Christopher Young
Golden Globe-nominated composer Christopher Young has scored almost 100 successful features ranging across virtually every genre, all with strikingly original music. Never repeating himself, Young’s works extend from the spine-tingling “Hellraiser” showcasing his seminal upbringing in horror; to the new-techno sound of “Swordfish” and the resonant, genuine Celtic sounds of “The Shipping News.”
His impressive list of film scores include Jon Amiel’s Warner Bros’ dramatic thriller “Copycat” and Amiel’s follow-up film, New Regency’s comedy, “The Man Who Knew Too Little.”
The professional kinship of Young and Amiel endured and they subsequently worked together again on the Fox feature, “Entrapment,” for which Young received a BMI Scoring Award. Young provided the score to MGM’s box office sensation “Species,” for which he received a Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel nomination for his work. Next up for the multitalented composer was the resonant score for “Murder in the First,” marking the beginning of an era of major career turning points. Young turned his attention to television, scoring the first of four telefilms. In 1990, he received his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Mini-Series, Movie, or Special recognizing the dramatic urgency of his music for the fall-of-Saigon film, “Last Flight Out.” In 1996, he was honored in the same category again but for a completely different style, the smoky jazz of the critically acclaimed HBO picture, “Norma Jean & Marilyn.” When Academy Award winning director Norman Jewison hired Young to score Universal Pictures; “The Hurricane,” Young officially entered the pantheon of A-list composers. His composition was widely praised, impressing the legendary director, who exclaimed, “I love it…he captures the power and strength of what was happening onscreen.” That year, Jewison personally recommended Young to Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson for the MGM release, “Bandits.”
Immediately following “Bandits,” Young further displayed his versatility with the composition for Warner Bros.’ “Swordfish,” where he incorporated elements of DJ Paul Oakenfold’s hypnotic trance into the orchestral score. He went on in 2001 to score the Miramax romantic drama, “The Shipping News,” directed by Oscar nominee Lasse Hallstrom. Young received both a Critic’s Choice and Golden Globe nomination for this strikingly original work.
Young’s extensive body of work includes original scores for the films Virtuosity, Murder At 1600, Hard Rain, Rounders, Urban Legend, The Big Kahuna, Wonder Boys, The Gift, Sweet November, The Glass House, The Core, Runaway Jury, The Grudge, The Grudge 2, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Beauty Shop, Untraceable and many more. In 2007, Young reunited with director Curtis Hanson for “Lucky You” and two films based on Marvel Comic characters; Sony Pictures, “GhostRider,” starring Nicholas Cage, and the summer blockbuster, “Spider-Man 3.”