{"id":116132,"date":"2023-02-07T09:39:46","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T14:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=116132"},"modified":"2023-02-07T09:39:48","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T14:39:48","slug":"stephen-gallagher-to-compose-music-for-the-war-of-the-rohirrim-anime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2023\/02\/07\/116132-stephen-gallagher-to-compose-music-for-the-war-of-the-rohirrim-anime\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Gallagher to compose music for The War of the Rohirrim anime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"intro\">Moviescore, a site dedicated to tracking film music, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/moviescorewire\/status\/1621949825959825408?cxt=HHwWgMC8vb6xqYItAAAA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reports<\/a> that New Zealand composer and award-winning music editor Stephen Gallagher has been tapped to score the music for Kenji Kamiyama&#8217;s The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83c\udfac <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wbpictures?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@wbpictures<\/a> has confirmed to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/moviescorewire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@moviescorewire<\/a> that Stephen Gallagher, music editor on the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thehobbitmovies?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@TheHobbitMovies<\/a>, will score next year&#39;s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/animation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#animation<\/a> &quot;The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim&quot; for director Kenji Kamiyama. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kixyuubann?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kixyuubann<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SteveG_Music?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SteveG_Music<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LordOfTheRings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LordOfTheRings<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/filmmusic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#filmmusic<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OST?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#OST<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CmIiScRLdr\">pic.twitter.com\/CmIiScRLdr<\/a><\/p>&mdash; MovieScore Wire (@moviescorewire) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/moviescorewire\/status\/1621949825959825408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 4, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Gallagher is probably best-known to Tolkien fans for his work on The Hobbit where, as well as working as music editor on all three films, he composed the songs &#8216;Blunt the Knives&#8217; and &#8216;The Torture Song&#8217; for An Unexpected Journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player lazyload\" width=\"1170\" height=\"659\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_JBHPFiFWRk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0302498\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Perusing<\/a> IMDB reveals that Gallagher has previously composed music for a range of <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/stephen-gallagher\/vaka-main-title\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">documentaries<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/stephengallagher.bandcamp.com\/album\/zealandia-original-motion-picture-soundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">short films<\/a>, but arguably this is his most prominent compositional role to date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also has a decades-long career as music editor spanning big productions like Avatar: The Way of Water, District 9 and Wolf Warrior 2 to niche films such as Amy Berg&#8217;s West Of Memphis and Peter Jackson&#8217;s The Lovely Bones. Last year, he won an Emmy Award for his sound work on Peter Jackson&#8217;s The Beatles: Get Back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>IMDB states that he&#8217;s currently based at Park Road Post Production in Wellington &#8212; a facility that&#8217;s owned by Peter Jackson&#8217;s WingNut Films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The War of the Rohirrim is slated to release on April 12, 2024. Director Kenji Kamiyama is also currently co-directing on the final season of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/anime.php?id=25567\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ultraman<\/a> with Shinji Aramaki which will debut on Netflix sometime in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SPECULATION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A speculatory post-script. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was idly chatting with TORn staffer Justin about the leak\/confirm and he wondered if the selection of Gallagher could indicate a return to the style of music that was the hallmark of the Rankin Bass animated features. After all, Blunt the Knives in An Unexpected Journey is very much a homage to the sing-along style of the animated Hobbit of 1977.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player lazyload\" width=\"1170\" height=\"659\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pSYZ-5mVRN4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, I&#8217;m inclined to say no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I feel that both Blunt the Knives and The Torture Song (as sung by Barry Humphries) owe more to a combination of the children&#8217;s tale-nature of Tolkien&#8217;s novel and the comedic sensibilities of Peter Jackson (Meet the Feebles, anyone?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, the tale of Helm Hammerhand is far grimmer. It&#8217;s also a little tempting to add that Kamiyama animes typically play the material straight, but then the quirky Tachikomas (AI spider tanks\/mechs) of the Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex animated series are a spectacular outlier. Kamiyama leverages them in multiple ways: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ItJS_enZ-vs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">surreal comics<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LLvlozh6ysY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">action heroes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lNY53tZ2geg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">philosophers<\/a>, and ultimately as beings capable of <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/rbj5EI0yfug\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">self-sacrifice<\/a>. The &#8220;cute&#8221; Tachikoma moments don&#8217;t devalue the serious ones. In fact, they make them more rounded characters (I dare say, more human &#8212; a crucial point to the story Ghost in the Shell explores). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if Kamiyama <em>could<\/em> see a way that a quirky, lyrically focused tune would serve the needs of the Helm story, he absolutely has the chops to pull it off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neverthless, I think it&#8217;s probably better to calibrate musical expectations more in line with the thoroughly grounded nature of Kamiyama&#8217;s acclaimed adapatation of the fantasy story <a href=\"https:\/\/myanimelist.net\/anime\/1827\/Seirei_no_Moribito\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Serei no Moribito<\/a>. If nothing else, it&#8217;s still difficult to get folks to take anime as a serious artform that&#8217;s not &#8220;just for kids&#8221; without hobbling your production with a bunch of cutesy tunes. I&#8217;m surer Warner Bros. will be keenly aware of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All that being said, we know that Miranda Otto <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/vShw-Uj0lZw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">has a very fine singing voice<\/a>. If, as \u00c9owyn, she&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2022\/06\/28\/113412-exclusive-philippa-boyens-talks-the-war-of-the-rohrrim-with-theonering-net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">relating this tale to someone<\/a> (like her grandchild Barahir) there&#8217;s certainly an opportunity for her to sing in the intro, or some lament as the outro at the end. I like that idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player lazyload\" width=\"1170\" height=\"659\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/heVNb4ureTo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Moviescore, a site dedicated to tracking film music, reports that New Zealand composer and award-winning music editor Stephen&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":116133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[95,3925,392],"tags":[1715,3765,1783,2906,4072,221,3644,3774],"class_list":["post-116132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lotrrumours","category-the-war-of-the-rohirrim","category-warner-bros","tag-composer","tag-kenji-kamiyama","tag-ost","tag-soundtrack","tag-stephen-gallagher","tag-the-hobbit","tag-war-of-the-rohirrim","tag-warner-bros-animation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BWStephenGallagher_Studio.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tLoH-ud6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116132"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116142,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116132\/revisions\/116142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}