Klaus Badelt (born 12 June 1967) is a German composer, producer, and arranger of film scores. He is known for his collaborations with Hans Zimmer, helping to write scores for dozens of critically acclaimed films including The Thin Red Line, The Prince of Egypt, and Gladiator. Independently, he is known for his work on Hollywood blockbuster films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Equilibrium, Catwoman, K-19: The Widowmaker, Basic, and TMNT, and for his work in French and Chinese cinema as well as a number of films by Werner Herzog.
Life and career Badelt was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He started his musical career composing for movies and commercials in his homeland. In 1998, Oscar-winning film composer Hans Zimmer invited Badelt to work at Media Ventures in Santa Monica, California, his studio co-owned by Jay Rifkin. Since then, Badelt has been working on a number of his own film and television projects such as The Time Machine and K-19: The Widowmaker. He also collaborated with other Media Ventures composers, such as Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell, and Zimmer; and mentored several others like Ramin Djawadi and Daniel Rojas.
While collaborating with Zimmer, Badelt contributed to the Oscar-nominated scores for The Thin Red Line and The Prince of Egypt, and wrote music for many well known directors and producers including Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Terrence Malick, John Woo, Kathryn Bigelow, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Werner Herzog, Sean Penn, Gore Verbinski, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.
Badelt co-wrote and co-produced the score to Hollywood box office hit Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, along with Zimmer and singer/composer Lisa Gerrard. Having contributed music to Gladiator, Mission: Impossible 2 and Michael Kamen's score for X-Men, Badelt was involved in the three most successful movies in 2000. Badelt also collaborated with Zimmer on other successful films, such as The Pledge, and 2001 blockbusters Hannibal and Pearl Harbor. One of his more famous and popular scores was for the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
In 2004, Badelt founded his own film music company, Theme Park Studios, in Santa Monica. Since then, he has scored films such as Constantine, Poseidon, Rescue Dawn, Premonition, and TMNT.
Among Badelt's most critically celebrated scores are the Chinese fantasy film The PromiseTHE PROMISE- KLAUS BADELT and DreamWorks' remake of The Time Machine, the latter of which earned him the Discovery of the Year Award at the World Soundtrack Awards 2003. He also wrote the music for the closing ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and was commissioned to write an opera about China's First Emperor, premiered in 2015.
Badelt worked on the soundtrack for The Promise for almost six months. The song which can be heard in the movie's end credits is an ancient folk song in China, and very few people can still sing it. For that, Badelt traveled for almost two weeks in China to find someone who was able to sing the whole folk song in order to rearrange it for the score.
Badelt founded the digital film distribution startup Filmhub to create a platform for content creators to list their titles and get deals with global streaming services. Under the leadership of Badelt and CEO Alan d'Escragnolle, Filmhub now enables thousands of filmmakers to directly distribute to more than 100 streaming channels such as IMDb TV, Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, and Plex. In 2021, Filmhub was recognized by Variety as "a dynamic disruptor in the distribution space."
Filmography
Film
As score composer Year TitleDirector Notes1998The Polar BearTil SchweigerGranz HenmanComposed with Henning Lohner2001InvincibleWerner HerzogComposed with Hans ZimmerThe PledgeSean PennExtreme DaysEric HannahComposed with TobyMac2002The Time MachineSimon WellsWorld Soundtrack Award for Discovery of the YearK-19: The WidowmakerKathryn BigelowTeknolustLynn Hershman LeesonComposed with Ramin DjawadiEquilibriumKurt Wimmer 2003The RecruitRoger Donaldson Ned KellyGregor JordanComposed with Bernard FanningBasicJohn McTiernanThe In-LawsAndrew FlemingComposed with James S. LevinePirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black PearlGore VerbinskiReplaced Alan Silvestri ASCAP Award for Top Box Office FilmNominated- Saturn Award for Best MusicNominated- Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original ScoreNominated- World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the YearBeat the DrumDavid HicksonComposed with Ramin Djawadi 2004CatwomanPitofReplaced Graeme Revell Nominated- Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Most Intrusive Musical Score2005ConstantineFrancis LawrenceComposed with Brian Tyler ASCAP Award for Top Box Office FilmNominated- IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for a Horror/Thriller FilmThe PromiseChen Kaige 200616 BlocksRichard DonnerUltravioletKurt WimmerPoseidonWolfgang PetersenRescue DawnWerner HerzogComposed with Ernst Reijseger2007PremonitionMennan YapoRedlineAndy ChengComposed with Ian Honeyman & Andrew RaiherTMNTKevin MunroeReplaced Marco BeltramiSkid RowRoss ClarkeNiva DorellMarshall TylerDocumentary film Composed with Craig Eastman2008Dragon HuntersGuillaume IvernelArthur QwakStarship Troopers 3: MarauderEdward NeumeierThemes by Basil PoledourisThe Scorpion King 2: Rise of a WarriorRussell MulcahyAnything for HerFred CavayéKillshotJohn Madden2009Solomon KaneM.J. BassettLittle NicholasLaurent Tirard2010HeartbreakerPascal Chaumeil The Extra ManShari Springer BermanRobert Pulcini22 BulletsRichard BerryAmong WolvesGerardo OlivaresComposed with Andrew RaiherShanghaiMikael HåfströmPoint BlankFred CavayéSmall WorldBruno ChicheComposed with Jean-Michel BernardWaking MadisonKatherine BrooksDylan Dog: Dead of NightKevin MunroeHappy People: A Year in the TaigaDmitry VasyukovWerner HerzogDocumentary film2011The ProdigiesAntoine Charreyron The Floating ShadowJia DongshuoJock the Hero DogDuncan MacNeillieComposed with Ian HoneymanSeven Days in UtopiaMatt RussellComposed with Christopher CarmichaelRebellionMathieu KassovitzThe OrangesJulian FarinoComposed with Andrew RaiherWar of the ButtonsYann Samuell201230° couleurLucien Jean-BaptistePhilippe LarueShanghai CallingDaniel HsiaComposed with Christopher CarmichaelAsterix and Obelix: God Save BritanniaLaurent TirardA Perfect PlanPascal Chaumeil2014SupercondriaqueDany BoonThe IdenticalDustin MarcellinoComposed with Christopher CarmichaelLe Père NoëlAlexandre Coffre2015Queen of the DesertWerner Herzog 2016Radin!Fred CavayéThe Warriors GateMatthias Hoene2017Leap!Éric SummerÉric WarinLegend of the Demon CatChen KaigeComposed with Misha Segal
As composer of additional music Year TitleDirectorComposer Notes1998The Prince of EgyptBrenda ChapmanSteve HicknerSimon WellsHans ZimmerStephen SchwartzThe Thin Red LineTerrence MalickHans Zimmer1999Chill FactorHugh JohnsonHans ZimmerJohn PowellThe Devil and Ms. DBernd EichingerHenning Lohner2000The Tigger MovieJun FalkensteinHarry Gregson-WilliamsThe Road to El DoradoBibo BergeronDon PaulHans ZimmerJohn PowellGladiatorRidley ScottHans ZimmerLisa GerrardMission: Impossible 2John WooHans ZimmerX-MenBryan SingerMichael KamenKing of the JungleSeth Zvi RosenfeldHarry Gregson-Williams2001HannibalRidley ScottHans ZimmerPearl HarborMichael Bay2004WimbledonRichard LoncraineEdward Shearmur2006Miami ViceMichael MannJohn Murphy2009Lilly the Witch: The Dragon and the Magic BookStefan RuzowitzkyIan Honeyman 2015Help, I Shrunk My TeacherSven Unterwaldt, Jr.Leland CoxKarim Sebastian Elias2017Lilly's Bewitched ChristmasWolfgang GroosAnne-Kathrin Dern
Television Year Title Notes1994-95Peter Strohm10 episodes1997-98Tatort16 episodes2000The OthersTheme music;13 episodes2004Dark Kingdom: The Dragon KingTelevision film2007Random! CartoonsEpisode: "Kyle + Rosemary" 2008Television film2010Ein Haus voller Töchter35 episodesTatort Internet10 episodes2011Marco W. - 247 Tage im türkischen GefängnisTelevision film2013-14Lanfeust Quest 26 episodes2014Halo: NightfallMiniseries2018BaseBoys2 episodes
Other
Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony
Video Games MotorStorm: Apocalypse (video game) Lords Mobile (video game)
Awards Year Category Project Result2001Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original ScoreGladiator2002World Soundtrack Award for Discovery of the YearThe Time Machine2004ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Top Box Office FilmsPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl2004Saturn Award Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Best MusicPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl2004Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original ScorePirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl2004World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the YearPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl2005International Film Music Critics Association: Best Original Score for a Horror/Thriller FilmConstantine2006ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Top Box Office FilmsConstantine2008German Television Awards Best MusicDie Jagd nach dem Schatz der Nibelungen2009Rhode Island International Film Festival Crystal Image AwardN/A
References
External links
Interview with Stumped Magazine Remote Control Fan Site ScoreNotes Interview