King Richard (soundtrack)
| King Richard (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film score by | ||||
| Released | November 12, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Studio | Eastwood Scoring Stage, Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 44:20 | |||
| Label | WaterTower Music | |||
| Producer | Kris Bowers | |||
| Kris Bowers chronology | ||||
| ||||
King Richard (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2021 film of the same name directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and starred Will Smith. The film's original score composed by Kris Bowers, released on November 12, 2021 by WaterTower Music, with 18 tracks from the score and an original song "Be Alive" performed by Beyoncé.[1] It was also released as a single on the same date.[2] The song earned Beyoncé, her first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 94th edition of the ceremony held in March 2022, along with numerous accolades.[3][4]
Development
For the film's score, Bowers used a prepared piano which was critical to emphasize familial warmth as well as driving it as a percussive vehicle to understand the sport of tennis, as well as how Serena and Venus changed the game. He intended to limit the sound palette in a somewhat literal way with strings and having felt on them, and a prepared piano was used into the score. He used putty, nails, ping-pong balls, clothespins, coins and pieces of paper to enhance the percussive sounds.[5][6] Even though it diluted the string vibration, the sound resonated with piercing, unique power, which he admitted "In the beginning of the tennis match [in the film], we strip everything down just to prepared piano, so that it feels incredibly tense. And I wanted to create this rhythmic drive, so that the ball hitting felt like it was part of the music and the hits were almost punctuating parts of the score."[7]
The score was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of supervising the scoring process at his home studio, Bowers instead preferred to record the picture to big screen, which intended to assemble a large orchestra at Eastwood Scoring Stage in Warner Bros. Studios.[6] Bowers wanted to steer clear of the motifs and themes heard in sporting films, to make the score unique as the film was put together in certain rhythm of mind. Apart from Green's direction, the film's editor Pamela Martin edited the matches to feel what the arc of the game was, resulting the film to be felt innovative. Rhythmically, he wanted the score to feel unpredictable as the game, hence he used several ambient and percussive sounds to immerse the viewers in the climax scenes.[8]
Richard's theme was the first of the cues Bowers scored for, which was a five-note theme. Explaining about the theme, Bowers said "I thought about a chord that could encompass both of those things. That incessant note starts on the first chord and it’s already a dissonance; it’s already a note that doesn’t really fit in that chord but still has a warmth to it."[6] He also admitted that there is a melody in that theme which felt interesting to do variations for all of the themes, during the competition scenes, and serves as an inspiration for Venus' cue, which started soft and timid and later grows and swells with the big orchestral score accompanies it.[9]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Kris Bowers, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Family Dinner" | 2:00 | ||
| 2. | "The Plan" | 3:12 | ||
| 3. | "Unexpected" | 2:12 | ||
| 4. | "Hitting" | 0:41 | ||
| 5. | "Practice" | 2:18 | ||
| 6. | "First Match" | 1:44 | ||
| 7. | "Carbon Mesa" | 2:58 | ||
| 8. | "That's Our Job" | 2:16 | ||
| 9. | "Fired" | 1:18 | ||
| 10. | "So You Wanna Play?" | 1:00 | ||
| 11. | "Court Day" | 1:43 | ||
| 12. | "Stafford" | 3:52 | ||
| 13. | "Both Girls" | 2:22 | ||
| 14. | "Venus vs. Vicario" | 2:30 | ||
| 15. | "First Set" | 3:18 | ||
| 16. | "Vicario" | 2:02 | ||
| 17. | "Match" | 2:05 | ||
| 18. | "Family" | 3:09 | ||
| 19. | "Be Alive" | Beyoncé | 3:40 | |
| Total length: | 44:20 | |||
Reception
Filmtracks.com wrote "Bowers achieves his purpose for King Richard and shows significant promise, but the work doesn't convince emotionally and stops well short of standing alongside the more inspirational sports scores of history."[10] Monica Castillo of TheWrap wrote "Composer Kris Bowers’ score is similarly rich and glowing, swelling the music just as Richard and the girls get their hard-won victories and touching moments."[11] Chris Tilly of IGN wrote "Kris Bowers’ music pays homage to Jerry Goldsmith’s Rocky score".[12]
Accolades
Credits
- Album credits
- Music – Kris Bowers
- Additional music – Michael Dean Parsons
- Producer – Kris Bowers, Max Wrightson
- Orchestration – Edward Trybek, Henri Wilkinson, Jonathan Beard
- Conductor – Fabrizio Mancinelli
- Programming – Kris Bowers, Brian Bender
- Recording – Alan Meyerson
- Mixing – Steve Kaye
- Mastering – Gavin Lurssen, Reuben Cohen
- Score editor – Jason Ruder
- Pro-tools operator – John Traunwieser
- Music co-ordinator – Khamani Hagood, Pierre Charles
- Score co-ordinator – Jasper Randall, Peter Rotter
- Music preparation – Jordan Cox
- Music business and legal affairs – Ari Taitz
- Executive in charge of music (WaterTower Music) – Jason Linn
- Executive in charge of music (Warner Bros. Pictures) – Darren Higman, Paul Broucek
- Soundtrack co-ordinator (Warner Bros. Pictures) – Kari Miazek
- Production manager (WaterTower Music) – Sandeep Sriram
- Performer credits
- Bass – BJ Johnson, Stephen Pfeifer, Thomas Harte, Geoffrey Osika
- Cello – Caleb Jones, Eric Byers, Giovanna Clayton, Hillary Smith, Steve Erdody, Vanessa Freebairn-Smith, Jacob Braun
- Harp – Lara Somogyi
- Orchestra – The Hollywood Studio Symphony
- Percussion – Abraham Rounds
- Piano – Seoyon MacDonald
- Viola – Alma Fernandez, David Walther, Jerome Gordon, Zach Dellinger, Linnea Powell, Luke Maurer, Lynne Richburg, Meredith Crawford, Michael Larco, Robert Brophy, Shawn Mann, Andrew Duckles
- Violin – Amy Hershberger, Ana Landauer, Bruce Dukov, Charlie Bisharat, Eun-Mee Ahn, Helen Nightengale, Jacqueline Brand, Jessica Guideri, Josefina Vergara, Kevin Kumar, Lorand Lokuszta, Luanne Homzy, Max Karmazyn, Maya Magub, Natalie Leggett, Phillip Levy, Rhea Fowler, Roberto Cani, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Shalini Vijayan, Stephanie Matthews, Tamara Hatwan, Tereza Stanislav, Wynton Grant, Benjamin Jacobson
- Concertmaster – Alyssa Park
References
- ^ Whipp, Glenn (September 3, 2021). "Will Smith just stole the Telluride Film Festival. And he could bring Beyoncé to the Oscars". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
- ^ Zemler, Emily (September 6, 2021). "New Beyoncé Song to Appear in Will Smith's 'King Richard'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ Bahr, Sarah (February 8, 2022). "Beyoncé Scores Her First Oscar Nomination". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (February 8, 2022). "Oscar Nominations: 'The Power Of The Dog', 'Dune' Top List; 'Drive My Car' Among Big Surprises". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ "'King Richard' Composer Kris Bowers Has Something to Say". Vanity Fair. January 11, 2022. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c Tangcay, Jazz (November 20, 2021). "Kris Bowers on How the Prepared Piano Helped Him Ace the 'King Richard' Score". Variety. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "How King Richard Composer Synced a Piano Note With a Tennis Shot". TheWrap. November 23, 2021. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ Licuria, Rob (November 12, 2021). "Kris Bowers' innovative rhythmic score for 'King Richard' feels 'as unpredictable as the game is when you watch it play' [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]". GoldDerby. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ Greiving, Tim (February 9, 2022). "How 'King Richard's' Kris Bowers became one of Hollywood's most in-demand composers". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "Filmtracks: King Richard (Kris Bowers)". Filmtracks.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "'King Richard' Film Review: Will Smith's Turn as Venus and Serena Williams' Dad Anchors Unconventional Sports Biopic". TheWrap. November 18, 2021. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ Tilly, Chris (October 22, 2021). "King Richard Review". IGN. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ Nordyke, Kimberly; Lewis, Hilary (February 8, 2022). "Oscars: Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ "The 2021 Black Reel Awards (BRAs) Nominations". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ "Film Nominations Announced for the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards". criticschoice.com. December 13, 2021. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- ^ Daniel, Montgomery (January 27, 2022). "2022 Gold Derby Film Awards nominations: 'Dune' leads with 11; 'The Power of the Dog,' 'West Side Story' at 10 each". Gold Derby. Archived from the original on March 30, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (December 13, 2021). "2022 Golden Globe Nominations: 'Licorice Pizza,' 'Squid Game,' 'West Side Story,' and More". IndieWire. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "The 5th Annual HCA Film Awards Ceremony Moves to Monday, February 28, 2022, Due to Rising COVID Concerns". Hollywood Critics Association. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
- ^ "The 5th Annual HCA Awards". Awardsdaily. December 2, 2021. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ Tangcay, Jazz (November 4, 2021). "Beyonce, Van Morrison, Hans Zimmer Receive Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ^ Grein, Paul (November 4, 2021). "Ariana Grande, Beyonce & More Vie for Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Complete Film Nominations List". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
- ^ Darling, Cary (January 3, 2022). "'The Power of the Dog' takes a bite out of Houston Film Critics Society's nominations". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (January 18, 2022). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Harder They Fall,' 'Insecure' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
- ^ "Power of the Dog, Belfast Lead Nominations for IPA Satellite Awards". TheWrap. December 2, 2021. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2021.