James Horner was a virtuoso: subtle, stirring – and astonishingly prolific

In 1997, James Cameron’s Titanic made its sensational appearance at the cinema, and with it a colossally popular soundtrack album of that movie’s powerhouse orchestral score by James Horner, which won him Oscars for original score and song. The album sold 30m copies – and continues to sell – featuring the song which he co-wrote, My Heart Will Go On, sung by Celine Dion. Horner’s aria of emotional defiance and survival, hurled like flotsam from the oceanic swell of his overall composition, was a key moment of the film, a moment which existed both inside and outside its narrative. When we saw Leo and Kate at the prow of the ship, when we remembered the awful final moments in the lifeboats, it was Horner’s music that thrummed through our hearts and minds.

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Tom Holland is the New Spider-Man and Will be Directed by Jon Watts

Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have announced that, following a lengthy casting process, actor Tom Holland (The Impossible, In the Heart of the Sea) will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man in their next Spider-Man film, which is set to hit theaters on July 28. 2017. In addition, director Jon Watts, director of the upcoming thriller Cop Car, will helm the feature.

Marvel and Sony Pictures, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal conducted an extensive search for both the actor and the director. The studios and producers were impressed by Holland’s performances in The Impossible, “Wolf Hall,” and the upcoming In the Heart of the Sea, and by a series of complex screen tests. Following Marvel’s tradition of working with the brightest next wave of directors, Watts also went through multiple meetings with Feige, Pascal, and the studio, before winning the job.

“It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job,” Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group Chairman, said. “The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.”

“As with James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and the Russo brothers, we love finding new and exciting voices to bring these characters to life,” Kevin Feige added “We spent a lot of time with Jon and find his take and work inspiring.”

Amy Pascal added, “Sony, Marvel, Kevin and I all knew that for Peter Parker, we had to find a vibrant, talented young actor capable of embodying one of the most well-known characters in the world. With Tom, we’ve found the perfect actor to bring Spider-Man’s story into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

Sony Pictures will finance and release worldwide the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Manfranchise, in a film co-produced by Kevin Feige and his expert team at Marvel and Amy Pascal, who oversaw the franchise launch for the studio 13 years ago. Together, they will collaborate on a new creative direction for the Web-Slinger.

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