John Powell (film composer)
English film music composer and music conductor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Powell (born 18 September 1963)[1] is an English music composer and music conductor. Based in Los Angeles since 1997, he has composed music for over 70 feature films including Face/Off, I Am Sam, the Bourne franchise, The Italian Job, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, X-Men: The Last Stand, Hancock, Pan, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Don't Worry Darling, Wicked and its sequel Wicked: For Good, ten DreamWorks Animation films, eight Blue Sky Studios films, and three Illumination films.
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- Music composer
- music conductor
John Powell | |
|---|---|
John Powell at his concert rehearsal, March 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 18 September 1963 |
| Origin | East Sussex, England |
| Genres | Film score |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Label | 5 Cat Studios |
| Website | johnpowellmusic |
Powell's work on Happy Feet, Ferdinand, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Wicked, and the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon earned him six Grammy Award nominations.[2] Additionally, he earned two Academy Award for Best Original Score nominations for the original How to Train Your Dragon and Wicked.[3]
Powell was a member of Hans Zimmer's music studio, Remote Control Productions and has collaborated frequently with other composers from the studio including Harry Gregson-Williams on Antz, Chicken Run, and Shrek in addition to Zimmer himself on Chill Factor, The Road to El Dorado, and the first two Kung Fu Panda movies. He also collaborated with film directors Carlos Saldanha, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders, Jon M. Chu, George Miller, John Woo, Ron Underwood, Doug Liman, Charles Stone III and Paul Greengrass.
Early life and education
Powell was born in London.[1] As a child, he played the violin and viola. He studied the violin at Trinity College of Music in central London (now Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Greenwich). There, he met John Ashton Thomas, who orchestrated many of Powell's scores. Powell played for Faboulistics, an amateur rock and roll band.[4]
After finishing college, he composed music for commercials, which led to a job as an assistant to the composer Patrick Doyle on several film productions including Much Ado About Nothing.[5] In 1995, Powell along with Gavin Greenaway founded Thinking Music, an independent commercial music house[6] which has produced scores for more than 100 British and French commercials and independent films.
Career
Powell's first score was for Season 4 of the TV series Stay Lucky. He moved to Los Angeles in 1997 and scored his first major film, Face/Off. It was followed by Antz in 1998, the first film produced by DreamWorks Animation. He and fellow British composer Harry Gregson-Williams scored it, marking the duo's first score for an animated film. In 2000, Powell collaborated with Zimmer on the score for The Road to El Dorado. Later in 2000, he teamed with Gregson-Williams again to compose the score to Chicken Run and then again on Shrek in 2001. Gregson-Williams composed all of the subsequent Shrek films and the sequel to Chicken Run. In 2001 Powell scored Evolution, I Am Sam, Just Visiting and Rat Race.
In 2002 Powell was hired to score The Bourne Identity for director Liman after Carter Burwell left the project. Powell returned to score the series' other two films, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, under Greengrass, a British director. Powell collaborated with Liman again to score Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). In 2005 he also scored Robots for Blue Sky Studios and scored many of the studio's subsequent films until 2017's Ferdinand.
In 2006, he scored Greengrass' United 93. He composed music for his second Blue Sky film Ice Age: The Meltdown, after David Newman, who scored the first Ice Age film; as well as X-Men: The Last Stand and Happy Feet, for which he won a Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for an Animated Feature Film. In 2007, he scored The Bourne Ultimatum. In 2008 he and Zimmer worked together again, scoring Kung Fu Panda for Dream Works Animation and Powell wrote music for Jumper, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, Hancock, and Bolt. In 2009 he scored the third film of Ice Age series; Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
In 2010, Powell composed the score to How to Train Your Dragon, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. It was his sixth DreamWorks Animation film, although the first time he composed an entire score himself. In 2010, he scored Greengrass' Green Zone and Knight and Day. In 2013, Powell took a sabbatical year from film scoring. In April 2014, after completing his scores to sequels Rio 2 and How to Train Your Dragon 2, he announced he would take another break to compose concert music, including a 45-minute oratorio to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of World War I. The piece, "A Prussian Requiem", with a libretto by Michael Petry, premiered on March 6, 2016 at The Royal Festival Hall in London with José Serebrier conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra.[7]
Powell composed the score for Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018),[8] collaborating with John Williams, who wrote Han Solo's theme. In 2019, Powell scored How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the final film in the How to Train Your Dragon series. In November 2023, it was announced that Powell would compose and produce the musical score for the 2024 Netflix and Locksmith Animation film That Christmas. In January 2024, it was announced that Powell would return to compose and produce the musical score for the 2025 live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon.[9] In August 2024, it was confirmed that Powell would compose and conduct the incidental score for the two-part film adaptation of Wicked, in collaboration with the musical's composer Stephen Schwartz.[10][11][12]
Filmography
Film
1990s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Face/Off | John Woo | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Gavin Greenaway Originally composed by Mark Isham John Powell's first musical score for a feature film |
| 1998 | With Friends Like These... | Philip Frank Messina | Also music conductor |
| Endurance | Leslie Woodhead | Also music producer and soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Geoff Zanelli | |
| Antz | Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson | Also soundtrack album co-producer Co-composed with Harry Gregson-Williams Additional music composed by Greenaway, Zanelli and Steve Jablonsky Powell's first musical score for an animated feature film | |
| 1999 | Forces of Nature | Bronwen Hughes | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Greenaway |
| Chill Factor | Hugh Johnson | Also a soundtrack album co-producer Co-composer with Hans Zimmer Additional music composed by Klaus Badelt, James S. Levine, James McKee Smith, Jeff Rona, and Zanelli |
2000s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Road to El Dorado | Eric "Bibo" Bergeron, Don Paul and Jeffrey Katzenberg | Also soundtrack album co-producer Co-composer with Zimmer Additional music composed by Badelt, Greenaway, James McKee Smith, and Zanelli |
| Chicken Run | Peter Lord and Nick Park | Also soundtrack album producer Co-composed with Gregson-Williams Additional music composed by Greenaway, Don L. Harper, Alastair King, James McKee Smith, Zanelli, and Jablonsky | |
| 2001 | Just Visiting | Jean-Marie Poiré | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Nick Glennie-Smith, James McKee Smith, and Zanelli |
| Shrek | Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson | Also soundtrack album co-producer Co-composed with Gregson-Williams Additional music composed by King, James McKee Smith, and Toby Chu | |
| Evolution | Ivan Reitman | Also soundtrack album producer Trailer music composed by Daniel Nielsen Additional music composed by Greenaway and James McKee Smith | |
| Rat Race | Jerry Zucker | Also soundtrack album producer Originally composed by Elmer Bernstein Additional music composed by James McKee Smith and John Ashton Thomas | |
| I Am Sam | Jessie Nelson | Also soundtrack album producer | |
| 2002 | D-Tox | Jim Gillespie | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Glennie-Smith, James McKee Smith, William Ross, and Geoff Zanelli |
| The Bourne Identity | Doug Liman | Also soundtrack album producer Originally composed by Carter Burwell Additional music composed by James McKee Smith and Joel Richard | |
| Drumline | Charles Stone III | Also soundtrack album co-producer | |
| The Adventures of Pluto Nash | Ron Underwood | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by James McKee Smith, Joel J. Richard and John Ashton Thomas | |
| Two Weeks Notice | Marc Lawrence | Also soundtrack album producer | |
| 2003 | Agent Cody Banks | Harald Zwart | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by James McKee Smith and John Ashton Thomas |
| The Italian Job | F. Gary Gray | Also guitarist and soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by T.J. Lindgren, James McKee Smith, Rupert Parkes, and John Ashton Thomas | |
| Gigli | Martin Brest | Also soundtrack album producer Originally composed by Carter Burwell Trailer music composed by Daniel Nielsen | |
| Paycheck | John Woo | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by T.J. Lindgren, James McKee Smith and John Ashton Thomas | |
| 2004 | The Bourne Supremacy | Paul Greengrass | Also soundtrack album producer Trailer music composed by Daniel Nielsen |
| Mr. 3000 | Charles Stone III | Also soundtrack album producer Originally co-composed with Vernon Reid | |
| Alfie | Charles Shyer | Also soundtrack album producer Co-composer with Mick Jagger and David A. Stewart | |
| 2005 | Be Cool | F. Gary Gray | Also instrumental piece performer for "Cool Chill" as well as guitarist and score producer Additional music composed by Dylan Berry |
| Robots | Chris Wedge | Also soundtrack album producer Trailer music composed by Daniel Nielsen | |
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith | Doug Liman | Also music conductor and soundtrack album producer Trailer music composed by Nielsen | |
| 2006 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | Carlos Saldanha | Also soundtrack album co-producer Originally composed by David Newman Co-composed with Will Edwards Trailer music composed by Nielsen Additional music composed by James McKee Smith and John Ashton Thomas |
| United 93 | Paul Greengrass | Also soundtrack album producer | |
| X-Men: The Last Stand | Brett Ratner | Also a soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by James McKee Smith and John Ashton Thomas | |
| Happy Feet | George Miller | Also a song arranger, a song producer and a soundtrack album producer Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Media Additional music composed by John Ashton Thomas | |
| 2007 | The Bourne Ultimatum | Paul Greengrass | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by James McKee Smith, Joel J. Richard, John Ashton Thomas, and Islam Sabry |
| P.S. I Love You | Richard LaGravenese | Also guitarist and soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by John Ashton Thomas and Scott Liggett | |
| 2008 | Jumper | Doug Liman | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by James McKee Smith and John Ashton Thomas |
| Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! | Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music by James McKee Smith, John Ashton Thomas, and Paul Mounsey | |
| Stop-Loss | Kimberly Peirce | Also music conductor, solo guitarist, and soundtrack album producer | |
| Kung Fu Panda | John Stevenson and Mark Osborne | Also soundtrack album co-producer Co-composer with Zimmer Additional music composed by James McKee Smith and Henry Jackman | |
| Hancock | Peter Berg | Also soundtrack album producer Trailer music composed by Ernst Meinrath Additional music composed by Jackman, James McKee Smith, and John Ashton Thomas | |
| Bolt | Chris Williams and Byron Howard | Also soundtrack album producer Walt Disney Animation Studios theme music composed by Wilfred Jackson Additional music composed by James McKee Smith, Mounsey, and John Ashton Thomas | |
| 2009 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | Carlos Saldanha | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by James McKee Smith and Mounsey |
2010s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Green Zone | Paul Greengrass | Also soundtrack album producer |
| How to Train Your Dragon | Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois | Also soundtrack album producer Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score Additional music composed by Mounsey | |
| Fair Game | Doug Liman | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Mounsey | |
| Knight and Day | James Mangold | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Beth Caucci, Mounsey, and James McKee Smith | |
| 2011 | Mars Needs Moms | Simon Wells | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Mounsey, Beth Caucci, Victor Chaga, and Michael Z. Gordon |
| Rio | Carlos Saldanha | Also whistler and soundtrack album co-producer Additional music composed by Dominic Lewis and Mounsey | |
| Kung Fu Panda 2 | Jennifer Yuh Nelson | Also soundtrack album co-producer Co-composer with Zimmer Additional music composed by Mounsey, James Carlson, Lorne Balfe, and Dominic Lewis | |
| Happy Feet Two | George Miller | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Mounsey and Hélène Muddiman | |
| 2012 | Dr. Seuss' The Lorax | Chris Renaud | Also songwriter, guitarist, and soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Mounsey, Caucci, and Chaga |
| Ice Age: Continental Drift | Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Mounsey, Caucci, Chaga, and Muddiman | |
| 2014 | Rio 2 | Carlos Saldanha | Also soundtrack album co-producer Additional music composed by Anthony B. Willis and Mounsey |
| How to Train Your Dragon 2[13] | Dean DeBlois | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Anthony Willis and Mounsey | |
| 2015 | Pan | Joe Wright | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Anthony Willis, Batu Sener and Mounsey |
| 2016 | Jason Bourne | Paul Greengrass | Also soundtrack album producer Co-composed with David Buckley Additional music composed by Sener |
| 2017 | Ferdinand | Carlos Saldanha | Also music conductor, score producer, and soundtrack album producer Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella Additional music composed by Sener, Anthony Willis, and Paul Mounsey |
| 2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story[14] | Ron Howard | Also a soundtrack album producer Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition" Han Solo theme music and original Star Wars music composed by John Williams Additional music composed by Sener, Anthony Willis, Sébastien Pan, Paul Mounsey Trailer music composed by Salvador Casais, Nicolas Felix, Gerrit Kinkel, Alex Klingle, Michael Werner Maas, and Denis Surov |
| 2019 | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World[15] | Dean DeBlois | Also soundtrack album producer Trailer music composed by Benjamin Squires Additional music composed by Sener, Anthony Willis, and Mounsey |
2020s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Call of the Wild[16] | Chris Sanders | Also music conductor, score producer and soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Sener, Kamille Rudisill, Kelly Adams, and Mounsey |
| 2021 | Locked Down[17] | Doug Liman | Also score producer and score performer Additional music composed by Sener |
| 2022 | Don't Worry Darling[18] | Olivia Wilde | Also music conductor and soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Sener |
| 2023 | Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie | Davis Guggenheim | Also a soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Sener Powell's first musical score for an documentary feature film Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score) |
| Migration[19] | Benjamin Renner | Also soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Sener and Peter Michael Davison[20] | |
| 2024 | Thelma the Unicorn[21] | Jared Hess and Lynn Wang | Also choir conductor and soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Sener[22] |
| Wicked[10] | Jon M. Chu | Also choir conductor and soundtrack album producer Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score and a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Co-composer with Stephen Schwartz Additional music composed by Sener and Markus Siegel | |
| That Christmas[23][24] | Simon Otto | Also musical score producer and soundtrack album producer Additional music composed by Sener, Anthony Willis, Ed Sheeran, Snow Patrol member Johnny McDaid, LeTroy Davis II and Siegel[25] Nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Score in an Animated Film, an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in a Feature Production, an International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best Original Score for an Animated Film and a Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program | |
| 2025 | How to Train Your Dragon[26] | Dean DeBlois | Also choir conductor and soundtrack album producer Live-action remake of the 2010 animated film of the same name Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Additional music composed by Sener and Siegel |
| Wicked: For Good[10] | Jon M. Chu | Also a choir conductor and a soundtrack album producer Co-composed with Stephen Schwartz Additional music composed by Sener, Markus Siegel and Mounsey | |
| 2026 | Minions & Monsters[27] | Pierre Coffin | Originally composed by Heitor Pereira |
| 2027 | How to Train Your Dragon 2 | Dean DeBlois | Live-action remake of the 2014 animated film of the same name |
| Shrek 5[28] | Walt Dohrn and Conrad Vernon |
Television
| Year | Title | Creator(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–1993 | Stay Lucky | Geoff McQueen | Co-composed with Ray Russell Title song composed by Danny Chang and Mike Price Powell's first musical score for a television series |
| 1996–1997 | High Incident | Steven Spielberg, Michael Pavone, Eric Bogosian and Dave Alan Johnson | Co-composer with Jeff Rona and Christopher Tyng Theme music composed by Zimmer Additional music composed by Chris Horvath |
| 2003 | Stealing Sinatra | Howard Korder | Television film Additional music composed by James McKee Smith John Powell's first musical score for a television film |
| 2022 | Ice Age: Scrat Tales[29] | Chris Wedge[30] | Television miniseries Theme Also accordionist and soundtrack album co-producer Score composed by Sener |
Albums
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Category | Notes | Catalogue Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Hubris: Choral Works by John Powell[31] | Classical | First release on Powell's own label, 5 Cats Studios
Powell's first original project Performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra |
FCS001 |
| 2020 | Piano Solos from "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World"[32] | Solo Piano | Music by Powell
Piano solos performed by Sener |
FCS005 |
| Piano Solos from "The Call of the Wild" | FCS007 | |||
| Film Suites, Vol. 1 | Classical | Performed with Jose Serebrier, Philharmonia Orchestra, and The Philharmonia Voices. | FCS010 |
Archival soundtrack albums
| Year | Title | Notes | Catalogue Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Forces of Nature (Music from the Motion Picture) | Released on Audio CD
Limited to 1000 copies Co-composed with Oliver J. Lieber The first awaiting official score album since the 1999 film debut Includes 2 bonus tracks/demos |
|
| How to Train Your Dragon (The Deluxe Edition)[33] | Deluxe Edition of the 2010 film score
Includes alternate versions and demos |
||
| Solo: A Star Wars Story (Deluxe Edition) | Deluxe Edition of the 2018 film score
Includes over two hours of original/unedited music as written for the film, and an end credits suite Han Solo Theme & Original Star Wars Music by John Williams Additional music by Sener, Anthony Willis & Paul Mounsey |
||
| 2021 | Paycheck: The Deluxe Edition (Music From The Motion Picture)[34] | Deluxe Edition of the 2003 film score
This Deluxe Edition greatly expands the playing time to over 95 minutes.[34] |
|
| 2022 | How to Train Your Dragon 2 (The Deluxe Edition) | Deluxe Edition of the 2014 film score
Includes alternate versions and demos |
|
| The Bourne Identity (Tumescent Edition) | Expanded score with alternate versions of cues | 888072412774 | |
| 2024 | How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (The Deluxe Edition)[35] | Deluxe Edition of the 2019 film score
Includes alternate versions and demos Additional music by Sener, Anthony Willis & Mounsey |
