New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ CineMedia Promotions) - La-La Land Records will be releasing the soundtrack for the human vs. angels saga, Legion.
John Frizzell (Whiteout, Alien: Resurrection, Office Space) composed the original score, which will be available in-stores and via their website www.lalalandrecords.com on January 19, 2010. Scott Stewart's supernatural thriller LEGION, scripted by
Peter Schink, concerns a group of strangers in an out-of-the-way eatery who become the first line of defense when God, believing the human...
Scott Stewart's supernatural thriller Legion, scripted by Peter Schink, follows a group of strangers in an out-of-the-way eatery who become the first line of defense when God, believing the human race is no longer worthy of Him, decides to end their existence. This motley crew's only spiritual ally is the archangel Michael, played by Paul Bettany. Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Charles S. Dutton, and Lucas Black co-star in the Screen Gems production.
'Legion was a challenging film to make. A tonal tightrope walk,' director Stewart describes. He found his partner in composer John Frizzell. 'What was most exciting for me,' Stewart continues, 'was watching how John was able to draw from all of these various moods and tonalities to craft a score for Legion that feels cohesive, original and singular in its vision.'
To create these supernatural tonalities for Legion, Frizzell centered the score utilizing strings and low brass instruments, not using woodwinds or trumpets for the score at all. 'Wrapped all around these dark and often low-pitched orchestral sounds, I strove for a web of synthetic sounds that would evoke the supernatural, the divine, and the horrific,' said Frizzell.
He did so employing what he calls 'frozen sounds'. Frizzell describes, 'I create these 'frozen sounds' by taking one or two second audio files of different instruments and stretching them to 30 seconds or more using various audio processing software. After processing these sounds through various plug-ins/outboard gear, I end up with what feels both electronic, yet very human and expressive at the same time, perhaps the sonic equivalent of the 'uncanny valley', yet intentionally created.' This is exemplified by the track 'Percy's Story.'
Though there is no dialog on the soundtrack, Frizzell wrote the music around Paul Bettany's voice. Frizzell described, 'Paul's way of expressing dialogue has an innate sense of rhythm and fluidity that practically makes the words feel like an instrument. In many key scenes, I felt like I was arranging around another musical aspect of the film.'
John Frizzell began his musical career singing in the chorus of the Paris Opera Company and the Metropolitan Opera Company as a child. He studied at the USC School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music. Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Frizzell met and subsequently collaborated with composer James Newton Howard on The Rich Man's Wife and Dante's Peak before scoring his first feature film on his own Beavis and Butt-head do America. Since that time Frizzell has composed for a wide range of films Including Alien: Resurrection, Gods and Generals, Henry Poole is Here, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, Office Space and Thir13en Ghosts.
An advocate for film music issues, Frizzell has served on the Executive Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has instructed graduate students at USC Thornton School of Music, and was the Honorary President of the 2007 International Film Music Conference in Ubeda, Spain.
Screen Gems presents Legion in theaters on January 22, 2010. The original soundtrack will be available at www.lalalandrecords.com and in stores on January 19th.
