Dear Mr. Donner,
it sounds clichéd, but you are basically the director of my childhood. You frightened me with The Omen, you showed me what Superman actually looked like, you made me want to be one of The Goonies, and you gave me a good time with Lethal Weapon. And you enchanted me with Ladyhawke. Thank you for all those and many more movies that I grew up with. They inspired me to become the person I am now, an enthusiastic writer and composer. My birthday present for you is something very special: the soundtrack to Ladyhawke that Jerry Goldsmith never wrote.
Yes, crazy me, I composed an entire score for Ladyhawke, frame-exact and scene by scene. I don’t know if it’s a rumor that Jerry Goldsmith was originally planned to compose the music, but the idea how that would have turned out is something that I’ve been thinking about for years. That’s why, as a big fan of Mr. Goldsmith’s work, I composed a whole new score for Ladyhawke. I may not be as gifted as he was, not nearly, but I tried to keep a “Goldsmith-vibe” to it, with melodic themes and catchy rhythms and his main ingredient: a deep love for the movies he worked on. Call it a testament of appreciation for your work, for that of Mr. Goldsmith and for this wonderful movie that is already beautifully spotted and scored by Andrew Powell.
Mr. Donner, I wish you all the best and I hope you enjoy my music even if it’s different from the original score.
Again, thank you for inspiring my generation and – Happy Birthday!
Yours sincerely,
Alexander Schiebel,
composer and (obviously) fan
YouTube-Link (if video plug-in doesn’t work)
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