“She’s a real artist.
There are very few real artists.
Everybody is called an artist these days but trust me
There are very few who are the real thing.”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JAlOTl84yc[/youtube]
“You’ve never seen mud like this”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg824E6K7nI[/youtube]
“He is a god in his own country,y he has his own wok named after him”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGPoJvQhhKk[/youtube]
Hans Zimmer - making of GLADIATOR Soundtrack
Filmography
2019 Apollo: Missions to the Moon (score producer) (completed)
2019 Great Bear Rainforest (Documentary short) (composer: theme music)
2018-2019 Pagan Peak (TV Series) (music producer - 7 episodes)
- Der Sturm (2019) … (music producer)
- Aus Fleisch und Blut (2019) … (music producer)
- Masken (2019) … (music producer)
- Die Bösen und Unartigen (2019) … (music producer)
- Der Mann aus dem Wald (2019) … (music producer)
Show all 7 episodes
2018 BaseBoys (TV Series) (music - 1 episode)
- Vi SKAL redde Oliver! (2018) … (music)
2018 FIFA 19 (Video Game) (composer: additional music)
Genius (TV Series) (main title theme by - 10 episodes, 2018) (composer - 10 episodes, 2017)
- Picasso: Chapter Ten (2018) … (main title theme by)
- Picasso: Chapter Nine (2018) … (main title theme by)
- Picasso: Chapter Eight (2018) … (main title theme by)
- Picasso: Chapter Seven (2018) … (main title theme by)
- Picasso: Chapter Six (2018) … (main title theme by)
Show all 20 episodes
2017 Blade Runner 2049 (synth programming)
Through the Wormhole (TV Series documentary) (main title theme by - 30 episodes, 2010 - 2016) (composer - 6 episodes, 2016 - 2017)
- Is Gun Crime a Virus? (2017) … (composer: theme music)
- Can We Hack the Planet? (2017) … (composer: theme music)
- Is the Force with Us? (2017) … (composer: theme music)
- Can We All Become Geniuses (2016) … (composer: theme music)
- Are There More Than Two Sexes? (2016) … (main title theme by)
Show all 35 episodes
2017 Rings (executive music producer)
2016 The Crown (TV Series) (opening titles theme - 9 episodes)
- Pride & Joy (2016) … (opening titles theme)
- Assassins (2016) … (opening titles theme)
- Scientia Potentia Est (2016) … (opening titles theme)
- Gelignite (2016) … (opening titles theme)
- Smoke and Mirrors (2016) … (opening titles theme)
Show all 9 episodes
2016 The Edge of Seventeen (score producer)
2016 13 Hours (executive music producer)
2015 Freeheld (synth programming)
2015 A.D. The Bible Continues (TV Series) (musical director - 12 episodes)
- The Abomination (2015) … (musical director)
- Rise Up (2015) … (musical director)
- Brothers in Arms (2015) … (musical director)
- Saul’s Return (2015) … (musical director)
- The Road to Damascus (2015) … (musical director)
Show all 12 episodes
2015 Terminator Genisys (executive music producer)
2015 The Little Prince (synth programmer)
2015 Auschwitz (Documentary short) (score producer)
Sons of Liberty (TV Mini-Series) (theme music - 2 episodes, 2015) (composer - 1 episode, 2015)
- Independence (2015) … (theme music)
- The Uprising (2015) … (theme music)
- A Dangerous Game (2015) … (composer: theme music)
2014 Interstellar (composer: theme music)
2014/II Nocturnal (Short) (stock music)
2014 Transformers: Age of Extinction (composer: additional music)
2014 Divergent (executive music producer)
2013 The Bible & You (Documentary) (composer: additional music)
2013 Beyond: Two Souls (Video Game) (music producer)
2013 Mr. Morgan’s Last Love (score producer)
2013 Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (executive music producer)
2012 Bullet to the Head (music producer - uncredited) / (score producer)
2012 The Dark Knight Rises (synth programming)
2012 The 84th Annual Academy Awards (TV Special) (music consultant)
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (Short) (composer: theme music)
2011 Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (Video Game) (composer: theme music)
2011 Curiosity (TV Series documentary) (composer - 1 episode)
- Is There a Parallel Universe? (2011) … (composer: main title theme)
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (composer: theme music) / (score producer)
2011 The Dilemma (featured musician)
2010 Mr. J (Short) (composer: music)
2010 Inception (synthesizer programmer)
2010 Despicable Me (score producer)
2009 Sherlock Holmes (music producer)
2009/I 2012 (executive music producer)
2009 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Video Game) (composer: main themes) / (music producer)
2009 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (composer: additional music)
2007-2009 HBO First Look (TV Series documentary short) (executive music producer - 2 episodes)
- Monsters on a Mission: The Making of Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) … (executive music producer)
- Inside the Hive: The Making of ‘Bee Movie’ (2007) … (executive music producer)
2009 Monsters vs. Aliens (executive music producer)
2008 Love Tap (Short) (music producer)
2008 Madagascar 2 (musician: synthesizers)
2008 Frost/Nixon (orchestrator)
2008 Babylon A.D. (executive music producer - uncredited) / (music consultant)
2008 The Dark Knight (musician: synthesizer - uncredited) / (synthesizer programmer)
2008 Iron Man (executive music producer)
2008 Vantage Point (music consultant - uncredited)
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean Online (Video Game) (composer: theme music)
2007 Bee Movie (executive music producer)
2007 August Rush (composer: theme music) / (executive score producer - uncredited)
2007 Running the Sahara (Documentary) (score music producer)
2006 The Holiday (soloist: piano)
2006 The Prestige (executive music producer)
2006 Impy’s Island (score producer)
2006 Over the Hedge (executive music producer)
2006 Ask the Dust (score producer)
2006 Curious George (executive music producer)
2005 Blood+ (TV Series) (music producer)
2005 The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (music score producer)
2005 All the Invisible Children (music producer: Jordan & Ridley Scott segment)
2005 The Island (score producer)
2005 El sueño de Paco (soundtrack)
2005 The Ring Two (composer: themes)
2005 The Contender (TV Series) (composer: title theme)
2004 House of D (executive producer: music score)
2004 Princess Ella (executive score producer)
2003 The Last Samurai (score arranger) / (score programmer)
2003 Threat Matrix (TV Series) (composer - 3 episodes)
- Patriot Acts (2003) … (composer: main title)
- Natural Borne Killers (2003) … (composer: main title)
- Pilot (2003) … (composer: theme music)
2003 Matchstick Men (music arranger) / (music programmer)
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (music editor) / (music programmer) / (score producer) / (soundtrack producer)
2003 Johnny English (composer: theme music)
2002 Live from Baghdad (TV Movie) (executive music producer)
2001 Black Hawk Down (conductor - uncredited) / (musician: keyboards - uncredited)
2001 I Am Sam (original music producer)
1994-2001 The Critic (TV Series) (composer - 34 episodes)
- Pearl Harbor (2001) … (composer: theme music)
- Broadway (2001) … (composer: theme music)
- Harry Potter, Planet of the Apes (2001) … (composer: theme music)
- Cast Away, The Legend of Bagger Vance (2001) … (composer: theme music)
- Sleepy Hollow, Pulp Fiction (2001) … (composer: theme music)
Show all 33 episodes
2001 Jason X (musician: guitar)
2000 Mission: Impossible II (conductor) / (musician)
1998 Antz (executive music producer)
1998 With Friends Like These… (music producer)
1998 Endurance (music producer)
1997 As Good as It Gets (music arranger - uncredited)
1997 The Borrowers (score producer)
1997 Pterodactyl Woman from Beverly Hills (music kvetch)
1997 Fame L.A. (TV Series) (score producer)
1997 Deceiver (advisor: sound)
1997 Face/Off (score producer)
1996-1997 High Incident (TV Series) (composer - 32 episodes)
- Shootout (1997) … (composer: theme music)
- Starting Over (1997) … (composer: theme music)
- Camino High (1997) … (composer: theme music)
- Remote Control (1997) … (composer: theme music)
- Show Me the Money (1997) … (composer: theme music)
Show all 32 episodes
1997 Smilla’s Sense of Snow (composer: additional music)
1987-1996 Going for Gold (TV Series) (composer - 699 episodes)
- Episode #10.58 (1996) … (composer: theme music)
- Episode #10.51 (1996) … (composer: theme music)
- Episode #10.53 (1996) … (composer: theme music)
- Episode #10.54 (1996) … (composer: theme music)
- Episode #10.50 (1996) … (composer: theme music)
Show all 699 episodes
1996 The Rock (music producer) / (score arranger)
1996 Twister (score producer)
1996 Muppet Treasure Island (arranger: songs)
1996 Broken Arrow (score arranger)
1996 White Squall (composer: additional music) / (score producer)
1995 Beyond Rangoon (music producer)
1994 The Lion King (Video Game) (composer: original themes)
1994 The Lion King (music supervisor) / (original score arranger)
1994 Monkey Trouble (composer: additional music)
1993 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (synthesist)
1993 The House of the Spirits (music arranger)
1993 Lifepod (TV Movie) (composer: theme music)
1993 Sniper (composer: additional music)
1992 Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World (TV Series) (composer: theme music - 1992)
1992 Toys (music arranger) / (musician)
1992 Dakota Road (music advisor)
1991/I White Fang (composer: additional music)
1988 Prisoner of Rio (composer: additional music)
1987 The Last Emperor (music producer: London - as Hans F. Zimmer) / (musical associate: London - as Hans F. Zimmer)
1987 Prick Up Your Ears (musician: synthesizers)
1986 The Wind (Video) (musician: electronic music)
1986 Castaway (composer: additional music)
1985 The Lightship (music producer: electronic music)
1985 My Beautiful Laundrette (music producer)
1985 Insignificance (composer: additional music)
1984 The Story of O 2 (composer: electronic music)
1983 Eureka (composer: additional music - uncredited)
1982 Moonlighting (composer: electronic music)
Hide Hide Composer (202 credits)
2020 Dune (filming)
2020 Top Gun: Maverick (filming)
2020 It’s a Wonderful Sponge (filming)
2020 Wonder Woman 1984 (post-production)
2019 The Lion King (post-production)
2019 X-Men: Dark Phoenix (completed)
2018 Hollywood in Vienna 2018: The World of Hans Zimmer (TV Movie)
2018 Widows (music by)
2018 Ability (Short)
2018 Oceans: Our Blue Planet (Documentary)
2018/I Believer (Documentary)
2017 Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs Hans Zimmer: He’s a Pirate (Short)
2017 Blue Planet II (TV Mini-Series documentary) (7 episodes)
- Our Blue Planet (2017)
- Coasts (2017)
- Green Seas (2017)
- Big Blue (2017)
- Coral Reefs (2017)
Show all 7 episodes
2017 Hans Zimmer: Live in Prague (Documentary)
2017 Blade Runner 2049 (music by)
2017 The Road of Love
2017 International Rescue: A Minecraft Movie (Short)
2017 Dunkirk (music by)
2017 The Boss Baby (music by)
2017 The Joke is on You!: A Minecraft Movie (Video short)
2016 Hidden Figures (music by)
2016 Planet Earth II (TV Mini-Series documentary) (6 episodes)
- Cities (2016)
- Grasslands (2016)
- Deserts (2016)
- Jungles (2016)
- Mountains (2016)
Show all 6 episodes
2016/I Inferno (music by)
2011-2016 Through the Wormhole (TV Series documentary) (24 episodes)
- Are There More Than Two Sexes? (2016) … (music by)
- Is Privacy Dead? (2016) … (music by)
- What Makes a Terrorist? (2016) … (music by)
- Are We All Bigots? (2015)
- Is Poverty Genetic? (2014)
Show all 24 episodes
2016 The Last Face
2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
2016 Kung Fu Panda 3
2016 Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (Short) (music by)
2015 Freeheld
2015 The Little Prince (music by)
2015 Les bosquets (Documentary short)
2015 Thunderbirds Are Minecraft (TV Series short)
2015 Premier Boxing Champions (TV Series) (2015)
2015 Chappie
2015 Woman in Gold
2015 Sons of Liberty (TV Mini-Series)
2014 Women of the Bible (TV Movie)
2014 Interstellar
2014 The Simpsons Take the Bowl (Video)
2014 The Amazing Spider-Man 2
2014 Son of God
2014 Winter’s Tale
2013/I Rush
2013 12 Years a Slave
2013 Mr. Morgan’s Last Love
2013 The Lone Ranger
2013 Brave Miss World (Documentary) (music by)
2013 Man of Steel
The Bible (TV Mini-Series documentary) (8 episodes, 2013) (music composer - 1 episode, 2013)
- Courage (2013)
- Passion (2013)
- Betrayal (2013)
- Mission (2013)
- Survival (2013)
Show all 9 episodes
2013 Inception: In 60 Seconds (Short)
2012 The Dawkins Movie (Short)
2012 The Dark Knight Rises
2012 The Longest Daycare (Short)
2012 Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (music by)
2011 Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters (Video short)
2011 Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: Tales of the Code: Wedlocked (Short) (music by)
2011 Curiosity (TV Series documentary) (1 episode)
- Is There a Parallel Universe? (2011)
2011 Jealous of the Birds (Documentary)
2011 Standing Up for Freedom (Video short)
2011 Kung Fu Panda 2
2011 Batman: Night’s End (Short)
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
2011 Crysis 2 (Video Game)
2011 Megamind: The Button of Doom (Video short)
2011 Rango
2011 The Dilemma
2010 The Cover-Up (Short)
2010 How Do You Know
2010 Inception: Motion Comics (TV Series) (2010)
2010 Kung Fu Panda Holiday (TV Short)
2010 Megamind
2010 Inception
2010 The Pacific (TV Mini-Series) (10 episodes)
- Home (2010)
- Okinawa (2010)
- Iwo Jima (2010)
- Peleliu Hills (2010)
- Peleliu Airfield (2010)
Show all 10 episodes
2010 Henri 4
2009 Sherlock Holmes
2009 It’s Complicated
2009 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Video Game)
2009 Angels & Demons
2009 The Boat That Rocked (uncredited)
2008 Batman: The Dark Knight (Video short)
2008 Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five (Video short)
2008 Madagascar 2
2008 Frost/Nixon
2008 The Burning Plain
2008 The Dark Knight (music by)
2008 Kung Fu Panda
2008 Casi divas
2007 The Simpsons Movie (music by)
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
2006 The Holiday
2006 French Bomber Detective (Short)
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
2006 The Da Vinci Code
2005 The Weather Man
2005 Der kleine Eisbär 2: Die geheimnisvolle Insel
2005 Batman Begins
2005 Madagascar
2004 Spanglish
2004 Laura’s Star
2004 Shark Tale
2004 Thunderbirds
2004 King Arthur
2004 Journey to Safety: Making ‘Tears of the Sun’ (Video documentary short) (from “Tears of the Sun”)
2003 Something’s Gotta Give
2003 The Last Samurai
2003 Matchstick Men
2003 Tears of the Sun
2002 The Ring
2002 The Essence of Combat: Making ‘Black Hawk Down’ (Video documentary)
2002 Thelma & Louise: The Last Journey (Video documentary)
2002 Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
2001 Black Hawk Down
2001 Riding in Cars with Boys
2001 Invincible
2001 Breaking the Silence: The Making of ‘Hannibal’ (Video documentary)
2000-2001 Die Motorrad-Cops: Hart am Limit (TV Series) (23 episodes)
- Die Schatten der Vergangenheit (2001)
- Gesicht des Todes (2001)
- Italienisches Roulette (2001)
- Blutsbrüder (2001)
- Adrenalin (2001)
Show all 23 episodes
2001 Pearl Harbor
2001 Hannibal
2001/I The Pledge
2000 An Everlasting Piece
2000 Gladiator Games: The Roman Bloodsport (TV Movie documentary)
2000 Hans Zimmer: Scoring Gladiator (Video documentary short)
2000 HBO First Look (TV Series documentary short) (1 episode)
- Gladiator (2000)
2000 Mission: Impossible II
2000 Gladiator
2000 The Road to El Dorado
1999 El candidato (TV Series) (218 episodes)
- Episode #1.217 (1999)
- Episode #1.215 (1999)
- Episode #1.216 (1999)
- Episode #1.214 (1999)
- Episode #1.213 (1999)
Show all 218 episodes
1999 Chill Factor
1998 The Thin Red Line
1998 De prins van Egypte (score)
1998 The Last Days (Documentary)
1997 As Good as It Gets (music by)
1997 The Peacemaker
1997 Smilla’s Sense of Snow
1996 Muppets Treasure Island (Video Game)
1996 The Preacher’s Wife
1996 The Fan
1996 The Rock
1996 Muppet Treasure Island
1996 Broken Arrow
1995 Two Deaths
1995 Something to Talk About
1995 Nine Months
1995 Beyond Rangoon
1995 Crimson Tide
1994 Drop Zone
1994 Renaissance Man
1994 The Lion King
1994 I’ll Do Anything
1993-1994 Space Rangers (TV Series) (6 episodes)
- To Be… Or Not to Be (1994)
- The Trial (1994)
- Fort Hope (1993)
- Death Before Dishonor (1993)
- Banshies (1993)
Show all 6 episodes
1993 The House of the Spirits
1993 Cool Runnings
1993 True Romance
1993 Calendar Girl
1993 Younger and Younger
1993 Point of No Return
1992 Millennium: Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World (TV Series) (1992)
1992 Spies Inc.
1992 Toys
1992 A League of Their Own
1992 The Power of One
1992 Radio Flyer (music by)
1991 Where Sleeping Dogs Lie
1991 K2 (European version)
1991 To the Moon, Alice (Short) (as Hans Florian Zimmer)
1991 Regarding Henry
1991 Backdraft
1991 Thelma & Louise
1990 Green Card
1990 Pacific Heights
1990 Days of Thunder
1990 Fools of Fortune
1990 Bird on a Wire
1990 Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (credit only)
1990 Arcadia (Short)
1989 Gregg Allman: I’ll Be Holding On (Video short)
1989 Driving Miss Daisy (music composed by)
1989 Diamond Skulls
1989 Black Rain
1989 Twister
1988 Rain Man
1988 First Born (TV Mini-Series) (3 episodes)
- Episode #1.3 (1988)
- Episode #1.2 (1988)
- Episode #1.1 (1988)
1988 Burning Secret
1988 Paperhouse
1988 Nightmare at Noon
1988 A World Apart
1988 The Fruit Machine
1988 Taffin
1988 The Nature of the Beast
1987 Comeback (TV Movie)
1987 Going for Gold (TV Series)
1987 Terminal Exposure
1986 Vardo (Short)
1986 The Wind (Video)
1986 Separate Vacations
1986 The Zero Boys
1985 Wild Horses (TV Movie)
1985 My Beautiful Laundrette (as Ludus Tonalis)
1985 Insignificance
1984 Success Is the Best Revenge
1982 Superhero (Short)
Mini Bio (1)
German-born composer Hans Zimmer is recognized as one of Hollywood’s most innovative musical talents. He featured in the music video for The Buggles’ single “Video Killed the Radio Star”, which became a worldwide hit and helped usher in a new era of global entertainment as the first music video to be aired on MTV (August 1, 1981).
Zimmer entered the world of film music in London during a long collaboration with famed composer and mentor Stanley Myers, which included the film My Beautiful Laundrette (1985). He soon began work on several successful solo projects, including the critically acclaimed A World Apart, and during these years Zimmer pioneered the use of combining old and new musical technologies. Today, this work has earned him the reputation of being the father of integrating the electronic musical world with traditional orchestral arrangements.
A turning point in Zimmer’s career came in 1988 when he was asked to score Rain Man for director Barry Levinson. The film went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year and earned Zimmer his first Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Score. The next year, Zimmer composed the score for another Best Picture Oscar recipient, Driving Miss Daisy (1989), starring Jessica Tandy, and Morgan Freeman.
Having already scored two Best Picture winners, in the early 1990s, Zimmer cemented his position as a pre-eminent talent with the award-winning score for The Lion King (1994). The soundtrack has sold over 15 million copies to date and earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Score, a Golden Globe, an American Music Award, a Tony, and two Grammy Awards. In total, Zimmer’s work has been nominated for 7 Golden Globes, 7 Grammys and seven Oscars for Rain Man (1988), Gladiator (2000), The Lion King (1994), As Good as It Gets (1997), The The Preacher’s Wife (1996), The Thin Red Line (1998), De prins van Egypte (1998), and The Last Samurai (2003).
With his career in full swing, Zimmer was anxious to replicate the mentoring experience he had benefited from under Stanley Myers’ guidance. With state-of-the-art technology and a supportive creative environment, Zimmer was able to offer film-scoring opportunities to young composers at his Santa Monica-based musical “think tank.” This approach helped launch the careers of such notable composers as Mark Mancina, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams, Nick Glennie-Smith, and Klaus Badelt.
In 2000, Zimmer scored the music for Gladiator (2000), for which he received an Oscar nomination, in addition to Golden Globe and Broadcast Film Critics Awards for his epic score. It sold more than three million copies worldwide and spawned a second album Gladiator: More Music From The Motion Picture, released on the Universal Classics/Decca label. Zimmer’s other scores that year included Mission: Impossible II (2000), The Road to El Dorado (2000), and An Everlasting Piece (2000), directed by Barry Levinson.
Some of his other impressive scores include Pearl Harbor (2001), The Ring (2002), four films directed by Ridley Scott; Matchstick Men (2003), Hannibal (2001), Black Hawk Down (2001), and Thelma & Louise (1991), Penny Marshall’s Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), and A League of Their Own (1992), Tony Scott’s True Romance (1993), Tears of the Sun (2003), Ron Howard’s Backdraft (1991), Days of Thunder (1990), Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997), and the animated Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) for which he also co-wrote four of the songs with Bryan Adams, including the Golden Globe nominated Here I Am.
At the 27th annual Flanders International Film Festival, Zimmer performed live for the first time in concert with a 100-piece orchestra and a 100-piece choir. Choosing selections from his impressive body of work, Zimmer performed newly orchestrated concert versions of Gladiator, Mission: Impossible II (2000), Rain Man (1988), The Lion King (1994), and The Thin Red Line (1998). The concert was recorded by Decca and released as a concert album entitled “The Wings Of A Film: The Music Of Hans Zimmer.”
Last year, Zimmer completed his 100th film score for the film The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise, for which he received both a Golden Globe and a Broadcast Film Critics nomination. Recently, Zimmer scored Nancy Meyers’ comedy Something’s Gotta Give (2003), the animated Dreamworks film, Shark Tale (2004) (featuring voices of Will Smith, Renée Zellweger, Robert De Niro, Jack Black, and Martin Scorsese), and most recently, Jim Brooks’ Spanglish (2004) starring Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni (for which he also received a Golden Globe nomination). His upcoming projects include Paramount’s The Weather Man (2005) starring Nicolas Cage, Dreamworks’ Madagascar (2005), and highly anticipated Warner Bros. summer release, Batman Begins (2005).
Zimmer’s additional honors and awards include the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in Film Composition from the National Board of Review, and the Frederick Loewe Award in 2003 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. He has also received ASCAP’s Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement. Hans and his wife live in Los Angeles and he is the father of four children.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
Spouse (2)
Vicki Carolin (19 March 1982 - 7 April 1992) ( divorced) ( 1 child)
Suzanne Zimmer (? - present) ( 3 children)
Trade Mark (6)
Uses elements from the characters culture in the music. Some examples are tribal chants in The Lion King (1994), Guitar with vocals in Gladiator (2000) and Ukulele in Pearl Harbor (2001).
Seamlessly mixes synthesizers with real instruments and soloists. Often uses solo cello and acoustic/electric guitar.
Frequently works with DreamWorks Animation
Frequently works with directors Ridley Scott, Gore Verbinski, Ron Howard and Christopher Nolan.
Famous for his frequent use of what is known as a “Bwaum” wherein a major plot point is revealed and the music blasts out a single note loudly
Frequent use of the ‘Shepard Tone’ to raise tension. This is an auditory illusion of which provides the sense of a note constantly rising in pitch.
Trivia (26)
Last name means ‘room’ in German.
Co-founder (with Jay Rifkin) of Santa Monica-based music studio Media Ventures (now Remote Control), which has housed composers Mark Mancina, Harry Gregson-Williams, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Nick Glennie-Smith, John Powell, Klaus Badelt, Steve Jablonsky, Geoff Zanelli, Jeff Rona, Jim Dooley, Henning Lohner, James S. Levine, Mel Wesson, and several other composers from all over the world.
Hans’ longtime business partner, Jay Rifkin, filed a $10 million suit against him for conspiring to take business for himself. Because of this lawsuit, Media Ventures changed its name to Remote Control. [December 2003]
Gladiator (2000) became into one of the best selling film score albums of all time.
The Last Samurai (2003) marked his 100th score.
Inspired by Ennio Morricone’s The Mission (1986).
His iconic theme “Journey to the Line” from The Thin Red Line (1998) is heavily used in trailers and various other media. This theme was born out of trial and error. Terrence Malick, the director of The Thin Red Line (1998) had been dissatisfied with Zimmer’s results and had him continuously rework melodies and come up with various approaches. Thus “Journey to the Line” was finally born. Many of his latter scores would go on to bear an uncanny resemblance to this classic Thin Red Line theme.
He wrote music for a a 4-minute Maybach commercial.
His favorite movie theme of all time is from Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) by John Carpenter.
Fans and industry insiders in the film music world credit Crimson Tide (1995) as a turning point in both his career and the scoring business. The Grammy-winning score, often heard in trailers since, was a departure from the norm, making use of digital synthesizers, electronic keyboards, and the latest computer technology to digitally produce a rousing score with traditional orchestral arrangements.
The reason why he was chosen for the movie Laura’s Star (2004), was because, in an interview, he said that he feels that German producers forgot him for composing to a German language movie. One of the producers read the interview and he immediately asked him to do the movie.
Completely self-taught, he learned everything he knows through collaboration and experimenting.
He pushes collaboration between composers because that is how he learned. Every composer that has come out of Media Ventures learned by working with him on various scores by conducting, writing additional music, or even co-composing with him. Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell, Mark Mancina, Klaus Badelt and Steve Jablonsky are just a few composers who are now doing solo work after expanding from Media Ventures.
He told in an interview that he would retire for some years after The Dark Knight (2008), saying he has been exhausted in the past years. He also said that he wants to help young composers and would produce their scores. His future plan is also about touring the world holding concerts with his own music.
Was nominated for a Tony Award for Original Musical Score in 1998 alongside Elton John, Tim Rice, Lebo M., Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin and Julie Taymor for their work on the musical version of The Lion King (1994).
Was nominated for Film Composer of the Year in 2006 by the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA).
Was included on the list of “Top 100 Living Geniuses” published by The Daily Telegraph (2007).
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6908 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 8, 2010.
Hans Zimmer’s score for The Thin Red Line (1998) would inform the direction he would take in style for the rest of his career. Many directors (especially Christopher Nolan) would employ him based on their love for The Thin Red Line (1998) and the desire for its similar ambiance. More specifically based on the track “Journey to the Line”. Ironically, with the exception of “Journey to the Line”, most of Zimmer’s score did not make the final cut of The Thin Red Line (1998) What was used was often sampled with various other music chosen by Malick to create an intricate work that is often mistakenly credited to Zimmer.
As of 2018, he has contributed with the music score of 10 films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Rain Man (1988), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), As Good as It Gets (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), Gladiator (2000), Frost/Nixon (2008), Inception (2010), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Hidden Figures (2016) and Dunkirk (2017). Of those, Rain Man (1988), Driving Miss Daisy (1989), Gladiator (2000), and 12 Years a Slave (2013) are winners in the category.
Has 4 children: one daughter, Zoe Zimmer, with his ex-wife Vicki Carolin; a son Jake Zimmer, a daughter Brigitte Zimmer and another unknown child with his current wife Suzanne Zimmer.
He is the only composer to do scores for Batman films under two different directors.
He is the only composer to have done scores for films about Batman and Superman.
He has written and composed scores for all of DC Comics’ trinity of heroes: Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.
His son Jake was born in 1997.
His children are called Zoe, Jake (born 1997), Max, Anabelle and Brigitte .
Personal Quotes (21)
I have all these computers and keyboards and synthesizers, and I rattle away. For instance, with The Lion King (1994), I wrote over four hours’ worth of tunes, and they were really pretty - but totally meaningless. So in the end I came up with material I liked. We worked on The Lion King for four years, but I wasn’t toying until the last three-and-a-half weeks properly. On Crimson Tide (1995), on the other hand, I just went in and within seconds I knew what I wanted.
I wake up around noon, light a cigarette, get a cup of coffee, sit in the bathtub for an hour and daydream, and I usually come up with some ideas… It’s a very irresponsible life. The only decisions I make are about the notes I’m writing.
I don’t drive, so one of my assistants drives me to my writing room, and I have a calendar on the wall telling me how much time I have left, and how far behind I am. I look at it and panic, and decide which scene to work on. And you sit there plonking notes until something makes sense, and you don’t think about it any more. Good tunes come when you’re not thinking about it.
If something happened where I couldn’t write music anymore, it would kill me. It’s not just a job. It’s not just a hobby. It’s why I get up in the morning.
You have to remain flexible, and you must be your own critic at all times.
[on his score for Hannibal (2001)] This is the best love theme I’ve ever written, I keep telling everyone this is a romantic comedy, but nobody believes me.
[on his score for Batman Begins (2005)] I think this one has more electronics in it than anything else. I didn’t want to do straight orchestra because Batman, he’s not a straight character. I mean where do you get those wonderful toys from and the technology? So I thought I could embrace a bit more technology in this one… there isn’t a straight orchestral note on this score.
[on his previous Batman scores] Nobody ever mentions the Elliot Goldenthal scores. And of course, I’m not mentioning any of that either, because quite honestly I didn’t go and look at the old Batman movies again.
I am not saying it is a bad movie or good movie, but it is an odd movie. All of the music was written before Terry would edit a scene. That was just how he wanted to work. It was a very odd way of working for me, because I had to lead the charge up the hill all the time. It gets a little daunting.
[on his score for The Lion King (1994)] I’d never written for talking fuzzy animals before. I knew how to write to human emotions but these were animals. It took me a while to sort of get over that and do what you do which is just treat them like human characters.
[on his score for The Lion King (1994)] I thought how do we deal with in a children’s movie the idea that a father dies and make an emotional yet not horrifying experience. And it’s very simple. It’s my point of view because my dad dropped dead when I was six. I had nobody to talk to about it.
If the secret should be known, which is not much of a secret at all, this is my hobby I love doing this. Anything else feels like work to me.
When you write a theme one of the things you want to do is you want to see how much life it really has. How many possibilities there are. Can it speak to you in joy? Can it speak to you in sorrow? Can it be love? Can it be hate? Can you say all these things with just a few notes? That’s the thing when you figure out if a tune is any good or not. Does it have more than one shallow little character? Does it have just one little thing to tell you. Can it get underneath there under your skin? Can it get dark? Can it talk about the death of a father or something like that.
[on his score for The Lion King (1994)] The main emphasis to me was how we were going to get, in a children’s movie, to the idea that a father dies and make it an emotional yet not horrifying experience but make it something that children might want to start asking some questions about. It’s very simple. It’s my point of view because my dad dropped dead when I was six and I had nobody to talk to about it. So, it’s a very personal sort of thing.
You have to realize I like doing big movies that appear on a big screen. So the visuals and the audio have to be of a certain quality before I start to get excited about the thing.
The writing gets done away from the keyboard and away from the studio in my head, in solitude. And then I come in and hopefully have something, then I wrestle with sounds and picture all day long. But the ideas usually come from a more obscure place, like a conversation with a director, a still somebody shows you, or whatever.
When movies first came out, maybe they were in black and white and there wasn’t any sound and people were saying the theater is still the place to be. But now movies and theater have found their own place in the world. They are each legitimate art forms.
With animated film, you have to create the sonic world; there’s nothing there. You get to color things in more and you’re allowed to overreach yourself a little bit more, and it’s great fun.
Anything can become a musical sound. The wind on telegraph wires is a great sound; get it into your machine and play it and it becomes interesting.
You come from a conversation with the director, and you’re all enthusiastic, because it’s all new possibilities, opportunities, great ideas, etc. And then you get into this room, and you sit in front of this [computer], and it’s all gone and you just go “oh my god, I have no idea what to do”. But you need the courage of starting somewhere.
"I write film music. I don’t do brain surgery. I don’t cure cancer. I just write a little bit of film music.
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