2000 AD's Dredd 3D explodes onto the big screen this month, with BAFTA-winning British composer Paul Leonard-Morgan (Limitless, Spooks) creating the sound of Mega City One's feared Judge. The 22-track soundtrack to movie was released digitally worldwide on September 3, 2012, and physically on September 10, 2012, through Metropolis Movie Music/Fontana International.
Dredd 3D starring Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Bourne Supremacy, Lord Of The Rings), Olivia Thirlby (Juno) and Lena Headey (Game Of Thrones) was written by Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine). Garland also produced the film alongside Andrew Macdonald (Sunshine, Trainspotting) and Allon Reich (Never Let Me Go). Dredd 3D was directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point). Dredd 3D was be released in the UK on September 7, 2012.
Paul Leonard-Morgan is best known for his score for last year's box office No. 1 hit Limitless starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, and directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist). This soundtrack earned him a nomination for the prestigious World Soundtrack Discovery Award. Previously he had been the composer for the BBC's award-winning drama Spooks. Leonard-Morgan was also honoured by the US Olympic Committee when chosen to compose the official US Olympic Team Anthem (previously scored by John Williams) and was also commissioned to compose the music for the official launch ceremony of The Freedom Towers, the iconic designs which will eventually replace the Twin Towers at Ground Zero.
Speaking about the soundtrack, composer Paul Leonard-Morgan said:
From a music point of view, I wanted to create a sound which fitted a future set in 100 years time, so traditional orchestra was out of the question. I started off doing some band-based stuff, but it felt too safe and overly-produced, so I ended up going down a really electronic vibetaking all my 80's synths and present day sound modules, creating some really screwed up sounds and putting them through countless distortion and fx pedals. I was looking to create a timeless score which couldn't be placed in any particular era. So it's ended up being a cross between a modern dance track and evocative soundscapes.A remake of the 1994 film, Dredd 3D is produced in 3D by 2000AD, Rebellion, and DNA Films, the production company behind Sunshine and 28 Days Later. Judge Dredd was originally a comic book character in the weekly British comic book 2000AD in 1977.For the slo-mo music, I used this incredible new timestretch software called Paul. I composed and recorded new tracks with real instruments, and then slowed them down by thousands of percent to match the vibe of the visuals, adding some realtime score over the top of it. So 1 second of written score could end up lasting 10 minutes. It sounds weird, but it creates some truly beautiful sounds. Really ethereal. It takes you to a completely different world. Getting to do experimental things like this in a film score isn't something that happens every day, so it was really exciting pushing back the boundaries.