‘Project Hail Mary’ Composer Daniel Pemberton, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Songwriter EJAE Triumph at World Soundtrack Awards

By Ben Croll

Ben Croll

Latest

• ‘Project Hail Mary’ Composer Daniel Pemberton, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Songwriter EJAE Triumph at World Soundtrack Awards 20 minutes ago
• Lukas Dhont, Valentin Hadjadj Discuss ‘Coward’ Score, and Edward Berger, Volker Bertelmann Talk About Music for ‘The Riders,’ Starring Brad Pitt 1 week ago
• Composers, Filmmakers Sync Up at World Soundtrack Awards’ Film Music Days 1 week ago

Daniel Pemberton was named Film Composer of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards on Saturday, capping a prolific run that includes “Project Hail Mary,” “The Drama,” “The Bad Guys 2” and “Masters of the Universe.” The British composer has now won three times at the Ghent-based ceremony, taking the top prize in 2021 and Discovery of the Year in 2014.

For “Project Hail Mary,” Pemberton mined the unfamiliar for universal resonance, experimenting with wood, metal and glass and even drawing inspiration from a friend’s leaky faucet. “It was a case of throwing every crazy idea we could into the score, but at the same time, it had to be really emotional,” he said at a roundtable shortly before the closing ceremony. “I spent a lot of time trying to make people cry.”

Related Stories

Dominga Sotomayor’s Cannes' Directors Fortnight Film 'La Perra' Sells Internationally