American Beauty

Thomas Montgomery Newman is an American composer and conductor, best known for his many film scores. He is one of the more respected and recognized... composers for modern film and has scored over fifty feature films in a career which spans nearly three decades. Newman has received a total of ten Academy Award nominations, although as of 2011, he has yet to win the award. He has however won a BAFTA, two Grammys and an Emmy, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe. Newman was honored with the Richard Kirk award at the 2000 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. Born in Los Angeles, California, he was the youngest son of Mississippi-born Martha Louise and composer Alfred Newman. He is a member of a film-scoring dynasty in Hollywood that includes his father, brother David Newman, sister Maria Newman, uncle Lionel Newman and his cousins Joey Newman and Randy Newman . Newman was educated at Yale University before starting his career in music. His first major score was for the 1984 film Reckless.
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South High School is a public high school in Torrance, California. It is one of five high schools in the Torrance Unified School District. South High School opened in September, 1957 and moved to a new campus in January, 1958 with 20 buildings and 106 classrooms. It currently serves children south... of Sepulveda, west of Hawthorne and south of Lomita Boulevard. In the 1980s Asahi Gakuen, a Japanese-language education institution, rented space in South Torrance High School. Since 2004, South High has been under refurbishment. Renovations include improved handicapped accessibility, improved lighting, and new signage. 2007-2008 was the 50 year anniversary. American Beauty was filmed on the South High School campus during the winter break of 1998/1999. Many contemporary South High students were featured as extras in the scenes set on campus. In the sports world, the school is best remembered for refusing to play the second half of a girls basketball game against Morningside High School because Morningside's Lisa Leslie scored 101 points in the first half alone.
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