The Great Outdoors

Thomas Montgomery Newman is an American composer and conductor, best known for his many film scores. 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, uncles Lionel Newman and Emil Newman, cousin Randy Newman and his nephew Joey Newman. Newman was educated at Yale University before starting his career in music. His first major score was for the 1984 film Reckless. In 1999, Newman composed the score to Sam Mendes' first feature film American Beauty, created using mainly percussion instruments.
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In 1927, Paramount Studios purchased a 2,700-acre property in the hills between Malibu, California and the San Fernando Valley. The studio built numerous large-scale sets on the ranch, including a huge replica of early San Francisco and an Old West town. Since then, the older sets have been... removed, but there is a western town at the location for visitors to view. This remaining set of buildings continues to be used in filming, notably for the Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman television series and the short lived HBO series Carnivàle. It also was the home of the original Renaissance Faire from 1966 to 1989, and continues to be the home of the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest, held each May.
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