SKYFALL™ also marks the debut of distinguished director Sam Mendes in the James Bond franchise. Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming 's James Bond 007 in SKYFALL™, the 23rd adventure in the longest-running film franchise of all time. In SKYFALL™, Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. The film is produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli and written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan .
Composer Thomas Newman 's uniquely expressive musical style fits perfectly with the humor and slickness of a Bond movie. His expressive range goes from thunderous and dramatic for the many action sequences to broodingly atmospheric for scenes in which the dark side of the story, marked by mistrust and fear of betrayal, is at the forefront. With its big orchestral effects, this music is equal to the spectacular events that the movie portrays.
Starting with American Beauty in 1999, Thomas Newman has collaborated on all but one of Mendes' films. One of the most respected composers in the film business, he has scored more than fifty feature films and has been nominated for ten Academy Awards®, nine times in the category Best Original Score and once for Best Original Song. He has won a BAFTA, two Grammys and an Emmy, and has also been nominated for a Golden Globe. Born in Los Angeles, he comes from a prominent Hollywood musical dynasty: his father Alfred Newman , brother David, sister Maria and uncle Lionel all composed music for the movies, and his cousin is the noted singer-songwriter and film composer Randy Newman .
Newman's first major work in movies was in 1984 for Reckless. He composed the scores for Erin Brockovich and The Good German for director Steven Soderbergh , as well as for such acclaimed films as Finding Nemo, The Player, The Shawshank Redemption, Wall-E, The Help and The Horse Whisperer. Recent work includes the scores, also released by Sony Classical, of The Iron Lady and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Newman has composed for television, including the HBO miniseries Angels In America, and the theme for Six Feet Under, which won him Grammys for Best Instrumental Composition and Best Instrumental Arrangement. He also has been commissioned to write orchestral concert music.