Golden Globe Nominee Alexandre Desplat Creates Atmospheric Score for the New Warner Bros. Pictures Political Thriller Syriana, Recently Nominated for Golden Globe for Best Score Starring George Clooney & Matt Damon

Set against the intrigue of the global oil industry, the new political thriller Syriana -- from Oscar winning writer Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) in his directorial debut -- features a musical score by French composer Alexandre Desplat, heard on RCA Red Seal's original soundtrack recording. Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright and Amanda Peet, the film -- based on The New York Times best seller See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism by Robert Baer -- had its premiere on November 23, 2005, and went into wider release on December 9, 2005. RCA Red Seal released the Syriana soundtrack recording on Tuesday, December 13, 2005.

The score for Syriana captures the tension and the flavor of its contemporary Middle Eastern setting, heightened with electronic elements woven into the orchestral sound. From back-room deals in Washington to the men toiling in the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, the story of Syriana follows several storylines that examine the human consequence of the fierce pursuit of wealth and power.

CIA operative Robert Barnes (George Clooney) uncovers the disturbing truth about the work he has devoted his life to, while up-and-coming oil broker Bryan Woodman (Matt Damon) faces an unimaginable family tragedy and finds his redemption in his partnership with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig (Kingdom of Heaven)). A corporate lawyer (Jeffrey Wright (Angels in America, Basquiat)) faces a moral dilemma as he finesses the questionable merger of two powerful U.S. oil companies while across the globe, a disenfranchised Pakistani teenager falls prey to the recruiting efforts of a charismatic cleric. Each plays his small part in the vast and complex system, unaware of the explosive impact his life has upon the world.

Produced by George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh's Section Eight, Ltd. and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Syriana was written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for his screenplay for Soderbergh's 2000 film Traffic. The cast includes Academy Award winners Chris Cooper (Adaptation, Capote, The Bourne Supremacy) and William Hurt (A History of Violence, The Village, The Big Chill) round out the main cast with Amanda Peet (Something's Gotta Give, The Whole Ten Yards), Tim Blake Nelson (Minority Report, O' Brother Where Art Thou?) and Christopher Plummer (The Insider, The Sound of Music, A Beautiful Mind).

Composer Alexandre Desplat won a Golden Globe nomination in 2004 for his acclaimed score for the film Girl with a Pearl Earring, and his recent English-language credits also include Birth, Hostage and The Upside of Anger. Earlier this year, he won the Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear prize for his music for the French film The Beat That My Heart Skipped, and he is a two-time nominee for the Cesar Award, France's equivalent of the Oscar. Desplat's score for Girl with a Pearl Earring also won him BAFTA and European Film Academy nominations.

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