Christian Paul Bacon (born March 17, 1977) is an American composer of film and television scores.[1][2][3] He is a four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee - Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) for Smash (2012-13), Bates Motel (2013-17) and Wednesday (2022-present); Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for The Tick (2016-19).
Chris Bacon | |
|---|---|
| Born | Christian Paul Bacon March 17, 1977 Provo, Utah, U.S. |
| Other names | Chris P. Bacon |
| Alma mater | |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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Early life and education
editBacon was born in Provo, Utah. His parents are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As a youth, Bacon learned to play piano and saxophone, and from an early age he knew he wanted to be a film composer. He has said, "From the point that I could start thinking about what I wanted to do when I grew up... it was always to write movie music."[4]
Bacon received a Bachelor's Degree in music composition from Brigham Young University and completed the Scoring For Motion Pictures and Television program at University of Southern California.[5][6] He interned under film composer James Newton Howard. Bacon cites his internship with Howard as his most valuable musical training,
"While I learned a ton from school, my real-world education came under James. It felt like I was on scholarship because I was being paid to learn what it means to be a film composer at the pinnacle of the industry. James gave me my first opportunities on projects that he couldn't fully take on for a variety of reasons, and his endorsement was very comforting to producers who appreciated the work still being performed under his 'umbrella'."[7]
Career
editBacon worked under Howard on several of his scores between 2005 and 2011. His solo debut as a film composer came with the 2007 Lifetime film Angels Fall, for which he composed the main theme. Bacon's first solo feature film score was the thriller Source Code.[8][better source needed]
Bacon has also contributed music to many film and TV productions, including American Hustle, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Goosebumps. Bacon's next project is the Amazon reboot of The Tick, directed by Wally Pfister.[4]
Bacon has been nominated for four Emmy Awards: one for his work on the NBC series Smash:, two for this work on the A&E series Bates Motel, three for Amazon Prime series The Tick and four for Netflix series Wednesday[4]
Bacon frequently collaborates with Danny Elfman.[9]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Space Chimps | Kirk DeMicco | Composed with Blue Man Group |
| 2009 | Waking Sleeping Beauty | Don Hahn | Documentary |
| 2010 | Love Ranch | Taylor Hackford | |
| Alpha and Omega | Anthony Bell Benjamin Gluck |
||
| 2011 | Gnomeo & Juliet | Andy Riley | Composed with James Newton Howard |
| Source Code | Duncan Jones | ||
| Beethoven's Christmas Adventure | John Putch | ||
| 2012 | High Ground | Michael Brown | Documentary |
| Atlas Shrugged: Part II | John Putch | ||
| 2013 | Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure | Richard Rich | |
| 2015 | Being Charlie | Rob Reiner | |
| 2016 | Patient Seven | Danny Draven | |
| 2017 | Snatched | Jonathan Levine | Composed with Theodore Shapiro |
| 2018 | Sherlock Gnomes | John Stevenson | |
| The Weight of Water | Michael Brown | Documentary | |
| 2019 | Men in Black: International | F. Gary Gray | Composed with Danny Elfman |
| 2022 | Immanence | Kerry Bellessa | |
| Strong Enough | John Foss | ||
| 2023 | 65 | Scott Beck Bryan Woods |
|
| 2024 | Heretic | Post-production |
Composer of additional music
edit| Year | Title | Director | Composer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | King Kong | Peter Jackson | James Newton Howard | Also score producer |
| 2006 | RV | Barry Sonnenfeld | ||
| 2007 | Earth | Alastair Fothergill Mark Linfield |
George Fenton | |
| 2010 | Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang | Susanna White | James Newton Howard | |
| Inhale | Baltasar Kormákur | |||
| 2011 | Water for Elephants | Francis Lawrence | ||
| Larry Crowne | Tom Hanks | |||
| Arthur Christmas | Sarah Smith | Harry Gregson-Williams | ||
| 2013 | American Hustle | David O. Russell | Danny Elfman | |
| 2014 | Mr. Peabody & Sherman | Rob Minkoff | ||
| Paddington | Paul King | Nick Urata | ||
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Joss Whedon | Danny Elfman Brian Tyler |
|
| Goosebumps | Rob Letterman | Danny Elfman | ||
| 2016 | Alice Through the Looking Glass | James Bobin | ||
| 2017 | Tulip Fever | Justin Chadwick | ||
| 2018 | The Grinch | Scott Mosier | ||
| 2019 | Dumbo | Tim Burton | ||
| 2020 | Dolittle | Stephen Gaghan | ||
| 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Sam Raimi | ||
| Disenchanted | Adam Shankman | Alan Menken |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Angels Fall | TV movie; composed with Stuart Michael Thomas |
| Blue Smoke | ||
| 2009 | Northern Lights | |
| Midnight Bayou | ||
| 2011 | Ricochet | TV movie |
| Wonder Woman | TV movie | |
| 2012 | Hornet's Nest | TV movie |
| 2012-13 | Smash | 26 episodes; composed with Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman |
| 2013 | An Amish Murder | TV movie |
| Reckless | TV movie | |
| 2013-17 | Bates Motel | 50 episodes |
| 2015 | Living with Lincoln | TV movie |
| 2016 | Finding Fortune | TV movie |
| 2016-19 | The Tick | 22 episodes |
| 2017 | A Series of Unfortunate Events | 2 episodes |
| When We Rise | Miniseries; composed with Danny Elfman | |
| 2022-present | Wednesday | 7 episodes; composed with Danny Elfman[10] |
Awards and nominations
edit| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grammy Award | 2024 | Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella | "Paint It Black" (from Wednesday) | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Award | 2012 | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)[11] | Smash ("Publicity") | Nominated |
| 2016 | Bates Motel ("Forever") | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music[11] | The Tick | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score)[11] | Wednesday ("Woe is the Loneliest Number") | Nominated | |
| World Soundtrack Award | 2023 | Television Composer of the Year | Wednesday | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ "Chris Bacon - Soundtrack.Net". www.soundtrack.net. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ "Chris Bacon". www.discogs.com.
- ^ Garrity, Brian (2019-06-07). "Men In Black™: International Original Motion Picture Soundtrack With Music By Danny Elfman & Chris Bacon Available June 7 Via Sony Music Masterworks - Sony Music". Sony Music Entertainment. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ a b c "Chris Bacon". Kraft Engel. 3 February 2012.
- ^ "Interview with Chris Bacon". 8dio.com. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ "Chris Bacon". Center for Latter-day Saint Arts. 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ "Interview with Chris Bacon". 8dio.com.
- ^ "Source Code (2011)". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ Fisher, Ariel (2023-08-01). "When Tim Burton needs a composer, Danny Elfman snaps up the gig". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
- ^ Fisher, Ariel (2023-08-01). "When Tim Burton needs a composer, Danny Elfman snaps up the gig". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ a b c "Chris Bacon". Television Academy. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
External links
edit- Chris Bacon at IMDb