# James Newton Howard
**James Newton Howard** (born 1951 in Los Angeles) is an American film composer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whose career spans more than thirty years and more than 140 film and television projects. A nine-time Oscar nominee and winner of an Emmy and a Grammy, he is known for scores ranging from *Pretty Woman* and *The Fugitive* to the *Hunger Games* and *Fantastic Beasts* franchises, and for his long collaboration with director [M. Night Shyamalan](https://www.edgepedia.org/m-night-shyamalan).[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951, Los Angeles, California[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006133/) |
| First film score | *Head Office* (1985); first solo credit *Wildcats* (1986)[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773) |
| Awards | Nine Oscar nominations; Emmy for *Gideon's Crossing* (2001); Grammy for *The Dark Knight* (with Hans Zimmer)[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) • [4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/james-newton-howard) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773) |
| Signature collaborations | Eight films with M. Night Shyamalan from *The Sixth Sense* (1999); *Batman Begins* and *The Dark Knight* with Hans Zimmer; four *Hunger Games* films[5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2023/10/19/james-newton-howard-album-shyamalan-scores/) • [6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126) • [1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) |
| Television themes | *E.R.* (1994) and *Gideon's Crossing* (2001)[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126) |
| Concert works | *I Would Plant a Tree* (2009), Violin Concerto (2015), Cello Concerto, and an encore for Hilary Hahn's *27 Pieces*[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) |
| Career output | More than 140 film and television projects; multiple scoring credits per year for over 30 consecutive years[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773) |
## Early life and the pop years
Howard grew up in Los Angeles, the son of a milkman, and was on track to become a classical pianist, earning a full scholarship to the [University of Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-southern-california)'s music school. He left school to become a session player, and rock and roll won out.[7](https://www.wprl.org/npr-music/2020-12-28/james-newton-howard-a-composer-who-can-do-it-all) • [8](https://www.laphil.com/people/james-newton-howard) He issued a self-titled album of instrumental progressive rock in 1974, and the following year joined [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john)'s backing band, touring and recording with him from 1975 to 1982 and rejoining him for tours in 1980 and 1986.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773) • [7](https://www.wprl.org/npr-music/2020-12-28/james-newton-howard-a-composer-who-can-do-it-all) As a songwriter, producer, and arranger he worked with artists including Toto, Diana Ross, Earth, Wind & Fire, Cher, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, and [Rickie Lee Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/rickie-lee-jones).[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773) • [1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/)
## Transition to film scoring
In 1985 Howard was offered his first film, the comedy *Head Office*, which he scored with Alan Howarth; his first solo credit was *Wildcats* the next year. From 1986 he scored films full time, earning multiple composing credits per year for more than 30 consecutive years.[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773) Early credits included *Major League* (1989), *Pretty Woman* (1990), and *Flatliners* (1990).[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126)
His first Academy Award nomination came with [Barbra Streisand](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbra-streisand)'s *The Prince of Tides* (1991), followed by a nomination for *The Fugitive* (1993). That [Harrison Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/harrison-ford) and [Tommy Lee Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/tommy-lee-jones) thriller, directed by Andrew Davis, was a turning point: the score was used as temporary music by directors making action films for years afterward.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773) • [7](https://www.wprl.org/npr-music/2020-12-28/james-newton-howard-a-composer-who-can-do-it-all) Two Best Original Song nominations followed, for "Look What Love Has Done" from *Junior* (1994), written with Carole Bayer Sager, James Ingram, and Patty Smyth, and for "For the First Time" from *One Fine Day* (1996), written with Jud Friedman and Allan Dennis Rich; *My Best Friend's Wedding* (1998) brought a fifth nomination, for original score.[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126)
In television during the 1990s he wrote the theme to *E.R.*, which earned him an Emmy nomination in 1995, and in 2001 he won the Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for *Gideon's Crossing*. He received further Emmy nominations for *Men* (1989), *All The Way* (2016), *A Series of Unfortunate Events* (2017), *Light & Magic* (2023), and *All the Light We Cannot See* (2024).[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126) • [4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/james-newton-howard)
## Shyamalan, Nolan, and the 2000s
In 1999 Howard began his partnership with M. Night Shyamalan on *The Sixth Sense*, scoring *Unbreakable* (2000), *Signs* (2002), and *The Village* (2004) among a run of eight films together. *The Village* delivered his sixth Oscar nomination.[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126) • [5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2023/10/19/james-newton-howard-album-shyamalan-scores/) NPR's profile likened the pairing to [Bernard Herrmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/bernard-herrmann) working with [Alfred Hitchcock](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfred-hitchcock).[7](https://www.wprl.org/npr-music/2020-12-28/james-newton-howard-a-composer-who-can-do-it-all)
Concurrently he teamed with [Christopher Nolan](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-nolan) and [Hans Zimmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/hans-zimmer) on *Batman Begins* (2005) and *The Dark Knight* (2008); *The Dark Knight* won the Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773) He also scored [Peter Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-jackson)'s 2005 remake of *King Kong*.[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126) He sat on the ASCAP Board of Directors between 2004 and 2007, taking over the seat that had become vacant when Elmer Bernstein died.[6](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126)
## Franchises and recent work
Howard scored all four installments of *The Hunger Games* franchise beginning in 2012, where the song "The Hanging Tree," performed by [Jennifer Lawrence](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-lawrence), became a chart hit, and he returned for the prequel *The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes* (2023).[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) • [9](https://www.universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000117671) For the prequel, set roughly 65 years earlier, director [Francis Lawrence](https://www.edgepedia.org/francis-lawrence) asked him to avoid electronics, producing a purely orchestral score heavy on woodwinds.[10](https://composer.spitfireaudio.com/en/articles/james-newton-howard-on-why-clarity-and-perspective-are-crucial-for-a-great-film-score) He has also scored the *Fantastic Beasts* films, *Jungle Cruise*, *News of the World*, *Raya and the Last Dragon*, *A Hidden Life*, *Red Sparrow*, *Maleficent*, and *Nightcrawler*, among many others.[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/)
His own site's updates list recent and upcoming projects including [Paul Greengrass](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-greengrass)'s *The Lost Bus* (2025), Tony Gilroy's *Behemoth!*, M. Night Shyamalan's *Remain*, and *Sunrise on the Reaping*, the sixth *Hunger Games* film.[11](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/)
## Concert music and live performance
Beyond film, Howard has written concert works: *I Would Plant a Tree* for the Pacific Symphony (2009), a Concerto for Violin and Orchestra premiered in 2015 with violinist James Ehnes, the encore "133 . . . At Least" for Hilary Hahn's collection *27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores*, the chamber work "they have just arrived at this new level" (premiered 2018 by the Seattle Chamber Music Society), and a Concerto for Cello and Orchestra premiered with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) In 2017 he completed his first live concert tour, *3 Decades of Music for Hollywood*, visiting 15 European cities with the premiere at the Royal Albert Hall,[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) and in May 2025 he conducted a program of his film scores with the Wiener Symphoniker in Vienna.[11](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/)
In October 2023 he released *Night After Night* on Sony Classical, an album of eight concert suites reworking his Shyamalan scores with new material, featuring pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Hilary Hahn, and cellist Maya Beiser.[11](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/) • [5](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2023/10/19/james-newton-howard-album-shyamalan-scores/)
## Awards and recognition
Howard has been nominated for nine Academy Awards without a win, according to his official biography; NPR's 2020 profile put the count at eight and noted that he had never won, possibly because he changes his style so often.[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) • [7](https://www.wprl.org/npr-music/2020-12-28/james-newton-howard-a-composer-who-can-do-it-all) He has also received the ASCAP Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement and the BMI ICON Award.[1](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/) IMDb lists 79 wins and 130 nominations overall.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006133/)
## References
1. [JAMES NEWTON HOWARD — About, jamesnewtonhoward.com](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/about/)
2. [James Newton Howard, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006133/)
3. [James Newton Howard — Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-p6773)
4. [James Newton Howard, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/james-newton-howard)
5. [His scores for M. Night Shyamalan's best-known films are now an album, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/2023/10/19/james-newton-howard-album-shyamalan-scores/)
6. [James Newton Howard — Biography, AllMusic (extended)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-newton-howard-mn0000786126)
7. [James Newton Howard, A Composer Who Can Do It All, NPR](https://www.wprl.org/npr-music/2020-12-28/james-newton-howard-a-composer-who-can-do-it-all)
8. [James Newton Howard, LA Phil](https://www.laphil.com/people/james-newton-howard)
9. [James Newton Howard, Universal Music France](https://www.universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000117671)
10. [James Newton Howard on why clarity and perspective are crucial for a great film score, Composer Magazine (Spitfire Audio)](https://composer.spitfireaudio.com/en/articles/james-newton-howard-on-why-clarity-and-perspective-are-crucial-for-a-great-film-score)
11. [JAMES NEWTON HOWARD — Updates, jamesnewtonhoward.com](https://jamesnewtonhoward.com/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Film, TV, and video-game composers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license