPO has a difficult task of finding someone who a larger majority of people know, Alan Silvestri is a pretty big name and if you aren't that familiar with his name, the list of movies certainly makes up for it.
I can see a Giacchino as he's HOT right now which will also lead, hopefully for the GSPO, to ticket sales.
Lalo is one heck of a great composer, but will he fill the seats?
Lee is also an incredible composer, but you have to ask, will that sell seats like Silvestri and/or his films would? Do I own nearly everything by these two, well of course, but there are two sides to this equation, getting a great composer to showcase their wondrous career, but also to get someone in there that will also fill in the seats.
but these scores tend to fade into memory quickly unless they become part of a franchise or win best picture
Isn't that true regarding MOST music ever written - in all genres - especially as far as the general public is concerned? That says more about society's attention spans than music quality, IMO.
I would say that Zimmer music is as popular as anyone else from the last 20 years. Whether people on the FSM board enjoy his music more than others, that's obviously an often debated topic.
I'm not saying that somebody should put on a Zimmer concert, but I think you are maybe minimizing his contributions and underestimating the appeal of his music.
I would go to a concert for any of the listed names. I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone like a Giacchino - I think they wanted to do a concert of his music a few years back.
My personal preference would be Brian Tyler...that would be awesome.
My own personal awesome choice would be Mark Bagby's choice of Bruce Broughton, that would be powerful stuff. And with a Brian Tyler to share the program we would be two happy fellows - and the theater would be empty. In all the years I have been going to the GSPO only the Varese concert had a substantial amount of film music fans to fill the seats. Thanks to having reserved seats I could monitor sales over the last year. Each composer announcement for that concert brought in a small burst of sales. But even after a whole slew of names, which ended with Zimmer, the numbers were unimpressive. Online discounts were added. Only after Elfman was added did a momentum of sales burst towards sellout. And even that was explained to me in terms that kept the film music aspect to a minimum. Ever since LACMA had that popular year long Tim Burton exhibit there has been a large mainstream popularity for his art - and, in accordance, Elfman's music for his films. That sort of crossover aspect is what really sells. I would definitely buy that concept of mainstream appeal selling because, over the years, I have never seen more than a handful or two of FSM members at GSPO concerts. Double or triple that amount for non-FSM film music fans and you still have a piddling amount. So Mr. Broxton's points about getting more of the general public in is well placed. My guess is the discussions about Zimmer and Powell have nothing to do with their names being familiar - no one outside of film music knows who they are - but the film titles that would bring in a Pops crowd. This would be the animated ones that families have gone to - HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, MADAGASCAR, THE LORAX, CHICKEN RUN, SHREK, RIO, KUNG FU PANDA, etc. So you need a plug-in that goes deep enough to cross generational boundaries. Something that gets an automatic response from crowds because it is so familiar and hence the composer's name is brought forth. No one has the number of plug-ins that John Williams has - except in the past with composers like Mancini and Barry.
So scratching Elfman because of conflicting concerts the legitimate suggestions seem to be:
Giacchino is HOT among film music fans but he would have to bring them in based on titles. I have gotten 0 recognition so far playing STAR TREK, LOST, UP, RATATOUILLE, etc. for non film music people.
Amazingly, against my expectations, a better case could be made for Randy Newman. His mass of Disney Oscar nominations and wins for TOY STORY, MONSTERS INC, A BUG'S LIFE, etc. His Emmy and Grammy wins for things like MONK. His symphonic stuff like THE NATURAL Recognition factor - high.
p.s. sorry to see how forgotten Lalo's symphonic stuff has become. Makes me feel old.
James Newton Howard David Arnold Thomas Newman Alan Menken
Schifrin is a good idea too. As you know, he attended Vienna last year (or was it the year before?) with a concert dedicated entirely to him. I wasn't there myself, but I think he DID fill the seats.
James Horner, Alan Menken and James Newton Howard are also great choices.
Possibly Marc Shaiman as well? The composer of 'Smash' as a draw?
David Arnold I'm just not digging for this...not enough scores, in my opinion. That's the problem I have with some of the younger guys..
Not enough scores? I think he has plenty -- all with enough oomph to sustain a great concert experience -- a JAMES BOND segment (with TOMORROW NEVER DIES, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, DIE ANOTHER DAY, CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE), STARGATE, INDEPENDENCE DAY, GODZILLA, LAST OF THE DOGMEN, THE MUSKETEER, STEPFORD WIVES, maybe SHAFT, NARNIA, AMAZING GRACE -- that's a great program right there. And it's not even half of his films.
Alan Menken would be a winner. Getting him there and the emphasis on songs might, along with Randy, create a different type of composer tribute. More along the lines of the Sherman Bros. one.
Thomas Newman and James Newton Howard would make great concerts but no recognition at all. Even great scores like PRINCE OF TIDES and WYATT EARP will not bring them in, at no point will the general audience go " I know that!"
But in the middle of this Michel Legrand is mentioned and I start thinking how wide a career he has had. Yeah also a lot of songs but some have that "Aha" quality. Even if you think you don't know his work if someone plays "I Will Wait For You" from CHERBOURG, "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life" from THE HAPPY ENDING or Windmills of Your Mind" from THOMAS CROWN, you will have an "Aha" moment. And the important thing is that the film music fans here would be bowled over by the likes of ICE STATION ZEBRA, THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE MOUNTAIN MEN. I got very excited even if he had to be shipped over here! Well the old fellow is on a world tour! I should have known he has Morricone style fame and stamina. He has a 40 date world tour! http://www.michellegrandofficial.com/
So I am back to Schifrin. But thinking what you informed fellows have said also made me think he may be disqualified too. If Varese is firmly in place it may be only the composers that can help sales there that will be the most likely. In which case Giacchino or Powell will remain the most likely. Even Zimmer would not be worth it for KUNG FU PANDA 2 sales, which is the last major Varese score from him.
Ah well, it was great fantasizing with you guys but the realities of the biz take precedence. And Mr. Giacchino or Powell will make for a cool program.
I would be surprised that an all-Powell concert would attract that many people compared to any of the other names (unless he's attached to some super popular film?), though that would definitely be enjoyable as 'something different'.
I look forward to seeing who they come up. The 20th Century Fox one should be a good one as well.
