Rupert Gregson-Williams is one of Britain’s leading commercial film arrangers, sometimes composing scores, but very often being called in to provide additional music or to arrange. Rupert had been intrigued by the use of classical music in film since Visconti used Mahler’s music in Death in Venice. Soon after his first projects established film composer Hans Zimmer asked him to join his organization Media Ventures, which provided music for film, television, advertisements, and other commercial uses. Gregson-Williams worked directly with Zimmer on the score to The Prince of Egypt, composing certain sequences in the film using Zimmer’s melodies to the composer’s specifications. He is known for his work on Hotel Rwanda (2004), The Legend of Tarzan (2016) and Hacksaw Ridge (2016) The Crown Rupert Gregson-Williams once more cooperates with multi-awarded composer Hans Zimmer who wrote the theme for the television series. Since the 1980s, Zimmer has composed music for over 150 filmsover Scottish film composer Lorne Balfe contributed to the soundtrack who is currently a member of Zimmer’s Studio Remote Control Production. He is known for his work on Inception (2010), Iron Man (2008) and The Dark Knight (2008) Crown focuses on Queen Elizabeth II as a 25-year-old newlywed faced with the daunting prospect of leading the world’s most famous monarchy while forging a relationship with legendary Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. The British Empire is in decline, the political world is in disarray, and a young woman takes the throne. A new era is dawning. Drama doesn’t come more eagerly awaited than The Crown. This 10-part production, which chronicles the lives of the Windsors from 1947 to 1956, is one of the most expensive TV series in history. It may seem like an astonishing act of hubris for American streaming service Netflix (best known for House of Cards) to take on the ultimate British institution, but it comes with a strong pedigree. Peter Morgan is the writer behind the 2006 film The Queen and the 2013 stage play The Audience, both of which offered robust portraits of the Royal family. Peter Morgan’s masterfully researched scripts reveal the Queen’s private journey behind the public facade with daring frankness. Prepare to be welcomed into the coveted world of power and privilege and behind locked doors in Westminster and Buckingham Palace. The leaders of an empire await. The director of the first two episodes, Stephen Daldry, has proved a powerfully creative force in both theatre and cinema, his 2000 film Billy Elliot an assured debut. It’s not hard to see Netflix’s motive here – The Crown is likely to draw new subscribers, arguably from an older, less technically savvy demographic, exactly the sort of audience attracted to epic costume drama. I predict they will triumph in this endeavour.
