John Powell page

'There are so many composers, big names really, who have found new and interesting ways of doing scoring. But you don't want to do it too much because it freaks everyone out.'

Personal quote

John Powell is known for his collaborations with Harry Gregson - Williams on Antz, Chicken Run and Shrek, these scores feature everything you want to hear because they simply stand for a fun time. Powell is of course capable of more then just these scores, action packed electronic and bombastic features on the style of Media Ventures level and if it needs to, softer yet still wonderful works such as Endurance. But mostly fun comedic rhythms have been spicing up his latest scores (Evolution, Rat Race). Powell is not just called a Media Ventures partner because he simply shows his originality and expands his boarders with energetic yet highly effective projects, this is a composer with more than just some styles. He is linked with fun and something that blows you away.

Biography

John Powell was surrounded by music as a child, and studied composition at London's Trinity College of Music. He earned the John Halford and the Boosey and Hawkes Bursary Music College Prizes. He joined an art group called Media Arts, there with longtime collaborator Gavin Greenaway, he composed music. In 1988, Powell got in contact with composers Hans Zimmer and Patrick Doyle, he assisted Doyle's score Into the West and he worked as a programmer for Zimmer on White Fang. His first score was The Wild Heels, this in the year 1994. Three years later he scored John Woo's Face Off, and catapulted him into Hollywood business. Scores such as Endurance and With Friends Like These he proved his versatility but his biggest and most acclaimed efforts came for animation movies. Antz and Chicken Run are both wonderful creations of intelligence and originality. These two projects were brought to life by the fruitful collaboration of Powell and Harry Gregson - Williams. Comedic wild efforts like Rat Race and Evolution spiced things up, Shrek couldn't live to the expectations but was entertaining nonetheless, romantic efforts as Gigli and Two Weeks Notice proved more diversity and spy efforts such as The Bourne Identity proved its use, in the film more then on disc. Paycheck and Agent Cody Banks were highlights, The Italian Job and The Bourne Supremacy steps up in the genre and Robots was an extremely entertaining ride, as was the double agent flick Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Powell remains incredibly active and with Ice Age 2, X-Men 3 and The Bourne Ultimatum he scored 3 of the biggest blockbusters of the year, with other words, Powell remains to rock.

There are definitely differences in the orchestration techniques between Harry and me, and some of the approaches in how we work the picture. But because we were both using the co-composed themes, it did hopefully sound like one score and not two composers.
(on Antz)

It depends on how you look at it. If we get there, we bow to Hans Zimmer. Truth be told, pay us and we will sound like Hans Zimmer.
(on Media Ventures)

Its a family. Its like this, you are still working at 4 o'clock in the morning and you just don't figure it out. So you start to walk through all the rooms and the crazy thing, you will actually find someone.
(on Media Ventures)