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Author	Topic: Avatar Horner's last hope?

BackToTheFutureFan Standard Userer	James Cameron's next HUGE film is the space adventure "Avatar" and Horner is on board to compose for the film. The buzz says this movie is supposed to be the biggest thing ever in film. It has a huge budget, it's going to be in 3D with state of the art special effects created for this film alone. Do you think this is a all or nothing for Horner? He really is falling off.
posted 04-10-2007 10:13 PM PT (US)

franz_conrad Standard Userer	Where was it reported that Horner would score this? IMDB doesn't count.
posted 04-10-2007 11:36 PM PT (US)

Crono/Kyp Standard Userer	Would not shock me of Horner was on board. After "Titanic" I think a Cameron/Horner collaboration would be great. And from what I've heard, both men had a good experence on "Titanic." --Brian
posted 04-11-2007 12:22 AM PT (US)

Camillu Standard Userer	here's some more info I read a while ago: (can't find the link though) James Cameron is to make new movie Avatar, his first film since 1997's Oscar-winning blockbuster Titanic. Fox Filmed Entertainment has confirmed Cameron is to start virtual photography on the sci-fi epic in April, followed by live-action work in August, ahead of a summer 2009 release. Cameron has also written the screenplay for the movie, which tells the story of a wounded marine who is sent to the faraway planet of Pandora against his wishes, and finds himself caught up in a battle of survival with the planet's inhabitants. The 52-year-old has spent years researching and developing the new filming techniques needed to create the movie's $190 million hybrid of action and animation, and he claims he's been "the busiest unemployed director in Hollywood." He vows, "We're going to blow you to the back wall of the theatre in a way you haven't seen for a long time. My goal is to rekindle those amazing mystical moments my generation felt when we first saw 2001: A Space Odyssey or the next generation's Star Wars. It took me 10 years to find something hard enough to be interesting."
posted 04-11-2007 12:54 AM PT (US)

Crono/Kyp Standard Userer	It's Cameron. I'll see anything he does. --BC
posted 04-11-2007 02:17 AM PT (US)

BackToTheFutureFan Standard Userer	I guess we really wont know who is composing it until about 2 weeks before release. They might replace him. But, I did see an article and of course, I can't find it. It probably wasn't legitimate but still, he composed aliens and titanic, which were successful. Do you think it's Horner's last chance to prove he's an A lister?
posted 04-11-2007 03:25 AM PT (US)

Camillu Standard Userer	Erm, with a track record like his, I don't think Horner needs to prove anything to anyone. Most composers would kill to have a filmography like his.
posted 04-11-2007 05:47 AM PT (US)

gkgyver Standard Userer	Horner's last hope has gone by somewhere between Braveheart and Troy. I still consider Titanic as one of the most praised turds in movie history.
posted 04-11-2007 08:30 AM PT (US)

Jeron Standard Userer	I think that we as film music fans tend to be harsher than most. I'm not sure that the reputation that precedes Horner in this community precedes him among the elite of elites in Hollywood. He's a part of the club. Horner wouldn't still be scoring films regularly if he had a black mark of doom on his perceived ability. Who are we to even dictate what Horner's "last hope" is or if he'll be able to "redeem himself" with this project or that? Who says he needs to? This all seems quite imagined to me. [Message edited by Jeron on 04-11-2007]
posted 04-11-2007 10:11 AM PT (US)

gkgyver Standard Userer	Fair point. But no matter how big or how important a member of the "club" he is, he's not scoring films for the club, he's writing music for us and for the films. It's not about staying alive in Hollywood, it's about staying alive in our thoughts. And in the end, when people are dissapointed by someone long enough, "the club" will most likely react to it.
posted 04-11-2007 11:04 AM PT (US)

BackToTheFutureFan Standard Userer	Well, like with the interview with that film critic posted yesterday, he talks about how awkward Horner's music is now. He hears the same action music in aliens as he does in another film, the same music in Deep Impact as you hear in Titanic. He said he PEAKED with aliens which I believe to be a little to harsh but in some ways he's right. It is really distracting to hear the music from another great film in the film your watching. It totally removes you from the film. I know it really ruins it for me. I can hardly watch the POTC films because I've heard it all before. On top of it, he is pretty arrogant. That interview with him on film music radio talking about his scoring experience with the new world and troy. First, I know he had less than two weeks to score troy and yared had more than a year. He talks like he is some sort of got and he is better than any other composer. He doesn't respect them. Plus, he is a control freak. All I am saying is that we need something new and big from him. No more remakes of titanic, legends of the fall, aliens, etc. I am one of his biggest fans and I usually speak up when others are horner bashing, but I guess I have lost a little patience and am hoping he will just blow us all away with avatar if he scores it.
posted 04-11-2007 12:33 PM PT (US)

Jeron Standard Userer	I've eliminated my expectations completely where Horner is concerned. I tend to enjoy his work more as a result of this, as I'm not constantly let down time after time after time. I'm not expecting anything revolutionary from Avatar, that is, if he does it. Didn't Jeehun Hwang do Aliens of the Deep? Joel McNeely did Ghosts of the Abyss. Those films weren't on par commercially or demographically with Titanic, Aliens, Terminator 2, etc... but I wouldn't necessarily expect Cameron to work with Horner on this one. They might intend to work together, but in the end they may not. If they are talking about it right now, it may just be courtesy talk / flirting with the idea. They both got an Oscar out of Titanic, but that doesn't glue them together for future projects. That said, there's the distinct possibility Horner will end up scoring the film. If so, that's great. Whatever. Cameron wants to blow us out of our seats, and if he's going to truly accomplish that, he's going to be evaluating the creativity behind every aspect of the project. Who knows? Perhaps Horner will write the score to Avatar, to only have it kicked out and replaced with one by Silvestri. Life is full of ironies... [Message edited by Jeron on 04-11-2007]
posted 04-11-2007 05:54 PM PT (US)

franz_conrad Standard Userer	You fellas are a bit hard on Horner here. I thought last year's efforts - ALL THE KING'S MEN and APOCALYPTO were new and carefully-thought out works in the composer's ouevre.
posted 04-11-2007 05:57 PM PT (US)

Jeron Standard Userer	I concur, Franz.
posted 04-11-2007 06:19 PM PT (US)

BackToTheFutureFan Standard Userer	I'm not saying I don't like his work. I love most of it. But these past 10 years he hasn't done much to impress for an A lister. I did like apocalypto and all the kings men, thanks for bringing it up. Something just isnt there. His work has for the most part lost its intrigue. I hope he scores avatar though because we all know what he is capable of. Alan Silvesti? I can only hope.
posted 04-11-2007 07:17 PM PT (US)

Crono/Kyp Standard Userer	I need to get "The Abyss." --B
posted 04-11-2007 09:27 PM PT (US)

Jeron Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by Crono/Kyp: I need to get "The Abyss." That's nice to know.
posted 04-11-2007 11:19 PM PT (US)

Southall Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by BackToTheFutureFan: But these past 10 years he hasn't done much to impress for an A lister. Not much to impress you, maybe, but he's done quite a few which impressed me. Apocalypto (2006) All the King's Men (2006) The New World (2005) The Legend of Zorro (2005) Flightplan (2005) Troy (2004) Beyond Borders (2003) Iris (2001/I) A Beautiful Mind (2001) The Mask of Zorro (1998) quote: Alan Silvesti? I can only hope. Um... based on all his towering achievements of the last ten years, right, when he completely avoided sounding like himself from one score to another, kept things fresh and exciting and did everything you would expect from an A-lister in such masterpieces as The Odd Couple II and Serendipity? Whew, he's blown Horner out of the water with those masterpieces, not to mention Maid in Manhattan and the once-in-a-lifetime treat for film score fans, Identity. What REALLY impressed me about his work over the last ten years was how he managed to write such utterly different scores for similar types of film. I mean, it's not like Horner - can you believe he even used the same theme in The Legend of Zorro as he'd used in The Mask of Zorro? But listen to Silvestri - Van Helsing and The Mummy Returns - such glorious examples of subtle, intelligent, thoughtful scoring, so very, very different from one another. Hate Horner all you want, but at least judge others by the same standards.
posted 04-12-2007 01:33 AM PT (US)

Camillu Standard Userer	Agree 95%
posted 04-12-2007 06:15 AM PT (US)

BackToTheFutureFan Standard Userer	Agree 30%. But everyone likes to disagree on these boards. Everyone has their own opinion. Legend of Zorro was the same thing as The Mask of Zorro. Troy was garbage. A beautiful mind was forgettable. Some of those others were so memorable i have no idea what they are. You know, you can bash Silvestri if he makes nothing out of something. But right now he's making something out of nothing. Give him a worthy job. Just like John Debney needs too. So don't get ahead of yourself..making things up. Horner gets chances and blows them.
posted 04-12-2007 03:19 PM PT (US)

Southall Standard Userer	quote: Originally posted by BackToTheFutureFan: Agree 30%. But everyone likes to disagree on these boards. Everyone has their own opinion. Legend of Zorro was the same thing as The Mask of Zorro. Troy was garbage. A beautiful mind was forgettable. Some of those others were so memorable i have no idea what they are. You know, you can bash Silvestri if he makes nothing out of something. But right now he's making something out of nothing. Give him a worthy job. Just like John Debney needs too. So don't get ahead of yourself..making things up. Horner gets chances and blows them. I'm not making things up, I'm just pointing out that all the things you criticise Horner for could also be levelled at Silvestri, and (now we move into my personal opinion) Silvestri doesn't have the level of back catalogue that Horner does for him to be afforded the same chances. In any case, I think they're interested in scoring very different kinds of films these days, so they're hardly competing anyway.
posted 04-12-2007 05:31 PM PT (US)

pjhackman Non-Standard Userer	Horner rocks so if he does do the score, I know it will be another great score by a very talented composer.
posted 04-12-2007 07:29 PM PT (US)

BackToTheFutureFan Standard Userer	I hope Horner does it.
posted 04-12-2007 10:11 PM PT (US)

Camillu Standard Userer	I just hope whoever does it is given enough time and doesn't have his music chopped and thrown around due to last minute edits.
posted 04-12-2007 11:23 PM PT (US)

BackToTheFutureFan Standard Userer	And I hope we get a huge two disc set. Yeah, the composer has to get at least 6 months to work on it.
posted 04-13-2007 02:04 AM PT (US)

nuts_score Standard Userer	That would be cool if Joel McNeely got it; but hopefully Cameron's latest sci-fi epic would be enough to inspire Horner into creating another masterpiece that's well overdue.
posted 04-13-2007 10:14 AM PT (US)

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