12th March 2001, London - Marking an unprecedented deal, Extreme Music, the independent UK based mavericks of the production music industry have joined forces with film music specialists Media Ventures Entertainment Group, the brainchild of multi-award winning composers Hans Zimmer and Jay Rifkin, to create a revolutionary and unique new film score production music library Directors Cuts, it was announced today by Russell Emanuel, Managing Director, Extreme Music.

The launch of Directors Cuts represents a milestone in production music content, and brings together the creative powerhouses of Extreme Music, the vanguard of the production music industry, with pre-eminent film score specialists Media Ventures to create the groundbreaking Directors Cuts which will offer the epic orchestral Hollywood film score sound composed by some of the world’s most talented and highly acclaimed composers for the first time ever.

Directors Cuts will feature original orchestral film score compositions for licensing in Film, Television and Radio programming, advertisements, and all media. Media Ventures’ contributing composers, include The Lion King Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, also nominated this year for the magnificent score to Gladiator.  Along-side Zimmer are Klaus Badelt, Justin Burnett, Patrick Cassidy, Gavin Greenaway, Harry Gregson-Williams, Steve Jablonsky, James Levine, Henning Lohner, John Powell, Jeff Rona and Geoff Zanelli, all of which will directly contribute to Directors Cuts.

These award winning composers have written and produced scores for some of the most successful and high profile films including Hannibal, Mission Impossible II, Prince of Egypt, Armageddon, Chicken Run, Enemy Of The State True Romance, The Borrowers, Antz, The Thin Red Line, Crimson Tide, As Good As It Gets, and most recently, the highly anticipated Pearl Harbor.

Commented Russell Emanuel, "Quite simply we are not only setting a new standard but offering a collection of music and level of quality that has never been available before in this arena. The only way to get that big Hollywood blockbuster sound prior to Directors Cuts would be to commission a major film score. Extreme has always strived to provide our clients with the very highest standard of production and teaming up with Media Ventures has provided an incredibly exciting opportunity to supply producers with a powerful new audio weapon for their arsenal. We feel that Directors Cuts is a fantastic addition to existing contemporary and classical products."

Added Jay Rifkin, Co-Founder of Media Ventures Entertainment Group "This original concept will create a superb, user-friendly catalyst for the producer to access our unique sound.  Extreme Music has a growing reputation as a cutting-edge music production company with an innovative approach to supplying high quality music across the globe.  We look forward to seeing the fruits of this original concept and enjoying a successful and long-term relationship with our new partners."

Extreme Music’s library has become the key source for many producers.  Branching out and attracting local and international television companies, Extreme’s music has graced an abundance of high profile TV projects including Sex & the City, Frasier, Star Trek; Voyager, ED, Malcolm In The Middle, Dark Angel and The Sopranos. Extreme Music has also supplied the music for a wide-ranging portfolio of high profile worldwide advertising campaigns for major brands including Nike, Nintendo, Sony Playstation, Hugo Boss, McDonalds and Grolsch

Established 4 years ago by Russell Emanuel and Dolph Taylor, pioneers in production music, Extreme currently ranks as the leading independent music production company in the UK.  Extreme Music’s unique "music library" focuses on originality and creativity combined with the same high production values as any major commercial label where content is king and the music provided comes from recognized composers and the best of today’s musical talent. In addition to Extreme’s unrivalled contemporary catalogue the creation of their ‘Ultimate Classix’ series, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, is the only classical production music collection to feature a world-renowned orchestra. With offices in, London, Los Angeles, Stockholm and Dublin the company’s high profile and rapid expansion continues with additional offices opening across Europe and worldwide.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, Media Ventures Entertainment Group is the vision of a 25- year partnership between Academy-Award winning composer Hans Zimmer and Grammy Award-winning producer Jay Rifkin.  Teaming up in 1988 to establish a studio for the writing and production of music for film, television and commercials, this state of the art facility has since attracted an overwhelming stellar list of talent and currently houses ten resident composers.  Today it is ranked as a leading powerhouse for music production, garnering outstanding awards including an Academy Award for Best Original Score -The Lion King and nominations for Best Original Score -Gladiator, The Thin Red Line and The Prince of Egypt.  Media Ventures Entertainment Group has branched out into scoring commercial music, Internet-based business and marketing solutions with Media Revolution, and music editorial services with Media Cutters.  It is also home to the indie record label Mojo Records (which has released platinum and gold albums by artists such as Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Caroline Stott,
Managing Director
DENMEAD MARKETING LTD
11 Russell Gardens Mews
London
W14 8EU
Tel:  020 7371 2040  Fax:  020 7371 2028