Who is James Horner?

A Brief Biography of James Horner

James Roy Horner : August 14, 1953 - June 22, 2015

American composer, conductor, and orchestrator

Best remembered for use of choral and electronic elements as well as sound associated with Celtic music

Early Background -

First major score was for The Lady in Red (1979)

Established film composer as of 1982 with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Avid pilot

Career -

A-list Hollywood composer as of Star Trek:  The Wrath of Khan 

- Film scores in the 1980s -

48 Hrs. (1982)

Krull (1983)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Commando (1985)

Cocoon (1985)

Aliens (1986)

Batteries Not Included (1987)

Willow (1988)

Glory (1989)

Field of Dreams (1989)

- Collaborated with director, Ron Howard, frequently as of Cocoon

Scores for family films -

An American Tail (1986)

The Land Before Time (1988)

The Rocketeer (1991)

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991)

Once Upon a Forest (1993)

We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993)

The Pagemaster (1994)

Casper ... Jumanji ... Balto (1995)

Mighty Joe Young (1998)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Commercial Success Scores -

Braveheart ... Apollo 13 (1995)

Greatest Success Score -

Titanic (1997)

Avatar (2009) - Highest grossing film of all time

(Irony - James Cameron and James Horner had a rocky working relationship.)

Other Major Scores -

The Perfect Storm

A Beautiful Mind

Enemy at the Gates

The Mask of Zorro

The Legend of Zorro

House of Sand and Fog

Bicentennial Man

Television Score -

2006-2011 theme to the CBS Evening News*

*Horner wrote treatments to match the tone of the news

Critical acclaim -

- Academy Award nomination for Aliens (1987)

- Academy Award nomination - Best Original Song - for An American Tail (1987) ... "Somewhere Out There" 

- Academy Award nomination for Braveheart & Apollo 13

- Academy Award win for Best Original Dramatic Score - for Titanic (1998)

- Academy Award win for Best Original Song - "My Heart Will Go On" - for Titanic (1998) ... Horner shared this Oscar with co-writer Will Jennings

- 3 Grammy Awards for Titanic score & "My Heart Will Go On"

- 2 Golden Globe Awards for Titanic score & "My Heart Will Go On"

- Academy Award nomination for A Beautiful Mind (2001)

- Academy Award nomination for House of Sand and Fog (2003)

- Academy Award nomination - for Avatar

- Golden Globe nomination - for Avatar

- British Academy Film Award nomination - for Avatar

- Grammy Award nomination - for Avatar

- Max Steiner Award for Extraordinary Achievement in the Field of Film Music (2013)

(A greater extent of James Horner's background can be found on Wikipedia.)

My take away -

I am aware of Cocoon and Aliens.  I am aware of Titanic and Avatar.  I own Glory, Apollo 13, and A Beautiful Mind.  A Beautiful Mind - James Horner should have won the Oscar in 2001 because he was able to capture, musically, every mental state felt in every situation Russell Crowe found himself in while portraying John Nash.

Who is James Horner?

A gifted talent with lasting legacy.