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James Newton Howard
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
James Newton Howard was born in Los Angeles in 1951 and began piano lessons at the age of four. He studied at the Music Academy of the West. He then played keyboards in Elton John's band and wrote string arrangements for his songs. His first film score was Dune (1984), written with David Paich. Pretty Woman (1990), The Prince of Tides (1991) and The Fugitive (1993) followed. He made eight films with the director M. Night Shyamalan, including The Sixth Sense (1999). Together with Hans Zimmer he wrote the music for Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). The Hunger Games films came later. He received nine Oscar nominations.
Listening
Listening tip. Notice the difference between the lyrical piano melody of his early work and the tension Howard builds for Shyamalan with low strings and quiet, ominous chords.
Main Title · James Newton Howard, 1991
Run to the Church · James Newton Howard, 1999
Horn of Plenty · James Newton Howard, 2013
Discography
Studio albums
- 1974James Newton Howard
- 1982The Sheffield Track Record / The Sheffield Drum Record
- 1984James Newton Howard & Friends
- 1984James Newton Howard and Friends
- 19875 Corners (soundtrack)
- 1987Off Limits (soundtrack)
- 1987Promised Land (soundtrack)
- 1987Russkies (soundtrack)
- 1990Three Men and a Little Lady (soundtrack)
- 1991Dying Young (soundtrack)
- 1991Guilty by Suspicion (soundtrack)
- 1991The Man in the Moon (soundtrack)
- 1991The Prince of Tides (soundtrack)
- 1992Diggstown (soundtrack)
- 1992Grand Canyon (soundtrack)
- 1993Alive (soundtrack)
- 1993Dave (soundtrack)
- 1993The Fugitive (soundtrack)
- 1993The Saint of Fort Washington (soundtrack)
- 1994Intersection (soundtrack)
- 1994Junior (soundtrack)
- 1994Wyatt Earp (soundtrack)
- 1995Just Cause (soundtrack)
- 1995Outbreak (soundtrack)
- 1995Waterworld (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 1996Primal Fear: Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1996Restoration (soundtrack)
- 1997Devil's Advocate (soundtrack)
- 1997Space Jam: Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- 1997The Postman (soundtrack)
- 1998A Perfect Murder (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 1999Mumford: Original Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1999Snow Falling on Cedars: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 1999Stir of Echoes (soundtrack)
- 1999The Sixth Sense: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2000Dinosaur (soundtrack)
- 2000King Ralph/Junior (soundtrack)
- 2000Unbreakable (Original Motion Picture Score) (soundtrack)
- 2000Vertical Limit: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2001Atlantide: L'Empire Perdu (soundtrack)
- 2001Atlantis: The Lost Empire (soundtrack)
- 2002Signs (Original Score) (soundtrack)
- 2002The Emperor's Club (soundtrack)
- 2002Treasure Planet (soundtrack)
- 2003Dreamcatcher (soundtrack)
- 2003Peter Pan (soundtrack)
- 2003The Package (soundtrack)
- 2004Hidalgo (soundtrack)
- 2004The Village (soundtrack)
- 2005Batman Begins (soundtrack)
- 2005King Kong (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2005The Interpreter (soundtrack)
- 2006Blood Diamond (soundtrack)
- 2006Freedomland (soundtrack)
- 2006Lady in the Water (soundtrack)
- 2007Charlie Wilson’s War (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2007Michael Clayton (soundtrack)
- 2007The Great Debaters (soundtrack)
- 2007The Lookout (soundtrack)
- 2007The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (soundtrack)
- 2008Defiance (soundtrack)
- 2008I Am Legend: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2008The Dark Knight (soundtrack)
- 2008The Happening: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2009Duplicity (soundtrack)
- 2010Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2010Salt: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2010The Last Airbender (soundtrack)
- 2010The Tourist: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2011Green Lantern (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2011The Green Hornet (soundtrack)
- 2011Water for Elephants (soundtrack)
- 2012Snow White & The Huntsman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2012The Bourne Legacy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2012The Dark Knight Symphony (soundtrack)
- 2012The Hunger Games: Original Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- 2013After Earth: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2013Parkland (soundtrack)
- 2013The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Original Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- 2014Eye for an Eye (soundtrack)
- 2014Falling Down (soundtrack)
- 2014Maleficent (soundtrack)
- 2014Nightcrawler (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2014The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1: Original Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- 2015Concussion: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2015Pawn Sacrifice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2015The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2016All the Way (soundtrack)
- 2016Collateral (Music From the Motion Picture) (soundtrack)
- 2016Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2016The Huntsman: Winter’s War: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2017Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2018Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2018Howard, Kernis: Violin Concertos / Tovey: Stream of Limelight
- 2018Red Sparrow (soundtrack)
- 2018The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (soundtrack)
- 2019A Hidden Life: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2020News of the World (soundtrack)
- 2021Jungle Cruise (soundtrack)
- 2021Raya and the Last Dragon (soundtrack)
- 2022Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
- 2022Light & Magic: Original Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2022Willow: Vol. 1 (Episodes 1-3) [Original Soundtrack] (soundtrack)
- 2023All the Light We Cannot See: Soundtrack from the Netflix Limited Series (soundtrack)
- 2023Pain Hustlers: Soundtrack from the Netflix Film (soundtrack)
- 2023The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Original Motion Picture Score (soundtrack)
- 2025Epic Movie Soundtracks
- 2025Flatliners (soundtrack)
- 2025My Cinematic Autumn
- 2025The Lost Bus: Apple Original Film Soundtrack (soundtrack)
- 2026The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping – The Album (soundtrack)
- 2026Winter Walking: Soundtracks for Cold Days
Other work
- 1990Pretty Woman
- 1999The Sixth Sense
- 2012–2023The Hunger Games
- 2016Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- 2018Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- Film Music MapNL Map
- The Dream Factory: Film Reel 7NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- Remote Control: hybrid orchestra and electronics Genre
Zimmer wrote The Dark Knight (2008) together with James Newton Howard.