Hans Zimmer
COMPOSER HANS ZIMMER HONORED WITH STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME
Emcee: Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, President/CEO Leron Gubler
Guest speakers: Christopher Nolan
SPECIAL NOTE: Hans Zimmer dedicated his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to his longtime friend and publicist, Ronni Chasen
2,426th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Category of Motion Pictures
at 6908 Hollywood Boulevard
on Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Hans Zimmer has scored more than 100 films, grossing approximately 13 billion dollars at the box office worldwide. He has been honored with an Academy Award®, two Golden Globes, and three Grammy’s. In 2003, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers presented him with the prestigious Henry Mancini award for Lifetime Achievement for his impressive and influential body of work. Hans has received a total 8 Golden Globe Nominations, 9 Grammy Nominations, and 8 Oscar® Nominations, the most recent for Sherlock Holmes. His other Oscar® nominations include Rain Man, Gladiator, The Lion King, As Good As It Gets, The Preacher’s Wife, The Thin Red Line, and The Prince of Egypt. He has also been honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in Film Composition from the National Board of Review.
His recent films include Christopher Nolan’s thriller Inception, Nancy Meyer’s It’s Complicated, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar 2, Frost / Nixon, The Dark Knight and Ron Howard’s Angels & Demons. Hans’ most recent film includes Tom McGrath’s animated film Megamind and the upcoming James L. Brooks’ comedy How Do You Know? which opens December 17, 2010, Ron Howard’s The Dilemma opening January 14, 2011 and Gore Verbinski’s Rango opening March 18, 2011.
Hans’ interest in music began early, and after a move from Germany to the U.K., would lead to playing with and producing various bands, including The Buggles, whose “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video to ever appear on MTV. But Hans was most interested in the world of film music. Not long after meeting established film composer Stanley Myers, the two founded the London-based Lillie Yard Recording Studios, collaborating on such films as My Beautiful Laundrette.
It was Hans’ solo work in 1988’s A World Apart, however, that gained the attention of director Barry Levinson, who then asked Hans to score Rain Man, Hans’ first American film. Levinson’s instinct was right – the score’s Oscar® nomination that followed would be the first of seven.
With Hans’ subsequent move to Hollywood, he expanded the range of genres of film music he explored, and his first venture into the world of animation, 1994’s The Lion King, brought Hans the Oscar®. The Lion King’s soundtrack has sold more than 15 million copies to date, and The Lion King Musical has garnered a Tony Award, and became Broadway’s ninth-longest-running show in history.
Hans’ career has been marked by a unique ability to adeptly move between genres – between smaller films and comedies (such as Driving Miss Daisy, Peter Weir’sGreen Card, Tony Scott’s True Romance, Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise, James L. Brooks’ As Good As It Gets, Nancy Meyers’ Something’s Gotta Give, and The Holiday)and big blockbusters (including Tony Scott’s Crimson Tide, John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2, Ridley Scott’s Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Edward Zwick’s The Last Samurai, Gore Verbinski’s The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy, Christopher Nolan’sBatman Begins, and Ron Howard’s The Da Vinci Code).
In the middle of Hans’ unparalleled pace of taking on new projects, his ability to innovate, to re-invent genres is what is perhaps most striking. The film scores Hans has written speak for themselves, whether it has been for drama in Barry Levinson’s Rain Man, action in Ridley Scott’s Black Rain, war in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line, or the dark comic book world of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, for which he received another Grammy.
It was Hans’ unique take on the historical in Gladiator that earned him another Golden Globe. The album sold more than three million copies worldwide and spawned a second album “Gladiator: More Music from the Motion Picture.”
Hans’ roots in performing never left him, and in 2000, he performed his film music live for the first time in a concert at the 27th annual Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent, Belgium. With a 100-piece orchestra and 100-piece choir, he performed a number of newly- orchestrated concert versions of a selection of his work. The concert was recorded by Decca and released as a concert album entitled “The Wings of a Film: The Music of Hans Zimmer.”
His background in collaboration and mentoring never left Hans either, and he created a Santa Monica-based musical ‘think tank’, Remote Control Productions, in order to build a creative environment to nurture the talent of those new to the composing world. In the process, he has launched the careers of an unparalleled number of film and television composers, including John Powell (the Bourne Trilogy), Harry-Gregson Williams (Shrek, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Geoff Zanelli (Disturbia), Heitor Pereira (Curious George), Henry Jackman (Monsters vs. Aliens),James Dooley (Pushing Daisies), James Levine (Nip / Tuck, Damages), Ramin Djawadi (Iron Man), Rupert Gregson-Williams (Hotel Rwanda), Steve Jablonsky (Transformers), and Trevor Morris (The Tudors).
ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME – www.walkOfFame.com
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is an internationally-recognized Hollywood icon. With approximately 24 star ceremonies annually broadcast around the world, the constant reinforcement provided to the public has made the Walk of Fame a top visitor attraction. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce continues to administer the Hollywood Walk of Fame as the representative of the City of Los Angeles. The Walk of Fame is a tribute to all of those who worked diligently to develop the concept and to maintain this world-class tourist attraction. Fans of the Hollywood Walk of Fame will be thrilled to know that The Official Hollywood Walk of Fame phone application is now available. The application which can be downloaded from the iPhone store, is the best resource for information and news about all of the 2,400+ stars on the Walk of Fame. Hollywood Walk of Fame recently celebrated a fabulous 50th birthday party in the grand ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 which concluded the year-long celebration of the Walk of Fame 50th.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Sign are registered trademarks of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.