First nominees for 14th World Soundtrack Awards released

Hans Zimmer, Alexandre Desplat and Pharrell Williams are the most familiar names among the first nominees that were released by the World Soundtrack Academy. Besides Film Composer of the Year, the World Soundtrack Academy also published the nominees in the categories for Best Original Film Score of the Year and Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film. The WSAwards, one of the most prestigious events in the world of film music, is the closing event of Film Fest Gent and will take place on 25 October at Kuipke in Ghent.

World Soundtrack Academy

Launched in 2001 by Film Fest Gent, the World Soundtrack Academy aims at supporting the art of film music & sound design and its worldwide promotion. In fourteen years time the membership of the WSA grew into a group of more than 370 international professionals (composers, talent agents, publicists, directors and music producers) who decide on the annual WSAwards through several rounds of voting.

Film Composer of the Year

Marco Beltrami A Good Day to Die Hard, Carrie, The Homesman, Snowpiercer, Warm Bodies, The Wolverine, World War Z

Alexandre Desplat The Grand Budapest Hotel, Godzilla, The Monuments Men, Venus in Fur, Philomena, Zulu, Marius

Steven Price Gravity, The World’s End

Gabriel Yared A Promise, In Secret, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, Tom à la Ferme

Hans Zimmer 12 Years A Slave, Man Of Steel, Rush, The Lone Ranger

Best Original Film Score of the Year

All is Lost by Alexander Ebert

Gravity by Steven Price

Her by Arcade Fire

The Grand Budapest Hotel by Alexandre Desplat

12 Years a Slave by Hans Zimmer

Best Original Song written directly for a Film

Amen - from 'All is Lost'

Music & Lyrics by Alexander Ebert, performed by Alexander Ebert

Happy - from 'Despicable Me 2'

Music, lyrics & performed by Pharell Williams

Let It Go - from 'Frozen'

Music & lyrics by Christophe Beck, Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, performed by Idina Menzel

Ordinary Love - from 'Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom' Music & lyrics by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr., Brian Burton, performed by U2

The Moon Song - from 'Her'

Music & lyrics by Karen O. & Spike Jonze, performed by Scarlett Johansson & Joaquin Phoenix

Cliff Martinez and Dan Romer in concert

This year’s central guest is Cliff Martinez, American film music composer and former drummer of the 'Red Hot Chili Peppers'. The WSA concert will mainly focus on his long-time collaboration with Steven Soderbergh, for whom he composed several soundtracks (Traffic, Contagion and Solaris). His cult score for 'Only God Forgives' will also be on the programme. In line with tradition, the WSA also welcomes Dan Romer, who was crowned Discovery of 2013. The former frontman and acoustic guitar player of indie rock band 'Fire Flies' earned this title for his score of the feature 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'.

Francis Lai and Flemish composer Jef Neve

Following the 41st Film Fest Gent’s focus on France, the Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to French composer Francis Lai at the 14th World Soundtrack Awards. In addition to the oeuvre of Lai, Jef Neve’s captivating music for the prestigious Flemish drama series 'In Flanders Fields' will also be getting some well-deserved attention.

Brussels Philharmonic will be performing the music from and with the composers, conducted by Dirk Brossé and accompanied by film fragments on screen.

Discovery & Spotify Public Choice Award

The Academy Board will select the five nominees for the Discovery of the Year 2014 by the end of August. In addition to the Awards presented by the Academy, the public can also vote for the Spotify Public Choice Award on the WSA website until 15 September. Voters can win an annual subscription for Spotify. You can listen to the WSA playlist and much more on the Spotify account of Film Fest Gent.

The 14th World Soundtrack Awards & Concert will take place on 25 October 2014 at Kuipke in Ghent. Tickets are available online from €30 on and €20 for students. All info can be found on the website www.worldsoundtrackawards.com.

The AMC zombie drama's Comic-Con trailer has been painstakingly remade with Legos in an incredibly detailed scene by scene version complete with the same action, emotion and, yes, dialogue, as the original.

Check out the season five trailer as it has never been seen before in the new Lego trailer, below

This is the trailer for the final season of "Boardwalk Empire," and a look into what Terence Winter has in store for Nucky Thompson.

It's 1931 and we are deep into the Great Depression. The country is chomping at the bit to bring Prohibition to an end. The smart ones like Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) are squeezing every crooked cent out of their operations before having to hang 'em. Terence Winter and his writing team on "Boardwalk Empire" are doing the same thing, fitting in as much action and drama as they can into the final eight episode frame of the series

In this trailer, threats are uttered, shots are fired and confrontations are held. Season 5 of "Boardwalk Empire" knows time is running out, so it jumps forward and backward in its antihero's crime career. The trailer provides brief looks at what appear to be flashbacks, tracing Nucky's childhood for key events that made him into the man he is today (stop me when this starts to sound like "The Sopranos" or "Mad Men"). 

Set to air the first of its eight-episode final season September 7 on HBO, "Boardwalk Empire" will find its final conclusion on October 26th

An emotional Conan O’Brien paid tribute to Robin Williams after learning of the comedian’s death during Monday’s taping of his TBS latenight show. The audience, seemingly unaware of Williams’ death, can be heard gasping in shock after the latenight host reported the news.

O’Brien, visibly shaken in the clip, admitted to being “absolutely stunned” to learn Williams had passed away as he shared memories of the comedy giant with “Conan” sidekick Andy Richter and guest Will Arnett.

Robin Williams had been attached to star in the “Mrs. Doubtfire 2,” the long-gestating sequel to the late comedian’s 1993 hit. Sources say that though no decision has been made on the future of the project, written by David Berenbaum, it most likely won’t go ahead after the actor was found dead Monday.

Chris Columbus was set to return as director for Fox 2000. “His performances were unlike anything any of us had ever seen, they came from some spiritual and otherworldly place. He truly was one of the few people who deserved the title of “genius”,” Columbus said in a statement. “We were friends for 21 years. Our children grew up together, he inspired us to spend our lives in San Francisco and I loved him like a brother. The world was a better place with Robin in it. And his beautiful legacy will live on forever.”

Berenbaum had reportedly met with Williams in recent months and was working on a second draft of the script.

Williams’ sudden death casts an obvious shadow of doubt on the potential “Mrs. Doubtfire” sequel, but Hollywood often likes to ‘reboot’ hit movie franchises or proceed with sequels without the original stars. Just ask Batman, “Speed 2″ or even Professor Dumbledore from the “Harry Potter” series.

The original “Mrs. Doubtfire,” based on the Anne Fine book, followed Williams’ struggling actor and divorced father who disguises himself as an elderly housekeeper in order to see his kids while his ex-wife has custody. Sally Field and Pierce Brosnan also starred.

Co-starring Sally Fields and Pierce Brosnan, the pic was a smash at the box office, taking in more than $400 million worldwide and Fox has tried to get a sequel into production ever since. Elizabeth Gabler and Marisa Paiva were overseeing for Fox 2000. “Mrs. Doubtfire” has been the most frequently played movie on basic cable and is therefore well-known both to those who saw it when it was released and to the millennials who caught up with it on cable.

Williams had already wrapped on “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” in which he reprises his role as Teddy Roosevelt for the third time. It opens Dec. 19.

He also starred in the Dito Montiel drama “Boulevard,” which screened at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival but has not found a distributor.

Also wrapped but not yet released is “Merry Friggin’ Christmas,” in which he stars with Candice Bergen and Lauren Graham. Phase 4 Films will release the holiday comedy on Nov. 7. Williams also provided the voice of Dennis the Dog in British live-action comedy “Absolutely Anything,” set to be released next year.

Source: Variety