Carter Burwell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Carter Benedict Burwell[1] (1954-11-18)November 18, 1954 (age 71)[2] New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film composer |
| Instrument | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Website | carterburwell |
Carter Benedict Burwell (born November 18, 1954) is an American film composer. He receivedAcademy Award nominations forBest Original Score forTodd Haynes'sCarol (2015) andMartin McDonagh's filmsThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) andThe Banshees Of Inisherin (2022). He has frequently collaborated with theCoen brothers, having scored most of their films. He has also scored films by other directors such asBill Condon,Spike Jonze,James Foley,Brian Helgeland, andJohn Lee Hancock.
Burwell was born inNew York City, the son of Natalie (née Benedict), a math teacher, and Charles Burwell, who founded Thaibok Fabrics, Ltd.[1] He graduated fromKing School inStamford, Connecticut[3] with George Hofecker and other notables andHarvard College, where he was a cartoonist forThe Harvard Lampoon.
As a film composer, Burwell has had a long-working relationship with theCoen brothers, providing music for every film they have made (except forInside Llewyn Davis andO Brother, Where Art Thou?). Among his best known film scores areMiller's Crossing (1990),And the Band Played On (1993),Conspiracy Theory (1997),Hamlet (2000),The Spanish Prisoner (1997),Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007),In Bruges (2008),Twilight (2008),Where the Wild Things Are (2009),The Blind Side (2009), andBreaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) andPart 2 (2012). Burwell wrote and recorded the original score for the filmThe Bourne Identity, but directorDoug Liman wanted something else and replaced it with a score byJohn Powell.[4]
The ethos of the punk rock movement gave Burwell the impetus to start performing. He performed in New York with several bands, notably The Same, Thick Pigeon, and Radiante. Burwell played in Thick Pigeon withStanton Miranda; the group released two albums,Too Crazy Cowboys (Factory) and tracks onMiranda Dali (Crepuscule), originally released as a Miranda solo project but later reissued as a Thick Pigeon release. On Burwell's soundtrack forPsycho III, Miranda was a featured singer.
By 1986 he had composed the music for a dance piece, RAB, which premiered at the Avignon Festival. At the same time, he was touring worldwide with The Harmonic Choir,David Hykes' experimental vocal group, which specialized inovertone singing.
Burwell used thecountry music genre as the basis for his score for the Coens'Raising Arizona in 1987. From 1982 to 1987 he worked at theNew York Institute of Technology.[5][6]
His work has alternated between live performance, dance and theater commissions, and film scoring. His chamber opera,The Celestial Alphabet Event, was presented inNew York in 1991, and other theater pieces includeMother (1994) andLucia's Chapters (2007), both with the experimental theater groupMabou Mines.
In April 2005, Burwell composed and conducted music performed by The Parabola Ensemble for the playsSawbones, written and directed by theCoen brothers,Hope Leaves the Theater, written and directed byCharlie Kaufman, andAnomalisa, written and directed by Kaufman as Francis Fregoli. This was a segment of the sound-only production "Theater of the New Ear", which debuted atSt. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, with support fromSirius Satellite Radio.[7][8][9] It was also performed at theRoyal Festival Hall in London, England, in May 2005, and atRoyce Hall in Los Angeles, California, in September 2005, as part of theUCLA Live Festival.
In 2009, Burwell was the recipient of the ASCAP Henry Mancini Award from theAmerican Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.[10] In 2010, he was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Original Score forWhere the Wild Things Are.[11]
In 2015, he received the Distinguished Film Composer award from theMiddleburg Film Festival,[12] and theLos Angeles Film Critics Association award forBest Music Score forAnomalisa andCarol.[13][14] He was nominated for theAnnie Award for Music in an Animated Feature Production forAnomalisa[15] and theGolden Globe Award for Best Original Score forCarol.[16] In 2016, he received theSatellite Award forBest Original Score and the Best Score award by the International Cinephile Society forCarol.[17][18] Burwell was awardedFilm Composer of the Year by theWorld Soundtrack Awards, and the score forCarol received thePublic Choice Award for the Best Score of the Year.[19][20]
Burwell received his firstAcademy Award for Best Original Score nomination forCarol,[21][22] his second forThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and his third forThe Banshees Of Inisherin.
Burwell marriedChristine Sciulli in 1999.[23]
Since 2009, Burwell has lived inNapeague, New York.[24]
| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990–1991 | Clash! | Ha! /Comedy Central | Main title theme |
| 1993 | And the Band Played On | HBO | Television film |
| 2011 | Mildred Pierce | Miniseries; 5 episodes | |
| 2011 | Enlightened | Episode: “Pilot” | |
| 2014 | Olive Kitteridge | Miniseries; 4 episodes[28] | |
| 2019–present | The Morning Show | Apple TV+ | Series |
| 2020 | Space Force | Netflix | Season 1 only[29] |
| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | BAFTA Award | Best Original Music | The Man Who Wasn't There | Nominated | [30] |
| 2009 | Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Where the Wild Things Are | Nominated | [31] |
| 2011 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)(episode: "Part 5") | Mildred Pierce | Won | |
| Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music | Nominated | ||||
| 2015 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | Carol | Nominated | [32] |
| Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Nominated | [33] | ||
| 2017 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Nominated | [34] |
| Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Nominated | [35] | ||
| 2022 | Academy Award | Best Original Score | The Banshees of Inisherin | Nominated | [36] |
| BAFTA Award | Best Original Music | Nominated | [37] | ||
| Golden Globe Award | Best Original Score | Nominated | [38] |
Carter Burwell, a film composer who has lived year-round in Napeague since 2009....
