Biografia
Emmy Award-winning composer Geoff Zanelli is a distinguished figure in film and television scoring, celebrated for his versatile musical style. He has composed for renowned directors like Gore Verbinski and Ridley Scott; writer/directors David Koepp, Peter Hedges, and David Duchovny; producers Jerry Bruckheimer, Steven Spielberg, and Jeffrey Katzenberg; as well as actor/producer Tom Hanks.
Zanelli is set to score the fifth installment of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, titled "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," which will be released in May 2017. Fans of the franchise have previously experienced Zanelli's original compositions across all four prior films through his collaborations with Zimmer.
This project marks a continuation of Zanelli's impactful work with Disney, which began with his breakthrough score for the fantasy drama "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," starring Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton. His organic and emotive score for the film was met with critical praise, including a feature in Variety's Eye on the Oscars issue.
Recently, Zanelli teamed up with Grammy-winning Mark Ronson to co-write the score and songs for Lionsgate's "Mortdecai," marking his third collaboration with writer/director David Koepp. He also worked with director Jared Hess on the comedy "Masterminds," and contributed string arrangements alongside Steve Martin and Edie Brickell for their Grammy-winning album "Love Has Come For You" and its follow-up "So Familiar," which topped the Bluegrass charts. Currently, he is composing the score and songs for "Star Citizen: Squadron 42," the most crowdfunded game in history.
In 2006, Zanelli won his first Emmy for the original score of Steven Spielberg's miniseries "Into The West," becoming the youngest composer to receive the 'Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)' award. Spielberg later enlisted Zanelli to score HBO's "The Pacific," earning him a second Emmy nomination. His other credits include DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures' "Disturbia," 20th Century Fox's "Hitman," Lionsgate's "Gamer," DreamWorks' "Ghost Town," The Weinstein Company's "Outlander," and Columbia Pictures' "Secret Window" (co-written with Philip Glass), among others. He also co-wrote the song "Don't Make Me Wait" for "Disturbia."
Zanelli has contributed to numerous feature films such as Disney's "The Lone Ranger;" the Golden Globe-nominated scores for Warner Bros.' "The Last Samurai" and Touchstone Pictures' "Pearl Harbor;" Paramount Pictures' "Rango," MGM's "Hannibal," Columbia Pictures' "Angels & Demons," and DreamWorks' "Antz," "Chicken Run," "Shark Tale," and "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," collaborating with composers Hans Zimmer, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Steve Jablonsky.
He holds degrees in Film Scoring and Music Production & Engineering from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, where he studied on scholarship. An active alumnus, Zanelli has participated in Berklee's Curriculum Review Initiative and conducted seminars for composition students. During his time there, he received the Doug Timm Award for his film scoring work and the Music Production/Engineering Scholar Award.
A native of Southern California, Zanelli began his musical journey as a guitarist and songwriter. In 1994, after meeting Zimmer, he was offered a position at Remote Control Productions. Today, Zanelli is recognized as a versatile composer who skillfully blends music from various genres and cultures.
