BMI Hands Out Over 100 Awards at Annual Film/TV Gala
BMI honored the composers and songwriters of the music from the past year's top-grossing films, top-rated prime-time network television series and highest-ranking cable television shows at its annual Film & Television Awards dinner on May 12. Held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, the black-tie gala was hosted by BMI President and CEO Frances W. Preston. Preston and Doreen Ringer Ross, BMI's Vice President of Film/TV Relations, gave out more than 100 awards during the ceremonies.
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One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the BMI Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding Career Achievement to composer/artist Mark Mothersbaugh. Named after late BMI Vice President Richard Kirk, the prestigious award is given annually to the composer who has made significant contributions to film and TV music. Former recipients of the award include John Barry, Randy Edelman, Danny Elfman, Charlie Fox, Jerry Goldsmith, Earle Hagen, Michael Kamen, Alan Menken, Thomas Newman, Mike Post, Lalo Schifrin, Alan Silvestri, Richard and Robert Sherman, W.G. "Snuffy" Walden, John Williams, Patrick Williams and Hans Zimmer.
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| Mark Mothersbaugh | Mike Post |
One of the most unique and prolific contemporary composers in film, television, interactive media and commercials, Mothersbaugh was a founding member of influential rock group Devo, parlaying his avant-garde musical background into the world of scoring for filmed and animated entertainment. An artist both musically and in the literal definition, Mothersbaugh has created an aural framework with his scores for the forthcoming films Lords of Dogtown and The Life Aquatic, as well as having scored the hugely successful Rugrats television, stage and film franchise. He has also scored a diverse array of films and television shows, including Thirteen, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, 200 Cigarettes, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Happy Gilmore, The Mind of the Married Man, Power Puff Girls, Pee Wee's Playhouse, Beakman's World and more. With over 100 credits in the medium including over 400 commercial credits, Mothersbaugh is also co-owner of Mutato Muzika, an umbrella company that is home to a full-time staff of composers and music editors.
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At the dinner, Mothersbaugh was honored by some of the directors he's worked with, as well as by the characters from Rugrats. Director Wes Anderson (Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic) called Mothersbaugh a "conceptual artist...his studio is kind of like Andy Warhol's factory. He's very versatile, his mind is constantly spinning and coming up with different things, and he's not locked into any one direction. He's more interested in trying everything."
"What Mark brings to my movies that's the most important to me has to do with the tone to them," said Anderson. "He's drawn to something - his sense of humor and a sort of wistfulness to him - that is the right kind of chemistry for my movies. It fixes the oddness of the movies and mixes into it something that has to be just right, and somehow he knows where that needs to fall."
Director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown) said she was a fan of Motherbaugh's work and wanted him to score her directorial debut Thirteen but was afraid he might not want to do the low-budget film. "I just tried to think of things that would get him excited about doing it," she said. Describing a scene in the movie that she thought would appeal to his creative side, she said she asked him, "Mark would you be interested in creating the sound of brain cells popping?"
Hardwicke went on to describe Mothersbaugh as, "Quirky, crazy, super imaginative, super creative...you don't know what the answer will be and that's the fun of it. He will surprise you with something you didn't plan on, or didn't anticipate. That's what I like, I want to be surprised," she said. "He wants to make it work and delight you too. He gets into a character's head and understands that words can be too heavy handed. I think his music helps carry us places and makes us feel things."
Other top winners at the BMI Film & Television Awards included legendary composer Mike Post, who received the most nods with three for Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: CI. Also feted were double winning composers Don Davis for The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, David Newman for Daddy Day Care and The Cat In The Hat, Theodore Shapiro for Along Came Polly and Starsky & Hutch, Rolfe Kent for Freaky Friday and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Teddy Castellucci for Anger Management and 50 First Dates, Pete Townshend for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: Miami, and Rob Cairns for The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.
BMI also honored the composers of the highest-ranking cable television shows of the year, including Butch Hartman and Guy Moon for Fairly Oddparents and Danny Phantom, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh for All Grown Up, Stewart Copeland for The Amanda Show, Douglas Cuomo for Sex and the City, and Brian S. Friedman and Rick A. Friedman II for Punk'd.
The Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture was awarded to the band Korn for their song "Did My Time" from Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. "Did My Time" was written by Jonathan Davis, David Silveria, Munky, Fieldy and Head, and published by Evileria Music, Fieldysnuttz Music, Gintoe Music, Musik Munk Publishing and Stratosphericyoness Music.
BMI's Emmy Award winning composers were also honored, including Jeff Beal for Monk, Christopher Cerf and Glen Daum for Sesame Street, Lenny Williams and Chris Biondo for National Geographic Explorer - "Hornets From Hell," A.J. Gundell, Jerry Pilato, Dominic Messinger, Gary Kuo and Kim Oler for All My Children, John Henry Kreitler for "Forever Near" from Passions, and David Foster and Linda Thompson for "Aren't They All Our Children" from The Concert For World Children's Day.
Below is the complete list of 2004 BMI Film/TV Awards winners:
BMI Film Music Awards
David Arnold
2 Fast 2 Furious
Teddy Castellucci
Anger Management
50 First Dates
Don Davis
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
Danny Elfman
The Hulk
Steve Jablonsky
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Rolfe Kent
Freaky Friday
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Mark Mancina
Brother Bear
David Newman
Daddy Day Care
The Cat In The Hat
Thomas Newman
Finding Nemo
John Ottman
X2: X-Men United
Trevor Rabin
Bad Boys II
Graeme Revell
Freddy vs. Jason
Theodore Shapiro
Along Came Polly
Starsky & Hutch
Edward Shearmur
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
James Venable
Scary Movie 3
Craig Wedren
School of Rock
BMI Television Music Awards
Kenneth Douglas Berry
My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé
Walter Brandt
The Simple Life
William Brandt
The Simple Life
Tim Bright
Scrubs
Rob Cairns
The Bachelor
The Bachelorette
Charlie Clouser
Las Vegas
Martin Davich
ER
Mac Davis
Las Vegas
Kurt Farquhar
The King of Queens
Chad Fischer
Scrubs
Kenneth Gamble
The Apprentice
Josh Goldsmith
The King of Queens
Andrew Gross
The King of Queens
Leon Huff
The Apprentice
Anthony Jackson
The Apprentice
William Janovitz
Yes, Dear
John M. Keane
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Kevin Kiner
CSI: Miami
Chris Link
Scrubs
Jeff Lippencott
The Apprentice
Chuck Lorre
Two and A Half Men
Darryl Phinnessee
Frasier
Mike Post
Law & Order
Law & Order: SVU
Law & Order: CI
Graeme Revell
CSI: Miami
Peter Manning Robinson
Without A Trace
David Russo
CSI: Miami
Jan Stevens
Scrubs
Pete Townshend (PRS)
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Miami
W.G. Snuffy Walden
The West Wing
Mark T. Williams
The Apprentice
Allee Willis
Friends
Cathy Yuspa
The King of Queens
BMI Emmy Award Winners
Jeff Beal
Monk
Chris Biondo
National Geographic Explorer - "Hornets from Hell"
Christopher Cerf
Sesame Street
Glen Daum
Sesame Street
David Foster
"Aren't They All Our Children" from The Concert for World Children's Day
A.J. Gundell
All My Children
John Henry Kreitler
"Forever Near" from Passions
Gary Kuo
All My Children
Dominic Messenger
All My Children
Thomas Newman
Six Feet Under
Kim Oler
All My Children
Jerry Pilato
All My Children
Linda Thompson
"Aren't They All Our Children" from The Concert For World Children's Day
Lenny Williams
National Geographic Explorer - "Hornets from Hell"
BMI Cable Awards
David Bergeaud
Strong Medicine
Charlie Brissette
Jimmy Neutron
Brian Causey
Jimmy Neutron
Stewart Copeland
The Amanda Show
Douglas Cuomo
Sex and the City
Jeff Fair
The Division
Brian S. Friedman
Punk'd
Rick A. Friedman II
Punk'd
Butch Hartman
Fairly Oddparents
Danny Phantom
Jim Johnston
vWWF Monday Night RAW
Ron Jones
Fairly Oddparents
Christopher A. Lee
Drake & Josh
Peter Lurye
My Life As A Teenage Robot
Guy Moon
Fairly Oddparents
Danny Phantom
Bob Mothersbaugh
All Grown Up
Mark Mothersbaugh
All Grown Up
Starr Parodi
The Division
Danny Pelfrey
Strong Medicine
James Venable
My Life As A Teenage Robot
Howlin' Wolf
The Sopranos
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