New York, NY (Top40 Charts) GENIUS, the upcoming
National Geographic series, executive produced by Ron
Howard and Brian Grazer, features original music by composer Lorne Balfe (THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, TERMINATOR: GENISYS, CHURCHILL). The series features an original main title by Hans Zimmer. Milan Records will be releasing a soundtrack EP digitally on April 28, 2017.
"I'm incredibly honored to be writing music for many geniuses - Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Flynn as Albert Einstein, and for an amazing team led by executive producers Ron
Howard and Brian Grazer, and showrunner Ken Biller," said Balfe. "Music was very important to Einstein. It was part of his thought process; he used music to distance himself from the problematic equations that he was trying to solve. The distance would then lead to the solutions."
This spring,
National Geographic, in conjunction with Fox 21 Television Studios and Imagine Television, presents GENIUS, the network's first-ever scripted series, based on the Walter Isaacson book Einstein: His Life and Universe and executive produced by Ron
Howard and Brian Grazer, with
Howard also directing the first episode. The all-star cast includes Geoffrey Rush as Professor Einstein, Johnny Flynn as Albert in his youth and Emily Watson as the scientist's second wife — and first cousin — Elsa Einstein. Over 10 episodes, the series takes Einstein's story beyond the halls of academia to explore his struggles to be a good husband and father, and a man of principle during a period of global unrest. His daringly creative mind often landed him in trouble with his loved ones and peers, but also helped him to usher in groundbreaking discoveries that reshaped modern science.
Balfe was influenced by Einstein's own musical talents with his approach to the score. He explained, "Einstein was a fantastic violin player from all accounts, so that was an interesting color to bring into the score."
National Geographic and Fox21 Television Studios, along with Imagine Entertainment, present GENIUS, premiering April 25, 2017 at 9PM ET/PT. Milan Records will be releasing the GENIUS soundtrack EP, featuring original music by Lorne Balfe digitally on April 28, 2017.
ABOUT LORNE BALFE
Lorne Balfe [GENIUS, THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE, GHOST IN THE SHELL] is a Grammy Award-winning, EMMY and BAFTA nominated film composer from Inverness, Scotland. His filmography boasts an incredible breadth and depth of titles, ranging from major studio to independent films, tentpole video game franchises, beloved animated feature films, critically acclaimed television series, and documentary features.
Lorne's recent film credits include; THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (Warner Bros.); GHOST IN THE SHELL (Paramount Pictures); TERMINATOR GENISYS (Paramount Pictures); 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI (Paramount Pictures). His upcoming projects include CHURCHILL (Head Gear Films), GEOSTORM (directed by Dean
Devlin and
Danny Cannon), and the Ron Howard-produced television series about Albert Einstein titled GENIUS (National Geographic),
2010 saw the release of Lorne's first major feature film, MEGAMIND, which he co-composed with Hans Zimmer. In 2011 he teamed up again with Zimmer, co-composing the score for THE DILEMMA (directed by Ron Howard), while finding his footing in the video game world, composing alongside Jesper Kyd on Assassin's Creed: Revelations (BAFTA nomination for Best Original Music). Since that time, Lorne's video game credits include CRYSIS 2, four titles in the SKYLANDERS series (SPYRO'S ADVENTURE, GIANTS, SWAP FORCE, and TRAP TEAM), ASSASSIN'S CREED III, ASSASIN'S CREED III: THE TYRANNY OF KING WASHINGTON, CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2, and BEYOND: TWO SOULS.
Simultaneously towing the line between the film/TV and video game worlds, Lorne has shown his versatility with such films as TERMINATOR GENISYS, the animated features HOME and PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, THE SWEENEY (based on the beloved British TV series), the historical epic IRONCLAD, the
Gloria Trevi-biopic GLORIA, and acclaimed documentaries MANNY (about the life of Manny Pacquiao), SALINGER (about JD Salinger) and THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON (Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan). His television work includes THE BIBLE (co-composed with Hans Zimmer), SONS OF LIBERTY, and two current series, THE STORY OF GOD WITH MORGAN FREEMAN and MARCELLA. Lorne earned his first EMMY nomination for the 2012 mini-series RESTLESS.
www.lornebalfe.com
