Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor known for his film and television scores.
He is best known for his frequent collaboration with Robert Zemeckis, composing for such major hit films as the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cast Away, and Forrest Gump, as well as the superhero films Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, and Avengers: Infinity War. His other film scores include Predator and its sequel Predator 2, The Abyss, Stuart Little, The Mummy Returns, Lilo & Stitch, Night at the Museum, and Ready Player One. He is a two-time Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee, and a three-time Saturn Award and Primetime Emmy Award recipient.
Early life and education[]
Silvestri's grandparents emigrated in 1909 from the Italian town of Castell'Alfero, and settled in Teaneck, New Jersey.[2] He grew up in Teaneck,[3] and attended Teaneck High School.[4] He went to Berklee College of Musicfor two years. Alan was a drummer for a short time in 1966 with Teaneck-based rock band The Herd.
Career[]
Silvestri started his film/television composing career in 1972 at age 21 composing the score for the low-budget action film The Doberman Gang.
From 1977 to 1983, Silvestri served as the main composer for the television series CHiPs, writing music for 95 of the series' 139 episodes.
Silvestri met film director Robert Zemeckis when the two worked together on Zemeckis's film Romancing the Stone (1984). Since then, Silvestri has composed the music for all of Zemeckis's movies, including the Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf(2007), A Christmas Carol (2009), Flight (2012) and The Walk (2015).
In 1989, Silvestri composed the score for the James Cameron-directed blockbuster The Abyss, and is also known for his work on the films Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990), both of which are considered preeminent examples of action/science fiction film scores. Since 2001, Silvestri has also collaborated regularly with director Stephen Sommers, scoring the films The Mummy Returns (2001), Van Helsing (2004), and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). His most recent work includes The Avengers (2012), The Croods (2013), Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
Silvestri has also composed music for television series, including T. J. Hooker (one episode), Starsky & Hutch (three episodes), Tales from the Crypt (seven episodes). In 2014, he composed the award-winning music for the science documentary series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.
On January 31, 2014, it was announced that a stage musical adaptation of Back to the Futurewas in production.[5] The show, which is being co-written by original writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, was expected to be performed in 2015, on the 30th anniversary year of the film.[6] Silvestri[7] will team up with Glen Ballardto compose a new score, with the addition of original songs from the film, including "The Power of Love", "Johnny B. Goode", "Earth Angel" and "Mr. Sandman".[8]
Personal life[]
Silvestri and his wife Sandra own a vineyard, Silvestri Vineyards, located in Carmel Valley, California.[9]
Discography[]
Films[]
1980s[]
| Year | Title | Director | Studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Fandango | Kevin Reynolds | Amblin Entertainment Warner Bros. |
N/A |
| 1986 | The Clan of the Cave Bear | Michael Chapman | Producers Sales Organization Warner Bros. |
N/A |
1990s[]
| Year | Title | Director | Studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Bodyguard | Mick Jackson | Tig Productions |
Won - BMI Film Music Award |
| 1993 | Grumpy Old Men | Donald Petrie | Warner Bros. | Won - BMI Film Music Award |
| 1995 | Grumpier Old Men | Howard Deutch | Warner Bros. | Won - BMI Film Music Award |
| 1997 | Contact | Robert Zemeckis | Warner Bros. | Eighth collaboration with Robert Zemeckis Won - ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films |
2000s[]
| Year | Title | Director | Studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Showtime | Tom Dey | Village Roadshow Pictures |
Also conductor and orchestrator |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | Robert Zemeckis | Shangri-La Entertainment |
Eleventh collaboration with Robert Zemeckis Also conductor |
| 2007 | Beowulf | Robert Zemeckis | Shangri-La Entertainment ImageMovers |
Twelfth collaboration with Robert Zemeckis Nominated — World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film |
2010s[]
| Year | Title | Director | Studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Ready Player One | Steven Spielberg | Village Roadshow Pictures |
Fourth Spielberg theatrical film without his long-time composer John Williamssince Twilight Zone: The Movie(1983),The Color Purple(1985), Bridge of Spies (2015), and Silvestri's first collaboration with Steven Spielberg |
Television series[]
| Year | Title | Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–1983 | CHiPs | 95 episodes | |
| 1989–1995 | Tales from the Crypt | Episodes: "And All Through the House" "Abra Cadaver" |
References[]
- ^
- ^ Meredith May, "Alan Silvestri pairs music with wine", SFGate (June 7, 2013).
- ^ ASCAP Henry Mancini Award, ASCAP. Accessed October 21, 2008. Mannhattan-born and Teaneck, New Jersey-bred, Silvestri attended Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music before joining a Las Vegas band as a guitarist."
- ^ Coutros, Evonne. "THE DRUMMER WHOM `GUMP' MARCHES TO", The Record (Bergen County), March 26, 1995. Accessed October 21, 2008. "Nearly three decades after Alan Silvestri drummed out beats for the Teaneck High School band, he's hoping to march to the podium Monday night to collect an Oscar."
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- ^ . Silvestrivineyards.com. Retrieved on May 2, 2012.
- ^https://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=1065
External links[]
Alan Silvestri at the Internet Movie Database- Alan Silvestri on The Polar Express Wiki
