Biography for
Thomas Newman (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

20 October 1955, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Thomas Montgomery Newman

Nickname

Tommy

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Spouse

Ann Marie Zirbes

(? - ?) 3 children

Trade Mark

Tuned percussion (e.g. marimba, chimes) often plays a part in his scores, figuring especially prominently in American Beauty (1999).

Almost always plays piano on his own scores, typically during slow, moody passages.

Trivia

Son of composer Alfred Newman; nephew of Lionel Newman and Emil Newman; cousin of Randy Newman; brother of composer David Newman, Maria Newman; cousin of composer Joey Newman.

Graduated from Yale University with a masters in music composition Keyboard player for "The Innocents" rock band

Has 3 children - Evan, Julia & Jack.

During the 2000 Summer Olympics, parts of his scores to Erin Brockovich (2000), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), and How to Make an American Quilt (1995) (and possibly others) were played on NBC during short biographies of certain athletes.

As with the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, pieces from Newman's scores were used amidst biographies of Olympians such as Leann Parsley during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Part of his score to The War (1994) was used in the trailers to both American Beauty (1999) and Life as a House (2001).

Prior to scoring Reckless (1984), Newman wrote music for off-Broadway productions, theater, and bands "The Innocents" and "Tokyo 77".

Lives in the house in which he grew up (designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright), and writes in the same home studio used by his father Alfred Newman.

Part of his score to Unstrung Heroes (1995) was used in the trailer for Adaptation. (2002).

Parts of his scores to both American Beauty (1999) and Pay It Forward (2000) were used in the trailer for About Schmidt (2002).

Parts of his score to The Shawshank Redemption (1994) were used in the trailer for Brokeback Mountain (2005), and All the King's Men (2006).

During Tina Turner's video biography at the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors, part of Oprah Winfrey''s narration was accompanied by a portion of Newman's score to Road to Perdition (2002).

Part of his score to Jarhead (2005) was used in the trailer for The Last King of Scotland (2006).

Has scored at least one Oscar-nominated film every year since 1994: 1994: The Shawshank Redemption (1994) (Nominee: Best Pic, etc.), Little Women (1994) (Nominee: Best Score, etc.) 1995: Unstrung Heroes (1995) (Nominee: Best Score) 1996: The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) (Nominee: Best Director, etc.) 1997: Oscar and Lucinda (1997) (Nominee: Best Costume Design) 1998: The Horse Whisperer (1998) (Nominee: Best Song) 1999: American Beauty (1999) (Winner: Best Pic, etc.), The Green Mile (1999) (Nominee: Best Pic, etc.) 2000: Erin Brockovich (2000) (Nominee: Best Actress, etc.) 2001: In the Bedroom (2001) (Nominee: Best Pic, etc.) 2002: Road to Perdition (2002) (Nominee: Best Score, etc.) 2003: Finding Nemo (2003) (Winner: Best Animated Feature, etc.) 2004: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) (Nominee: Best Makeup, etc.) 2005: Cinderella Man (2005) (Nominee: Best Supporting Actor, etc.) 2006: The Good German (2006) (Nominee: Best Score), Little Children (2006) (Nominee: Best Actress, etc.).

Scored 2/5 of the Best Picture nominees in 1999: American Beauty (1999) and The Green Mile (1999).

Part of his score to "Angels in America" (2003) was used in the trailer for Love in the Time of Cholera (2007).

Part of his score for "Angels in America" (2003) was used in the trailer for Milk (2008/I).

Personal Quotes

On his inspiration for his American Beauty (1999) score: "Sam [Mendes] wanted things that hammered and thwacked a bit. He was interested in percussion and mallet instruments, so I started working on various ideas that involved xylophones and marimbas."

I hate the notion that electronics are a cheesy way of doing things and that orchestra is the only 'true' approach to scoring. But you can understand those critics, because electronics allow you to make easy choices. Anyone can do it. But while synthesizers are things you hide behind sounds, they can also be put in places you'd never expect. I've always wanted these boundaries to be amorphous.

The great thing about doing movie music is that you find out what you're capable of. You may think you're incapable of producing a certain rhythm, but it's your job to solve that problem. If you open your mind, an idea will lead you to the next one.

I think I like smaller [scores] better, because I find more interesting places that the music can go. When you're working with a 90-piece symphony, your interaction with the players is much different. You're standing on a podium and talking to a large number of musicians. So the notion of nuance becomes a group effort and that's a difficult thing to get. I keep thinking of ways to communicate better, to scale down the orchestra's size so it will fit into my ambient palette instead of lying on top of it.

I feel like I know how to write in a similar style to my dad, but I prefer a score like 'Unstrung Heroes' just because it gives me more of a unique voice. If I were to do a movie about space, I bet just by virtue of musical and dramatic expectations, I would have less of a chance to be original. Music can only follow the movie that it's in. Robert Altman's 'The Player' allowed me a high sense of irony. Other movies aren't so smart and want to go towards the teary middle ground. And if you're being honest to the task you kind of have to follow it there, even though it may not be your taste. You have to make it more of what it is.

I remember a teacher once asked me, what makes music sad? What a brilliant question. His answer was, it takes on the physical qualities of something sad. Meaning if it's sad, a melody will move in step-wise manner. It will tend to be slower as you are when you're sad; it takes on the physical characteristics of an emotional state. Something in the music rings and carries you back to a memory you have that elicits a feeling. I guess what's wonderful about music is that it's utterly abstract and yet has a great kind of sinuous, subjective emotional reaction. I like the idea that music can be dimensional, that it's not necessarily playing what's there.

Response to inquiry about working appropriately so that the composer will produce a score in keeping what the idea in the film director's mind: "I'm more prone to pain avoids... I'd rather be rejected in the workroom than on the podium. There's a moment where the director squares off with the music."

Regarding hearing a remix of his score to American Beauty (1999): "I was flattered and horrified. We don't own our own music, it's typically owned by the companies that hire you."

Bernard Herrmann is my big favorite [score composer]. He created such a strong presence. And having been down that road, I admire his courage. I admire the fact that he had something to say and he took the bull by the horns and said it no matter what. And I like a lot of Jerry Goldsmith's stuff. I thought the score to Chinatown was an exquisite piece of Hollywood writing. And John Williams.

No, I've failed seven times - this will be my eighth. (In answer to the statement that he had failed to win an Oscar eight times, just prior to the 2007 Academy Awards ceremony)

Composing movie music can really only be mastered through experience and much failure on a pragmatic level. When you write a great piece and your director hates it, what now? You just have to try something else. Or if your director says, 'This scene feels dry and empty without music, but I'm hard-pressed to know what that music should sound like,' that's when you decide: 'Lets slather a lot of musical ideas against the image and see what happens.'

My approach is to deepen the action through subtext as opposed to commenting on the drama, which is what often happens with bad movie music. Audiences tend to resent that. I try to be passive enough as a composer to where I'll realize: 'Oh, I'm stepping all over the actors here.'

I flew to England to see the rough cut of 'Revolutionary Road.' I was quite moved. As a married man, it's kind of a disturbing to see a couple try so hard to work things out and fail so miserably. How do you suggest hope and hopelessness at the same time? You start thinking along the lines of the lift of a phrase followed by the droop of a phrase.

About 8 nominations and 0 wins at the Oscars: Losing makes you strong. I like being the underdog.

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