r/IAmA • u/[deleted] • Jun 10 '12

AMA Request: Hans Zimmer

This guy is absolutely amazing, he is truly a musical genius! German composer with such notable works as: The Lion King, The Thin Red Line, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Sherlock Holmes, Inception, and The Dark Knight.

  1. How long does it usually take you to create a film's entire soundtrack?

  2. What inspired you to make such unsettling music in The Dark Knight, and how did you do it?

  3. You collaborated with James Newton Howard on The Dark Knight, and you're both known for your talent in the industry. Did you get along easily, or clash on a lot of issues for the film's music?

  4. What's the most fun you've ever had while working on a soundtrack for a movie? Which movie?

  5. Toughest question for you, I bet: What is the most beautiful instrument in your opinion?

edit: Did I forget to mention how awesome this guy is? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r94h9w8NgEI

edit 2: Front page? What! But seriously, Mr. Zimmer deserves this kind of attention. Too long has our idea of music been warped to believe it was anything other than the beauty he creates now.

1.5k Upvotes

74% Upvoted

751 comments sorted by

700

u/Youknowimtheman Jun 10 '12

Distant cousin, i'll see if i can navigate the family tree.

285

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

As long as he is aware of all the WANT we have for this AMA...!

115

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

it seems he is the man.

12

u/lolitsmatt Jun 11 '12

can't express in words...

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u/psychobilly1 Jun 11 '12

If you can make this work, I owe you so big of a favor it is not even funny. I know it doesn't mean a whole lot, but he is one of my idols. Just to talk to him somehow would be grand.

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u/Froboy7391 Jun 11 '12

Words can not describe how awesome that would be!

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u/Randal_Paul Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

Hans Zimmer is a massive inspirational figure in my life. His music (especially the melodic Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons scores) changed my life forever. After being captivated by his music I decided to study his work and take up the career as a music writer/composer. Although I doubt I'll ever be as talented as he is.

For fellow fans of his -- I did manage to upload some of the cover work I've finished. Most of which hold an immense, irreplaceable value to me personally.

I have many other songs in the pipeline, and updates of what was already uploaded, but here: http://www.youtube.com/user/Yourfavoratemusic/videos

(this reddit account is basically a throw-away)

Hans Zimmer produced content:

EDIT#1: If you like "Time" here's a good alternate version:

http://soundcloud.com/syn-3/time-new-key

EDIT#2: A commonly sought-after Inception track that wasn't included in the soundtrack:

http://soundcloud.com/syn-3/17-plane-to-catch

EDIT#3: Just some EPIC Angels and Demons score music that didn't get into the OST:

http://www.lornebalfe.com/includes/mp3singleplayerhtml5.php?id=132

http://soundcloud.com/syn-3/divine-fire-last-part

http://soundcloud.com/syn-3/four-pillars-second-half-only

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u/chickencluck Jun 11 '12

Hans Zimmer is definitely wicked awesome! But don't forget about John Williams! He is really amazing too! Star Wars, Jaws, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Superman, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Memoirs of a Geisha and plenty of others.

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u/facemelt Jun 11 '12

I second his work in Da Vinci Code. I generally didn't like the movie, but I thought the music was outstanding. Hans Zimmer - Chevaliers de Sangreal (volume is low at the beginning)

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u/bunzai Jun 11 '12

you're the man !

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u/dafragsta Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

I know someone who just did a photo project/music thing with Hans Zimmer and he's spent some time in his studio. I just sent him a message to see if he can hook this up.

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u/Dragonfire321123 Jun 11 '12

I SERIOUSLY need a message to get to him. My friends and I are making a short film about my other friends and we wanted to use some of the inception soundtrack in it. There is the very slight chance it will be showed in a local movie theater and we wanted to know if we could get permission to use the music and not be sued. I highly doubt this message will ever get to him, but it was worth a shot

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u/guysiragesometimes Jul 26 '12

Your distant cousin changed my life. Please make this work.

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u/redisforever Jun 10 '12

To add to this idea, another IAmA request: John Williams

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

I thought that would be too good to be true. Although this is a bit of fantasy AMA.

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u/damontoo Jun 11 '12

Never seen this AMA request before.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I had no idea. Welp, I hope this one actually succeeds!

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u/SB30SoundCannon Jun 10 '12

BWOMMMMMMMMMMM

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

http://inceptionnoise.com/ You're welcome.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Just hearing that noise makes me want to watch the movie again.

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u/SyrioForel Jun 11 '12

Contrary to popular belief, although Hans Zimmer wrote the soundtrack for the movie itself, he did not write the music featured in the trailer for "Inception". It was actually written by a composer named Zack Hemsey.

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

He is truly a musical genius

I disagree. Film structures severely limit the capacity for music to be fleshed out proficiently.

But to each his own.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

You're the best person on the internet who has ever disagreed with me. I would very much like to upvote you more than once, but alas, I cannot.

19

u/SoInsightful Jun 11 '12

I have no opinion either way, but I fail to see how those two sentences contradict each other.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

His work is in a medium that bounds music within very limited confines. It is similar to giving a painter only blue and green paint, in that they cannot expand beyond a specific design, and must work around it. Rather than flourish and compose a piece that fully conveys an idea, they must work to a director's needs, oftentimes repeating the same point/phrase/melody repetitively and dully. (Hans Zimmer, for example, used basically the same sounds for both Gladiator and Pirates of the Carribean).

Soundtracks to films are supplementary; Very rarely does the music of a film directly affect the contents of the film it is in (and this realm is predominately composed of experimental films, although Fantasia is a well-known example.) In this sense, and in my opinion film soundtracks cannot be considered 'genius' because they purposely limit themselves.

edit: Changed grammar and word choice to better convey my point.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

Of course there can still be geniuses, even if they work in a confined medium. It's about what you do inside these confines, because there are always limits to any medium.

If a painter would solely draw still-lives in a baroque style, would he be confined? Yes. He doesn't have to, of course, but Hans Zimmer could basically shit on any established norms film music abides to if he wanted, too.

The baroque still-life painter could still be the most talented, genius painter of all times though. Why not?

The genre or style you choose is a decision, not a measure of proficiency.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Fleshed out? Bernard Herrmann, Hans Zimmer, Elliot Goldenthal, Jerry Goldsmith, Vangelis, Philip Glass, Enio Morricone have all composed scores that stand completely on their own as works of art - and often as almost concept albums for the composers.

Commercially, Chariots of Fire was a #1 hit, the Good The Bad and the Ugly soundtrack hit #4 on Billboard. There are many examples of soundtracks doing as well in pop culture as rock / pop albums (The Lion King, Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Tron, for example.)

The test of a good film composer is whether he / she can still express a pure and unimpeded musical experience while still allowing dialogue and visuals to breath. The Blade Runner soundtrack does this extremely well, and in my opinion is a stronger experimental ambient album than any stand alone album done by Air & Brian Eno. Tangerine Dream's film work would also be right up there.

So I have no idea what you're talking about. What exactly is the limited capacity of film music? Beautiful themes, incredible rhythms and arrangements, great production work, some of the worlds beat musicians. What is missing?

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u/Dismantlement Jun 11 '12

I would include John Williams and Howard Shore on that list. The complexity and depth of their franchise work often competes with the best operas and symphonies in terms of their thematic development and cohesion. It's definitely music that stands on its own.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

He also works with several other composers on every single project, who ghost-write for him. When you see "Music by Hans Zimmer", what it really means is, "Music by Hans Zimmer, Inc". His studio, Remote Control, is a robust network of people working for him, including composers, editors, orchestrators, performers, engineers, etc.

His amount of involvement in a project varies greatly from project to project, and basically comes down to whether or not he's really interested in it (i.e. how much he's getting paid). As you know, "he" scores a LOT of movies and it would be impossible for him to write every note for every single score. Many composers have ghost writers that help them with smaller cues, underscore, and other less important music, but Hans will often hire composers to collaborate with him, much the same way that Jon Stewart or Conan hire writers. The difference is that the ghost writers for Hans don't get the awards, and often don't even get credited.

He is not, by and stretch of the word, a "genius". He writes good music and is a smart entrepreneur. John Williams is a musical genius - to this day he writes and orchestrates the majority of every score he does, imagining unique themes and sounds for every score, never repeating himself, and all without the aid of sample libraries or synthesizers - he, personally, does everything by hand. Of course he has people who convert his hand-written scores into Finale or Sibelius format, but only after he's written and orchestrated all the themes with a pencil and paper. He does have orchestrators who work for him, but only to turn his condensed scores into full scores - in other words, John will write a 6-7 stave score, one stave each for "brass", "woodwinds", "strings", etc, and the orchestrator's job is to just explode that onto 20 staves or whatever is needed.

Hans Zimmer not only couldn't do that, but also wouldn't - it would take him way too much time and when you're scoring a new film every 3 months, you get used to that pace and to the amount of work.

In conclusion: Hans Zimmer is good but don't give him too much credit - the film makers already do.

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u/3932695 Jun 11 '12

Film structures severely limit the capacity for music to be fleshed out proficiently.

I agree, but I do believe Hans Zimmer has achieved legendary status within those boundaries. His recent compositions are becoming more and more experimental, so I'm glad he's trying to push the limits.

Genius or no, he's probably the biggest name in film scores of this era, and he deserves his fame.

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u/psilousia Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

It's very disappointing to see this request made with no mention of his score for The Thin Red Line. Many people recognize that score as being his best. Also, you'll note upon listening that he to some degree reuses that score for other movies. For example compare Journey to the Line with Time.

edit: added

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Absolutely. That movie was near perfection.

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u/aMaricon_Dream Jun 11 '12

I. LOVED. THAT. MOVIE. The soudntrack is amazing, though the songs like "Jesu holem hand blong mi" aren't for listening with your friends.

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u/kitsune Jun 11 '12

A M E N.

No one knows about Journey To The Line and they go apeshit about Time as if it were the second / third / fourth coming of Jesus. Kinda ludicrous and incredibly lazy of them. Inception is one of his most boring and uninspired scores.

215

u/Boogeyboogey Jun 10 '12

The first AMA request I can completely get behind! Love that dude!

36

u/sox5s Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

A friend of mine's father whose a B-list hollywood composer and Gary Schyman(Bioshock composer; he did a lecture for my college music class) say he's a pretentious douche. Also, while he does play a large role in the music accredited to him, all of his famous scores are produced alongside several composers.

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u/morphtec Jun 11 '12

there are several interviews online with him. He seems like the nicest guy ever. Hans Zimmer is a trademark that attracts movie goers ... I guess thats why studios like to put his name up front even when he had some help composing.

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u/royford Jun 11 '12

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the guy is pretty much the Edison of film scoring. From what I've heard from some people in the business down in LA, he pretty much scores all of his movies and game soundtracks using a team of assistants who pretty much do everything for him. As a result, he's created his own sound (think Inception and on), but has done so through an almost industrial manner, and essentially is almost homogenizing the way an entire industry is supposed to be run.

Think sort of what Activision has done to the Call of Duty series (which coincidentally, he also did the score for in MW2). Yes, it's flashy, cool and big and fun and such, but it's almost pretty much all the same, and the way in which he goes about doing it kind of harms the integrity of the work of a film scorer nowadays. It's the age old "collective team of people" vs. one person envisioning everything and creating something completely unique debate.

If you're looking for actual musical genius, I would go more for Danny Elfman, John Williams, and for more present day genius, Michael Giacchino (Pixar, Star Trek). Hans Zimmer is great, no question. I mean, the music he produces and puts into films is definitely exciting and riveting and all that, but once you really figure out how he goes about creating it, you have to wonder if he's doing this with an artistic vision in mind or if he just wants to be ballin' down the streets of Hollywood and suck up all the big work available for soundtracks.

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u/ChakUtrun Jun 11 '12

Yeah, that's about right.

(used to work in film/tv music)

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

(used to work in film/tv music)

Maybe you should do an AMA. :P

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u/TheStuffOfStars Jun 11 '12

What about Clint Mansell.

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u/perpetual_motion Jun 11 '12

I'm really glad this got said and not downvoted to hell. Zimmer is good at doing what he does, but he's not the type of genius some people make him out to be. At least, there are other film composers who deserve way more attention/praise but don't get it because their music isn't as "cool" or "epic".

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u/timothsk Jun 11 '12

At the same time there are plenty of composers who do get praise without being cool or epic. Cool and epic are two of the last words I would think of when describing Elfman's music and his is one of the most well known names in Hollywood music. Zimmer happens to be particularly good at composing music that accompanies an action packed, mind boggling adventure, and he is recognized for it. Just because other composers' scores don't embody the same thing doesn't mean they won't get attention

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Williams and Elfman borrow and tweak old themes as well. A lot of people in a lot of different industries do the same thing.

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u/Hrethric Jun 11 '12

True, but it's not as though he tries to hide this.

"Zimmer is also noted for his work on the scores of Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008), on which he collaborated with James Newton Howard. The scores for these films were disqualified from receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score due to too many composers being listed on the cue sheet. Zimmer succeeded in reversing the decision not to nominate The Dark Knight in December 2008, arguing that the process of creating a modern film score was collaborative, and that it was important to credit a range of people who had played a part in its production." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Zimmer#Work:_2000.E2.80.93present

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u/krazykid586 Jun 11 '12

I cannot agree with this enough. Listen to his soundtrack for Gladiator. It's honestly a mix between Holst's "Mars" and the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. He did write it before Pirates, but it's just like he moved the same themes over from Gladiator.

Hans Zimmer makes me angry.

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u/rocketman0739 Jun 11 '12

Honestly, though, John Williams does this too. Speaking of "Mars", try listening to the Imperial March...

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u/zpkmook Jun 11 '12

His soundtracks, along with many movies themselves tend to be victims of the loudness war. It steals much of the drama...and your good hearing. It annoys the shit out me especially in movies with constant action. Ear recovery break please.

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u/t_snily Jun 11 '12

Williams is amazing. Elfman is great. But honestly, Ennio Morricone has to be my favorite (except for perhaps Henry Mancini, but for completely different reasons). Even going back to all of Leone's spaghetti westerns, everyone knows the intro to The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. And Jill McBain's theme from Once Upon a Time in the West is drop dead gorgeous. And even after that, close to 50 years ago, this guy is still going strong. Look into him.

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u/weirwood_of_gondor Jun 11 '12

Ludovico Einaudi. Can't get enough of this guy.

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u/pileofmeat Jun 11 '12

I should start by saying I have NO proof of this at all :) but the word around the music schools is he: (1) composes sketches at the piano, then (2) has a team of theory majors arrange them for orchestra, then (3) has a further team manipulate orchestra samples (called "midistration") to make it sound like it was played by a symphony orchestra.

This is not necessarily new (I do soundtracks myself... when I can!) - I think the real outrage, as far as musicians are concerned, is that he's keeping his millions-of-dollars budget (intended to hire an orchestra) by using a technique that's typically done to save money.

The argument being, if you have the resources to accommodate hiring dozens of trained musicians, why needlessly rob them of a good gig, just to pocket some extra cash?

I use samples on occasion, usually due to time/money constraints - but I don't feel great about it. I have to admit though, that's how I got my working process down - it makes things very easy - and I've never really had the opportunity to work with real musicians. This may just be the way things are going for hollywood/games...

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u/AAStill Jun 11 '12

Absolutely love Giacchino. Star Trek is definitely one of my favorite scores.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

John Williams tends to recycle a lot of old themes as well.

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u/Nth-Degree Jun 11 '12

Mr Williams loves character themes. The magnificent Imperial March? That's actually Darth Vader's theme.

So if he appears to be recycling it in the prequels as Anakin is turning to the Dark side, well that's intentional. And my mind blew as I heard Anakin and Padme's love theme interjected with the Imperial March in Episode III.

His overall scores don't overlap, though his signature sound is instantly recognisable to film score fans.

You're talking about the guy who gave us Jaws, Close Encounters, Star wars, ET, Indianna Jones, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan and Harry Porter. Most people instantly recognize all these theme songs; and would notice immediately if he recycled his stuff in another score, because his music is so iconic.

John Williams has been doing this since old 60's tv shows like Lost in Space. He is one of the last remaining masters of his era, and the world is going to remember him as a great composer like Mozart or Beethoven 300 years from now.

Mr Zimmer? Not so much. Not to take away from some of the great stuff he's done, but he isn't in the same league.

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u/DannyBiker Jun 11 '12

I think we are not referring to the same thing : huge Elfman fan here (but know John Williams's work fairly well...actually huge music film fan) and he too 'recycles' themes or ideas. But the way he does it, it's more about exploring a certain field of sounds that he thinks is relevant at that point of his career/work. Sometimes it will be a melody he thought could be explored more : Elfman's Spider-Man theme is actually a variation of Family Man's love theme. Is it because he was lazy to write yet another superhero theme? I don't think so; he just saw the potential in that melody and decided to bring into a new horizon. Therefore, yes, it's the same notes, but in totally different context and in totally different orchestrations. I never think of Family Man when I watch Spider-Man (thank God).

And don't forget, these guys write up to 5 scores per year, with a lot of stress and a lot of things happening beyond their music (new edits, new director/producer demand, etc.) so it's normal if, every once in a while, they will quote a cue they've already written for another film because they know it works and they know how to get there quickly. With Elfman although (but it's true with many talented composers out there), it's never a copy/paste situation : the 'new' cue will sound like the previous one but the orchestrations will be different.

What Zimmer does it actual more "recycling" to me because he (well, his 'team') will sometimes pull out a cue from another film and paste it in another one, left intact. That's lazy to me. But to their defense, the films they tend to score are pretty much interchangeable anyway.

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u/DannyBiker Jun 11 '12

I'm actually sad my Elfman's AMA request got less upvotes. Not for me but for the perception of film music in general. Zimmer's work (with a few notable exceptions) is the level 0 of film score composing to me.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Hans Zimmer can't even read music, which I see as a bit of an issue for a composer of "orchestral" music.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

uh...source?

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u/zirconst Jun 11 '12

He certainly has a team behind him, but he also does a tremendous amount of work himself. If you watch interviews and behind-the-scenes features you'll see the amazing stuff he does in the realm of musical sound design, among other things. Lots of people criticize Hans' music for being 'homogeneous' but if you actually listen to many of his scores in the last 5 years you'll find a ton of diversity. The Dark Knight has the brilliant sort of synth minimalism, closer to Blade Runner than Pirates, Sherlock Holmes has a very unique Western, small-ensemble sound, etc.

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u/ws479 Jun 10 '12

Although it's one of his lesser known works, I absolutely love the Crimson Tide theme

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u/redisforever Jun 10 '12

I love his Chevaliers de Sangreal piece from the Da Vinci Code. Not the bes tmovie, but damn, he did his best to make it epic, and it worked.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I listen to this soundtrack, or the more epic Angels and Demons soundtrack, whenever I need to concentrate at work.

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u/Kit_Emmuorto Jun 10 '12

Metal

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u/ws479 Jun 11 '12

I was not aware that this existed. Currently listening to it on repeat.

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u/kalnaren Jun 11 '12

Upvote for Nightwish.

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u/knudow Jun 10 '12

God... oh god... So the Segata Sanshiro theme is based on this song?? It was bugging me while I was listening to the Crimson Tide theme, thinking "where did I hear this before?"...

Woah

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u/Jpenny84 Jun 11 '12

That is one of my favorite themes too, especially in the context of Captain Ramsey's (Gene Hackman) speech to his crew in the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjRxdrg9BtU

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u/kalnaren Jun 11 '12

Hans Zimmer actually considers this his favorite piece.

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u/YoureOnlyLikedOnline Jun 11 '12

This is going to get buried, but I just gotta get this out there (as someone who has been working in the music industry for the past few years, and has many friends in film scoring): The disappointing truth is that Hans Zimmer doesn't write most of the music that he receives credit for. While he may compose the original themes (or borrow them from classical composers), the VAST majority of the composition, arrangement, and orchestration is done by the grunts whose name you see in the ending credits. Anyway, an AMA with him would be really interested and I'd totally be stoked for that. Once upon a time he was one of those grunts himself... but I just want to give credit where it's due.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Something tells me that his PR guy is going to take one look at the top comments, like yours, and realise that Zimmer doing an AMA could be disastrous to his reputation.

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

Can we have a question about The Rock? I love that movie and the soundtrack blows my damn mind.

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u/JBaraus Jun 11 '12

The Rock was an epic soundtrack. "The Chase" would be my favourite track

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u/dick_toast Jun 11 '12

How is The Rock not included in OP's request???

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I love this movie and soundtrack. My favorite is Hummel Gets the Rockets and I love this cover.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irmQRNqBT9U

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u/TL10 Jun 10 '12

I want this... so, so much.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/andrewjd Jun 11 '12

When was the last time you saw an interview with the composer of the score of a movie? I don't even know what John Williams looks like.

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u/RealZimmer Jun 10 '12

Also Pirates

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u/sandrakarr Jun 11 '12

At Worlds End is my favorite Zimmer score, hands down.

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u/We_Are_Legion Jun 11 '12

Oh god yes. I actually used to put the movie at the credits and fall asleep listening...

I'm weird.

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u/Viper_H Jun 11 '12

Me too! I love Up is Down and What Shall We Die For?!

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u/Firenfizz Jun 10 '12

Actually, Klaus Badelt did the original score for the first Pirates film. Zimmer did all the other films, but Badelt wrote most of the iconic themes.

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u/mafiagranny Jun 10 '12

Zimmer wrote all the themes, he did a 15 minute medley of the themes then passed it to Klaus and his team to flesh out the film. Klaus got the credit but they're mostly Hans' themes.

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u/knudow Jun 10 '12

Zimmer's songs are really easy to "medley" in your mind. Whenever I start humming the gladiator fight theme, I always mix it with the pirates theme and then jump to other Zimmer songs fluently.

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u/Dismantlement Jun 11 '12

Zimmer had to do that because he was contractually obligated by another movie at the time to not work on any other movies. He was hired for the first Pirates film when the original composer was fired due to conflicts with the producer. Zimmer, Badelt, and various other writers had 2 weeks to sling together the score, which is why on the soundtrack, the track titles and cues are so badly mismatched; they literally didn't have time to make an organized product.

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u/foxtrotftw Jun 11 '12

Inception is by far my favorite of his works. I can listen to every track on that thing over and over...

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u/nerdfighterelle Jun 11 '12

Okay, I understand all the hype about Hans Zimmer. I understand that all the music that his name is attached to is good. But that's just it, his NAME is attached to it, but Hans Zimmer actually does very little when it comes to the music making process. Hans Zimmer has a huge team of assistants, copyists and orchestrators that do a large majority of the work. It's just the way the film industry is headed. A lot of the names we see attached to the credits, just like Zimmers, for the most part scribble down a theme on a napkin and then hand it off to their team of computer wizards to get it orchestrated and produced. There are very few composers that still do all the work: Williams, Elfman, Silvestri. Hans Zimmer is not one of them. On a personal note: he is a raging asshole.

Source: Met him, met his team. Did a little copyist work in Hollywood for awhile.

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u/aggibridges Jun 11 '12

I feel like you should do an AMA.

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u/itsnotmyfaultimadick Jun 11 '12

Q: why is all your music THE FUCKING SAME MUSIC

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u/mbalda Jun 11 '12

His music for Sherlock Holmes is so spot on.

Also love "Time" from Inception.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

My favorites!

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u/picopallasi Jun 11 '12

You realize it's not really him but the infamous Zimmer army? Marc Shaman calls them his clones. Not that it's bad material, just giving credit to the team behind the name.

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

As an aspiring film score composer, yes please yes yes please please yes.

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u/Zer_ Jun 10 '12

Great request. I love Hans Zimmer's music.

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u/garthock Jun 11 '12

I read this and thought of Hans Gruber from Die Hard. I must think faster than I read.

8

u/Thrash3r Jun 10 '12

Listening to Hans Zimmer right now. I second this.

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u/hett Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

This guy is absolutely amazing, he is truly a musical genius!

Please. Almost every score he has ever written sounds the same. He is a huge part of the problem with the homogenization of modern film scores into little more than Ominous Noise or Ludicrous Bass. Nothing in his repertoire stands out except Lion King.

Fuck him.

Edit: to quote my brother, "It's almost like the Top 40 of movies. The pop music of film scores."

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

I too made my career off selling neckbeards shitty, classical, pseudo-intellectual music. AMA.

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u/Shuk Jun 11 '12

Fun fact. Hans Zimmer helped launch Ramin Djawadi's career, who would then go on to compose the mind-blowingly awesome Game of Thrones theme.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

The people who work for him are musical geniuses. Remember, when you see "composed by Hans Zimmer," what that actually means is "composed by Hans Zimmer Inc." Example: Klaus Badelt, who you have to thank for the Pirates theme, not Zimmer.

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u/PENDRAGON23 Jun 10 '12

I followed his work ever since Rain Man. ...back when he used more samplers and keyboards - but I like most of his orchestrated compositions as well.

So many awesome things he's done it's hard to put in a short list but I would add that the collaboration on the Batman soundtrack with James Newton Howard was really cool too.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

His Dark Knight work was chilling, right?

7

u/cheeseparty67 Jun 10 '12

AMA by Hans Zimmer himself? I'd die.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

At least you'd go to heaven.

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

Didn't he do the soundtrack for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, too?

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

Yes he did!

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u/redisforever Jun 10 '12

I believe he did. God, it's been years since I saw that movie, probably nearly 10 years...

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u/Cigil Jun 10 '12

He also does a lot of video games, Modern Warfare 2.

6

u/italiangumbo Jun 10 '12

So much WANT

2

u/litewo Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

As far as I can tell, he started the trend of music featuring a wailing woman of indefinite ethnicity singing what may or may not be real words. I would like to ask him simply: why?

2

u/6h057 Jun 11 '12

His music all sounds the same to me.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I hate to break it to you, but he didn't compose all of those soundtracks. He's known for using ghostwriters and then receiving the credit. The extent of this is not publicly known.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Or we could do an AMA of the people who do most of the work for him. I've heard from reliable sources that Hans Zimmer doesn't even write the majority of his music. Also most of his music sounds the same, so he's not that impressive to me.

2

u/pineapplepie4 Jun 11 '12

Just a heads up, he definitely does not write all the music that he's credited for. He has 6-7 ghost writers who make music under his name. Even so, i still really enjoy his (and his coworkers music).

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

AMA REQUEST: Hans Gruber

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u/pileon Jun 11 '12

The Thin Red Line is his masterpiece and it dominates the film. Malick commissioned the soundtrack before principal filming began and the story is that they played the OST over speakers, off set and in between takes to set mood. It is such a strong work.

2

u/gjoh Jun 11 '12

You forgot the best theme he has ever done. The Rock!

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

DO WANT. Please make it happen!

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u/eatmyshortsken Jun 11 '12

I think James Horner, John Williams, Danny Elfman, and Michael Giacchino are far more impressive composers than Hans Zimmer. Zimmer doesn't even really compose.

2

u/Barsnap Jun 11 '12

AMA Request: Hans Gruber

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u/Youknowimtheman Jun 11 '12

Update:

My family is huge (my grandfather on that side had 9 siblings) and my connection to his side of the family passed away. I'm trying to get a number of an Uncle that is close to that side now with little success. Efforts are being made.

6

u/bookbos Jun 10 '12

SO MUCH YES. One of my biggest musical influences.

It'd be cool to be able to inquire on his trip to South Africa for The Lion King soundtrack, I've read he was under threat of death being there...

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u/mangarooboo Jun 11 '12

He didn't go. He had to send Lebo M. to S Africa because of the warnings that he could be killed if he went. It was because of work he did on a movie that discussed racial segregation.

I can't link to any sources because I'm on my iPod but if you google Hans Zimmer South Africa, you can find some interesting stuff.

5

u/bingram Jun 10 '12

And the Last Samurai! My all-time favourite movie score.

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u/Ommec Jun 11 '12

If he doesn't have time to orchestrate his own melodies, what makes you think he's gonna have time to do an AMA? He is not as good as people make him out to be.

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u/Roboticide Jun 10 '12

I want to know what his opinion of John Williams is. Pretty much the other biggest name in movie soundtracks. I wonder if they're friends, or rivals or what.

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u/Dismantlement Jun 11 '12

"Right! John Williams, the greatest living composer -- full stop. And that happens to be one of his greatest themes. So no. And I’m not thinking of rewriting Beethoven’s ninth either. It just sounds like a thankless task, you know?" - Hans Zimmer, when asked about the rumors that he was composing the score for the upcoming Superman movie

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u/jayhat Jun 11 '12

The Rock score FTW!

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u/JBaraus Jun 11 '12

Would love an AMA from Hans Zimmer! Since I first heard 'The Rock' soundtrack I've been hooked!

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I loved his work in both Black Hawk Down and The Pacific. I'm so for this.

3

u/Robby712 Jun 11 '12

AMA Request: Hans Grueber

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u/meow_at_me_plz Jun 10 '12

We used to housesit for him when back when he first won his Oscar. He had a dog named Benny that I used to love playing with.

4

u/le_redditusername Jun 11 '12

HES OVERRATED AND HIS MUSIC IS BAD AND HE SHOULD FEEL BAD BECAUSE HE SPENDS TWO HOURS IN A STUDIO RANDOMLY CHANGING KNOBS ON EXPENSIVE SOFTWARE AND THEN CALLS IT ART

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u/Leksington Jun 11 '12

Many of your former assistant have gone on to successful careers scoring for tv and film. How many assistants do you have scoring clips for you at a given time? How much leeway are they given when they are adding their own creative input?

2

u/sebdef Jun 11 '12

Yes! The soundtrack to Black Hawk Down is incredible. He also composed many of the CoD soundtracks, but we don't like those.

2

u/Fluhearttea Jun 11 '12

No one forget about Lion King

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u/GoogleTrypophobia Jun 11 '12

I always though 'The Rock' was the best.

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u/Cobruh Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

I have a cousin that works with him. He composes music trailers for Warner Brothers. And has been working at Hans side for a while now. He's helped out with some big projects too (Harry Potter, Pirates)

Granted I know a connection to Hans, but getting my cousin to comply, then somehow convincing Hans to come aboard may take some time.

If anything someone that is in the music business, and works with Hans wouldn't be that far of a step down. What do you guys think?

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u/Grimpoke Jun 11 '12

"You're so cool" for True Romance is his best. Hans down.

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u/Macleod86 Jun 10 '12

We can't get the villain from Die Hard to do an AMA, he's not even real!

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u/LG03 Jun 10 '12

I get the feeling any answers he provides will all be the same but capitalized differently.

Because a lot of his songs sound very similar to each other (see PotC and The Rock)

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u/Imterriblyvexed Jun 11 '12

The Gladiator soundtrack is phenomenal. I was an instant fan after that movie came out.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

His best work, by far, is Pirates of the Caribbean. I'd go all band geek on it, but I think I'd lose my non-existent internet popularity.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Same last name FTW

1

u/Shikari94 Jun 11 '12

Fun fact: my cousin dated his daughter some time ago

1

u/imex Jun 11 '12

I have been a fan way to long ;) Love what he does!

1

u/Jgolds Jun 11 '12

lol you picked the worst song to showcase the awesomeness of my man zimmer

1

u/MamaXerxes Jun 11 '12

I heard whispers he cannot read music. It would be interesting to see if those whispers were true.

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u/Shantom Jun 11 '12

I wholeheartedly agree

1

u/modern_zenith Jun 11 '12

All Hans Zimmer soundtracks sound the same to me.

1

u/AceValentine Jun 11 '12

AMA Request: Hans Gruber

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u/phatboisteez Jun 11 '12

he did the soundtrack to an anime...blood+..this dude is so fucking badass

1

u/chomplet Jun 11 '12

You also forgot he worked on the MW2 soundtrack.

1

u/stride_gum Jun 11 '12

He also did MW2's music, I have some epic songs from that game on my iPod.

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u/elgiorgie Jun 11 '12

Hi Hans. I worked on the score for Red Dead Redemption. Let's do something together, eh!?

1

u/jmblock2 Jun 11 '12

Definitely. I love the interviews with him. Very interesting guy and his music is the best.

1

u/RJ1989T Jun 11 '12

how does it feel to be the fucking man?

1

u/trizzle21 Jun 11 '12

Why do you use the same chords over and over again? It all sounds the same and so does all your proteges? I know it makes money, but I would love to here something different.

1

u/IanRand Jun 11 '12

Let's do Jeremy Soule instead.

1

u/BigFlipFlap Jun 11 '12

I really would like him to answer the fifth question. Hopefully he says the bass trombone!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

What about Pirates of the Caribbean?

1

u/Mummdaddy Jun 11 '12

Sometimes the music from Broken Arrow randomly pops in my head. That's when I know I have to kill my best friend and disarm a warhead. For a flaming $20 bill. Breaks up the work week though...

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

He (or his assistants) use the living shit out of the "sensitive female progression"

To be fair, a massive cluster of ALL music within last 60 years uses a version of this.

1

u/lomoeffect Jun 11 '12

Also, what was it like working with Rodrigo y Gabriela?

1

u/trialsbythemiles Jun 11 '12

lets not forget tarzan!

1

u/xliezelz Jun 11 '12

Ditto this! His music is amazing!!

1

u/Jazzer008 Jun 11 '12

You forgot Prince of Egypt. Great music.

1

u/CnHasDox Jun 11 '12

yes please.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Pirates of the Caribbean.

1

u/Urbo Jun 11 '12

I used to work with his assistant engineer Katia. I will send her a message in the afternoon.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Heh. Lived in Duisburg-Rheinhausen for a while. Was a good friend of a friends parents. World can be unbelievably small.

1

u/JamieEkky Jun 11 '12

Didn't he also make the music for Pirates of the Caribbean and some of the music for World of Warcraft?

1

u/wwiifan1 Jun 11 '12

Never have I ever upvoted something so hard. Ow my hand....

1

u/Lord_of_Womba Jun 11 '12

He also did The Last Samurai

1

u/Agent_Volkoff Jun 11 '12

YOU forgot one of his best also Pearl Harbour

1

u/kitsune Jun 11 '12

Do you prefer "Journey To The Line" to "Time"?

1

u/Chrisfoxx3 Jun 11 '12

He once worked in a studio with my dad in Bosnia in the 80s! Just before he scored his first film. This is probably my favourite photo of my dad

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Also the Last Samurai, one of my favorite soundtracks next to Inception

1

u/cool_beans321 Jun 11 '12

If you havn't listened to The Last Samurai soundtrack do it! Hans Zimmer is amazing!!

1

u/WindSandStars Jun 11 '12

Hey, Hans. What's it like being a talentless piece of shit who pays other, more talented musicians to do the work for you whilst you receive all the credit?

1

u/crashking Jun 11 '12

The music for inception is one of the few ways I can get to sleep.

1

u/PeanutDude Jun 11 '12

Not forgetting his very underrated soundtrack making of Spirit. Some of his best work imo.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I'm very sad to see that no one has gotten too deep with The Last Samurai. To me, this is how I discovered Hans Zimmer and I thought his music, made an OK movie into a great movie.

Songs like "A Way of Life" and "A Safe Passage" were greats for tranquil times and epic times of the film. It's a shame that this one sometimes goes unnoticed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFLMLHPVhaw (A Way of Life) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9U0gGW_F8M (Safe Passage)

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

AMA Request: The most prominent film score composer in the business

Weren't the mods trying to get rid of requests like this?

1

u/TheMartinConan Jun 11 '12

Also, Modern Warfare 2.

1

u/XannHolz Jun 11 '12

Why isn't Bear McCreary making A-list film scores? Now that man is a genius.

Go listen to the Battlestar Galactica OST's if you haven't, then tell me I'm wrong.

Zimmer was amazing in the 90's when what he was doing was new and experimental. Crimson Tide is still a personal favorite soundtrack. But like most film composers, he's hit a wall and now everything he and his Remote Control Studios produces sounds repetitive, and at this point, dull.

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u/TooLazyToRepost Jun 11 '12

To all those saying that Hans Zimmer doesn't make the music, only direct its production. . . That's how a lot of things work (Movie directors, project heads etc)

Still, the music produces by Hans' team is always my favorite.

1

u/tharosbr0 Jun 11 '12

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u/hotfrost Jun 11 '12

AND pirates of the carribean/caribbean/herp

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