James Horner, the consummate film composer known for his heart-tugging scores for
Field of Dreams,
Braveheart and
Titanic, for which he won two Academy Awards, died Monday in a plane crash near Santa Barbara. He was 61.His death was confirmed by Sylvia Patrycja, who is identified on Horner’s film music page as his assistant.
“We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart and unbelievable talent,” Patrycja wrote on Facebook on Monday. “He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road.”
Horner was piloting the small aircraft when it crashed into a remote area about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara, officials said.
An earlier report noted that the plane, which was registered to the composer, had crashed, but the pilot had not been identified. For his work on the 1997 best picture winner
Titanic, directed by James Cameron, Horner captured the Oscar for original dramatic score, and he nabbed another Academy Award for original song (shared with lyricist Will Jennings) for “My Heart Will Go On,” performed by Celine Dion.
“My job — and it’s something I discuss with Jim all the time — is to make sure at every turn of the film it’s something the audience can feel with their heart,” Horner said in
a 2009 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “When we lose a character, when somebody wins, when somebody loses, when someone disappears — at all times I’m keeping track, constantly, of what the heart is supposed to be feeling. That is my primary role.”
His score for
Titanic sold a whopping 27 million copies worldwide. His fruitful partnership with Cameron also netted him Oscar noms for original score for the blockbusters
Aliens (1986) and
Avatar (2009). The pair reportedly were also at work on
Avatar sequels.
Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/james-horner-obit-composer-titanic-avatar-122222560012.html
