PREMIERING AT THE LA FILM FESTIVAL JUNE 14
(LOS ANGELES) – Director Kat Coiro's new comedy L!fe Happens features an original score by Mateo Messina, whose breakout score for Academy Award-winning Juno solidified his reputation as a new breed of composer. The film stars Kate Bosworth, Rachel Bilson and Krysten Ritter. Ritter, who also co-wrote, plays party girl Kim who is faced with an unplanned pregnancy after a one night stand. The film premieres at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival on Saturday, June 18th, at 7:20pm at the Regal Cinemas LA LIVE. For tickets and additional screening information visit www.lafilmfest.com.
According to Messina, "L!fe Happens was a super fun score to write mostly because the characters were so much fun. Tonally it was a challenge to combine all the different moments of being human; the laughable ridiculousness we feel at times, the harshness life delivers at other times. This story reveals how we are forced to grow up in different ways. Kat Coiro, director, tells the story in a way that reminds us of all the comedy we experience even in the moments of tension in life. I love the way she melded the two and I understood what she wanted for her film's score. A lot of the score is high energy and fun. I gave it somewhat of a band feel. The movie is a good time, so is its' score."
Mateo Messina's style of songwriting and composition has earned him accolades. He has received numerous film score awards, including the Festival Tous Courts in France for The Freak, One Reel Film Festival for Terra and ASCAP Awards.
Messina's upcoming features include Young Adult, which reunites him with Juno director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody and the Weinstein Company's Butter, starring Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman and Ashley Greene, both set for release this fall. He also continues to create original music for the upcoming second season of USA Network's Fairly Legal.
A Seattle native, Messina maintains residences in both his hometown and Los Angeles. The young philanthropist composes and produces an annual benefit concert with The Symphony Guild to benefit Seattle Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center. Entering its 14th year, Messina has raised over one million dollars for the hospital.