Mychael Danna

Mychael Danna is an Academy Award-winning film composer recognized for his evocative blending of non-western traditions with orchestral and electronic music. He composed the transculturally inspired 2013 Oscar and Golden Globe-winning score for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. Danna also composed scores for Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm and Ride With the Devil. Other noted credits include Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films such as his long time collaborator Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter and Exotica, Moneyball and Capote with director Bennett Miller, Monsoon Wedding, Little Miss Sunshine, (500) Days of Summer, István Szabó’s Being Julia, Deepa Mehta’s Water, James Mangold’s Girl, Interrupted, and Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater. Often collaborating with his brother Jeff, they have scored Tideland and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus for Terry Gilliam, The Breadwinner, The Addams Family 1 and 2, and Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur, and Onward. He won an Emmy Award for outstanding music composition for the mini-series World Without End. Other television scores include Alias Grace (Emmy Nomination), Tyrant (3 Emmy Nominations), Camelot (Emmy Nomination), and Return to Space (Emmy Nomination, co-scored with Harry Gregson-Williams).

Among Mychael’s other awards are the Frederick Loewe Award for Film Composing (2013), the World Soundtrack Awards for Film Composer of the Year, and Best Score of the Year (both 2013), the Hollywood Film Award for Composer of the Year (2016), the Zurich Film Festival Golden Eye Career Achievement Award (2021) and the SoundTrack_Cologne Lifetime Achievement Award (2023). His latest filmscores is for István Szabó’s Embers, (2027), with Ralph Fiennes, Vigo Mortensen, and Charlotte Rampling.

FILM

Pyre (2024)
Studio: Drishyam Films / Jio Studios
Producers: Manish Mundra / Vinod Kapri
Director: Vinod Kapri

No Hard Feelings (2023)
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Excellent Cadaver / Saks Picture Company
Producers: Jennifer Lawrence / Alex Saks / Naomi Odenkirk
Director: Gene Stupnitsky

Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)
Studio: 3000 Pictures / Hello Sunshine
Producers: Reese Witherspoon / Lauren Neustadter / Erin Siminoff
Director: Olivia Newman

My Father's Dragon (2022)
Studio: Netflix Animation / Cartoon Saloon / Mockingbird Pictures
Producers: Bonnie Curtis / Julie Lynn / Paul Young
Director: Nora Twomey

Cinderella (2021)
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Fulwell 73
Producers: James Corden / Leo Pearlman / Jonathan Kadin
Director: Kay Cannon

Stillwater (2021)
Studio: Participant / DreamWorks Pictures / Anonymous Content
Producers: Steve Golin / Tom McCarthy / Jonathan King
Director: Tom McCarthy

Onward (2020)
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Pictures
Producers: Kori Rae
Director: Dan Scanlon

The Addams Family (2019)
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures / Bron Creative / Cinesite Studios
Producers: Gail Berman / Conrad Vernon / Alex Schwartz
Director: Greg Tiernan / Conrad Vernon

After the Wedding (2019)
Studio: Ingenious Media / Riverstone Pictures / Joel B. Michaels Productions
Producers: Joel B. Michaels / Julianne Moore / Bart Freundlich
Director: Bart Freundlich

A Dog's Way Home (2019)
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Bona Film Group / Pariah
Producers: Gavin Polone / Robert J. Dohrmann / W. Bruce Cameron
Director: Charles Martin Smith

On the Basis of Sex (2018)
Studio: Participant Media / Robert Cort Productions / Focus Features
Producers: Jonathan King / Robert Cort
Director: Mimi Leder

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)
Studio: Parallel Films / Rhombus Media / The Mazur Kaplan Company
Producers: Niv Fichman / Vadim Jean / Robert Mickelson
Director: Bharat Nalluri

The Breadwinner (2017)
Studio: Cartoon Saloon / Aircraft Pictures / Guru Studio
Producers: Anthony Leo / Tomm Moore / Andrew Rosen
Director: Nora Twomey

Storks (2016)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures / Warner Bros. Animation / RatPac-Dune Entertainment
Producers: Brad Lewis / Nicholas Stoller
Director: Nicholas Stoller / Doug Sweetland

The Good Dinosaur (2015)
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios / Walt Disney Pictures
Producers: Denise Ream
Director: Peter Sohn

Remember (2015)
Studio: Serendipity Point Films / Egoli Tossell Film
Producers: Robert Lantos / Ari Lantos
Director: Atom Egoyan

Transcendence (2014)
Studio: Alcon Entertainment / DMG Entertainment / Straight Up Films
Producers: Andrew A. Kosove / Broderick Johnson / Marisa Polvino
Director: Wally Pfister

Life of Pi (2012)
Studio: Fox 2000 Pictures / Dune Entertainment / Ingenious Media
Producers: Ang Lee / Gil Netter / David Womark
Director: Ang Lee

Moneyball (2011)
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Scott Rudin Productions / Michael De Luca Productions
Producers: Michael De Luca / Rachael Horovitz / Brad Pitt
Director: Bennett Miller

Chloe (2009)
Studio: The Montecito Picture Company / StudioCanal
Producers: Ivan Reitman / Joe Medjuck / Jeffrey Clifford
Director: Atom Egoyan

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
Studio: New Line Cinema / Plan B Entertainment / Nick Wechsler Productions
Producers: Nick Wechsler / Brad Pitt / Dede Gardner
Director: Robert Schwentke

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Studio: Infinity Features / Parnassus Productions / Davis-Films
Producers: Amy Gilliam / Samuel Hadida / William Vince
Director: Terry Gilliam

500 Days of Summer (2009)
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures / Watermark Pictures / Dune Entertainment III
Producers: Mark Waters / Mason Novick / Jessica Tuchinsky
Director: Marc Webb

Lakeview Terrace (2008)
Studio: Screen Gems / Overbrook Entertainment / Laurence Mark Productions
Producers: Will Smith / James Lassiter / Glenn S. Gainor
Director: Neil LaBute

Adoration (2008)
Studio: Serendipity Point Films / Téléfilm Canada
Producers: Robert Lantos / Atom Egoyan
Director: Atom Egoyan

Surf's Up (2007)
Studio: Sony Pictures Animation / Columbia Pictures
Producers: Chris Jenkins / Christopher Chase
Director: Ash Brannon / Chris Buck

Fracture (2007)
Studio: New Line Cinema / Castle Rock Entertainment
Producers: Charles Weinstock / Richard D. Zanuck
Director: Gregory Hoblit

Breach (2007)
Studio: Universal Pictures / Sidney Kimmel Entertainment / Intermedia Films
Producers: Scott Kroopf / Gary Foster / Scott Kimmel
Director: Billy Ray

The Nativity Story (2006)
Studio: New Line Cinema / Temple Hill Entertainment
Producers: Wyck Godfrey / Marty Bowen / Ralph Winter
Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Studio: Big Beach Films / Bona Fide Productions
Producers: Albert Berger / Ron Yerxa / Marc Turtletaub
Director: Jonathan Dayton / Valerie Faris

Eve and the Fire Horse (2005)
Studio: The Film Works / Telefilm Canada
Producers: Elizabeth Yake / Julia Kwan
Director: Julia Kwan

Tideland (2005)
Studio: Capri Films / Recorded Picture Company
Producers: Jeremy Thomas / Gabriella Martinelli
Director: Terry Gilliam

Water (2005)
Studio: Hamilton-Mehta Productions / Noble Nomad Pictures
Producers: David Hamilton / Deepa Mehta
Director: Deepa Mehta

Capote (2005)
Studio: United Artists / Sony Pictures Classics
Producers: Caroline Baron / William Vince / Michael Ohoven
Director: Bennett Miller

Where the Truth Lies (2005)
Studio: Serendipity Point Films / Myriad Pictures
Producers: Robert Lantos / Sandra Cunningham
Director: Atom Egoyan

Being Julia (2004)
Studio: Serendipity Point Films / Myriad Pictures
Producers: Robert Lantos / Barbara Orsi / William Horberg
Director: István Szabó

Vanity Fair (2004)
Studio: Focus Features / BBC Films / Tempesta Films
Producers: Janette Day / Donna Gigliotti / Lydia Dean Pilcher
Director: Mira Nair

The Snow Walker (2003)
Studio: Snow Walker Film Productions / First Look Media
Producers: William Vince / Julia Schubert
Director: Charles Martin Smith

Shattered Glass (2003)
Studio: Lions Gate Films / Cruise-Wagner Productions
Producers: Craig Baumgarten / Adam Merims / Tove Christensen
Director: Billy Ray

Antwone Fisher (2002)
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures / Mundy Lane Entertainment
Producers: Todd Black / Denzel Washington / Deborah Schindler
Director: Denzel Washington

The Guys (2002)
Studio: Hoockey Productions / ContentFilm
Producers: Elizabeth Ireland McCann / James C. Katz
Director: Jim Simpson

Ararat (2002)
Studio: Ego Film Arts / Serendipity Point Films
Producers: Robert Lantos / Atom Egoyan
Director: Atom Egoyan

Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
Studio: Castle Rock Entertainment / NPV Entertainment
Producers: Kerry Heysen / Michael A. Stevenson / Barry Bernardi
Director: Scott Hicks

Monsoon Wedding (2001)
Studio: Mirabai Films / IFC Films
Producers: Mira Nair / Caroline Baron
Director: Mira Nair

Green Dragon (2001)
Studio: Green Dragon Productions / Imminent Films
Producers: Timothy Linh Bui / Tony Bui / John R. B. Smith
Director: Timothy Linh Bui

Bounce (2000)
Studio: Miramax Films / Bobby Newmyer Productions
Producers: Bobby Newmyer / Scott Free Productions
Director: Don Roos

Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Red Wagon Entertainment
Producers: Douglas Wick / Cathy Konrad
Director: James Mangold

Ride with the Devil (1999)
Studio: Universal Pictures / Good Machine
Producers: James Schamus / Ted Hope / Ang Lee
Director: Ang Lee

Felicia's Journey (1999)
Studio: Alliance Atlantis / Icon Productions
Producers: Bruce Davey / Robert Lantos
Director: Atom Egoyan

8MM (1999)
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Hofflund-Polone
Producers: Gavin Polone / Arnold Kopelson
Director: Joel Schumacher

Behind the Lines (1997)
Studio: Alliance Communications / Vanguard Films
Producers: Robert Lantos / Stephen H. Wild
Director: Gillies MacKinnon

The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Studio: Alliance Communications / Fine Line Features
Producers: Atom Egoyan / Robert Lantos
Director: Atom Egoyan

The Ice Storm (1997)
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures / Good Machine
Producers: Ted Hope / James Schamus
Director: Ang Lee

Kama Sutra (1996)
Studio: Mirabai Films / Trimark Pictures
Producers: Mira Nair / Nisha Ganatra
Director: Mira Nair

Lilies (1996)
Studio: Triptych Media / Alliance Communications
Producers: Louise Garfield / Doug Mankovitz
Director: John Greyson

Exotica (1994)
Studio: Alliance Communications / Ego Film Arts
Producers: Atom Egoyan / Camelia Frieberg
Director: Atom Egoyan

The Adjuster (1991)
Studio: Ego Film Arts / Alliance Communications
Producers: Atom Egoyan / Camelia Frieberg
Director: Atom Egoyan

Family Viewing (1987)
Studio: Ego Film Arts
Producers: Atom Egoyan / Robert Lantos
Director: Atom Egoyan

TELEVISION

Alias Grace (2017)
Studio: Halfire Entertainment / Tangled Productions
Producers: D.J. Carson / Sarah Polley
Director: Mary Harron

Tyrant (2014–2016)
Studio: Teakwood Lane Productions / Keshet Studios / FX Productions / Fox 21 Television Studios
Producers: Pavlina Hatoupis / Gergo Balika / Howard Ellis
Creators: Gideon Raff / Howard Gordon / Craig Wright

Camelot (2011)
Studio: Take 5 Productions / Octagon Films / Ecosse Films / GK-TV
Producers: Michael Parke / Brad Van Arragon / John Weber
Creators: Chris Chibnall / Michael Hirst