King Richard (soundtrack) explained

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King Richard (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Type:film
Artist:Kris Bowers
Released:November 12, 2021
Recorded:2021
Studio:Eastwood Scoring Stage, Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California
Genre:Film score
Length:44:20
Label:WaterTower Music
Producer:Kris Bowers

King Richard (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2021 film of the same name directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and starred Will Smith. The film's original score composed by Kris Bowers, released on November 12, 2021 by WaterTower Music, with 18 tracks from the score and an original song "Be Alive" performed by Beyoncé.[1] It was also released as a single on the same date.[2] The song earned Beyoncé, her first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 94th edition of the ceremony held in March 2022, along with numerous accolades.[3] [4]

Development

For the film's score, Bowers used a prepared piano which was critical to emphasize familial warmth as well as driving it as a percussive vehicle to understand the sport of tennis, as well as how Serena and Venus changed the game. He intended to limit the sound palette in a somewhat literal way with strings and having felt on them, and a prepared piano was used into the score. He used putty, nails, ping-pong balls, clothespins, coins and pieces of paper to enhance the percussive sounds.[5] [6] Even though it diluted the string vibration, the sound resonated with piercing, unique power, which he admitted "In the beginning of the tennis match [in the film], we strip everything down just to prepared piano, so that it feels incredibly tense. And I wanted to create this rhythmic drive, so that the ball hitting felt like it was part of the music and the hits were almost punctuating parts of the score."[7]

The score was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of supervising the scoring process at his home studio, Bowers instead preferred to record the picture to big screen, which intended to assemble a large orchestra at Eastwood Scoring Stage in Warner Bros. Studios. Bowers wanted to steer clear of the motifs and themes heard in sporting films, to make the score unique as the film was put together in certain rhythm of mind. Apart from Green's direction, the film's editor Pamela Martin edited the matches to feel what the arc of the game was, resulting the film to be felt innovative. Rhythmically, he wanted the score to feel unpredictable as the game, hence he used several ambient and percussive sounds to immerse the viewers in the climax scenes.[8]

Richard's theme was the first of the cues Bowers scored for, which was a five-note theme. Explaining about the theme, Bowers said "I thought about a chord that could encompass both of those things. That incessant note starts on the first chord and it’s already a dissonance; it’s already a note that doesn’t really fit in that chord but still has a warmth to it." He also admitted that there is a melody in that theme which felt interesting to do variations for all of the themes, during the competition scenes, and serves as an inspiration for Venus' cue, which started soft and timid and later grows and swells with the big orchestral score accompanies it.[9]

Reception

Filmtracks.com wrote "Bowers achieves his purpose for King Richard and shows significant promise, but the work doesn't convince emotionally and stops well short of standing alongside the more inspirational sports scores of history."[10] Monica Castillo of TheWrap wrote "Composer Kris Bowers’ score is similarly rich and glowing, swelling the music just as Richard and the girls get their hard-won victories and touching moments."[11] Chris Tilly of IGN wrote "Kris Bowers’ music pays homage to Jerry Goldsmith’s Rocky score".[12]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)Result
Academy AwardsMarch 27, 2022Best Original SongDIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter for "Be Alive"[13]
Black Reel AwardsFebruary 27, 2022Outstanding Original Song"Be Alive" (Beyoncé and DIXSON)[14]
Critics' Choice Movie AwardsMarch 13, 2022Best Song"Be Alive"[15]
Gold Derby Film AwardsFebruary 27, 2022Best Original Song"Be Alive" (Beyoncé and DIXSON)[16]
Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 9, 2022Best Original Song"Be Alive" (Beyoncé and DIXSON)[17]
Hollywood Critics Association AwardsFebruary 28, 2022[18] Best Original Song"Be Alive" (Beyoncé and DIXSON)[19]
Hollywood Music in Media AwardsNovember 17, 2021Best Original Score in a Feature FilmKris Bowers[20] [21]
Best Original Song in a Feature Film"Be Alive" (Beyoncé and DIXSON)
Houston Film Critics SocietyFebruary 19, 2022Best PictureKing Richard[22]
Best ActorWill Smith
Best Supporting ActressAunjanue Ellis
NAACP Image AwardsFebruary 26, 2022Outstanding Soul/R&B Song"Be Alive" (Beyoncé and DIXSON)[23]
Satellite AwardsApril 2, 2022Best Original Song"Be Alive" (Beyoncé and DIXSON)[24]

Credits

Album credits
Performer credits

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Whipp . Glenn . September 3, 2021 . Will Smith just stole the Telluride Film Festival. And he could bring Beyoncé to the Oscars . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211123231453/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-09-03/will-smith-beyonce-oscars-king-richard-telluride . November 23, 2021 . September 4, 2021 . Los Angeles Times.
  2. Zemler . Emily . 2021-09-06 . New Beyoncé Song to Appear in Will Smith's 'King Richard' . Rolling Stone . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20220320004939/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/beyonce-king-richard-film-1220971/ . 2022-03-20 . 2021-09-08.
  3. News: Bahr . Sarah . 2022-02-08 . Beyoncé Scores Her First Oscar Nomination . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-02-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220603032145/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/movies/beyonce-oscar-nomination.html . 2022-06-03 . 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: Hipes . Patrick . February 8, 2022 . Oscar Nominations: 'The Power Of The Dog', 'Dune' Top List; 'Drive My Car' Among Big Surprises . https://web.archive.org/web/20220325115311/https://deadline.com/2022/02/oscar-nominations-list-of-nominees-1234928251/ . March 25, 2022 . February 8, 2022 . Deadline Hollywood.
  5. 2022-01-11 . 'King Richard' Composer Kris Bowers Has Something to Say . https://web.archive.org/web/20220124210722/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/01/awards-insider-kris-bowers-composer-king-richard . 2022-01-24 . 2023-06-29 . Vanity Fair . en-US.
  6. Web site: Tangcay . Jazz . 2021-11-20 . Kris Bowers on How the Prepared Piano Helped Him Ace the 'King Richard' Score . https://web.archive.org/web/20211130081330/https://variety.com/2021/artisans/news/kris-bowers-scoring-king-richard-1235116218/ . 2021-11-30 . 2023-06-29 . Variety . en-US.
  7. Web site: 2021-11-23 . How King Richard Composer Synced a Piano Note With a Tennis Shot . https://web.archive.org/web/20211124081623/https://www.thewrap.com/king-richard-composer-kris-bowers-piano-tennis-sync/ . 2021-11-24 . 2023-06-29 . TheWrap . en-US.
  8. Web site: Licuria . Rob . 2021-11-12 . Kris Bowers' innovative rhythmic score for 'King Richard' feels 'as unpredictable as the game is when you watch it play' [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW] ]. https://web.archive.org/web/20211112171617/https://www.goldderby.com/feature/kris-bowers-king-richard-composer-hbo-max-video-interview-1204565978/ . 2021-11-12 . 2023-06-29 . GoldDerby . en-US.
  9. Web site: Greiving . Tim . 2022-02-09 . How 'King Richard's' Kris Bowers became one of Hollywood's most in-demand composers . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214235855/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2022-02-08/kris-bowers . 2022-02-14 . 2023-06-29 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
  10. Web site: Filmtracks: King Richard (Kris Bowers) . https://web.archive.org/web/20211212000757/https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/king_richard.html . 2021-12-12 . 2023-06-29 . Filmtracks.com.
  11. Web site: 2021-11-18 . 'King Richard' Film Review: Will Smith's Turn as Venus and Serena Williams' Dad Anchors Unconventional Sports Biopic . https://web.archive.org/web/20211001202036/https://www.thewrap.com/king-richard-film-review-will-smith-venus-serena-williams/ . 2021-10-01 . 2023-06-29 . TheWrap . en-US.
  12. Web site: Tilly . Chris . 2021-10-22 . King Richard Review . https://web.archive.org/web/20211103193748/https://www.ign.com/articles/king-richard-review-will-smith . 2021-11-03 . 2023-06-29 . IGN . en.
  13. Web site: Nordyke . Kimberly . Lewis . Hilary . February 8, 2022 . Oscars: Full List of Nominations . https://web.archive.org/web/20220214234201/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscar-nominations-2022-nominees-list-1235088770/ . February 14, 2022 . February 8, 2022 . The Hollywood Reporter.
  14. Web site: The 2021 Black Reel Awards (BRAs) Nominations . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220512075829/http://www.nextbestpicture.com/2/post/2021/12/the-2021-black-reel-awards-bras-nominations.html . 2022-05-12 . 2021-12-22 . Next Best Picture . December 16, 2021 . en.
  15. Web site: 2021-12-13 . Film Nominations Announced for the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards . https://web.archive.org/web/20220207214514/http://criticschoice.com/2021/12/film-nominations-announced-for-the-27th-annual-critics-choice-awards/ . 2022-02-07 . 2021-12-14 . criticschoice.com . en-US.
  16. Web site: Daniel . Montgomery . January 27, 2022 . 2022 Gold Derby Film Awards nominations: 'Dune' leads with 11; 'The Power of the Dog,' 'West Side Story' at 10 each . https://web.archive.org/web/20220330054953/https://www.goldderby.com/feature/2022-gold-derby-film-awards-nominations-1204752092/ . March 30, 2022 . January 31, 2022 . Gold Derby.
  17. Web site: Lattanzio . Ryan . 2021-12-13 . 2022 Golden Globe Nominations: 'Licorice Pizza,' 'Squid Game,' 'West Side Story,' and More . https://web.archive.org/web/20230605150904/https://www.indiewire.com/awards/industry/golden-globe-nominations-2022-see-full-list-1234685129/ . 2023-06-05 . 2023-06-29 . IndieWire . en-US.
  18. Web site: The 5th Annual HCA Film Awards Ceremony Moves to Monday, February 28, 2022, Due to Rising COVID Concerns . https://web.archive.org/web/20220119052728/https://hollywoodcriticsassociation.com/the-5th-annual-hca-film-awards-ceremony-moves-to-monday-february-28-2022-due-to-rising-covid-concerns/ . 2022-01-19 . 2022-01-19 . Hollywood Critics Association . en-US.
  19. Web site: 2021-12-02 . The 5th Annual HCA Awards . https://web.archive.org/web/20220124234623/https://www.awardsdaily.com/2021/12/02/the-5th-annual-hca-awards/ . 2022-01-24 . 2021-12-02 . Awardsdaily . en-US.
  20. Web site: Tangcay. Jazz. 2021-11-04. Beyonce, Van Morrison, Hans Zimmer Receive Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations. 2021-11-09. Variety. en-US. November 13, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211113213158/https://variety.com/2021/music/awards/hollywood-music-media-awards-nominations-beyonce-hans-zimmer-1235104781/. live.
  21. Grein . Paul . November 4, 2021 . Ariana Grande, Beyonce & More Vie for Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Complete Film Nominations List . https://web.archive.org/web/20211105095623/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/9655114/ariana-grande-beyonce-hollywood-music-in-media-awards/ . November 5, 2021 . November 4, 2021 . Billboard.
  22. Web site: Darling . Cary . January 3, 2022 . 'The Power of the Dog' takes a bite out of Houston Film Critics Society's nominations . https://web.archive.org/web/20220124061459/https://preview.houstonchronicle.com/movies-tv/power-of-the-dog-takes-a-bite-out-of-16745441 . January 24, 2022 . January 3, 2022 . Houston Chronicle.
  23. Web site: Lewis . Hilary . 2022-01-18 . NAACP Image Awards: 'Harder They Fall,' 'Insecure' Lead Nominations . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220119024315/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/naacp-image-awards-2022-nominations-nominees-list-1235076593/ . 2022-01-19 . 2022-01-18 . . en-US.
  24. Web site: December 2, 2021 . Power of the Dog, Belfast Lead Nominations for IPA Satellite Awards . https://web.archive.org/web/20220118114510/https://www.thewrap.com/ipa-satellite-award-nominees-2021-power-of-the-dog/ . January 18, 2022 . December 2, 2021 . TheWrap . en-US.

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