John Debney
John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores.[1] His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres including comedy, horror, thriller, and action-adventure. He is a long-time collaborator of The Walt Disney Company, having written music for their films, television series, and theme parks.
John Debney | |
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 Debney at ComicCon 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Cardon Debney |
| Born | August 18, 1956 Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Film scores, soundtracks |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
| Instruments | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1977-present |
| Associated acts | Jerry Goldsmith, Louis Febre, Danny Elfman |
| Website | www |
Debney has been the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004).
Early life and education
The son of Disney Studios producer Louis Debney (Zorro, The Mickey Mouse Club), John was born and raised in Glendale, California, nearby to Disney. He began guitar lessons at age six and played in rock bands in college. Debney earned his B.A. degree in Music Composition from the California Institute of Arts in 1979. Two weeks after graduating from CalArts, he got a job at copying department at Disney. One day, Buddy Baker saw him and had him arrange music that would later be used for different pavilions and rides at EPCOT Center (at Walt Disney World in Florida).[2]
Career
After three years at Disney, he freelanced for television composer Mike Post. Debney furthered his hands-on training by working with Hanna-Barbera composer Hoyt Curtin. After this, Debney went on to score television projects as diverse as Disneyland, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, SeaQuest DSV, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The Cape, The Lazarus Man, Piggsburg Pigs!, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Doctor Who, Cagney and Lacey, Tiny Toon Adventures, The Young Riders, The New Yogi Bear Show, Police Academy: The Animated Series, Fame, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Dragon's Lair, Freshman Dorm, Pop Quiz and Dink, the Little Dinosaur, for which he won an Emmy for Best Main Title. In the early 1990s, Debney began to score indie films and Disneyland attractions. In 1991, Debney composed the music for Phantom Manor and It's a Small World in Disneyland Paris and SpectroMagic at Magic Kingdom. In 1993, he scored his first studio feature, the Disney comedy Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler.
Debney has since gone on to have a career composing scores for many films including: The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Elf, Sin City, Chicken Little, Liar Liar, Spy Kids, The Scorpion King, The Princess Diaries[3] and Predators.[4]
Debney has also composed scores for the video games Lair and The Sims Medieval. In 2010, he composed the theme music for the Nickelodeon television series Supah Ninjas.
He composed of Disney Parks's Nighttime Spectaculars, including: World Of Color Celebrate! in Disney's California Adventure, The Magic, The Memories And You! and Celebrate The Magic in Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom and Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo Disneyland.
Filmography
Film
1980s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Wild Pair | Beau Bridges | Composed with Michel Colombier |
| 1988 | The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck | David Keith | N/A |
| Seven Hours to Judgment | Beau Bridges | N/A | |
| Not Since Casanova | Brett Thompson | N/A | |
| 1989 | Trenchcoat in Paradise | Martha Coolidge | N/A |
1990s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Jetsons: The Movie | William Hanna Joseph Barbera | N/A |
| 1993 | Hocus Pocus | Kenny Ortega | N/A |
| 1994 | Gunmen | Deran Sarafian | N/A |
| White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf | Ken Olin | N/A | |
| Little Giants | Duwayne Dunham | N/A | |
| 1995 | Chameleon | Michael Pavone | Direct-to-video |
| Houseguest | Randall Miller | N/A | |
| Runaway Brain | Chris Bailey | Short film | |
| Cutthroat Island | Renny Harlin | N/A | |
| Sudden Death | Peter Hyams | N/A | |
| 1996 | Getting Away with Murder | Harvey Miller | N/A |
| Carpool | Arthur Miller | N/A | |
| 1997 | The Relic | Peter Hyams | N/A |
| Liar Liar | Tom Shadyac | Themes by James Newton Howard | |
| I Know What You Did Last Summer | Jim Gillespie | N/A | |
| 1998 | Paulie | John Roberts | Nominated- IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Comedy Film |
| I'll Be Home for Christmas | Arlene Sanford | N/A | |
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | Donald Petrie | N/A |
| Lost & Found | Jeff Pollack | N/A | |
| Inspector Gadget | David Kellogg | N/A | |
| Dick | Andrew Fleming | N/A | |
| Komodo | Michael Lantieri | N/A | |
| The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland | Gary Halvorson | N/A | |
| End of Days | Peter Hyams | N/A |
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | I Still Believe | Erwin Brothers | N/A |
| Clifford the Big Red Dog | Walt Becker | Post-production | |
| Jingle Jangle | David E. Talbert | Post-production |
Television
Video games
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Lair | N/A |
| 2011 | The Sims Medieval | N/A |
| 2018 | Madden NFL 19 | N/A |
| 2020 | Madden NFL 21 | N/A |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: Texas Rising (with Bruce Broughton) (2015) | Nominated |
| 2012 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score): Hatfields & McCoys: Part 1 (with Tony Morales) (2012) | Nominated |
| 2005 | Academy Award – Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score: The Passion of the Christ (2004) | Nominated |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Main Title Theme Music: The Cape (1996) | Nominated |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore): The Cape: Pilot (with Louis Febre) (1996) | Won |
| 1994 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music: SeaQuest DSV (1993) | Won |
| 1991 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore): The Young Riders: Kansas (1989) | Won |
| 1990 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music: The Young Riders (1989) | Nominated |
References
- "John Debney - Award-winning Composer". John Debney. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
- Burlingame, Jon (2009-11-10). "Go-to composer grew up in Disney family - Entertainment News, Billion-Dollar Composer: John Debney, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- "John Debney to Score 'Predators' Prequel". Bloody-disgusting.com. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- "A Peek Behind the Scenes of a Predators Scoring Session". Dreadcentral.com. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
- "John Debney to Score Ivan Reitman's 'Draft Day' | Film Music Reporter". 25 November 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
External links
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