Joel McNeely
Encyclopedia
Biography
Joel McNeely was born in Madison, WisconsinMadison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. Both of his parents were involved in music and theater, and as a child he played the piano, saxophone, bass, and flute. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, studied jazz at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, and earned a masters degree as a composition major at the Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
.
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
chose McNeely to compose the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the 1996 Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
novel Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...
. This was an experimental project where he conveyed general moods and themes instead of writing music to flow for specific scenes.
He is also notable for conducting a series of re-recordings of Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
, Franz Waxman, John Barry and other's scores under the label of Varèse Sarabande, notably Vertigo
Vertigo (film score)
The music score for Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo was composed by Bernard Herrmann between 3 January and 19 February 1958. The recordings were made in London and Vienna, with orchestra conducted by Muir Mathieson...
, Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
and Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
, and selected scores from the Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
television series, among others. He also composed the score for The Avengers and the theme and music for FOX's Dark Angel
Dark Angel (TV series)
Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons...
also scored the movies Terminal Velocity, Iron Will, Flipper, Gold Diggers, Samantha, Virus, I Know Who Killed Me (2007). He also scored a multitude of Disney animated films (Mulan II, Peter Pan: Return to Neverland (2002), Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell (film)
Tinker Bell is a 2008 computer animated film based on the Disney Fairies franchise produced by DisneyToon Studios. It revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and featured in the 1953 Disney animated film, Peter...
and many others).
Currently McNeely scores occasional episodes of the FOX animated TV series American Dad!
American Dad!
American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
, since the fourth season replacing Ron Jones
Ron Jones (composer)
Ron Jones is an American composer who has written music for TV shows, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Duck Tales, American Dad!, and Family Guy...
who left to focus more on composing for Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, including the episode with the Back to the Future parody, and the season five premiere (among others). McNeely is currently producing Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
's first solo album, which includes a song he wrote for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. The series explores the childhood and youth of the fictional character Indiana Jones and primarily stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Corey Carrier as the title character, with...
entitled "She's Wonderful Too", to which MacFarlane and McNeely personally received permission from George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
himself to write additional music and lyrics.
Filmography
- SamanthaSamantha (film)Samantha is a 1992 American film starring actress Martha Plimpton. Though at the time already a film actress for nearly ten years, this was the first vehicle in which Plimpton was the star. The film co-starred Mary Kay Place, Hector Elizondo, Ione Skye and Dermot Mulroney...
(1992) - Iron WillIron WillIron Will is a 1994 family adventure film directed by Charles Haid. The film stars Mackenzie Astin, Kevin Spacey, David Ogden Stiers, George Gerdes, Brian Cox, Penelope Windust, and August Schellenberg.-Plot:...
(1994) - Radioland MurdersRadioland MurdersRadioland Murders is a 1994 black comedy mystery film directed by Mel Smith and co-written/produced by George Lucas. Radioland Murders is set in the 1939 atmosphere of old-time radio and pays homage to the screwball comedy films of the 1930s...
(1994) - Squanto: A Warrior's TaleSquanto: A Warrior's TaleSquanto: A Warrior's Tale is a 1994 theatrical live action Disney adventure film. It was written by Darlene Craviato. Xavier Koller and Christopher Stoia were the directors. It is very loosely based on the actual historical Native American figure Squanto, and his life prior to and including the...
(1994) - Terminal VelocityTerminal Velocity (film)Terminal Velocity is a 1994 action movie starring Charlie Sheen as a daredevil skydiver who becomes mixed up with Russian spies. It was written by David Twohy and directed by Deran Sarafian. Originally, Sheen's role was written for Tom Cruise, although William Baldwin was also considered. The...
(1994) - Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear MountainGold Diggers: The Secret of Bear MountainGold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain is a 1995 drama film starring Christina Ricci and Anna Chlumsky. It takes place in the fictional town of Wheaton, Washington, but was filmed on location in Norfolk, Virginia, Vancouver, B.C, Nelson, B.C, Pleasant Grove, Utah, and Pemberton, B.C....
(1995) - FlipperFlipper (1996 film)Flipper is a 1996 remake of the 1963 film of the same name, starring Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood. The movie is about a boy who has to spend the summer with his uncle Porter , who lives in the Florida Keys...
(1996) - Star Wars: Shadows of the EmpireStar Wars: Shadows of the EmpireStar Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a multimedia project created by Lucasfilm Ltd. in 1996. The original idea was to create an interquel, a story set between the movies The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , and to explore all commercial possibilities of a full motion picture release,...
(1996) - Vegas VacationVegas VacationVegas Vacation is a 1997 comedy film. It is the fourth film in the original Vacation film series centering around the fictitious Griswold family, following Vacation, European Vacation, and Christmas Vacation. Chevy Chase reprises his starring role as Clark W. Griswold, the patriarch of the family...
(1997) - Air Force OneAir Force One (film)Air Force One is a 1997 American action-thriller film written by Andrew W. Marlowe and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It stars Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close, and also features Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell and Paul Guilfoyle...
(1997) (additional music) - Wild AmericaWild America (film)Wild America is a 1997 adventure comedy film directed by William Dear, written by David Michael Wieger, and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Devon Sawa and Scott Bairstow.-Plot:...
(1997) - The Avengers (1998)
- SoldierSoldier (film)Soldier is a 1998 science fiction-action film directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The film stars Kurt Russell as Sgt. Todd, a soldier trained from birth...
(1998) - VirusVirus (1999 film)Virus is a 1999 science fiction-horror film directed by visual effects artist John Bruno and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland...
(1999) - Return to Never LandReturn to Never LandReturn to Never Land is a 2002 American animated film produced by DisneyToon Studios in Sydney, Australia and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is a sequel to the 1953 film Peter Pan, based on J.M...
(2002) - The Jungle Book 2The Jungle Book 2The Jungle Book 2 is a 2003 American animated film produced by the DisneyToons studio in Sydney, Australia and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. The theatrical version of the film was released in France on February 5, 2003, and released in the United States on February...
(2003) - Ghosts of the AbyssGhosts of the AbyssGhosts of the Abyss is a 2003 documentary film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. It was Disney's first film produced in 3-D and was directed by Academy Award winning filmmaker James Cameron after his Oscar winning film Titanic...
(2003) - HolesHoles (film)Holes is a 2003 film based on the novel of the same name by Louis Sachar, who also wrote the screenplay, with Shia LaBeouf as the lead role of Stanley Yelnats...
(2003) - Uptown GirlsUptown GirlsUptown Girls is a 2003 comedy film directed by Boaz Yakin and adapted from the story by Allison Jacobs into screenplay by Julia Dahl, Mo Ogrodnik and Lisa Davidowitz. It starred Brittany Murphy as a 22-year-old living a charmed life as the daughter of a famous rock and roll musician...
(2003) - America's Heart and SoulAmerica's Heart and SoulAmerica's Heart and Soul is a 2004 film produced by Blacklight Films and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a documentary and was directed by Louis Schwartzberg. The film was nominated for two MovieGuide Awards, winning one....
(2004) - StatesideStateside (film)Stateside is a 2004 romantic drama film film based on a true story. It is an adventurous love story about a high school rich kid serving in the Marine Corps to avoid jail, who eventually falls in love with a schizophrenic actress. Those around them ask them to keep their distance from each other,...
(2004) - Mulan IIMulan IIMulan II is a 2004 American direct-to-video Disney animated feature directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southerl and is a sequel to the 1998 animated film Mulan. The entire cast from the first film returned, except for Eddie Murphy , Miriam Margolyes , Chris Sanders and Matthew Wilder...
(2004) - Pooh's Heffalump MoviePooh's Heffalump MoviePooh's Heffalump Movie is a 2005 Winnie-the-Pooh film, released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film runs at 68 mins., This was the shortest feature-length Pooh film to be released in theaters until The 2011 Film at 63 mins.- Plot :...
(2005) - I Know Who Killed MeI Know Who Killed MeI Know Who Killed Me is a 2007 American horror-thriller film directed by Chris Sivertson and starring Lindsay Lohan.-Plot:The quiet suburb of New Salem is being terrorized by a serial killer who abducts and tortures young women, holding them captive for weeks before murdering them...
(2007) - Tinker BellTinker Bell (film)Tinker Bell is a 2008 computer animated film based on the Disney Fairies franchise produced by DisneyToon Studios. It revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and featured in the 1953 Disney animated film, Peter...
(2008) - Tinker Bell and the Lost TreasureTinker Bell and the Lost TreasureTinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is a 2009 computer animated film based on the Disney Fairies franchise, produced by DisneyToon Studios, and a Chapter Book, "Tink, North of Neverland". It is a sequel to the 2008 film, Tinker Bell, and revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M...
(2009) - American Dad (2009–2010)
- Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy RescueTinker Bell and the Great Fairy RescueTinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is an computer animated film based on the Disney Fairies franchise, produced by DisneyToon Studios. It is the sequel to the 2009 film, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M...
(2010)