For Immediate Release
WARNER BROS. RECORDS TO RELEASE HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK
ON JULY 10TH
Soundtrack to Fifth Installment of Blockbuster Harry Potter Film Franchise
Scored by Award-Winning British Composer Nicholas Hooper
(June 14, 2007, Burbank, CA): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - the score to the highly anticipated
feature film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - will be released by
Warner Bros. Records on Tuesday, July 10th, the day before the movie opens in
theatres across the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday, July 11th.
The fifth installment of the blockbuster fantasy adventure franchise has been
scored by award-winning British composer Nicholas Hooper, who has enjoyed a
long association with the film's director, David Yates. Hooper and Yates have
worked extensively together in television, as well as on the feature The
Tichborne Claimant. Most recently, Hooper won the 2007 BAFTA TV Award for Best
Original Music for his score for the telefilm Prime Suspect - The Final Act,
starring Helen Mirren. He was also nominated for a 2006 BAFTA TV Award for his
score to the Yates-directed drama The Girl in the Café. Hooper follows in the
footsteps of the previous Harry Potter composers: Patrick Doyle, who scored
2005's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and John Williams, who composed the
music for the first three Harry Potter films, which together were nominated for
three Grammy Awards and two Oscars, and sold more than a million copies
worldwide.
Based on the fifth book in the series of best-selling novels by British author
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix finds Harry (Daniel
Radcliffe) returning for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to discover
that much of the wizarding community has been led to believe that the story of
the teenager's recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is
a lie, putting Harry's integrity in question. Worse, the Minister for Magic,
Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy), has appointed a new Defense Against the Dark
Arts teacher, the duplicitous Professor Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). But
Professor Umbridge's "Ministry-approved" course of defensive magic leaves the
young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the Dark Forces
threatening them, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and
Ron (Rupert Grint), Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly
with a small group of students, Harry teaches them how to defend themselves
against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the
extraordinary battle that lies ahead.
"I saw the scoring of this Harry Potter film as a great opportunity to work
with such important themes on a grand scale," Hooper says. "David Yates and I
started early, even before filming started, working on such themes as Ministry
of Magic, Umbridge, and Voldemort. However, as we came closer to the final cut,
the music developed beyond what we had first imagined, so there was that
inevitable race against time. My process is one of discovery, rather than
having a specific plan. This can be nerve-wracking, but it has its creative
benefits."
Hooper recorded nearly two hours of music at London's fabled Abbey Road
Studios, famous for its acoustics and ambience. His team included engineer
Peter Cobbin (the Lord of the Rings trilogy), and conductor Alastair King
(Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) who conducted the Chamber
Orchestra of London. "The team was the best around," Hooper says. "We had a
complete rapport and I always felt that they knew what we were trying to
achieve."
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films production, Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson,
Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael
Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan
Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Emma
Thompson, and Julie Walters. Directed by David Yates, the film is produced by
David Heyman and David Barron, with Lionel Wigram executive producing. The
screenplay is by Michael Goldenberg, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling.
Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company, will release the
film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on July 11th, 2007 in the United
States and Canada.
###
For further information, please contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit
www.harrypottersoundtrack.com
