John Debney
John Debney | |
|---|---|
 Debney at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Cardon Debney |
| Born | August 18, 1956 Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Film scores, soundtracks |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, conductor |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, guitar |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Website | www |
John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores.[1] His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres, including comedy, horror, science fiction, thriller, fantasy and action-adventure. He is a long-time collaborator of The Walt Disney Company, having written music for their films, television series, and theme parks. He has also collaborated with film directors such as Brian Robbins, Jon Favreau, Garry Marshall, Tom Shadyac, Peter Hyams, John A. Davis, Brad Anderson, Howard Deutch, Mark Dindal, Robert Rodriguez, and Paul Tibbitt.
Debney has been the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004).
Early life and education
The son of Disney Studios producer Louis Debney (Zorro, The Mickey Mouse Club), John was born and raised in Glendale, California, nearby Disney headquarters. He began guitar lessons at age six and played in rock bands in college. Debney earned his B.A. degree in Music Composition from the California Institute of Arts in 1979.
Career
After ending his career with Disney, Debney worked for Mike Post. Debney furthered his hands-on training by working with Hanna-Barbera composer Hoyt Curtin. After this, Debney went on to score television projects as diverse as Disneyland, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, SeaQuest DSV, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The Cape, The Lazarus Man, Piggsburg Pigs!, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Doctor Who, Cagney and Lacey, Tiny Toon Adventures, The Young Riders, The New Yogi Bear Show, Police Academy: The Animated Series, Fame, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Dragon's Lair, Freshman Dorm, Pop Quiz and Dink, the Little Dinosaur, for which he won an Emmy for Best Main Title. In the early 1990s, Debney began to score indie films and Disneyland attractions. In 1991, Debney composed the music for Phantom Manor and It's a Small World (also used at Disneyland from 1993 to 2002) in Disneyland Paris and SpectroMagic at Magic Kingdom. In 1993, he scored his first studio feature, the Disney comedy Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler.
In 1994, Debney wrote Friends Forever with Greg Scelsa from Greg & Steve's album We All Live Together, Vol. 5.
Debney has since gone on to have a career composing scores for many films including: Cats & Dogs, The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Elf, Sin City, Chicken Little, Liar Liar, Spy Kids, The Scorpion King, The Princess Diaries[2] and Predators.[3]
Debney has also composed scores for the video games Lair and The Sims Medieval. In 2010, he composed the theme music for the Nickelodeon television series Supah Ninjas.
He composed some of Disney Parks's Nighttime Spectaculars, including: World Of Color Celebrate! in Disney's California Adventure, The Magic, The Memories And You! and Celebrate the Magic in Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom and Celebrate! Tokyo Disneyland in Tokyo Disneyland, as well as an arrangement of "When You Wish Upon a Star" as a fanfare for the Walt Disney Pictures logo from 1985 to 2006.
Filmography
Film
1980s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Wild Pair | Beau Bridges | Trans World Entertainment | Composed with Michel Colombier |
| 1988 | The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck | David Keith | — | |
| Seven Hours to Judgment | Beau Bridges | — | ||
| Not Since Casanova | Brett Thompson | The Brett Thompson Company West Productions |
— | |
| 1989 | Trenchcoat in Paradise | Martha Coolidge | Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions MGM Television |
— |
1990s
2000s
2010s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Valentine's Day | Garry Marshall | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema Wayne Rice Films Karz Entertainment |
— |
| Snowmen | Robert Kirbyson | Arc Entertainment Heritage Films Mpower Pictures |
— | |
| Iron Man 2 | Jon Favreau | Paramount Pictures Marvel Studios |
— | |
| Predators | Nimród Antal | 20th Century Fox Troublemaker Studios Davis Entertainment Dune Entertainment Ingenious Media |
Themes by Alan Silvestri | |
| Yogi Bear | Eric Brevig | Warner Bros. Pictures De Line Pictures Sunswept Entertainment |
Replaced Andrew Lockington | |
| 2011 | No Strings Attached | Ivan Reitman | Paramount Pictures DreamWorks Pictures Spyglass Entertainment Cold Spring Pictures The Montecito Picture Company Katalyst Films Handsomecharlie Films |
— |
| The Change-Up | David Dobkin | Universal Pictures Original Film Relativity Media Big Kid Pictures |
Composed with Theodore Shapiro | |
| Dream House | Jim Sheridan | Universal Pictures (North America) Warner Bros. Pictures (International) Morgan Creek Productions |
— | |
| The Double | Michael Brandt | Image Entertainment Hyde Park Entertainment Imagenation Abu Dhabi |
— | |
| New Year's Eve | Garry Marshall | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema Wayne Rice Films Karz Entertainment |
— | |
| 2012 | A Thousand Words | Brian Robbins | Paramount Pictures DreamWorks Pictures Saturn Films Varsity Pictures Work After Midnight Films |
— |
| The Three Stooges | Farrelly brothers | 20th Century Fox C3 Entertainment Charles B. Wessler Entertainment Dune Entertainment Conundrum Entertainment |
— | |
| Alex Cross | Rob Cohen | Lionsgate QED International Block/Hanson Emmett/Furla Films Envision Entertainment Corporation IAC Productions James Patterson Entertainment Summit Entertainment |
— | |
| 2013 | The Call | Brad Anderson | TriStar Pictures Stage 6 Films Troika Pictures WWE Studios Amasia Entertainment Apotheosis Media Group |
— |
| Jobs | Joshua Michael Stern | Open Road Films Five Star Feature Films IF Entertainment Venture Forth Silver Reel Endgame Entertainment |
— | |
| 2014 | Draft Day[4] | Ivan Reitman | Lionsgate Summit Entertainment OddLot Entertainment Montecito Picture Company |
— |
| Walk of Shame | Steven Brill | Focus World Sidney Kimmel Entertainment Brownstone Productions Lakeshore Entertainment |
— | |
| The Road Within | Gren Wells | Well Go USA Entertainment | Theme music only Score composed by The Newton Brothers & Josh Debney | |
| The Cobbler | Tom McCarthy | Image Entertainment Golden Spike Next Wednesday Voltage Pictures |
— | |
| Stonehearst Asylum | Brad Anderson | Millennium Films Icon Productions Sobini Films |
— | |
| 2015 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water[4] | Paul Tibbitt | Paramount Pictures Paramount Animation Nickelodeon Movies United Plankton Pictures |
— |
| Careful What You Wish For | Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum | Starz Digital Troika Pictures Hyde Park Entertainment Amasia Entertainment Roberi Media Image Nation Merced Media Partners Myriad Pictures Ashok Amritraj Productions |
Theme music only Score composed by The Newton Brothers & Josh Debney | |
| Broken Horses | Vidhu Vinod Chopra | Reliance Entertainment Vinod Chopra Films |
— | |
| 2016 | The Young Messiah | Cyrus Nowrasteh | Focus Features 1492 Pictures CJ Entertainment Hyde Park International Ocean Blue Entertainment |
— |
| The Jungle Book | Jon Favreau | Walt Disney Pictures Fairview Entertainment |
Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Score in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Film Nominated- Satellite Award for Best Original Score Nominated- IFMCA Award for Best Original Score for Action/Adventure Film | |
| Mother's Day | Garry Marshall | Open Road Films Capacity Pictures Gulfstream Pictures PalmStar Media |
— | |
| Ice Age: Collision Course | Mike Thurmeier | 20th Century Fox 20th Century Fox Animation Blue Sky Studios |
Replaced John Powell | |
| League of Gods | Koan Hui Vernie Yeung |
China Star Entertainment Group Bona Film Group |
— | |
| 2017 | Home Again | Hallie Meyers-Shyer | Open Road Films Black Bicycle Entertainment Waverly Films |
— |
| The Greatest Showman | Michael Gracey | 20th Century Fox Laurence Mark Productions Chernin Entertainment TSG Entertainment |
Composed with Joseph Trapanese Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Music | |
| 2018 | Beirut | Brad Anderson | Bleecker Street Radar Pictures ShivHans Pictures |
— |
| Brian Banks | Tom Shadyac | Bleecker Street ShivHans Pictures Gidden Media |
— | |
| 2019 | Isn't It Romantic | Todd Strauss-Schulson | Warner Bros. Pictures (United States, Canada and Argentina) Netflix (International) New Line Cinema Bron Creative Camp Sugar Little Engine Broken Road Productions |
— |
| The Beach Bum | Harmony Korine | Neon Iconoclast Anonymous Content Le Grisbi Productions SPK Pictures Vice Films Riverstone Pictures Rocket Science |
— | |
| Dora and the Lost City of Gold | James Bobin | Paramount Pictures Paramount Players Nickelodeon Movies Walden Media MRC Burr! Productions |
Composed with Germaine Franco | |
| Sextuplets | Michael Tiddes | Netflix Ugly Baby Productions Wayans Alvarez Productions |
— | |
| Lake of Death | Nini Bull Robsahm | Gussi Films (Mexico) SF Studios (Norway) Canopy Film |
— |
2020s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Come Away | Brenda Chapman | Signature Entertainment (United Kingdom) Relativity Media (United States) Endurance Media Fred Films Yoruba Saxon Productions |
— |
| I Still Believe | Erwin Brothers | Lionsgate Kingdom Story Company Kevin Downes Productions Erwin Brothers Entertainment |
— | |
| Asteroid Hunters | W.D. Hogan | Imax Filmed Entertainment (Worldwide) Shaw Organisation (Singapore) Day's End Pictures |
Documentary film | |
| Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey | David E. Talbert | Netflix Golden Girl Brillstein Entertainment Partners Burr Productions Get Lifted Film Company 260 Degrees Entertainment |
Nominated- Black Reel Award for Outstanding Original Score | |
| 2021 | Clifford the Big Red Dog | Walt Becker | Paramount Pictures (Worldwide) Entertainment One (Canada and United Kingdom) New Republic Pictures The Kerner Entertainment Company Scholastic Entertainment |
— |
| Home Sweet Home Alone | Dan Mazer | Disney+ 20th Century Studios Hutch Parker Entertainment |
Original Home Alone themes by John Williams | |
| American Underdog | Erwin Brothers | Lionsgate Kingdom Story Company Erwin Brothers Entertainment City on a Hill Productions |
— | |
| 2022 | Marry Me | Kat Coiro | Universal Pictures Nuyorican Productions Perfect World Pictures Kung Fu Monkey Productions |
— |
| Luck | Peggy Holmes | Apple TV+ Apple Studios Skydance Animation |
Nominated- Best Original Score in an Animated Film | |
| Hocus Pocus 2 | Anne Fletcher | Disney+ Walt Disney Pictures David Kirschner Productions Weimaraner Republic Pictures |
— | |
| 2023 | 80 for Brady | Kyle Marvin | Paramount Pictures 199 Productions Fifth Season Watch This Ready |
— |
| Spy Kids: Armageddon | Robert Rodriguez | Netflix Skydance Spyglass Media Group Double R Productions |
Composed with Rebel Rodriguez and Robert Rodriguez | |
| Under the Boardwalk | David Soren | Paramount Pictures Paramount Animation Big Kid Pictures |
Composed with Jonathan Sadoff | |
| 2024 | The Garfield Movie[5] | Mark Dindal | Columbia Pictures Alcon Entertainment DNEG Animation One Cool Group Limited Wayfarer Studios Stage 6 Films Andrews McMeel Entertainment |
— |
| Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1[6] | Kevin Costner | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema Territory Pictures |
— | |
| Space Cadet | Liz W. Garcia | Amazon MGM Studios Stampede Ventures |
— | |
| Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 | Kevin Costner | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema Territory Pictures |
— | |
| 2025 | In Your Dreams[7] | Alex Woo | Netflix Netflix Animation Sony Pictures Imageworks Kuku Studios |
Post-production |
| The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants[8] | Derek Drymon | Paramount Pictures Nickelodeon Movies United Plankton Pictures MRC |
In production |
Television
| Years | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Dragon's Lair | 13 episodes |
| 1984–1985 | Disney Family Album | 5 episodes |
| 1985–1987 | Fame | 30 episodes |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Episode: "The Storyteller/Nightsong" |
| Cagney & Lacey | Episode: "The Marathon" | |
| 1987 | Sport Goofy in Soccermania | Special |
| CBS Summer Playhouse | Episode: "Changing Patterns" | |
| ABC Afterschool Special | Episode: "The Day My Kid Went Punk" | |
| 1988–1991 | A Pup Named Scooby-Doo | 27 episodes |
| 1988 | Police Academy | 14 episodes |
| 1989 | The Further Adventures of SuperTed | 13 episodes |
| Trenchcoat in Paradise | Television film | |
| Nightmare Classics | Episode: "The Eyes of the Panther" | |
| 1989–1990 | Dink, the Little Dinosaur | 5 episodes |
| 1989–1992 | The Young Riders | 6 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series |
| 1990 | The Yum Yums: The Day Things Went Sour | Television film |
| The Face of Fear | ||
| Tiny Toon Adventures | 2 episodes: "Gang Busters" and "Hollywood Plucky" | |
| Piggsburg Pigs! | Episode: "Mummies From Outer Space" | |
| 1991 | A Seduction in Travis County | Television film |
| Vidiots | ||
| Into the Badlands | ||
| 1992 | Do Not Bring That Python in the House | |
| Still Not Quite Human | ||
| Sunstroke | ||
| The Plucky Duck Show | Episode: "Hollywood Plucky" | |
| 1993 | I Yabba-Dabba Do! | Television film |
| Jonny's Golden Quest | ||
| Class of '61 | ||
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | 2 episodes: The Nagus, Progress | |
| Jack's Place | 3 episodes | |
| Praying Mantis | Television film | |
| For Love and Glory | ||
| The Halloween Tree | ||
| The Town Santa Forgot | ||
| Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby | ||
| 1993–1994 | SeaQuest DSV | 19 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music |
| 1994 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Episode: "The Pegasus" |
| 1995 | In Pursuit of Honor | Television film |
| Kansas | ||
| 1996 | Doctor Who | |
| The Cape | Episode: "Pilot"
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series | |
| 1997 | Justice League of America | Television film |
| 2000 | Running Mates | |
| G-Saviour | ||
| 2012 | Hatfields & McCoys | Miniseries Composed with Tony Morales Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series or Special |
| 2013 | Bonnie & Clyde | Miniseries |
| 2014 | The After | Television film |
| Houdini | Miniseries | |
| 2014–2015 | Forever | 22 episodes |
| 2015 | Point of Honor | Television film |
| American Odyssey | 13 episodes | |
| Texas Rising | Miniseries Composed with Bruce Broughton Nominated- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music | |
| 2016 | Game of Silence | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Flint | Television film |
| 2017–2019 | Santa Clarita Diet | 10 episodes |
| 2017–2022 | The Orville | 19 episodes |
| 2017–2024 | Young Sheldon | 3 episodes Composed with Jeff Cardoni |
| 2021–2022 | The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers | 20 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Lair | — |
| 2011 | The Sims Medieval | — |
| 2018 | Madden NFL 19 | — |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score): Hocus Pocus 2 (2023) | Nominated |
| 2015 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: Texas Rising (with Bruce Broughton) (2015) | Nominated |
| 2012 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score): Hatfields & McCoys: Part 1 (with Tony Morales) (2012) | Nominated |
| 2008 | Interactive Achievement Award - Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition: Lair (with Kevin Kaska) (2007) [9] | Nominated |
| 2005 | Academy Award – Best Original Score: The Passion of the Christ (2004) | Nominated |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: The Cape (1996) | Nominated |
| 1997 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore): The Cape: Pilot (with Louis Febre) (1996) | Won |
| 1994 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: SeaQuest DSV (1993) | Won |
| 1991 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore): The Young Riders: Kansas (1989) | Won |
| 1990 | Emmy Award – Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: The Young Riders (1989) | Nominated |
References
- ^ "John Debney - Award-winning Composer". John Debney. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ "John Debney to Score 'Predators' Prequel". Bloody-disgusting.com. February 27, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
- ^ "A Peek Behind the Scenes of a Predators Scoring Session". Dreadcentral.com. June 7, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
- ^ a b "John Debney to Score Ivan Reitman's 'Draft Day' | Film Music Reporter". November 25, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- ^ "John Debney Scoring Mark Dindal's 'The Garfield Movie'". Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ^ "John Debney Scoring Kevin Costner's 'Horizon: An American Saga'". Retrieved September 2, 2023.
- ^ "John Debney Scoring Alex Woo's Netflix Animated Film 'In Your Dreams'". Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ "John Debney Scoring Derek Drymon's 'The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants'". Retrieved April 15, 2025.
- ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Lair". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved November 9, 2023.