Biography

Mark pumped up the pace of Twentieth Century Fox's Speed with his heart racing score, making it one of summer `94's most thrilling rides. It reached #1 box office position along with Man Of The House and Bad Boys all in less than a year. His extensive history in film began with collaborative work on score for Days Of Thunder and True Romance followed by composing the original score for Monkey Trouble. Next on Mark's busy project slate was Money Train starring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, followed by Moll Flanders, and his last project, Twister.

Mark has produced for some of most successful artists in popular music, including Seal on his number one UK single Crazy, Billy Idol, Yes, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Drawing on his strengths in both pop music and film, Mark produced and arranged three of Elton John's songs for the Disney animated feature film The Lion King which earned Mark an American Music Awards Favorite Pop/Rock album, and a Grammy Award for Best children's Album. His latter work on the The Lion King On Broadway won him another Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.

Mark has put his talents to work in television where he provided scores for the prime time CBS series Space Rangers, and the award winning documentary series Millenium. Mark's impressive list of commercial credits, which include Marlboro, GTE, Black & Decker, Reebok, J.C. Penney, Jaguar, and Diet Rite prove him to be a talent to watch in every medium.

Mark these Notes

Mark is in his late 30's. Mancina worked on Adamski's-come-Seal's smash song 'Crazy' for producer Trevor Horn (Days Of Thunder, Toys). Mancina being a fan and part of music group Yes, invited former lead guitarist Trevor Rabin to work on Twister, who in turn also worked on Eraser, with Alan Silvestri; Rabin then had a score all of his OWN in The Glimmer Man! There is the elusive pressing of unofficial and otherwise generally unavailable recordings by Mark entitled "Follow Your Dreams...collaboration". Follow Your Dreams was composed for the Marlboro Adventure Team campaign - this is a car rally adventure series. One of Mark's early bands was called Dexter, and they used to play regularly at hangouts such as the Red Onion and Coachhouse in Orange County. One of their achievements included winning the Yamaha Battle of The Bands. His first band was called Handel - a 'classical rock creation', which was followed by a trio named Nitelife, who frequented a Mexican restaurant in Long Beach. He has 2 studios in LA, and one at his home.

In the studio Source: Mancina Music.

Interview

With the recent release of Polygram Film's Return To Paradise, modest Mark gave 3 interviews to online web sites, the 3rd of which is with us at Mancinfo; 3 questions were submitted by readers while I drummed up the rest in a few minutes (thinking there was a deadline; listening to Speed?), from here in the Fiji Islands.

Q: Would you like to work with Jan De Bont again?

I had lunch with Jan a few months back. I think both of us will work together in the future but I'm not sure what that project will be. I do think the score to Speed was the best thing by far we did together.

Q: Would you like to work with Jerry Bruckheimer again?

I like Jerry Bruckheimer a lot and would love to do a movie with him and JUST myself (a la Bad Boys). Unfortunately his last string of movies have been written by groups of composers due to his post production schedules, and I'm not one to get involved in that.

Q: Whatever happened to the planned CD/Tour with Trevor Rabin?

Trevor Rabin and I remain great friends but both of our film scoring schedules have prevented us from carrying on with our project. I have no idea if we will ever complete it.

Q: Was Sniper your first score? How come Gary Chang is credited on some prints?

I was hired to rewrite a few cues for Sniper, it was however Gary's score.

Q: Did you study music; how did you get into it?

I studied composition and performance for eight years at Cal State Fullerton. I took both masters programs in the performance degree (in classical guitar) and composition. My main focus was 16th and 18th century counterpoint as well as 20th century music. I performed sophomore and junior recitals on classical guitar, conducted Stravinsky in recital, and wrote and conducted numerous ensemble pieces. I was fortunate to spend a week of study with Aaron Copeland, and remain in touch with some of my composition teachers.

Q: Based on the Follow Your Dreams song, it is understood that you had planned to become a singer (good vocals); when did you turn to scoring?

During my studies at Cal State in order to support myself I played in night clubs, mainly as a piano-vocalist. I did in the eighties have a band, Dexter which made numerous failed attempts at hit records. But the span of years I played in clubs gave me a great background in pop song styles. This may have been why it was so easy for me to step into Trevor Horn's production of Seal's first big record, "Crazy". By that time, I had played so many styles that I could handle just about anything. During this time (mid-eighties) I was also scoring hunting documentaries for a company in Hollywood. I actually wrote music for deer gutting sequences. I was also scoring very bad B or should I say C movies, some of which have turned up on Mystery Science Theatre. (How embarrassing!)

Q: It is understood that you were somewhat redeemed with being commissioned the Lion King On Broadway project (RA/view coming soon, following RTP); how would you rate its success with the public, and do you feel Disney adequately marketed the album compared to the movie version?

I am very proud of The Lion King On Broadway, both of the adaptation of the film music, and the new score and songs. I wish Disney would have marketed the cast album better, but I am very proud of the production and performance.

Q: How useful is your Power Macintosh to your work?

'Skyforest' by Lance McCollum One of 2 custom guitars used in Tarzan Source: Mancina Music.

I am not as glued to my computer as some may think. The score to Return To Paradise was all performed live-so the computer served the same purpose as a tape machine. The advent of digital audio has been a God send for me.

Q: What does Chris Ward do in the Mancina domain; admin, technical and or musical?

Chris Ward is an invaluable help on many levels. He is technically minded, but has been around the process for years and has a deep understanding of scoring and record production. He has been a big part of my success.

Q: Is the acoustic guitar still a favourite aspect of your scores?

I am an acoustic guitar and ethnic instrument collector so I tend to go a little mad with acoustic guitars. I am playing quite a range of them on some of Phil (Collins) songs for Tarzan--but don't plan to use any in the score.

Q: Were there any particular score styles/influences on Return To Paradise?

I spent quite a bit of time with Elliot Goldenthal over the last few years-- and I think some of his concepts rubbed off on me on Return To Paradise. Just his use of space and instrument effects is fascinating. We stayed up some nights listening to music and talking till all hours. I have great respect for his work.

Thanks for the interview, I hope these answers help a bit. Mark Mancina
22/8/98

Discography

Speed - you need some. Buy it! Bad Boys - rocking! Buy it! Money Train - for some guitar. Buy it! Moll Flanders - soft, orchestral. Buy it! Twister - for a good ride. Buy it! The Outer Limits (TV Series) - with John Van Tongeren. Buy It! Con Air - with Trevor Rabin. Buy it! The Lion King on Broadway - great vocals. Buy it! Return To Paradise - very pleasant. Buy it! Tarzan - out now. Buy it! Track listings hosted by Robin Kuipers. Here are more sound clips by Mark: Man Of The House (324k) Fair Game (328k) Assassins (363k) Monkey Trouble (260k aif) Money Train (221k aif) Moll Flanders (321k) Source: Media Ventures.

'Grand Auditorium' by Lance McCollum One of 2 custom guitars used in Tarzan Source: Mancina Music.

I will have to take your reviews via email, or the standard guestbook, and then paste them to a review page - go ahead! Just make sure to separate your comments from your review, ie. different paragraphs! Smiles...

Late News!

• Congrats to Mark and Phil for the Grammy win for Tarzan - Best Soundtrack Album!
• Tarzan is available on DVD, followed by a Collector's Edition on March 21.
• Varese released The Deep Blue Sea score by Trevor Rabin on August 24th. The current soundtrack features an early montage that is reminiscent of Armageddon.
• The End Credits from Con Air was dug up, enjoy!
• Congratulations to Mark and Jill Meyer on their recent wedding!
• Two clips from Tarzan have been added, thanks to Todd!
• The soundtrack to Tarzan is available now, followed by the movie on June 18th. The CD features 4 score cues as performed by an 89 piece orchestra, and is also multimedia enhanced. More details and possibly a Tarzan page later.
• A rough version of Tarzan was screened at ShoWest to the delight of the audience.
• Mark's work on the The Lion King On Broadway won him another Grammy for Best Musical Show Album.
• Speed is used in a very Braveheart-like trailer to Elizabeth.
• Trevor's score to Jack Frost is out on an 18-minute promo.
• Congrats to Mark - TLKB was nominated for a 1999 Grammy!
• Helen San of Cinemusic Online featured a spotlight on Mark.
• The trailer for Tarzan has started, and features music by Phil Collins and Mark!
• An overture Mark had written years ago was admired by Houdini (TNT) director Pen Densham (Moll Flanders), and thus has been incorporated into the main theme, by composer Don Harper.
• We welcome a new composer to Yumbiosis - Harry Gregson-Williams with HG-Winfo!
• Trevor's 2nd pairing with HGW was on Enemy Of The State, with the CD released by Hollywood Records on November 24th.
• Jan De Bont is scheduled to direct The Haunting of Hill House for Dreamworks; Mark is not scoring, but Jerry Goldsmith is instead.
• The Armageddon soundtrack was released from Sony, featuring Aerosmith and others; Trevor Rabin is represented by only 1 track - 'Theme' - which is around 3 minutes. Harry Gregson-Williams co-composed about half of Armageddon with Trevor at MV. Sony Music released the score album on November 10th with only Trevor's music. Here's the RA clip to the theme available on CD
  A 30 minute promo was released featuring Trevor's work; sound quality is worse than the MBFW JNH promo, which is essentially the pre-mix master (before digital press) that basically prevents bootlegging.
• Maksim reports that Sweden TV 1&2 has used Con Air for DN galan - a Swedish athletics championship.
• Mark's Return To Paradise for director Joe Ruben (Money Train) - a suspense/love story that takes place in Malaysia and New York, is now out on Varese Sarabande around 43 minutes long with 20 tracks. I just received a review (next week) copy from Mark, and I do recommend it. A nice return to the form of his earlier non-action scores, a purchasing link is in the Discography section.
• A 3rd candid interview with Mark took place this week; and 3 clips from RTP have been added!
• Mark gave 2 interviews to others, the first at Scorelogue.Com, and the second at Soundtrack.Net.
• Take a listen to Mark singing Follow Your Dreams
• Mike Morey has a new Mancina Tribute page, with a nifty midi file.
• Rock with 3 unreleased cues from Trevor Rabin's The Glimmer Man!
• Director Jan De Bont has signed on to helm Ghost Riders in the Sky instead of Zero Hour. Mark may score. The director has recently been attached to Mace Neufeld's Pathfinder.
• Jerry Bruckheimer is producingBad Around The World (Bad Boys 2) with Tom Dey no longer directing.
• The Lion King - Original Broadway Cast Recording was nominated for the Tony Awards; I finally received a copy...and it is a great vocal album.
• Finally, a cue from Bad Boys - featured on FYD heard here
• Sounds like Bad Boys is used in the 1st Enemy Of The State trailer, out November 26th.
• Speed 2 was initially a disappointment for me, both movie and score-wise. 2 new themes were a quiet guitar ballad section before the cruise, and a recurring drumbeat. I recently watched it again on LD, and enjoyed it more. I picked up more recurring themes from the first movie, and enjoyed the following cues sampled here. I've uploaded longer cues, and love 'em with each new listen.
• Intrada released JVT's score to Creature - the ABC TV (USA) mini-series, at about 70 minutes long.
• Mark and Trevor picked up BMI Film Music Awards for Con Air.
• Mark reports that work on Disney's Tarzan is going great; he will co-produce the songs with Phil Collins.
• I have added purchasing links in the Discography section! Your purchases help maintain Mancinfo in a small way.
• Mark wrote an episode for the HBO series From The Earth To The Moon produced by Tom Hanks. Other composers involved with the series include JNH, Michael Kamen, and Mark Isham.
• Mancina collaborator John VanTongeren gave an insightful interview to Sonic Images Records.
• Finally, unreleased cues from Man Of The House - includes the Main Theme
• Tidbit - the cruise liner used in Speed 2 - Seabourn Legend called into Suva, Fiji recently - very pretty ship.
• The Lion King - Original Broadway Cast Recording (TLKB) has been released by Disney Records; the show opened to rave reviews lately.
• Variety had this to report recently:
  "Taking over four studios at Sony in N.Y., "The Lion King on Broadway" CD (Disney) was recorded by Grammy-winning composer Mark Mancina with the show's director Julie Taymor in time to have the disc delivered at the Broadway premiere (the New Amsterdam), Nov. 13.
  "We did it 'live' with cameras in each room," said Mancina, who dashed between 'em. "When Disney executives came in and saw what we were doing they got a little nervous."
  They were working on music in the theater up until two days ago, he admitted. This despite the fact the show already received rave reviews -- from Daily Variety in Minneapolis. "The Lion King" movie had only five tunes, by Mancina and Hans Zimmer, but the show has 13 more by Mancina plus three by Elton John and Tim Rice."
• Mark finally got in touch, and says he is happy, and content with this site. He's very proud of his TLKB project, a completion and acknowledgement of his work on TLK, spending the last 18 months on it, and which he has asked me to review.
• Mark had planned to tour with Trevor Rabin playing parts of their scores while the movie-scenes are shown in the background. Before the Tour, they had planned to complete their non-soundtrack album.
• Here are both versions of Trisha Yearwood's country ballad from Con Air - How do I live? - certainly more alive than LeAnn Rimes version.
• The first single (out of US print) from the movie Con Air is How do I live?, a country ballad from Trisha Yearwood. In an ironic note, LeAnn Rimes first recorded it for the movie, and then Jerry Bruckheimer decided to go for a new, more emotional version from Trisha. lol. Both versions are released.
• Alrighty then, for you that need convincing, here's a Con Air montage!
• Here's something for you to check out - Trevor Rabin's work on the Yes album Talk; I believe this album goes hand in hand with Con Air - get it! Jon Anderson's vocals are simply brill!
• The latest and last minute addition to the cast (another baddie) of Con Air made an appearance! lol.
• Sonic Images Records has issued the US release of The Outer Limits, featuring Mark, along with John Van Tongeren, and J. Peter Robinson!
• Mark has picked up a BMI Film Music Award for Twister.
• Mark has branched out from Media Ventures - set up his own studio. He prefers a bit more privacy, working out of his own home, AND around the corner from MV.

Trailers

Score	Used in trailer/promo for...
Speed	'ad for Peugeot', Money Train, Braveheart, Chain Reaction, Independence Day, Assassins, Speed 2: Cruise Control, Elizabeth
Bad Boys	Money Train, The Rock, Double Team
Con Air	Con Air, 'CBS USA - 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics', Armageddon, 'Sweden TV 1&2 - DN galan'
Twister	'Australian Masters Golf on Channel 7', Lost In Space

Articles

• MARK MANCINA Full Speed Ahead - about his career.

• Mark Mancina on Van Halen. - collaborating.

• Weekly related entertainment articles - summary of interesting Reuters articles.

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Assisted by Marco Samtlebe, Robin Kuipers, Nancy Reilly, Donald Fitz-Roy, Todd Lamanca, Maksim Nuorala.