Died at 72
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James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953–June 22, 2015) was an American film composer and conductor. He worked on more than 160 film and television productions between 1978 and 2015. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements alongside traditional orchestrations and for his use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner won two Academy Awards for his musical composition to James Cameron's Titanic (1997), which became the best-selling orchestral film soundtrack of all time. He also wrote the score for the highest-grossing film of all time, Cameron's Avatar (2009). Horner's other Oscar-nominated scores were for Aliens (1986), An American Tail (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Apollo 13 (1995), Braveheart (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), and House of Sand and Fog (2003). Horner's other notable scores include Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Willow (1988), The Land Before Time (1988), Glory (1989), The Rocketeer (1991), Legends of the Fall (1994), Jumanji (1995), Casper (1995), Balto (1995), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Deep Impact (1998), The Perfect Storm (2000), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), Troy (2004), The New World (2005), The Legend of Zorro (2005), Apocalypto (2006), The Karate Kid (2010), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Horner collaborated on multiple projects with directors including James Cameron, Don Bluth, Ron Howard, Joe Johnston, Edward Zwick, Walter Hill, Mel Gibson, Vadim Perelman, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Nicholas Meyer, Wolfgang Petersen, Martin Campbell, Phil Nibbelink, and Simon Wells; producers including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, David Kirschner, Brian Grazer, Jon Landau, and Lawrence Gordon; and songwriters including Will Jennings, Barry Mann, and Cynthia Weil. Adding to his two Academy Awards wins, Horner also won six Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, and was nominated for three BAFTA Awards. Horner, who was an avid pilot, was killed in a single-fatality crash while flying his Short Tucano turboprop aircraft. He was 61 years old. The scores for his final three films, Southpaw (2015), The 33 (2015), and The Magnificent Seven (2016), were all completed and released posthumously. Description above from the Wikipedia article James Horner, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
In the animated fairy tale kingdom of Andalasia, the evil Queen Narissa schemes to protect her claim to the throne, which she will lose once her stepson, Prince Edward, finds his true love and marries her. She enlists her loyal henchman Nathaniel to keep Edward distracted. Giselle, a young woman, dreams of meeting a prince and experiencing a "happy ever after." Edward hears Giselle singing and sets off to find her. Nathaniel sets free a captured troll to kill Giselle, but Edward rescues her in time. When they meet, they instantly fall in love and plan to get married the following day. Disguised as an old hag, Narissa intercepts Giselle on her way to the wedding and pushes her into a well, where she is magically transformed into a 3D live-action version of herself and transported to a manhole in New York City's Times Square. Giselle quickly becomes lost. Meanwhile, Robert, a divorce lawyer, prepares to propose to his longtime girlfriend Nancy, much to the dismay of his daughter Morgan. Robert and Morgan encounter Giselle on their way home, and Robert begrudgingly allows Giselle to stay the night at their apartment at the insistence of Morgan, who trusts Giselle. Pip, Giselle's best chipmunk friend from Andalasia, had witnessed Giselle's exile and alerted Edward thereafter, and both embark on a rescue mission to the city, where they too are turned into 3D live-action versions, but Pip is instead in the form of a real chipmunk – therefore losing the ability to speak. Narissa sends Nathaniel to follow and impede Edward. In a restaurant, Narissa appears to Nathaniel in a soup pot and gives him three poisoned apples to murder Giselle. Pip eavesdrops but is unable to communicate with Edward, as animals cannot speak outside of Andalasia. Nathaniel keeps Pip silenced by detaining him in various containers. Meanwhile, after Giselle summons vermin to clean Robert's apartment, Nancy arrives to take Morgan to school. She meets Giselle and leaves assuming Robert was unfaithful. Robert is initially upset but spends the day with Giselle, knowing she is vulnerable in the city. Giselle questions Robert about his relationship with Nancy and helps the pair reconcile by sending Nancy an invitation to the "King and Queen's Costume Ball" at the Woolworth Building. Edward locates Giselle at Robert's apartment. While Edward is eager to take Giselle home to Andalasia and finally marry, she suggests that they should first go on a date to get to know each other better, still conflicted about her feelings. Giselle promises to return to Andalasia after ending their date at the ball, which Robert and Nancy also attend. Narissa, who has been spying from Andalasia, decides to follow and kill Giselle herself after Nathaniel failed to poison her twice. Robert and Giselle share a dance with each other and look into each other's eyes, romantically. Giselle and Edward then prepare to leave, but Giselle feels sorrow at leaving Robert behind. Narissa appears as the old hag and offers the last poisoned apple to Giselle, promising "sweet dreams and happy endings." Giselle takes a bite and is rendered unconscious. Narissa attempts to escape with Giselle's body but is stopped by Edward. Nathaniel, realizing Narissa was using him and never loved him, reveals her plot. Robert realizes that true love's kiss is the only force powerful enough to break the apple's spell. After Edward's kiss fails to wake Giselle, he prompts Robert to do so instead. When Robert kisses her just as the clock strikes twelve, Giselle awakens and the whole crowd cheers. Narissa furiously transforms into a giant blue dragon and takes Robert hostage. Giselle takes Edward's sword and pursues Narissa to the top of the building. Pip, who was freed by Edward, helps Giselle send Narissa falling to her death. A happy new life unfolds for everyone, showing Edward and Nancy marrying in Andalasia; Giselle running a successful fashion business and forming a happy family with Robert and Morgan; while Nathaniel and Pip each become successful authors about their personal experiences in the real world.
