PR: Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (Beltrami/Sanders)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAKESHORE RECORDS TO RELEASE THE SOUNDTRACK FOR
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

Soundtrack Features Original Music by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders

(August 29, 2011- Los Angeles, CA) – Lakeshore Records will release the Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark -- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack available digitally on August 30th and in stores on September 27, 2011 in conjunction with the release of the film by FilmDistrict on August 26th. Based on the 1973 telefilm that Guillermo del Toro believes to be the scariest TV production ever made, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was co-written and co-produced by del Toro and directed by Troy Nixey. Academy Award-nominated duo Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders (The Hurt Locker) composed the original score.

“The score began with Guillermo del Toro's request for a lullaby for Sally,” said Beltrami. “He and Troy Nixey also asked that we take inspiration from not only the original film's score by Billy Goldenberg but also the classic 60's and 70's horror scores of Jerry Goldsmith, Krzysztof Komeda and Bernard Herrmann. Those were refreshing challenges compared to today's current horror sound and we decided to do a predominantly orchestral score that would feature woodwinds, 2 harps and vibraphones.”

“Another homage to older horror scores,” added Sanders, “was the use of analog effects processing that was popular in the day. In working with our recording engineer, John Kurlander, we chose specific instruments to have spot microphones that were later effected with vintage Echoplex tape delay and Leslie speaker swirling.”

Upon completing undergraduate study at Brown University, Marco Beltrami entered the Yale School of Music. His pursuit of music composition then lead him to Venice for a period of study with the Italian master, Luigi Nono and then finally to Los Angeles to undertake a fellowship with Academy Award-winning composer, Jerry Goldsmith.

Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, Marco landed Wes Craven's Scream embarking on what would become the widely successful terror franchise. In his approach to scoring the film, he threw away conventional horror music clichés.

After Scream, Marco went on to write his critically acclaimed score for Guillermo del Toro's Mimic, bringing him to the attention of the entire film music industry. This was the first of several collaborations with del Toro, including Hellboy and now Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. Marco has been nominated twice for Academy Awards for Best Score. First, for 3:10 to Yuma, his score to 2010 groundbreaking Best Picture, The Hurt Locker, which he co-composed with Buck Sanders.

Sanders became Beltrami’s assistant in 1997. He began producing and co-composing scores with Beltrami writing additional cues for such films as Max Payne, Blade II and Hellboy. He earned his first Academy Award nomination for 2010 The Hurt Locker.

In Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, architect Alex Hurst (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) are hard at work restoring the Gothic Blackwood Manor to its original splendor. Alex’s young daughter Sally (Bailee Madison)—neglected by her real mother and brushed aside by the careerist father— is left to investigate the macabre history and dark corners of the estate. Spurring Sally's investigation are the voices—rasping whispers who call out to her from the basement, who promise her understanding and friendship, who are so very hungry and would like to be set free. When Sally gives in to her curiosity, she opens a gateway into a hellish underworld from which an army of beady-eyed, sharp-clawed monsters emerge, small in size but endless in number: the homunculi. Confronted with the horror that now threatens to taker her life and destroy her family, Sally desperately tries to warn the whole house, but there's just one problem: no one believes her. Will she make them understand in time, or will they become another chapter in the centuries-long horror story of Blackwood Manor?

FilmDistrict presents Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark in theaters on August 26, 2011. The Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Lakeshore Records will be released digitally on August 30th and in stores on September 27, 2011.

ABOUT FILMDISTRICT:
FilmDistrict is a multi-faceted acquisitions, distribution and financing company focusing on wide release, commercial pictures. Founded by Graham King and Tim Headington’s GK Films, in partnership with Peter Schlessel, the company’s upcoming releases include DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK, August 26; DRIVE, September 16; THE RUM DIARY, October 28; IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY, December 23; PLAYING THE FIELD, March 9, 2012 and LOCKOUT, April 13, 2012. The company’s initial films, INSIDIOUS and SOUL SURFER, have collectively grossed over $95 million to date at the US Box Office. For more information, visit filmdistrict.com or call (646) 380-4470.

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Preview the album here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F0ZwU5lO0