| John Powell | |
| Background: | non_performing_personnel |
| Born: | 18 September 1963 |
| Origin: | London, England |
| Genre: | Film scores |
| Occupation: | Composer, Conductor, Music producer |
| Instrument: | Piano |
| Years Active: | 1990-present |
John Powell (born 18 September 1963) is a English film score composer, based in Los Angeles.
Powell originally trained as a violinist as a child, before studying at London's Trinity College of Music. He later ventured into jazz and rock music, playing in a soul band "The Fabulistics". On leaving college, he composed music for commercials, which led to a job as an assistant to the composer Patrick Doyle on several film productions, including Much Ado About Nothing.
In 1995, he co-founded the London-based commercial music house Independently Thinking Music, which produced scores for more than 100 British and French commercials and independent films.
Since moving to the U.S. in 1997, he has scored a number of comedy and action films, including Robots, The Italian Job, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Shrek, Chicken Run (co-composed with Harry Gregson-Williams), Endurance, , Jumper, Face/Off, and Horton Hears a Who!.
Powell's additional credits include Drumline, , United 93, and Happy Feet, for which he received the first ever Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for an Animated Feature Film. He is one of the best known former members of the Remote Control (formerly known as Media Ventures) team of film composers and has a scoring style that incorporates both traditional orchestral and more modern, synthesized elements. A good example of this is his opening cue for the Sean Penn film, I Am Sam, which features found sounds (for example, cups scraping on tabletops, and the percussive sounds of cutlery being laid) as part of the music. His latest work includes Bolt by Disney in 2008.
Powell lives in Los Angeles, California, United States, married to photographer Melinda Lerner. They have a son, five cats, and a dog.
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Stay Lucky |
| 1994 | The Wild Heels |
| 1996 | High Incident |
| Human Bomb | |
| 1997 | Face/Off |
| 1998 | Antz (with Harry Gregson-Williams) |
| With Friends Like These… | |
| Endurance | |
| 1999 | Chill Factor |
| Forces of Nature | |
| 2000 | Chicken Run (with Harry Gregson-Williams) |
| The Road to El Dorado (with Hans Zimmer) | |
| 2001 | Evolution |
| I Am Sam | |
| Just Visiting | |
| Rat Race | |
| Shrek (with Harry Gregson-Williams) | |
| 2002 | The Bourne Identity |
| D-Tox | |
| Drumline | |
| Pluto Nash | |
| Two Weeks Notice | |
| 2003 | Agent Cody Banks |
| Gigli | |
| Paycheck | |
| Stealing Sinatra | |
| The Italian Job | |
| 2004 | Alfie |
| Mr 3000 | |
| The Bourne Supremacy | |
| 2005 | Be Cool |
| Mr & Mrs Smith | |
| Robots | |
| 2006 | |
| United 93 | |
| Happy Feet | |
| 2007 | The Bourne Ultimatum |
| Stop-Loss | |
| PS, I Love You | |
| 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! |
| Jumper | |
| Kung Fu Panda (with Hans Zimmer) | |
| Hancock | |
| Bolt | |
| 2009 | |
| Green Zone |