John Debney
| John Debney | |
|---|---|
 Debney at ComicCon 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John C. Debney |
| Born |
August 18, 1956 Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Film scores, soundtracks |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Website |
www |
John C. Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American film composer and conductor. He received an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004). He also composed the score for Cutthroat Island, which has been celebrated by music critics as a notable example of swashbuckling film music.[1][2][3][4]
Life and career
The son of Disney Studios producer Louis Debney (Zorro, The Mickey Mouse Club), John was born and raised in nearby Glendale, California, where he began guitar lessons at age six and played in rock bands in college. Debney earned his B.A. degree in Music Composition from the California Institute of Arts in 1979. Two weeks after graduating from CalArts, he got a job at copying department at Disney. One day, Buddy Baker saw him and had him arrange music that would later be used for different pavilions and rides at EPCOT Center (at Walt Disney World in Florida).[5] After three years at Disney, he freelanced for television composer Mike Post. Debney furthered his hands-on training by working with Hanna-Barbera composer Hoyt Curtin. After this, Debney went on to score television projects as diverse as Disneyland, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, SeaQuest DSV, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The Cape, The Lazarus Man, Piggsburg Pigs!, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Doctor Who, Cagney and Lacey, Tiny Toon Adventures, The Young Riders, The New Yogi Bear Show, Police Academy: The Animated Series, Fame, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Dragon's Lair, Freshman Dorm, Pop Quiz and Dink, the Little Dinosaur, for which he won an Emmy for Best Main Title. In the early 1990s, Debney began to score indie films and Disneyland attractions. In 1991, Debney composed the music for Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris and SpectroMagic at Magic Kingdom. In 1993, he scored his first studio feature, the Disney comedy Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler.
Debney has since gone on to have a career composing scores for many films including: The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Elf, Sin City, Chicken Little, Liar Liar, Spy Kids, The Scorpion King, The Princess Diaries[6] and Predators.[7]
Debney has also composed scores for the video games Lair and The Sims Medieval. In 2010, he composed the theme music for the Nickelodeon television series Supah Ninjas.
Filmography
1990s
2000s
2010s
| Year | Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1989-PAST | Trenchcoat in Paradise (1989) Welcome to Pooh Corner (episode: "Too Smart For Strangers", as "MUSIC ARRANGED BY") Seven Hours to Judgement (1988) The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck (1988) Not Since Casanova (1988) The Wild Pair (1987) The Day My Kid Went Punk (1987) |
Martha Coolidge Philip F. Messina Beau Bridges David Keith Brett Thompson Beau Bridges |
Awards
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: Texas Rising (with Bruce Broughton) (2015) | Nominated |
| 2012 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score): Hatfields & McCoys: Part 1 (with Tony Morales) (2012) | Nominated |
| 2005 | Academy Award – Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: The Passion of the Christ (2004) | Nominated |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Main Title Theme Music: The Cape (1996) | Nominated |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore): The Cape: Pilot (with Louis Febre) (1996) | Won |
| 1994 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music: SeaQuest DSV (1993) | Won |
| 1991 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore): The Young Riders: Kansas (1989) | Won |
| 1990 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music: The Young Riders (1989) | Nominated |
References
- ↑ "Cutthroat Island (John Debney)". Filmtracks. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- ↑ "Cutthroat Island (John Debney) soundtrack review". ScoreReviews.com. 2009-02-28. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- ↑ Other reviews by Mike Brennan (2005-05-12). "Soundtrack: CutThroat Island (2005)". Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- ↑ "Movie Music UK - Cutthroat Island – John Debney". MovieMusicUK.us. 2010-01-13. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- ↑ Burlingame, Jon (2009-11-10). "Go-to composer grew up in Disney family - Entertainment News, Billion-Dollar Composer: John Debney, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- ↑ "John Debney to Score 'Predators' Prequel". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- ↑ "A Peek Behind the Scenes of a Predators Scoring Session". Dreadcentral.com. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- 1 2 "John Debney to Score Ivan Reitman's 'Draft Day' | Film Music Reporter". 25 November 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
External links
- John Debney at the Internet Movie Database
- John Debney's official website
- John Debney Tribute at Filmtracks.com
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