New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Over the weekend BACK LOT MUSIC releases UNIVERSAL PICTURES STRAYS (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) by composer DARA TAYLOR. Available everywhere now, the album features music written by Taylor the NSFW pet comedy STRAYS starring Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Sofía Vergara, Will Forte and Isla Fisher. Dara wrote a score that speaks to the heart of the film and its characters, which is finding your support and chosen family. She utilizes sweeping orchestral scores when leaning into the emotional scenes of a dog realizing when he's been wronged and hip-hop inspired tracks when Reggie meets Bug and the gang and they get into street dog antics.
Of the soundtrack, composer DARA TAYLOR says, "Working on Strays gave me the opportunity to do what I do every day anyway, anthropomorphize animals! That's why director Josh Greenbaum and I really wanted to score from the dogs' perspective and take everything as seriously and heartfelt as they do. Musically we blend a lot of styles from wistful acoustic guitars and pianos, to bombastic orchestra and choirs, and of course, a healthy dose of the best sounding percussion Petco can offer!"
They say a dog is a man's best friend, but what if the man is a total dirtbag? In that case, it might be time for some sweet revenge, doggy style. When Reggie (Will Ferrell), a naïve, relentlessly optimistic Border Terrier, is abandoned on the mean city streets by his lowlife owner, Doug (Will Forte; The Last Man on Earth, Nebraska), Reggie is certain that his beloved owner would never leave him on purpose. But once Reggie falls in with a fast-talking, foul-mouthed
Boston Terrier named Bug (Oscar® winner Jamie Foxx), a stray who loves his freedom and believes that owners are for suckers, Reggie finally realizes he was in a toxic relationship and begins to see Doug for the heartless sleazeball that he is.
Determined to seek revenge, Reggie, Bug and Bug's pals—Maggie (Isla Fisher; Now You See Me, Wedding Crashers), a smart Australian Shepherd who has been sidelined by her owner's new puppy, and Hunter (Randall Park; Always Be My Maybe, Aquaman), an anxious Great Dane who's stressed out by his work as an emotional support animal—together hatch a plan and embark on an epic adventure to help Reggie find his way home … and make Doug pay by biting off the appendage he loves the most. (Hint: It's not his foot).
A subversion of the dog movies we know and love, Strays, directed by Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) and written by Dan Perrault (Players, American Vandal), is a hilarious, R-rated, live-action comedy about the complications of love, the importance of great friendships, and the unexpected virtues of couch humping. The film features a powerhouse comedic supporting cast, including Grammy winner Josh Gad (Beauty and the Beast),
Harvey Guillén (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish), Emmy nominee Rob Riggle (The Hangover),
Brett Gelman (Stranger Things), Jamie Demetriou (The Afterparty) and Emmy nominee
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family).
STRAYS (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK) TRACKLISTING:
1. Fetch ' n F&#K
2. I'm a Stray
3. Doug Believes in Me
4. Oh, God Sees Everything!
5. So MAny Needles
6. Putpose
7. Off With His D*%K!
8. Tell Me How It Could Get Worse
9. Reggie's
Journey - Friendship Boners
10. Operation Super Long Pole
11. Violence and Vomit
12. Extraordinary Maggie's Superpower
13. Rolf and Co.
14. PFFs
15. An Emma
16. Then Poop with Me... To Freedom!
17. Clean It Up, Willie!
18. Hostile Hounds
19. Every Once in a While, Can You Call Me a Good Boy?
20. Saving Riley
21. Stock-Home
22. Putting Doug Behind
23. A Maggieful Mind
24. Reggie Says Goodbye
25. Kickass PFFs Forever!
26. You Are Not Alone
27. Follow You - Dave Sarazen
Dara Taylor has emerged as a fresh voice in the world of scoring music to picture as evidenced by her score to Amazon Studios film The Tender Bar, directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker
George Clooney and her co-score to the Lionsgate comedy Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar starring Kristen Wiig and Jamie Dornan.
She most recently became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and scored Sony Pictures/Screen Gems' The Invitation for which she received a 2023 SCL Award Nomination, Netflix's The Noel Diary directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Charles Shyer, and Universal's Strays starring Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx.
Her other credits include the Amazon series The Boys: Diabolical, the Warner Brothers animated feature Scoob! Holiday Haunt, the action crime drama Echo Boomers starring Michael Shannon, the Netflix series Bookmarks, the Universal/1440 animated feature Curious George: Cape Ahoy, the Netflix docu-series Trial By Media, the FX series Pride, and the
Karen Allen-starred film Colewell, for which she won a 2019 Hollywood
Music in Media award.
Dara is a proud Governor of the Recording Academy's LA Chapter, and a member of the Composers Diversity Collective, Television Academy, Society of Composers and Lyricists Early Career Committee, Alliance of Women Film Composers, and Women in Media.
