If you are in Seattle this Friday and want to go see an amazing concert and help children at the same time, then you should go see “Symphony of the Superhero,” by “Juno” composer Mateo Messina, featuring DJ Cut Chemist (Ozomatli, Jurassic 5). The concert will also feature: violinist Lili Haydn, NW Symphony Orchestra, NW Chorale, Bells of the Sound, NW Boychoir, Batucada Brazilian Collective, John Curley and more. All proceeds benefit Seattle Children’s Hospital. The Concert is this Friday, November 6 at Benroya Hall in downtown Seattle. Doors open at 7 and tickets are available at 1-800-838-3006 or www.thesymphonyguild.com for $40-$55.

Last weekend, The Stoning of Soraya M. opened in select theaters, averaging over $4,200 per screen and took home the Audience Award for Best Narrative at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Last year, the film received the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Stoning of Soraya M. reunites Academy Award nominated film composer John Debney with The Passion of The Christ producer Stephen McEveety and actor Jim Caviezel. The film's score album is available through Varese Sarabande and iTunes.



SCL President Dan Foliart moderates a Q & A with composer John Debney and director Cyrus Nowrasteh following an SCL/ASCAP screening of “The Stoning of Soraya M.” held in Beverly Hills on July 1, 2009.

After attending the screening of The Stoning of Soraya M., Michael Mollura (Music Connection) said he,

HIGHLY RECOMMENDS that everyone in the world see the profound and moving film THE STONING OF SORAYA M. shot in Iran. Based on a true story, it is disturbing but brings an important issue to light happening all over the world regarding women's roles in society and their persecution. I was very disturbed and yet profoundly moved by this important film. Just putting it out there.

A Quantum Quest panel, featuring award-winning film composer Shawn Clement and co-director and writer/producer Dr. Harry Kloor, will take place at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 23, from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. in Ballroom 20 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Star Wars and Star Trek leads Chris Pine, Samuel L. Jackson, and William Shatner are featured in film along with Neil Armstrong.

Grace: Festival News

Grace, Austin Wintory’s latest project, won the Jury Prize at France’s prestigious Gerardmer International Fantasy Film Festival. The film, which premiered at Sundance this year, continues on the festival circuit. Here’s its tentative schedule:

South by Southwest (Austin, TX) March 13-21
AFI Dallas International Film Festival March 26-April 2
Phoenix Film Festival April 2-9
Fantasia International Film Festival (Montreal) July 16-August 3

Austin Wintory left an imprint on the thriller Grace even where his music can’t be heard. He met director Paul Solet the first night he moved in Los Angeles; they lived in the same apartment building. Solet explained Wintory’s creative role in the film during a recent interview:

“Composer Austin Wintory… came on board three and a half years ago. He read every single draft of the script and prepared 20 different cues for me to use on set for playback to elicit the emotions and rhythms I was looking for – with the intention of pulling the cues out and leaving the scenes dry and scoreless as you now see them, with the emotion of the music already infused within them. He even flew to set in Canada to record the sounds of the location – the creaking and breathing of the house, the water in the pipes, the hiss of the radiator.”

Quote from http://frightfestandme.blogspot.com/2009/02/passion-of-grace-by-paul-solet.html.

Kudos to Our Klients!

As awards season comes to an end with the Oscars, take a look back at some of our clients’ highlights during the past year:

• Two Costa clients, Mark Killian and Marc Streitenfeld, were “discoveries” at the WORLD SOUNDTRACK AWARDS in Ghent in October. The two vied for the title of “Discovery of the Year 2008,” and the winner was Marc… Streitenfeld, for American Gangster.



• On ELECTION DAY, Trevor Rabin’s music from Remember the Titans was recognized as the signature music of Barack Obama’s acceptance speech.





• At the HOLLYWOOD MUSIC AWARDS in November, newcomer Austin Wintory took home the title of “Best New Film Composer.” Wintory received the award in recognition of his score to Captain Abu Raed, the Jordanian film that won the Audience Award at Sundance in 2008. Aaron Zigman (Flash of Genius), Terence Blanchard (Miracle at St. Anna) and Jeff Beal (Appaloosa) were all nominated for Best Score, with Beal emerging as the winner.





• Liked Jennifer Hudson and Faith Hill’s performances at SUPER BOWL XLIII? Chris Walden arranged both of their songs, the National Anthem and “America the Beautiful,” respectively, for the big game.



• At the 36th annual ANNIE AWARDS, Kevin Kiner was honored with a nomination in the category of Music in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for Star Wars The Clone Wars: Rising Malevolence.



• Three Costa Communications clients received GRAMMY nominations. Composer Chris Walden was nominated for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Contemporary Composition for his first classical album, “Symphony No.1: The Four Elements.” Walden also arranged the songs Jennifer Hudson and The Four Tops performed at the awards show. Composer and trumpeter Terence Blanchard won for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo from the album “Live at the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival.” During the show, Blanchard performed “Tie My Hands” with Lil Wayne, Robin Thicke and pianist Allen Toussaint. Disney legend Alan Menken received three nominations: Best Musical Show Album for The Little Mermaid and Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media for “Ever Ever After” and “That’s How You Know,” both from Enchanted.












• We’d like to congratulate Kate Winslet on her ACADEMY AWARD Best Actress win for The Reader. We had the pleasure of working with The Weinstein Company to promote Nico Muhly’s score to the film.

Razzmatazz

Two films that our clients worked on last year have been nominated for an award by one of the least anticipated award shows in Hollywood (especially by those who've been nominated). The Razzie Awards have been dishonoring the very worst to come out of Hollywood year after year since 1980. Among the contenders for the Worst Picture are The Love Guru (music by George S. Clinton) and Meet the Spartans (music by Christopher Lennertz). While the film Meet the Spartans is being nominated for a Razzie, Christopher Lennertz’s score to the film made Rob Daniels' (Visions In Sound) top 10 list of soundtrack selections from 2008, coming in at number two.

Stepping Out with Elizabeth Russo and Flat Stanley

This week Costa Communications’ very own Elizabeth Russo ventured off to a filming of The Tonight Show to meet Jay Leno, with her friend Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley is Elizabeth’s flat friend (made from paper), given to her by her seven year old cousin Riley, to take on adventures in Los Angeles. “Flat Stanley” is a project that all the children in Riley’s class are participating in, and in February the children will gather pictures of where their “Flat Stanley” has visited (with a friend or relative) to present to the class. Riley, who lives in Northern California, is sure to be surprised and envious of the adventures her Flat Stanly has been on with Elizabeth. Rumor has it that Riley’s Flat Stanley made an appearance on the red carpet for the premiere of DreamWorks and Nickeloden Movies’ Hotel for Dogs. Flat Stanley is a HUGE fan of composer John Debney and makes it a point to see all the films scored by one of Hollywood’s most versatile film composers. He was thrilled to hear that Debney will score Hannah Montana: The Movie, (in theaters April 10).

Elizabeth Russo, Jay Leno and Flat Stanley pose for a photo before a filming of The Tonight Show



Flat Stanley and the Rosso Twins at premiere of Hotel for Dogs