dxf (Ferris) and I have been throwing this one around for a few weeks. After thinking about creating my Star Wars vs Close Encounters 1978 Academy Awards Deathmatch poll my thoughts turned to the composer of both of those films’ musical score: John Williams.
John Williams is a badass. His credentials are simply unmatched. John Williams has 5 Academy Awards for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Schindler’s List (1993). He has been nominated for an Academy Award an amazing 48 times including multiple nominations in 12 separate years. His film credits include The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), Earthquake (1974), Midway (1976), Black Sunday (1976), Superman (1978), Dracula (1979), 1941 (1979), Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981), Spacecamp (1986), Home Alone (1990), Jurassic Park (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), Minority Report (2002), War of the Worlds (2005), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), War Horse (2011), and Lincoln (2012). Perhaps no one has shaped our movie going experience the past 45 years more than John Williams. He has set the emotion, the tone and the adrenaline levels for us and shown the masses what is possible for other film makers and composers as well. And he has amazing SciFi/Fantasy/Geek cred.
So who can compete? Howard Shore has 3 Academy Awards but they are all Lord Of The Rings based. One for Best Music, Original Score for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001 and two Oscars for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003. The first was for Best Music, Original Song and the other for Best Music, Original Score. Howard’s other credits include Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Dogma (1999), and The Aviator (2004).
James Horner has 2 Oscars. His Academy Awards were both for Titanic (1997). He has been nominated a total of 10 times and his credits include Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), 48 Hrs. (1982), Krull (1983), Brainstorm (1983), Cocoon (1985), Commando (1985), Aliens (1986), An American Tail (1986), Project X (1987), Willow (1988), The Land Before Time (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), Glory (1989), The Rocketeer (1991), Patriot Games (1992), Sneakers (1992), The Pelican Brief (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Braveheart (1995), Casper (1995), Apollo 13 (1995), Jumanji (1995), Titanic (1997), Deep Impact (1998), Bicentennial Man (1999), The Perfect Storm (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Windtalkers (2002), Avatar (2009), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Horner’s been tapped for Ender’s Game and will return again for Avatar 2 & 3.
Alan Silvestri only has 2 Oscar nominations but has plenty of SciFi/Fantasy/Geek cred to me including Back to the Future (1985), American Anthem (1986), Flight of the Navigator (1986), Predator (1987), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988), The Abyss (1989), Father of the Bride (1991), FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), The Bodyguard (1992), Grumpy Old Men (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), Judge Dredd (1995), Eraser (1996), Volcano (1997), Contact (1997), Stuart Little (1999), Cast Away (2000), What Women Want (2000), Lilo & Stitch (2002), The Polar Express (2004), Night at the Museum (2006), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The A-Team (2010), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and The Avengers (2012).
Bear McCreary was one of the first composers I mentioned to Ferris in our discussions. Ferris summarily poo-pooed Bear because of his lack of experience. I didn’t disagree. However, I love his work and think he is amazingly talented. I really think that after his career is over he will be the most likely individual to be compared to John Williams as Williams in the next generation. I also love that he interacts so personally with his audience - something that Williams/Lucas/Spielberg would never have thought of. Originally Ferris and I decided not to include Bear. HOWEVER, I think it would be a mistake not to add his creativity to the mix here. He has yet to win an Academy Award but his amazingly young career already includes most of what we know of the Ronald D Moore’s Battlestar Galactica, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009), Eureka (2007-2012), The Walking Dead (2010-2013), and the upcoming Defiance TV series (2013).
So here’s the question: A hostile alien race like the Vogons or the Zentraedi or the Drej have come to demolish Earth for it’s resources or to use us as food or to obliterate us or to simply build a bypass. For whatever reason our galactic intelligence sources (most likely operated out of Stargate Command, but that information was never given out) tell us that we can subdue this alien race by dazzling them with a brand new score for their upcoming hit film series based on the television show “Single Female Lawyer.” If successful they will forget about Earth and we will all be saved. A great debate rages around the globe. Who would we choose to create the score (thus someone who is alive today)? Two camps arise. One camp, firmly backed by the campaign financed resources of George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg, favors John Williams. The other camp, not willing to exclude non-French Horn based themes, favors the broader but similarly experienced talent base of Howard Shore, James Horner, Alan Silvestri and Bear McCreary. The debate rages but time is short and we only have one shot at this. There is no time for having a contest between the two to work with the alien’s film orchestra. We must choose now! So now the fate of the world descends upon this GWC poll. Who would you choose to save the planet: John Williams or the combined team of Howard Shore/James Horner/Alan Silvestri/Bear McCreary. You decide!
Other Notable Film Composers Considered For This Poll
Patrick Doyle has 2 Oscar nominations for non scifi/fantasy/geek movies but has a few non-nominated scores to his credit that are Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Eragon (2006), Thor (2011), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), and Brave (2012).
Unfortunately Jerry Goldsmith is no longer with us. However, during his career he won an Oscar for The Omen (1976) and was nominated for 18 others. Jerry composed the scores to In Harm’s Way (1965), Von Ryan’s Express (1965), Planet of the Apes (1968), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), Logan’s Run (1976), Damnation Alley (1977), Alien (1979), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) - and 4 other Star Trek films, Poltergeist (1982), The Secret of NIMH (1982), Rambo: First Blood (1982), Gremlins (1984), Supergirl (1984), Hoosiers (1986), Innerspace (1987), Lionheart (1987), Leviathan (1989), Total Recall (1990), Basic Instinct (1992), Chain Reaction (1996), Air Force One (1997), Mulan (1998), Small Soldiers (1998), The Mummy (1999), and The Sum of All Fears (2002).
John Barry is amazing. Sadly he is no longer with us. However, he has 5 Oscar wins. 2 Oscars for Born Free (1966), The Lion in Winter (1968), Out of Africa (1985), and Dances with Wolves (1990). Amazingly enough he was only nominated 2 other times and did not win. At first I thought he had limited SciFi/Fantasy/Geek cred but look at this impressive list: Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Starcrash (1978), Moonraker (1979), The Black Hole (1979), Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985), Out of Africa (1985), Howard the Duck (1986), The Living Daylights (1987), Dances with Wolves (1990), and Mercury Rising (1998). So basically he single handedly brought us the James Bond theme as we know it!
Daft Punk will be around the films for a while. I do not think their talent, now noticed, will go untapped for the future. However one film (Tron: Legacy) does not make for proven expertise. Well, not enough to place the fate of the world in their hands right now. BTW - did you like their stuff that was featured in Iron Man 2 as well?
Another young gun like Bear McCreary considered was Michael Giacchino. Michael has arisen from the Video Game/TV industry and his credits include Alias (2001-2006), Ratatouille (2007), Speed Racer (2008), Star Trek (2009), Up (2009), Lost (2004-2010), Super 8 (2011), John Carter (2012), and Fringe (2008-2012). I’ll personally be looking to hearing more from Michael. He has won an Oscar for Up already and was nominated for Ratatouille. But I believe the team to save the planet can only stomach one young gun at a time. But Michael is definitely someone to watch for (or more appropriately listen for) in the future.