Henry Jackman

There are many composers who have gone through Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures/Remote Control facility, but only Mark Mancina, Harry Gregson-Williams, and John Powell have surpassed their former master to create interesting scores. Henry Jackman is well on his way to becoming the next member of this exclusive group. Jackman was classically trained in England and dabbled in Drum and Bass as a youth before becoming a programmer and producer for pop artists. Eventually, he created three of his own eclectic albums: Utopia, Transfiguration, and Acoustica. On the MySpace page for the Transfiguration album, Jackman writes, "I was subconsciously synthesizing 500 years of musical influence from Renaissance church music to modern electronica... I love Mahler as much as Aphex Twin, and Brian Eno as much as Thomas Tallis." Many of his interviews reveal his wide range of musical knowledge and enthusiastic approach to film scoring. Zimmer took notice of Jackman and gave him his first film scoring assignments. Jackman was soon writing additional music for The Da Vinci Code, The Holiday, Vantage Point, The Simpsons Movie, and Hancock. He wrote the music for the tense ferry scene in The Dark Knight, the majestic "Oogway Ascends" cue in Kung Fu Panda, and composed the riotous, rollicking "Up is Down" cue from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End based on Zimmer's theme. Unsurprisingly, Jackman was soon given his first solo assignment, for Monsters vs. Aliens. He was one of the four composers for Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass, composing the main theme; he and John Murphy wrote the best cues of the score, including "Flying Home." Vaughn hired him for X-Men: First Class, where Jackman's initial orchestrally dense approach was toned down to a more streamlined, electronics-heavy, but still highly accomplished final score. Jackman  enjoys relationships with both DreamWorks Animation and Disney, having scored Monsters vs. Aliens, Puss in Boots, and Turbo for the former and Winnie the Pooh, Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6, and the Toy Story short Small Fry for the latter.

Electronics feature heavily in his groove-based scores for Man on a Ledge, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, GI Joe: Retaliation, Paul Greengrass's Captain Phillips, and Marvel Studios's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with his scores for Turbo, Big Hero 6, and Captain America: Civil War fusing the composer's talents for orchestra and electronica admirably.  Jackman's scores for Gulliver's Travels, Winnie the Pooh, and Puss in Boots, on the other hand, are pure orchestral delight, showcasing the composer's technical and dramatic chops. His score for the self-aware comedy This Is the End features full-blooded, Gothic horror music complete with gargantuan choral forces. With Kick-Ass 2, Jackman revisited his work on the first score, expanding upon his fantastic main theme alongside new themes written by the score's co-composer (and frequent orchestrator) Matthew Margeson. He also brought Margeson along for Vaughn's Kingsman: The Secret Service, providing exhilarating music and catchy themes for the outrageously entertaining film. Wreck-It Ralph is one of his best scores, combining orchestra, 8-bit tunes, and more modern synthesizers into a cohesive and stunningly emotional package.  I hope Jackman will continue to score artistically rewarding assignments and we will get to hear more of his music.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Big Hero 6*
Birth of a Nation
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: Civil War
Captain Phillips
GI Joe: Retaliation
Gulliver’s Travels
The Interview
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Kick-Ass** (with John Murphy, Marius De Vries, Ilan Eshkeri, Danny Elfman)
Kick-Ass 2 (with Matthew Margeson)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (with Matthew Margeson)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (with Matthew Margeson)
Kong: Skull Island
Man on a Ledge

Monsters vs. Aliens
Pixels
Puss in Boots
This Is the End
Toy Story Toons: Small Fry
Transfiguration (Album)
Turbo
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Utopia (Album)

Winnie the Pooh (Songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez)
Wreck-It Ralph**

X-Men: First Class
The 5th Wave