BMI To Host Music Panel at Woodstock Film Fest
BMI will be hosting a "Music for Film" panel Saturday, October 13, 4:00 p.m. at Utopia Studios in the Bearsville Theater Complex in Woodstock, NY. Moderated by BMI’s Doreen Ringer Ross, panelists include John Sebastian, David Torn, William Ross, Brett Morgan, and Bill Plympton. The panel is one of many events surrounding the annual Woodstock Film Festival, held in the Catskills in upstate New York, which will present a full line-up of 150 “fiercely independent” films, panels, concerts, parties and special events, October 10-14.
John Sebastian – Has had a varied career as a singer, songwriter, and musician. As the leader of the folk-rock band the Lovin' Spoonful, he was responsible for a string of top-ten hits in 1965-1967, including the chart-toppers "Daydream" and "Summer in the City," and he returned to number one in 1976 as a solo artist with "Welcome Back." He wrote or co-wrote those hits as well as many others, along with songs used on Broadway and in the movies. And as an instrumentalist, primarily playing harmonica, he has accompanied a wide range of artists, including Judy Collins, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Doors, Bob Dylan, the Everly Brothers, Art Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot, Laura Nyro, Graham Parker, Dolly Parton, Peter, Paul & Mary, John Prine, and Bonnie Raitt. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is featured in the new music documentary Chasin' Gus' Ghost.
David Torn – Film composer best known for Lars and the Real Girl, Love Monkey, Musician, No Country for Old Men, Traffic, Three Kings, Reversal of Fortune, Texture & Guitar, The Departed, Adaptation, and The Big Lebowski.
William Ross – A prolific, award-winning composer and arranger whose work has spanned feature films, the recording industry and television. He has composed music for such films as Tuck Everlasting, My Dog Skip, Tin Cup, My Fellow Americans and the IMAX film Young Black Stallion. He has orchestrated over 100 films, including Matrix Reloaded, Forrest Gump, The Mummy Returns, Stuart Little and Father of the Bride. For Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, he adapted John Williams's music from the original Harry Potter score as well as conducting the recording session with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Brett Morgan – An Academy Award-nominated producer and director whose credits include Chicago 10 (2007), which he wrote, produced and directed and whichpremiered on opening night of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Morgan's credits also include the award-winning Robert Evans biopic The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002), and the critically acclaimed boxing documentary On the Ropes (1999), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. The film won the DGA Award and the IDA Award, making Morgan one of the youngest individuals to win both these awards.
Bill Plympton – Recognized as one of America's foremost illustrators, cartoonists and animators. His highly successful films (Guard Dog, Hair High, The Tune, Mutant Aliens, The Fan and the Flower) have appeared with frenzied frequency at film festivals, on television and online. His work has received countless honors, including several Academy Award nominations.
BMI's Doreen Ringer Ross, who has been instrumental in creating a platform at film festivals for the independent film and creative music communities to interact in a positive and insightful forum, will lead the panel in a frank discussion about music in film and the ins and outs of film scoring, music supervision and licensing.
Every fall, film and music lovers from around the world gather at the Woodstock Film Festival for an exhilarating variety of films, first class concerts, celebrity-led panels, workshops, a closing-night awards ceremony and superlative parties. Participants and visitors find themselves in a friendly, casual setting conducive to creativity, exciting opportunities and a good time. In just a few years, the festival has established itself as one of the best independent film events in the country.
BMI sponsors many music panels at film festivals and markets throughout the U.S. each year. These panels are designed to promote greater understanding within the filmmaking community about the aesthetic and business aspects of music in film as well as provide an opportunity for composers, songwriters and filmmakers to learn more about each other's role. Since 2000, BMI's music presence at the Woodstock Film Festival has consistently helped to forge new filmmaker-music industry relationships, which have proven to be mutually beneficial.
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