Lucian Piane (1980-2026)

Two composers in one month. This shit ain’t funny.

Unlike George Fenton, Piane only had one major credit as a film composer, but it was still a gem, in my book: The score and songs for 2009's shamefully entertaining horror remake, Sorority Row.

Re-listening to the CD-R I burned of the soundtrack around the time of the film’s release because studios were already adopting a ‘fuck the labels and their physical albums; we’ll just put the score out on music streaming services’ attitude even then, this showed an impressive command of horror scoring that would bring a smile to the likes of Richard Band, who scored the original The House on Sorority Row. Even in the opening credits song, “Tear Me Up”, Piane shifted masterfully between pop and orchestral sensibilities. It’s the kind of horror scoring that’d make most genre composers today indulge in a bit of the ol’ hari-kari, but I won’t name names (the hacks behind Smile and The Black Phone 2, in particular).

His talent for film scoring should not have been a surprise to me, as (in doing further research) he was a collaborator of Marc Shaiman. In addition, he provided a number of songs for reality TV, notably “RuPaul's Drag Race” and remixes of various celebrity speeches. The guy had layers.

There were also some aspects of his life that were a little tabloid-y, but elaborating on such matters is not my place. I’m not TMZ. All I will say is that I loved his work on Sorority Row and I’d have enjoyed working with him on a project in the future, as there seem to be more people scoring movies these days who don’t know how to write music than those who do and it’s always a tragedy when one of the ones that do pass away.

He will be missed.

“You know how it feels when McDonald's says you're not good enough to make the french fries?"

Behold, my latest foray into seeking employment (yes, I lost that awesome job I had last month...or, to be more correct, it was stolen from me):

Not sure why I had to be so truthful in the section about assessing my personality. I’ll know to lie my ass off if (God forbid) I find myself unemployed this time next year.

George Fenton (1949-2026)

One of those composers you figure might have fallen off after an incredibly fertile period in the 80s and/or 90s, George Fenton never stopped working, but it helps to have consistent collaborators like Nicholas Hytner, Andy Tennant and Ken Loach, all of whom are likely in mourning along with other film music fans as Fenton has passed away.

My first encounter with Fenton ended up being my favorite. Neil Jordan, a long ago collaborator with the composer, wrote and directed the ghost comedy High Spirits. It’s more than likely that the film’s producers wanted the film to be more like Beetlejuice, which had come out while the film was still shooting. That tonal imbalance resulted in a very middling effort, but the tech credits - especially Fenton’s colorful, Irish-flavored score - were above reproach.

Like any composer, he had his occasional missteps: some of his comedy scores hit the wrong note (Multiplicity, Bewitched) and he never quite found the right footing for Cold Pursuit (though, in fairness, that tonally confused movie would've defeated most composers). But these are very minuscule against the many amazing scores he wrote: The neo-classicism of Dangerous Liaisons. The Hitchcockian thrills of Final Analysis. The delightfully jazzy music of The Duke (which I had discovered when I had been gifted with the ability with the opportunity to review it). The religious excitement of We're No Angels. The delightful holiday music of Mixed Nuts and another hidden gem on his résumé for Tennant's Fool‘s Gold, a sweeping adventure score with some engaging detours; the pseudo rap music he created for Kevin Hart’s villainous character Bigg Bunny still cracks me up.

A composer of many colors, he will definitely be missed.