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Ghost-Writer Zimmer


Sorry but we don't all agree Hans "Ghost Writer" Zimmer is one of the best in Hollywood.
His company Remote Control(or whatever name it goes by now) has composers on hand to ghost write some of Zimmer's work(it works both ways Zimmer also ghost writes for other composers he employs like Steve Jablonsky). Zimmer is also one of the worst offenders of self plagiarism by reusing his or his ghost writers previous work on other movies. The first, and most famous, example that comes to mind is that the Gladiator theme and the Pirates of the Caribbean theme sound identical. James Horner is another example of a composer reusing themes again and again. i understand Zimmers appeal and there are some really great compositions credited to him that are truly fantastic pieces but his career as a whole? Knowing the ghost writing that goes on compared to Howard Shore or John Williams(who compose every note themselves) I can't say Hans Zimmer belongs with the all time greats. I should note that many composers quote their own work from time to time(outside of sequels of course) but quoting is very different from overt recycling of major themes.

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I loved his work up until 2010! He kinda lost his punch after that. Yes, he reuses his work over and over.

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The latest score I bought from him was Blade Runner 2049, but after that my interest for him started to wane. His style has changed. Score for Dunkirk was just a noise.

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He did some nice work on Top Gun 2, but yes, He is just too fat and happy now.

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Haven't seen or heard Top Gun 2, but from the clips on television, it sounded like they recycled music from the original movie. Maybe its fitting after Blade Runner 2049 and No Time to Die, which both recycled partly old music.

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