NEWS FROM COSTA COMMUNICATIONS

Well, there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel and I hope to have some reviews for you this week. Unfortunately however, I am now quite behind with these and will not be able to review everything in such detail as I normally would. The main thing though, it seems to me, is to let you know what is out there and provide as much guidance as time and resources allow. You can therefore expect things to be a little different but, at least for the time being, this is unavoidable. The alternative was to cease operations altogether and, though I have previously considered this on more than one occasion, whilst the record labels, publicists and composers continue to send things my way, I'll do my best to cover everything in some form or another.
In the meantime, you will recall I recently reviewed Christophe Beck's score for Waiting For Superman, released by Lakeshore Records (see http://screensounds.blogspot.com/2010/09-digital-download-review-waiting-for.html), well, now I have received a press release from the composer's publicists, Costa Communications, which I thought you might like to read:-

CHRISTOPHE BECK’S SCORE TAPES INTO THE EMOTIONALITY OF

“WAITING FOR SUPERMAN” DOC

LOS ANGELES (October 25, 2010) – Award-winning composer Christophe Beck creates a moody and introspective score to the critically-acclaimed Paramount Vantage documentary “Waiting For Superman.” Directed by Academy Award-winner Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”), the documentary is a deeply personal exploration of the current state of public education in the U.S. and how it is affecting our children. The film opened earlier this month in major markets and continues to open throughout North America in the next few weeks. The score – released by Lakeshore Records – is now available in stores on CD and online through Amazon.com and iTunes.

“One of the great things about working on a documentary is that you're dealing with real people in real situations,” says Beck. “The music's function isn't to merely push the action along, or to manufacture some kind of feeling that for one reason or another wasn't captured on film – it's to support real, authentic, genuine characters and emotions.”

The film uses playful animations to help convey some fairly disturbing facts when it comes to our failing education system. “I found I could complement that by using some whimsical instrumentation such as pizzicato strings, bouncy percussion and a slightly-too-optimistic feeling,” explains Beck. This helps liven up the presentation of otherwise fairly dry facts and statistics. Then, of course there's the human side too. We wanted to underscore the kids' stories of struggle, hope, disappointment, and for a lucky few, celebration. We used simple, intimate instrumentation – often a plaintive single guitar or piano to help tell these kids' stories.”

In 2000, the cheerleading comedy "Bring It On" launched Beck's prolific film scoring career. His credits include "Under the Tuscan Sun," "Saved," "We Are Marshall," "Year of the Dog," "What Happens in Vegas," and "The Hangover," the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time.

Beck’s road to film scoring was circuitous. The Montreal native started piano lessons at five and by eleven he was writing music for his first-ever band. During high school he studied flute, saxophone, trombone & drums, and performed in rock bands. While studying music at Yale, Beck had an epiphany: “I discovered my talent for composing was far greater than my talent for performing.” He wrote two musicals with his brother Jason (a.k.a. Chilly Gonzales, the Berlin-based hip-hop recording artist), as well as an opera based on Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

Upon graduation from Yale in 1992, he moved to Los Angeles to attend USC's prestigious film scoring program, where he studied with notable composers Jerry Goldsmith and Christopher Young. Beck was immediately attracted to the creative challenges unique to the marriage of music and picture. A personal recommendation from the legendary Buddy Baker, head of the USC Music Department, led to his first assignment for a TV series called "White Fang.” Soon thereafter, he was asked to score a new TV series, “Buffy,” based on the movie “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” for which he received the Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition.

Currently playing in theatres across the nation, “Waiting for Superman” continues to roll out in new markets this season. Selections from the score can be heard at www.christophebeck.com.

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