Two-Time Oscar® Winner James Horner Creates Original Score for Sony Classical's Soundtrack Recording of The Legend of Zorro

Two-time Oscar-winning composer James Horner (Titanic) once again creates a thrilling musical backdrop to the swashbuckling exploits of the masked hero Zorro in his score for Columbia Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment's exciting new action adventure The Legend of Zorro, featured on Sony Classical's original soundtrack recording. A sequel to the hit 1998 film The Mask of Zorro (for which Horner also wrote the score), The Legend of Zorro reunites the original stars Antonio Banderas and Oscar winner Catherine Zeta Jones with director Martin Campbell and much of the creative team from the earlier adventure. The film opens nationwide on Friday, October 28, 2005. Sony Classical will release the original soundtrack recording on Tuesday, October 25, 2005.

For a story that takes place several years after the action of The Mask of Zorro, Horner's sweeping, romantic score for The Legend of Zorro -- with castanets, guitar, trumpet, and the vibrant rhythms of Spanish music -- includes signature themes he created for the 1998 film.

One of the most celebrated composers in film today, Horner won two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes for James Cameron's Titanic. In addition, he has earned five Academy Award nominations, four Golden Globe nominations, and has won six Grammy awards, including Song of the Year in both 1987 ("Somewhere Out There") and 1998 ("My Heart Will Go On").

In April 1998, Horner's Titanic soundtrack, released on Sony Classical, completed an unprecedented run of 16 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart, setting a new record for the most consecutive weeks at #1 for a score album. It remains the largest selling instrumental score album in history, having sold nearly 10 million copies in the United States and more than 26 million copies worldwide. The Sony Classical multi-platinum sequel soundtrack album, Back to Titanic, featured additional music from the film as well as several new compositions Horner based on themes from his original score.

In addition to The Mask of Zorro and Titanic, Sony Classical has released original soundtrack recordings of Horner's scores for The Missing, The Four Feathers, Iris, Enemy at the Gates, The Perfect Storm, Bicentennial Man and Deep Impact. One of Hollywood's busiest composers, known for his stylistic diversity, Horner has most recently written scores for The New World, The Chumscrubber, Flightplan, The Forgotten, Troy, Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius, RadioandBeyond Borders. He has won Oscar nominations for his scores for House of Sand and Fog, A Beautiful Mind, Braveheart, Apollo 13, Field of Dreams and Aliens, as well as for his song "Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail.

The Legend of Zorro is set several years after the conclusion of the previous adventure. Alejandro (Antonio Banderas) and Elena (Catherine Zeta- Jones) are married and have a 10-year-old son Joaquin (Adrian Alonso). Though Alejandro continues to don the mask of Zorro to protect the poor and oppressed residents of the California territory from the greed of the overlords, he is torn between his duty and his desire for a more normal life. Now he must face that conflict head-on when plans for California to become the 31st state are undermined by a nefarious plot by several prominent land barons and businessmen. In his valiant attempt to foil their plans, Zorro run headlong into a crisis that threatens his life and the safety of his family.

Columbia Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment Present An Amblin Entertainment Production, The Legend of Zorro starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Also starring are Rufus Sewell and Nick Chinlund. The film is directed by Martin Campbell. The screenplay is by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman from a story by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman and Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio. The producers are Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Lloyd Phillips. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum. The co-producer is John Gertz. The director of photography is Phil Meheux, BSC.

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SOURCE: Sony Classical

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