CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ MEETS THE SPARTANS

Firstly, the latest press release received from Costa Communications, then a review of the score promo they kindly sent me:-

COMPOSER CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ FILM

“MEET THE SPARTANS”

#1 AT BOX OFFICE

Composer’s Second Fox Film in 30 days to reach #1

(Los Angeles, CA) Award-winning composer Christopher Lennertz’s newest score of Epic proportions to Fox’s spoof comedy “Meet the Spartans” is #1 at the box office. “Meet the Spartans” mixes “300” with films like “Stomp the Yard” and also features its share of celebrity bashing scenarios. The cast includes Carmen Elektra, Diedrich Bader and Method Man. The score was recorded using a 94-piece symphony and an 80-voice choir. Last month, “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” another Lennertz scored film, hit #1 at the box office and continues to dominate, grossing over $200 million.

“I decided to take the score one step further and mix in sounds from around the world, even beyond the Middle Eastern elements that people would be expecting,” says Lennertz. “The lyrics being sung are based on a poem that I wrote after seeing the final cut of the film, and I had them translated into Greek. So when you hear a haunting wail floating above the lush orchestra chords, keep in mind that the words actually mean ‘Death by Penguin Testicles.’”

His score for “The Simpsons Game” helped the hit videogame receive a nomination for Best Action Game of 2007 at the 1UP Awards. His other music awards and nominations include an Emmy for the CW’s “Supernatural,” three 2007 Film & TV Music Awards for “Supernatural” and “Tortilla Heaven” (collaborating with Ozomatli) the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Award for “Medal of Honor: Rising Sun,” and The Don B. Ray Educational Achievement Award.

Lennertz’s additional film, TV and videogame credits include: “Soul Plane” in which he collaborated with RZA (Wu-Tang Clan), Fox’s “Brimstone,” and MTV’s “Tough Enough,” which appeared on the Billboard top 100 charts for weeks; his powerful, full orchestral score for the Stephen Spielberg-created videogame “Medal of Honor: Rising Sun” led him to score more “Medal of Honor” games as well as the popular James Bond videogame. Christopher Lennertz’ next project is “Confessions of an Action Star” with Angelina Jolie and is writing the music for the video game ''Tiberium''

Meet The Spartans
Music by Christopher Lennertz
Promotional release
24 Tracks 34:34 mins

I really hope Lennertz's orchestral/choral score for this new comedy receives a commercial release, as it's another winner. Taking its cue from Tyler Bates' score for 300, it goes a step further, as indicated in the quote from the composer in the above press release.
As is the tradition with these kind of spoofs, despite the riotous antics on screen, the score is played straight, and there's plenty of great music to be heard, from haunting ethnic vocals and rhythms, to thunderous action moments, and more intimate and even elegant passages in between, and yes, like 300, the electric guitars do make an appearance, just to give it that modern slant.
The film's performance at the U.S. box office indicates another winner for the Scary Movie creators and I can't wait until it comes to U.K. theatres. In the meantime, Christopher Lennertz goes from strength to strength and I eagerly await his next offering.