Comedy Action Reel for Amazon MGM Studios
The Bubble
Comedy | Action
The cast and crew of the blockbuster action franchise Cliff Beasts attempt to shoot a sequel while quarantining at a posh hotel.
Starring Karen Gillan, Pedro Pascal, Leslie Mann, Fred Armisen, Keegan-Michael Key, David Duchovny, Iris Apatow, Guz Khan
Produced and directed by Judd Apatow
Music by Michael Andres and Andrew Bird
Additional music by David Reynolds
Mike Andrews brought me on board to score all the big orchestral Cliff Beasts 6 movie-in-the-movie music along with a few other key scenes. We recorded the orchestra in LA on the Warner Bros. stage. Amazing fun to write this kind of epic movie music and have it recorded with such fantastic musicians!
YES DAY
Comedy | Family
A mom and dad who usually say no decide to say yes to their kids' wildest requests with a few ground rules on a whirlwind day of fun and adventure.
Starring Jennifer Garner, Edgar Ramirez, Jenna Ortega, Julian Lerner, Everly Carganilla
Directed by Miguel Arteta
Produced by Ben Eveard, Lloyd Eveard, Jennifer Garner, Lawrence Grey
Music by Michael Andrews
Additional music by David Reynolds and Dave Connor
Yes Day - “Kablooey” (partial clip)
This cue nimbly moves between tongue-in-cheek epic action and light-hearted comedy hitting every beat along the way. It culminates with a mariachi inspired theme as Mom (Jennifer Gardener) and daughter (Jenna Ortega), square off for the big showdown! Mom is commin’ for you, kids!
Kablowey is a wild, no holds-barred game that combines Capture the Flag and paintball, but with Kool-Aid filled water balloons!
Once again I collaborated with composer Mike Andrews, using some of his thematic material to score this epic action comedy scene. This cue was a ton of fun to write because it required the music to nimbly move between tongue-in-cheek epic orchestral action music and lighter comedic moments hitting every beat along the way. The end of the cue features a mariachi inspired theme as mom (Jennifer Garner) and daughter (Jenna Ortega) square off for the big showdown!
Ready. Set. Kablowey!
Daddy's Home 2
Comedy | Family
Having finally gotten used to each other's existence, Brad and Dusty must now deal with their intrusive fathers during the holidays.
Starring Will Farrell, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Jon Lithgow
Directed by Sean Anders
Produced by Molly Allen, Sean Anders, Will Farrell, Chris Henchy
Music by Michael Andrews
Music arrangements by David Reynolds and Dave Connor
Daddy’s Home 2 - “Kurt’s Pep Talk” (partial clip)
Down to his last ball, Dylan has not struck a pin. One more gutter ball and he will bowl a perfect ZERO! The music for this scene needed to start tenderly under Kurt’s (Mel Gibson) pep talk, then build the suspense as Dylan rolls his final ball, and finally culminate with a big orchestral hero finish!
C’mon Dylan!
These cues are a mix of Mike Andrews’ themes and original material of mine. They were recorded with the Hollywood Studio Orchestra on the Warner Brothers scoring stage.
Once again, it was a pleasure to work with Mike and contribute to another hilarious film!
Get Smart
Comedy | Action
Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell), analyst for the secret spy agency CONTROL, alongside the experienced Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), must prevent KAOS, an enemy agency from Russia, from bringing disaster to America.
Starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway
Directed by Peter Segal
Produced by Michael Ewing, Alex Gartner, Charles Roven
Music by Trevor Rabin
Additional music by David Reynolds and Paul Linford
I love Steve Carell. When Trevor Rabin asked me to write additional music for this film, I didn’t hesitate to say yes! Musically, this film required a delicate balance between action and comedy writing. The music had to have just the right tone and be nimble enough to turn (or stop) on a dime to enhance the action and punctuate all the comedy.
G-Force
Action | Adventure | Comedy | Family
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer brings his first 3-D film to the big screen with "G-Force," a comedy adventure about the latest evolution of a covert government program to train animals to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws.
Starring Bill Nighy, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis
Directed by Hoyt Yeatman
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Music by Trevor Rabin
Additional music by David Reynolds and Paul Linford
Recorded at The Sony Scoring Stage, Culver City, CA
This was another amazing opportunity to write additional music for Trevor Rabin. Once again, I scored some of the epic action sequences - including our heroes battling an evil coffee maker come to life, a scene where all types of appliances come to life and attack, and a battle with a sinister microwave/toaster hybrid monster.
Writing the action music for these furry, lovable, high-tech, spy-guy guinea pigs was a challenge because the music’s tone needed to strike a delicate balance between exciting action, family-friendly fun and excitement. That meant the music needed to help drive the action with excitement and strong themes, but never get overly dark and dangerous.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Action | Adventure | Comedy
Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Balthazar can't do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protégé. The sorcerer gives his unwilling accomplice a crash course in the art and science of magic, and together, these unlikely partners work to stop the forces of darkness.
Starring Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina
Directed by John Turteltaub
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Music by Trevor Rabin
Additional music by David Reynolds and Paul Linford
Recorded at The Sony Scoring Stage, Culver City, CA
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice - “Dragon Transform”
Featuring traditional Chinese drums, cymbals and koto, this cue acknowledges the Chinese New Year celebrations surrounding (and chasing) our heroes, while the score magnifies all the action and punches up the comedy. “Go team magical stuff!”
Trevor Rabin brought me in to write additional music. One of my assignments was to score several of the film's big set pieces; including a massive Chinese paper dragon come to life to chase our hero through an apartment building, and the Wall Street bull statue, also come to life, chasing our heroes and smashing up cars while simultaneously the apocalypse begins as the dead are raised from their graves.
My work on this wasn't limited to scoring action scenes, I also scored a few comedy scenes. Loads of magical fun!
Recording Sessions Photo Gallery
Unaccompanied Minors
Comedy | Family | Adventure
Spencer and his little sister, Katherine, are flying to Pennsylvania for Christmas with their dad. While changing planes, a blizzard moves in and cancels all flights out of Hoover Airport: they must stay in a basement room with the other unaccompanied minors. Spencer and four others go AWOL and get in trouble with Mr. Porter, the Christmas-hating airport supervisor. The five misfits spend the night evading and enduring Porter's punishments, discovering all sorts of things in back rooms, making sure Katherine gets her visit from Santa, and finding among themselves a new kind of family.
Starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Dyllan Christopher
Directed by Paul Feig
Produced by Lauren Shuler Donner
Music by Michael Andrews
Mike Andrews asked me to help out on this film. The first sequence I scored was "Luggage Chase," a comedy action sequence that called for the music to mimic all the comedic onscreen action (Carl Stalling style) as the characters chased and tumbled their way through a massive airport luggage conveyer system.
One of the musical highlights of this film was “The Ho Ho Song.” Mike wrote a peppy comedic Santa song to score a night-time downhill sledding chase that contained plenty of prat falls and comedic misadventures. He asked me to create an orchestral arrangement around his song that would catch all the onscreen action and add another layer of excitement. The filmmakers loved the result so much, they used the song with accompanying orchestral arrangement again in the end credits so audiences could hear it all on its own!