Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino is an American soundtrack composer who has written the scores for many popular movies, television series and video games.

Giacchino's first major composition was for the DreamWorks's video game adaptation of the 1997 movie, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. The video game was the first PlayStation-only console title to be recorded with an original live orchestral score. Giacchino has since continued his relationship with DreamWorks, providing full orchestral scores for their Medal of Honor series, including Underground, Allied Assault and Frontline. He has since provided the scores for several more World War II-related video games like Secret Weapons Over Normandy, Call of Duty and Call of Duty: Finest Hour.

Giacchino's work on the various video games led to his first work on television. In 2001, J.J. Abrams, producer of the television series Alias, discovered Giacchino through his work on the video games and tapped Giacchino to provide the new show's soundtrack. The soundtrack featured a mix of full orchestral pieces, often mixed with upbeat electronic music, a departure from much of his previous work. Giacchino would also provide the score for J.J. Abrams's next project, the 2004 television series, Lost. Cited by The New Yorker music critic Alex Ross as "some of the most compelling film music of the past year," Giacchino's work on Lost won him the 2005 Emmy for Music Composition For A Series (Dramatic Underscore).

In 2004, Giacchino was given his first big film composition, when he was called on to provide the soundtrack for the Pixar film, The Incredibles. Director Brad Bird had heard Giacchino's work on Alias and asked him to work on the soundtrack for the new movie. The upbeat jazz orchestral sound was a departure in sound not only for Giacchino but for Pixar, who had previously relied on the works of Randy and Thomas Newman for all of their previous films. Brad Bird had originally sought out John Barry, who was best known for composing many of the early James Bond movie soundtracks, to compose the music, but was reportedly unable to write music that fit his old James Bond style. Giacchino was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2005 for his work on The Incredibles: Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media and Best Instrumental Composition.

Giacchino also composed scores for the 2005 film, Sky High and television movie, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. He is currently composing the score for the movie Mission: Impossible III which is directed by J.J. Abrams and is slated to be released in 2006. Also in 2005, Giacchino collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering in creating two new soundtracks for the updated versions of Space Mountain at Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.

Following the recent announcement that Incredibles director Brad Bird would be directing the next Pixar film, Ratatouille, it was announced that Giacchino will be providing that film's score.

Partial composer filmography

• BLACK (VG) (2006)
• Mission: Impossible III (2006)
• Looking For Comedy In the Muslim World (2006)
• The Family Stone (2005)
• The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (TV movie) (2005)
• Sky High (2005)
• Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction (VG) (2005)
• Call of Duty: Finest Hour (VG) (2004)
• The Incredibles (2004)
• The Incredibles Game (VG) (2004)
• Lost (TV) (2004-present)
• Secret Weapons Over Normandy (VG) (2003)
• Call of Duty (VG) (2003)
• Medal of Honor: Frontline (VG) (2002)
• Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (VG) (2002)
• Alias (TV) (2001-present)
• Medal of Honor: Underground (VG) (2000)
• Medal of Honor (VG) (1999)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (VG) (1997)

External links

• Official web site
• Michael Giacchino at IMDb
• Michael Giacchino discography at MusicBrainz
• SoundtrackNet Interview with Michael Giacchino
• Alex Ross column in The New Yorker