Newman has been nominated for 15 Academy Awards and 4 Golden Globes, and has won 2 BAFTAs, 6 Grammys and an Emmy Award. 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 is the youngest son of Martha Louis Montgomery (1920–2005) and composer Alfred Newman (1900–1970), who won the Academy Award for Best Original Score nine times. He is a member of a film-scoring dynasty in Hollywood that includes his father Alfred, brother David Newman, sister Maria Newman, uncles Lionel Newman and Emil Newman, cousin Randy Newman (also known as a singer and songwriter), and his first cousin, once removed, Joey Newman. His paternal grandparents were Russian immigrants, and his mother was from Mississippi.
During their upbringing, Martha herded her sons into violin lessons in the San Fernando Valley every weekend. Newman later studied composition and orchestration for two years at the University of Southern California, before transferring to Yale University, where he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in 1977 and a Master of Music in 1978. While at Yale, he met composer Stephen Sondheim, who became an early mentor.
Newman and his wife, Ann Marie, have three children. They reside in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles.
At first, Newman was more interested in musical theater than in film composition, working with Sondheim in Broadway plays. Lionel, who succeeded Alfred as music director for 20th Century Fox, gave Thomas his first scoring assignment on a 1979 episode of the series The Paper Chase. In 1983, John Williams, who was a friend of both Alfred and Lionel, invited Newman to work on Return of the Jedi, orchestrating the scene where Darth Vader dies. Afterwards Newman met in New York producer Scott Rudin, who invited him to compose the score for Reckless (1984). Newman said that he thought "it was a tough job, at first" for requiring him to "develop vocabularies and a sense of procedure", only getting comfortable with writing scores "and not fraudulent in my efforts" after 8 years.
In 1992, Newman composed the score to Martin Brest's film Scent of a Woman.
In 1994, he got his first Academy Award nominations with the scores to The Shawshank Redemption and Little Women. He also scored the film The War. In 1996, he scored Diane Keaton's Unstrung Heroes, receiving yet another Oscar nomination. In 1998, he scored Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer as well as Meet Joe Black. In 1999, Newman composed the score to Sam Mendes' first feature film American Beauty, created using mainly percussion instruments. Newman believed the score helped move the film along without disturbing the "moral ambiguity" of the script, saying "It was a real delicate balancing act in terms of what music worked to preserve that." This was his first collaboration with Mendes, and he would go on to score all of the director's subsequent films except for the comedy-drama Away We Go, which featured songs instead of a score. He received a fourth Oscar nomination for this score, and although he lost again (to John Corigliano for The Red Violin), he did receive a Grammy and a BAFTA.
His critical and commercial success has continued in the following years with his scores for films such as Meet Joe Black, The Green Mile, Erin Brockovich, In the Bedroom and The Salton Sea. He was nominated consecutively for a further three Academy Awards, for Road to Perdition (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004). However, he lost on each occasion to Elliot Goldenthal (for Frida), Howard Shore (for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), and Jan A. P. Kaczmarek (for Finding Neverland) respectively.
He was again nominated for an Oscar for scoring Steven Soderbergh's The Good German (2006). At the Oscar ceremony, he appeared in the opening segment by Errol Morris, who jokingly stated that Newman had been nominated for and failed to win an Oscar eight times. Newman replied: "No, I've failed seven but this will be my eighth", and indeed, he again lost, this time to Gustavo Santaolalla for Babel.
His first score since The Good German was for the 2008 animated film WALL-E, collaborating for the second time with director Andrew Stanton (with the first collaboration being Finding Nemo). The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (as had Nemo). Newman received two Oscar nominations: one for Best Original Score, and another for Best Original Song for "Down to Earth", which he co-wrote with Peter Gabriel. He was nominated in the Original Score category with two other veteran composers, James Newton-Howard and Danny Elfman, both of whom have also been nominated for several Oscars but each time unsuccessfully. Newman lost both the score and song nominations to A R Rahman for his work on Slumdog Millionaire. He and Peter Gabriel did however win a Grammy for "Down to Earth".
In 2008, Newman scored Towelhead and Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road and in 2009 he scored Brothers. In 2011 he scored The Help, The Debt, The Iron Lady, and The Adjustment Bureau.
In 2012, Newman scored The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. He also scored the 23rd James Bond movie Skyfall, directed by his longtime collaborator Sam Mendes, which celebrates the film franchise's 50th anniversary. His work on this film earned him his eleventh Oscar nomination and a second BAFTA win. During 2013, he scored Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects and Saving Mr. Banks. The latter score was very well received by film music critics, earning Newman BAFTA and Oscar nominations for the second consecutive year, both of which he lost to Steven Price for Gravity.
Newman's 2014 projects included The Judge and Get on Up. He scored 2015's The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, marking the first time Newman has scored a sequel to a film he also wrote the score for.
In 2016, Newman scored the motion picture Passengers starring Andy Garcia, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt.
Newman likes to vary the instrumentation in his scores, ranging from full orchestra to percussion-only music. He is also fond of incorporating unusual instruments such as the zither, hurdy-gurdy, psaltery and hammered dulcimer, or unexpected sounds, like Aboriginal chants and the chirping of cicadas. The composer declared that he has "an interest in mundane experimentation."
Don
Thomas Newman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's my life.
晴れた日の日曜日
短く長い一日の始まり
決められたする事もなく
ブラブラ町を歩く
太陽さえもじゃまなくらい
2人で HAPPY LUNCH TIME
お腹も愛も満タン
僕とあなたと 2人だけで
素敵な星空がくるまで
僕とあなたと 2人だけで
素敵な星空がくるまで
幸せな時を過ごすこと
Don't worry be happy.
Happy Sunday. It's my life
Don't worry be happy.
Happy Sunday. It's my life
どうしたの?
何があったの
何をそんなに悩んでるの
でも心配することなんて
何一つもないよ
簡単に自分を責めたり
自信をなくさないで
簡単に自分を責めたり
自信をなくさないで
もう 明日は日曜日
Don't worry be happy.
Happy Sunday. It's my life
Don't worry be happy.
Happy Sunday. It's my life
With one more time
Don't worry be happy.
Happy Sunday. It's my life
Don't worry be happy.
Happy Sunday. It's my life
The song "Don" by Thomas Newman delivers a message about the importance of enjoying life and not worrying about things that are out of our control. The lyrics portray a scene of a happy Sunday with the singer and their partner, walking around town without any specific plans, enjoying each other's company and having a happy lunchtime. They look at the clear blue sky, and feel content with love and food filling them up. The chorus emphasizes the need to cherish happy moments together until the beautiful starry sky comes to an end. The verse "What's wrong? Did something happen? What are you so worried about? But there's nothing to worry about" conveys a message of comfort, suggesting that when things go wrong, it's essential to be there for each other and support each other.
The song encourages people to live in the moment and enjoy life while it lasts. It reminds people of how fragile life can be and to appreciate every moment spent with loved ones. The song calls for living life to the fullest, not regretting the past, and not worrying about the future, rather cherishing the present. It encourages a state of mind focussed on love and happiness, free of troubles and worries. The song is a reminder that life is a gift and to make the most of it.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't worry be happy.
Don't stress out, just be happy and content with the present moment.
It's my life.
I am in control of my own life and am free to live it as I choose.
On a sunny Sunday
On a beautiful, clear day of the week that is often associated with relaxation and enjoyment
The beginning of a short yet long day
The start of a day that feels both fleeting and lengthy at the same time
With nothing specific to do
Without any set plans or obligations to fulfill
We wander around the town
We stroll aimlessly through the city streets
The transparent blue sky
The clear, pristine blue sky that is easy to see through
Even the sun doesn't bother us
The bright, shining sun doesn't hinder our enjoyment of the day
Happy lunchtime for the two of us
We share a delightful meal together and feel content and fulfilled
Our hearts and stomachs are full of love and food
We feel both physically and emotionally satisfied and nourished
The two of us alone
Only the two of us together, without anyone else around
Until a lovely starry sky appears
Until the night sky becomes dotted with beautiful stars
We spend happy times together
We pass enjoyable moments together and cherish our time spent in each other's company
What's wrong?
What is troubling you, what seems to be the issue?
What happened?
What occurred that is making you upset or causing you distress?
Why are you so worried?
What is causing you to feel anxious or concerned?
But there's no need to worry about anything at all
There is absolutely no reason to be stressed or anxious about anything
Don't blame yourself too easily
Don't be too quick to take full responsibility for something or fault yourself for matters that are outside of your control
Don't lose confidence in yourself
Don't let setbacks or challenges cause you to doubt your own abilities or worth
Tomorrow is already Sunday
The upcoming day is already Sunday
One more time
Once again, reiterated for emphasis
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Robert Jr. McFerrin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SANTIAGO HARDY
Agreed. 100% agreed!
I own this film laserdisc (remember those?)
A few months back, I found it on Amazon Prime Video, so i purchased a digital copy of it.
It really is such a heartfelt story and film.
Newman's original score perfectly captures
the essence of it.
It's one of my very, very favorite original
film scores from Thomas. Thee BEST.
Juan Pablo Muñoz
This is absolutely and without a doubt one of my favorite all time soundtrack and have to agree with all the comments here. Once you hear it, it will stay with you forever. Thank you Thomas for composing this piece of heaven
delphiproductions
Absolutely
Phi Phi Randolph
I adore Thomas Newman ❤ Brilliant
Vashti Ramsaroop
Every time I saw this, my heart just opened up. The music was absolutely perfect, there were a times that it would just bring me to tears.
SANTIAGO HARDY
Agreed. 100% agreed!
I own this film laserdisc (remember those?)
A few months back, I found it on Amazon Prime Video, so i purchased a digital copy of it.
It really is such a heartfelt story and film.
Newman's original score perfectly captures
the essence of it.
It's one of my very, very favorite original
film scores from Thomas. Thee BEST.
DAVEY AMERICAN PRIDE, God Bless USA
THIS REALLY HAPPENED TOO!! MAYBE NOT, IN THIS MOVIE BUT, I KNOW OF A FAMILY BEING IN CONSTRUCTION THAT, THIS DID HAPPEN TO IN AMERICA! 😢💔
Paola Andrea Becerra Pedraza
I see God with every Thomas Newman's Songs
Beavispdx
My favorite film of all time, the score is amazing
Maxim F.
An outstanding movie with an outstanding score
LIgirl527
I saw this movie when it first came out with my then boyfriend (now husband)-we had no kids at the time....neither one of us thought much of it. It's 20+ yrs later and we have 4 glorious boys. I just caught this on cable a few weeks ago....and it absolutely devastated me.