JAMES HORNER’S 62ND BIRTHDAY: ALL IS THERE

"Timelessness is not what we are but what we remain. My music will be for me, on a scale that I still hope to climb."

"Somewhere I am spiritually this tree, this bird, only to believe in Mother Nature. And I believe it. But more than Nature, there is Love and Nature."

"I was privileged to work as James’ music editor on over 75 films spanning 28 years. Losing him is like losing a limb.
He loved movies and his understanding and sensitivity to the role music plays in the soundtrack was unparalleled.  His spirit was communicated in the beautiful and emotional melodies he wrote for so many of the films that defined his era.  Whether using the full orchestra or a single piano line he always got to the heart of a scene without overpowering it.  
Working with James allowed me to work with the finest musicians, playing his incredible music, in the finest studios in the world.  We also shared a deep personal relationship and I will always be grateful for his kindness and his friendship."

 

Jim Henrikson

Music Editor

"We are in shock and grieving the loss of a great artist and great friend. His craftsmanship was incredible, his dramatic sense was unique, and his music touched people around the globe. He was also a very smart, funny, considerate man. He made an unforgettable impression on me, and I'm so grateful for the many adventures and opportunities that he included me in. My deepest sympathies go out to his family and loved ones."

 

Joe E Rand

Music Editor

"James had a gift which stretched beyond his outstanding musical talent, the power to better people's lives. He did this through his art, but also in the everyday, turning the ordinary into something rather sublime, just by being present and open. He filled the air with magnificence and fine humour, a reflection of his undying  "joie de vivre".  I will never forget his generosity and the trust he put in me from the very first moment we met – and I feel so lucky to have known him, to have sung for him, and so grateful for our conversations about life, love and flying."

 

Clara Sanabras
Singer

"Rene and I are shaken by the tragic death of James Horner, whom we considered a friend. We will always remember his kindness and great talent that changed my career. We send our prayers and deepest condolences to his family and friends."

 

Céline Dion

Singer

source: celinedion.com

"Like all of you I was shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic accident that took the life of one of the world's most creative composers and collaborators. One of the highlights of my career was working with James on The Rocketeer. He was very excited to write the score for a film that featured one of his great passions, aviation. James had watched a rough cut of the film and invited me into his studio to hear his idea for the main theme. He sat down at the piano and played the very simple and eloquently beautiful melody, playing the keys with one hand. With a few simple notes he somehow captured the essence of the story and set to music the romance and adventure of another time. After he finished scoring the film I asked him to autograph the sheet music for the Main Title. It is still one of my cherished possessions and his score for The Rocketeer is my all time favorite. It was an unforgettable honor to work with James and I will miss him and all the wonderful scores that we will never be allowed to enjoy. Thank you, James, for all you have given us."

 

Joe Johnston

Filmmaker

"The loss of James Horner is a profound one for all who loved his music and the movies he elevated so brilliant through his work.
Those of us who had the opportunity to work with and befriend James will miss his wit, his intelligence, his fascination with the world and his remarkable talent and taste.
I was fortunate to collaborate with James on seven movies, none of which would have been the same without his genius.
He will be missed, though his remarkable music will live on. My heart goes out to his loved ones.
Rest In Peace, James."

Ron Howard

Filmmaker

source: facebook.com

"He was my friend and the closest collaborator. One of those people I thought I would be working with forever. I never guessed that he would go first. I love you, James! You genius, mensch and friend.
One of the few people in this world, who "got" me. Now there are almost none left. He gave me his talent and generosity. I am absolutely broken over this."
 

Vadim Perelman

Filmmaker

source: facebook.com

"We became close friends and he was often at our place. He was warm, caring and always had time for the people he met. It was a fantastic experience working with him. He was a genius in all his simplicity. He made it sound beautiful without having to use unnecessary effects."
 

Harald Zwart

Filmmaker

source: NRK

"A rare artistic genius. He did not merely augment the image he was presented with, he was able to transcend its matter and logic & travel straight to the heart and soul with his magical gift … a gift that truly reflected his own heart & soul. I will miss him."

 

Mel Gibson

Filmmaker

source: people.com

"James is – he was an incredible human being. He was a filmmaker through and through. He was one of the most gentle people I've ever met. Even the way he spoke was very soft and thoughtful. He was magical. And he had this childlike wonderment in his eyes, but he was an amazing artist, an amazing poet."

 

Antoine Fuqua

Filmmaker
source: npr.org

"I was doing a lot of thinking about James when I heard the news and I checked online. The beginning and end of his filmography are films that he did, or would have done, with me. It’s a curious bookend. We both started out on the same film in 1980, and his last listed films are the Avatar sequels, which he would have begun later this year.

We only worked together three times, and each time it was a decade apart — Aliens in the mid-eighties, Titanic in the mid-90s and Avatar in ‘08 and ‘09.

I met him on Battle Beyond the Stars, which was my first film getting a paycheck. I entered as a junior model builder and ended up three months later as production designer, which could only happen on a Roger Corman production. The score was absolutely the best thing about the film. It was a full-on orchestral score, not some rinky-dink synth score. After that I ran into him a few times and Gale Hurd and I, being Corman alums, watched him skyrocketing.
He was the obvious choice to do Aliens but we got off to a bad start. It was a time in his career when he was overbooking himself. He recorded the whole score in a day and a half in London and then he was gone. We wound up editing the score ourselves. He got an Academy Award nomination, so he thanked me afterwards but we both allowed that was not the best way to do things.
When I was doing Titanic, he had just done Apollo 13 and Braveheart. I thought, “I don’t care what happened, I want to work with James.” We had this very cautious meeting where we were falling all over ourselves to be polite. We laughed about it so much in subsequent years. But we developed a very transparent means of communication which made for a great working relationship. He totally committed himself to the movie. He blocked out his schedule and sat down and watched maybe 30 hours of raw dailies to absorb the feeling of the film.

I asked if he could write some melodies. I believe that a great score really consists of something you can whistle. If that melody gets embedded in your mind, it takes the score to a different level. I drove over to his house and he sat at the piano and said, “I see this as the main theme for the ship." He played it once through and I was crying. Then he played Rose’s theme and I was crying again. They were so bittersweet and emotionally resonant. He hadn’t orchestrated a thing, and I knew it was going to be one of cinema’s great scores. No matter how the movie turned out, and no one knew at that point — it could have been a dog — I knew it would be a great score. He thought he had done only five percent of the work, but I knew he had cracked the heart and soul.
My one regret after that production — or the one I remember in this context — is that I didn’t get to go to most of the orchestral scoring sessions. I made it to one. But the orchestra loved him. He always worked with a lot of the same players. Unlike most composers, he also conducted. He was classically trained. It was his room and they were sure to make something great. If I thought maybe there was something that wasn’t supporting the picture, he could turn on a dime and make it work.

Avatar was in some ways the trickier film. It didn’t lend itself to big, sweeping themes the way Titanic did. He did a lot of research with an ethnomusicologist to find different sounds. He did an awful lot of experimentation. The score is a bit richer than maybe people perceive. You start layering in all the sound design and some of the texture of the score gets lost in the mix. I wound up having to fight for the score, as you typically do. Composers always think the score should be more prominent.
A couple of months ago, in April, they did a night at the Royal Albert Hall where the orchestra did the entire Titanic score live to the movie. James was there to take his bows. Jon Landau and I went to London just for the concert, and we had a kind of reunion. It was emotional and I'm glad that was my last personal memory of James."

source : Hollywood Reporter

 

"James was a close friend and an inspiring collaborator, When we worked together he drove me and I drove him to be the best we could be. With his music, he elevated my films and all those he scored. In the music of cinema he stands with a tiny group of masters. His scores were soaring, majestic, pulse-pounding, richly textured and above all, emotional, he wrote music from the heart, and he had a big beautiful heart.

Our work together spanned 30 years, with the ups and downs of a married couple – and what was left in the end was love, vast admiration and a giddy excitement about doing it all again. The only thing he loved as much as music was aviation. Just as he would soar among the clouds with his music, he did it for real in planes and helicopters. He was uncompromising in his pursuit of excellence, both in the creation of a new score, and in defying gravity with his aerobatics. And although gravity sometimes wins, nothing will ever extinguish the soaring of James' mind and heart, which will live on forever in his music.

I will miss his humor and intelligence, his genuine warmth as a human being. And I will miss the music that never gets written now, the scores I longed to hear. I will miss the give and take of two artists working together, as two opinionated guys who always managed to get the best out of each other and remain best of friends afterward.

Thank you, James. Fly brother."

 

James Cameron

Filmmaker

source: people.com