Hans Florian Zimmer (born September 12, 1957) is a German composer, best known for composing film scores.

Born in Frankfurt, Zimmer began his musical career playing keyboards and synthesizers with, among others, the bands Ultravox and The Buggles ("Video Killed the Radio Star"). In the 1980s, he worked with film composer Stanley Myers. His breakthrough came in 1988, with the theme for Rain Man, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Since then, Zimmer has composed music for many major movies, such as Crimson Tide, The Rock, True Romance, Gladiator, Driving Miss Daisy, The Prince of Egypt, Pearl Harbor, The Thin Red Line, Black Hawk Down, Backdraft, The Last Samurai, The Da Vinci Code and Dead Man's Chest. In 1995, he received an Academy Award for Best Original Score for the animated movie The Lion King.

Other composers like Steve Jablonsky, James Dooley and Geoff Zanelli are working in Zimmer's studio Remote Control Productions (formerly known as Media Ventures). Accomplished composers including Harry Gregson-Williams, Mark Mancina, John Powell and Klaus Badelt are also all former members of the studio.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

• 1988: Rain Man
• 1994: The Lion King (won)
• 1996: The Preacher's Wife
• 1997: As Good As It Gets
• 1998: The Prince of Egypt
• 1998: The Thin Red Line
• 2000: Gladiator

Golden Globe Awards

• 1994: ''The Lion King (won)
• 1998: The Prince of Egypt
• 2000: Gladiator (won)
• 2001: Pearl Harbor
• 2002: Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron (nominated for best song)
• 2003: The Last Samurai
• 2004: Spanglish

Grammy Awards

• 1991: Driving Miss Daisy
• 1995: The Lion King
• 1996: '' Crimson Tide (won)
• 2001: Gladiator

Filmography

1982

• Moonlighting (with Stanley Myers)

1984

• Chapitre 2 (with Stanley Myers)
• Success Is The Best Revenge (with Stanley Myers)

1986

• Separate Vacations (with Stanley Myers)
• The Zero Boys (with Stanley Myers)

1987

• Terminal Exposure (with Stanley Myers)
• A World Apart

1988

• Rain Man
• Burning Secret
• Spies Inc. (with Fiachra Tench)
• Taffin (with Stanley Myers)
• Twister
• The Fruit Machine (1988), a/k/a Wonderland (USA)

1989

• Prisoner Of Rio
• Paperhouse
• Black Rain
• Driving Miss Daisy
• Diamond Skulls

1990

• Pacific Heights
• Nightmare At Noon (with Stanley Myers)
• Chicago Joe And The Showgirl (with Shirley Walker)
• Fools Of Fortune
• Days of Thunder
• Bird on a Wire
• Green Card

1991

• Thelma & Louise
• Regarding Henry
• Backdraft
• K2

1992

• Toys
• Radio Flyer
• Where Sleeping Dogs Lie (with Mark Mancina)
• A League Of Their Own
• The Power of One

1993

• Younger And Younger
• The House of the Spirits
• True Romance (with Mark Mancina)
• Point of No Return
• Calendar Girl
• Cool Runnings (with Nick Glennie-Smith)

1994

• Drop Zone
• Renaissance Man
• I'll Do Anything
• The Lion King

1995

• Nine Months
• Beyond Rangoon
• Crimson Tide
• Two Deaths
• Something to Talk About (with Graham Preskett)

1996

• The Preacher's Wife
• The Fan
• Muppet Treasure Island
• The Rock (with Nick Glennie-Smith and Harry Gregson-Williams)
• Broken Arrow

1997

• As Good As It Gets
• The Peacemaker
• Smilla's Sense of Snow (with Harry Gregson-Williams)

1998

• The Thin Red Line
• The Prince of Egypt
• The Last Days

1999

• Chill Factor (with John Powell)

2000

• An Everlasting Piece
• Impossible 2
• Gladiator (with Lisa Gerrard)
• The Road To El Dorado (with John Powell)

2001

• Black Hawk Down
• Riding in Cars with Boys
• Pearl Harbor
• Hannibal

2002

• The Ring
• Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron

2003

• The Last Samurai
• Something's Gotta Give (Last minute replacement score, composed with several other composers)
• Matchstick Men
• Tears of the Sun

2004

• Spanglish
• Lauras Stern (with Nick Glennie-Smith)
• Shark Tale
• King Arthur
• Thunderbirds (with Ramin Djawadi)

2005

• The Weather Man (with James S. Levine)
• Der kleine Eisbär 2 - Die geheimnisvolle Insel (with Nick Glennie-Smith)
• Madagascar
• Batman Begins (with James Newton Howard)

2006

• Dead Man's Chest
• The Da Vinci Code
• The Holiday

2007

• Pirates of the Caribbean 3
• The Simpsons

External links

• Hans Zimmer at the SoundtrackINFO project
• Hans Zimmer Fan Site
• Hans Zimmer at SoundtrackNet

1957 births | Film score composers | German film score composers | Living people | Batman music

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