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John Cardon 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 (1995), 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 Glendale, California, nearby to Disney. 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.
He composed of Disney Parks's Nighttime Spectaculars, including: World Of Color Celebrate! in Disney's California Adventure, The Magic, The Memories And You! and Celebrate The Magic in Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom and Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo Disneyland.
Filmography[]
Film[]
1980s[]
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Wild Pair | Beau Bridges | Trans World Entertainment | Composed with Michel Colombier |
| 1988 | The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck | David Keith | N/A | |
| Seven Hours to Judgment | Beau Bridges | N/A | ||
| Not Since Casanova | Brett Thompson | The Brett Thompson Company West Productions |
N/A | |
| 1989 | Trenchcoat in Paradise | Martha Coolidge | Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions MGM Television |
N/A |
1990s[]
2000s[]
2010s[]
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Valentine's Day | Garry Marshall | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema Wayne Rice Films Karz Entertainment |
N/A |
| Snowmen | Robert Kirbyson | Arc Entertainment Heritage Films Mpower Pictures |
N/A | |
| Iron Man 2 | Jon Favreau | Paramount Pictures Marvel Studios |
3rd collaboration with Favreau | |
| Predators | Nimród Antal | 20th Century Fox Troublemaker Studios Davis Entertainment Dune Entertainment Ingenious Media |
Themes by Alan Silvestri | |
| Yogi Bear | Eric Brevig | Warner Bros. Pictures De Line Pictures Sunswept Entertainment |
Replaced Andrew Lockington | |
| 2011 | No Strings Attached | Ivan Reitman | Paramount Pictures | N/A |
| The Change-Up | David Dobkin | Universal Pictures Original Film Relativity Media Big Kid Pictures |
Composed with Theodore Shapiro | |
| Dream House | Jim Sheridan | Universal Pictures (North America) Warner Bros. Pictures (International) Morgan Creek Productions |
N/A | |
| The Double | Michael Brandt | Image Entertainment | N/A | |
| New Year's Eve | Garry Marshall | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema |
N/A | |
| 2012 | A Thousand Words | Brian Robbins | Paramount Pictures DreamWorks Pictures |
N/A |
| The Three Stooges | Farrelly brothers | 20th Century Fox | N/A | |
| The Little Nicholas Movie | Walt Disney Pictures Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Animation |
Faning film | ||
| Alex Cross | Rob Cohen | Summit Entertainment | N/A | |
| 2013 | The Call | Brad Anderson | TriStar Pictures | N/A |
| Tim Hill | Walt Disney Pictures | Composed with Danny Elfman | ||
| Jobs | Joshua Michael Stern | Open Road Films | N/A | |
| 2014 | Draft Day[8] | Ivan Reitman | N/A | |
| Walk of Shame | Steven Brill | FilmDistrict | N/A | |
| The Road Within | Gren Wells | Well Go USA Entertainment | Theme music only | |
| The Barbie Movie | Kirk Wise | Di-Studios Film Distribution | ||
| The Cobbler | Tom McCarthy | Voltage Pictures | N/A | |
| Stonehearst Asylum | Brad Anderson | Millennium Films Icon Productions Sobini Films |
N/A | |
| Matt Braly | Blue Wave Animation | 1st collaboration with Braly | ||
| Nathan Banderson | Warner Bros. Animation (CGI-studio) | Composed with Heitor Pereira | ||
| 2015 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water[8] | Paul Tibbitt | Paramount Pictures Nickelodeon Movies Paramount Animation United Plankton Pictures |
N/A |
| Careful What You Wish For | Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum | Starz Digital Troika Pictures Hyde Park Entertainment Amasia Entertainment Roberi Media Image Nation Merced Media Partners Myriad Pictures Ashok Amritraj Productions |
Theme music only Score composed by The Newton Brothers & Josh Debney | |
| Broken Horses | Vidhu Vinod Chopra | Reliance Entertainment Fox Star Studios |
N/A | |
| 2016 | The Young Messiah | Cyrus Nowrasteh | Focus Features | N/A |
| The Jungle Book | Jon Favreau | Walt Disney Pictures | N/A | |
| Madelihoruse | Tom McGrath Kirk Wise |
20th Century Fox DreamWorks Animation Picture Digital Images |
with Hans Zimmer | |
| Mother's Day | Garry Marshall | Open Road Films | N/A | |
| Ice Age: Collision Course | Mike Thurmeier | 20th Century Fox Blue Sky Studios |
Replaced John Powell | |
| League of Gods | Koan Hui Vernie Yeung |
China Star Entertainment Group Huayi Brothers |
||
| 2017 | Home Again | Hallie Meyers-Shyer | Open Road Films Black Bicycle Entertainment Waverly Films |
N/A |
| The Greatest Showman | Michael Gracey | 20th Century Fox Laurence Mark Productions Chernin Entertainment TSG Entertainment |
Composed with Joseph Trapanese
Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Music | |
| 2018 | Wonderland | Matt Braly Don Hall |
Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Pictures |
Composed with Theodore Shapiro |
| Beirut | Brad Anderson | Radar Pictures | ||
| Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham | Steve Martino Michael Thurmeier |
20th Century Fox Universal Pictures Blue Sky Studios Universal Animation Studios |
||
| Brian Banks | Tom Shadyac | Bleecker Street ShivHans Pictures Gidden Media |
N/A | |
| Madden NFL 19 | Mike Young | Electronic Arts | video game[9] | |
| 2019 | Isn't It Romantic | Todd Strauss-Schulson | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema |
|
| The Beach Bum | Harmony Korine | Neon | ||
| Dora and the Lost City of Gold | James Bobin | Paramount Pictures Paramount Players Nickelodeon Movies Walden Media MRC Burr! Productions |
Composed with Germaine Franco | |
| Sextuplets | Michael Tiddes | Netflix Ugly Baby Productions Wayans Alvarez Productions |
N/A | |
| Lake of Death | Nini Bull Robsahm | Gussi Films (Mexico) SF Studios (Norway) Canopy Film |
N/A |
2020s[]
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Computer-animated science fiction comedy-adventure film | Chris Buck Mike Thurmeier |
||
| Chicken Little 2 (DAF film) | Mark Dindal Rich Moore Jennifer Kluska |
Walt Disney Pictures Disney Animation Films |
Disney Animation Films' first animated film directing of collaboration by Jennifer Kluska | |
| Municakitocearinod | Karen Disher Mike Thurmeier Steve Martino |
Warner Bros. Animation (CGI-studio) | Original songs by Stephen Schwartz | |
| Fortnite: The Movie | Sam Raimi | Amazon Studios Universal Pictures Illumination 1492 Pictures |
Fan film | |
| Come Away | Brenda Chapman | Signature Entertainment (United Kingdom) Relativity Media (United States) Endurance Media Fred Films Yoruba Saxon Productions |
N/A | |
| I Still Believe | Erwin Brothers | Lionsgate Kingdom Story Company Kevin Downes Productions Erwin Brothers Entertainment |
N/A | |
| Asteroid Hunters | W.D. Hogan | Imax Filmed Entertainment (Worldwide) Shaw Organisation (Singapore) Day's End Pictures |
Documentary film | |
| Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey | David E. Talbert | Netflix Golden Girl Brillstein Entertainment Partners Burr Productions Get Lifted Film Company 260 Degrees Entertainment |
Nominated- Black Reel Award for Outstanding Original Score | |
| 2021 | Clifford the Big Red Dog | Walt Becker | Paramount Pictures (Worldwide) Entertainment One (Canada and United Kingdom) New Republic Pictures The Kerner Entertainment Company Scholastic Entertainment |
N/A |
| Home Sweet Home Alone | Dan Mazer | Disney+ 20th Century Studios Hutch Parker Entertainment |
Original Home Alone themes by John Williams | |
| American Underdog | Erwin Brothers | Lionsgate Kingdom Story Company Erwin Brothers Entertainment City on a Hill Productions |
N/A | |
| 2022 | Marry Me | Kat Coiro | Universal Pictures Nuyorican Productions Perfect World Pictures Kung Fu Monkey Productions |
N/A |
| The Little Beadies | Matt Braly Mark Dindal Kirk Wise |
Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Animation Group Regency Line Pictures |
Faning film & Fan-maker film | |
| Luck | Peggy Holmes | Apple TV+ Apple Studios Skydance Animation |
Nominated- Best Original Score in an Animated Film | |
| Hocus Pocus 2 | Anne Fletcher | Walt Disney Pictures David Kirschner Productions Weimaraner Republic Pictures |
N/A | |
| 2023 | 80 for Brady | Kyle Marvin | Paramount Pictures 199 Productions Fifth Season Watch This Ready |
N/A |
| Happy Be | Eric Jean Williams Matt Braly |
Walt Disney Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures Columbia Pictures Universal Pictures HR Motion Pictures LotFilm Premiere United Studios |
HR Exclusive special film; co-compose scored with Alan Menken, Christophe Beck, Ralph Newton and Barry Newman Piano Arrangement composed theme for the Disney logo in variation for Computer-animation and 2D-animation. | |
| 2024 | Rockumentary | Mike Mitchell | Universal Pictures Illumination Regency Line Pictures Bad Robot Productions |
Theatrical and Netflix release of the film Original songs by Scott Wittman, Patrick Gregson-Lopez and Tim Rice |
Lots of years[]
| Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR Motion Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures LotFilm Premiere United Studios |
A animated musical fantasy comedy-adventure film based on the culture fantasy and a fairy tale Original songs by Stephen Schwartz, Patrick Gregson-Lopez and Daniel Bob Goldwell |
Television[]
| Years | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Dragon's Lair | 13 episodes |
| 1984–1985 | Disney Family Album | 5 episodes |
| 1985–1987 | Fame | 30 episodes |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Episode: "The Storyteller/Nightsong" |
| Cagney & Lacey | Episode: "The Marathon" | |
| 1987 | Sport Goofy in Soccermania | Special |
| CBS Summer Playhouse | Episode: "Changing Patterns" | |
| ABC Afterschool Special | Episode: "The Day My Kid Went Punk" | |
| 1988–1991 | A Pup Named Scooby-Doo | 27 episodes |
| 1988 | Police Academy | 14 episodes |
| 1989 | The Further Adventures of SuperTed | 13 episodes |
| Trenchcoat in Paradise | Television film | |
| Nightmare Classics | Episode: "The Eyes of the Panther" | |
| 1989–1990 | Dink, the Little Dinosaur | 5 episodes |
| 1989–1992 | The Young Riders | 6 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series |
| 1990 | The Yum Yums: The Day Things Went Sour | Television film |
| The Face of Fear | ||
| Tiny Toon Adventures | 2 episodes: "Gang Busters" and "Hollywood Plucky" | |
| Piggsburg Pigs! | Episode: "Mummies From Outer Space" | |
| 1991 | A Seduction in Travis County | Television film |
| Vidiots | ||
| Into the Badlands | ||
| 1992 | Do Not Bring That Python in the House | |
| Still Not Quite Human | ||
| Sunstroke | ||
| The Plucky Duck Show | Episode: "Hollywood Plucky" | |
| 1993 | I Yabba-Dabba Do! | Television film |
| Jonny's Golden Quest | ||
| Class of '61 | ||
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | 2 episodes: The Nagus, Progress | |
| Jack's Place | 3 episodes | |
| Praying Mantis | Television film | |
| For Love and Glory | ||
| The Halloween Tree | ||
| The Town Santa Forgot | ||
| Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby | ||
| 1993–1994 | SeaQuest DSV | 19 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music |
| 1994 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Episode: "The Pegasus" |
| 1995 | In Pursuit of Honor | Television film |
| Kansas | ||
| 1996 | Doctor Who | |
| The Cape | Episode: "Pilot"
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series | |
| 1997 | Justice League of America | Television film |
| 2000 | Running Mates | |
| G-Saviour | ||
| 2012 | Hatfields & McCoys | Miniseries Composed with Tony Morales Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series or Special |
| 2013 | Bonnie & Clyde | Miniseries |
| 2014 | The After | Television film |
| Houdini | Miniseries | |
| 2014–2015 | Forever | 22 episodes |
| 2015 | Point of Honor | Television film |
| American Odyssey | 13 episodes | |
| Texas Rising | Miniseries Composed with Bruce Broughton Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music Nominated- Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Main Title Music in a TV Series Nominated- IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for Television | |
| 2016 | Game of Silence | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Flint | Television film |
| 2017–2019 | Santa Clarita Diet | 10 episodes |
| 2017–present | The Orville | 19 episodes IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for Television |
| Young Sheldon | 3 episodes Composed with Jeff Cardoni | |
| 2021–present | The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers | 20 episodes |
Video games[]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Lair | N/A |
| 2011 | The Sims Medieval | N/A |
| 2018 | Madden NFL 19 | N/A |
Awards and nominations[]
Template:Unrefsect
| 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 Original Score: The Passion of the Christ (2004) | Nominated |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original 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 Original Main Title Theme Music: SeaQuest DSV (1993) | Won |
| 1991 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore): The Young Riders: Kansas (1989) | Won |
| 1990 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: The Young Riders (1989) | Nominated |
References[]
- ↑ "Cutthroat Island (John Debney)". Filmtracks. http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/cutthroat_island.html. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- ↑ "Cutthroat Island (John Debney) soundtrack review". ScoreReviews.com. 2009-02-28. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20090228081045/http://www.scorereviews.com/reviews/review.aspx?id=120. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- ↑ Other reviews by Mike Brennan (2005-05-12). "Soundtrack: CutThroat Island (2005)". Soundtrack.Net. http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=3734. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- ↑ "Movie Music UK - Cutthroat Island – John Debney". MovieMusicUK.us. 2010-01-13. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20100113131448/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/cutthrcd.htm. 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. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011160.html?categoryid=3807&cs=1. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- ↑ "John Debney to Score 'Predators' Prequel". Bloody-disgusting.com. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19281. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- ↑ "A Peek Behind the Scenes of a Predators Scoring Session". Dreadcentral.com. 2010-06-07. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/37893/a-peek-behind-scenes-a-predators-scoring-session. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "John Debney to Score Ivan Reitman's 'Draft Day' | Film Music Reporter", 25 November 2013. Retrieved on 16 December 2013.
- ↑ "Lock In with the Madden NFL 18 Soundtrack". EA Sports. July 25, 2018. https://www.easports.com/madden-nfl/news/2018/lock-in-with-the-madden-nfl-19-soundtrack. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
External links[]
- John Debney on IMDb
- John Debney discography at Discogs
- John Debney's official website
- John Debney Tribute at Filmtracks.com
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