Kong Score Drama

I've mentioned before that I'm a dork when it comes to movie soundtracks. More often than not, the score will be released a week or so prior to the film. So, about a month ago I started to do some digging to make sure Howard Shore would be once again collaborating with Peter Jackson on King Kong.

Needless to say, I was a little shocked to find out that James Newton Howard was at the helm.

Now, Newton Howard is a fine composer. I honestly don't collect much of his stuff, but I feel his score to Waterworld was one of that movie's only saving graces. (That and the fact that the film finally ended. And gills. Kevin Costner's gills were cool. Everyone likes gills.) And I hadn't really been a huge fan of Shore's before LOTR. But, obviously, he won me over there - three of the most heartfelt and sweeping scores to be written in decades. I really didn't understand why Jackson would not turn to the man who had already added two Oscars to his trilogy's impressive tally.

Well. It turns out he did start off with Shore....

And then 7 weeks before the film is set to premiere, he decided to hand the project over to Newton Howard.

During the last few weeks, Howard and I came to realize that we had differing creative aspirations for the score of King Kong. Rather than waste time arguing with a friend and trying to unify our points of view, we decided amicably to let another composer score the film.

While I'm not quite sure it was "amicable", I can't imagine being in Newton Howard's position and coming up with a score in 7 weeks.

:::Puts on Billy Joel's Pressure:::

Was anyone else aware of this? Does anyone else really care....?

I really am a dork aren't I?