- Composer Klaus Badelt started his musical career writing and producing music for dozens of highly successful movies and commercials in his native Germany. In 1998, Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer invited him to move his musical home to Media Ventures in Santa Monica, CA. Since then, Klaus has composed scores on his own film and television projects as well as collaborating with Zimmer and other composers.
Working with Zimmer, Badelt contributed music to the Oscar-nominated scores for Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000), Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line (1998) and Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt (1998). Klaus collaborated with Zimmer on the music for Mission: Impossible II (2000) with producer Tom Cruise and director John Woo, Ridley Scott's Hannibal (2001) and Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor (2001). He also co-wrote the score to Sean Penn's The Pledge (2001) with Zimmer.
Klaus recently completed the scores for Werner Herzog's Invincible (2001) (Tim Roth). Dreamworks' The Time Machine (2002) (Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons) and independent film Manfast (2003). Also in 2002, Badelt scored the independent feature Teknolust (2002) (Tilda Swinton and Jeremy Davies) followed by Miramax/Dimension Films' upcoming feature Equilibrium (2002) (Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Taye Diggs).
In summer of 2002, Badelt completed the music to Paramount's K-19: The Widowmaker (2002). The world-renowned Kirov Orchestra, under the baton of Valery Gergiev, was recorded in Washington, DC's Constitution Hall for the powerful score. Director Kathryn Bigelow's film tells the tale of nuclear calamity aboard a Russian sub, with Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson portraying two conflicted Russian naval captains under deadly circumstances.
Badelt recently finished the score for The Recruit (2003), directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, and Bridget Moynahan. It is scheduled for release in January 2003. In October 2002, Klaus is writing the score for Basic (2003), directed by John McTiernan and starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson.- IMDb Mini Biography By: aclark@mediaventures.com - Klaus Badelt has written music for over 25 major Hollywood films. He composed the acclaimed score for 2003's top-grossing movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). His composer credits include: Werner Herzog's Invincible (2001), K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), The Recruit (2003), Ned Kelly (2003), Basic (2003), The In-Laws (2003), Catwoman (2004), and the upcoming, animated feature Curious George (currently in production).
Employing his background in producing records and collaborating with a wide variety of recording artists, Badelt's approach generates original scores with an authentic production value while maintaining the integrity of a film score. By joining forces with the filmmakers, Badelt provides a musical voice that compliments the director's vision, and befits the film. His devoted team spirit in combination with his personal drive to explore new ideas and push the creative envelope, make Klaus Badelt a filmmaker whose distinctive music and intimate style are unique in the industry.
Badelt enjoyed a highly successful career as a music producer and film composer in his native land Germany, before coming to America in 1997. He since resides in Los Angeles.- IMDb Mini Biography By: S. Hartmann - It has been a few years since Klaus' large-scale score to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) defined the franchise and brought him worldwide mass attention. Since then, Klaus continues to write for major motion pictures with top-names like Wolfgang Petersen, Michael Mann, Richard Donner, Francis Lawrence and Harvey Weinstein. But also, Klaus used the time to define his very own profile independent of glamour and biz. "Some of my favorite works are maybe the more independent films, maybe even the lesser known", he says. His heart beats for telling a beautiful story, caring for the character onscreen, stealing you away for 90 minutes, making you feel, laugh, and cry. Besides the major studios, he has steadily been building relationships with independent filmmakers. Two films with legend Werner Herzog. Five months in China, writing for Kaige Chen (Farewell my Concubine aka Farewell My Concubine (1993)). Klaus likes to be where the filmmakers are, being one of them. So he moved one of his studios temporarily to Beijing, travelled the provinces, got inspired by ancient songs, instruments and dances. Then to London, writing for John Madden (Shakespeare in Love (1998)). Besides his home and main studios in Santa Monica, he maintains writing rooms in Europe (Paris) and Asia (Beijing), to be always close to the filmmakers. Klaus is "in love with experimenting, breaking out of the ordinary. Nothing is more boring to me than repeating myself." China is embracing this approach. The 2008 Beijing Olympics invited him as the only western composer for the closing ceremonies. And the ancient capital Xi'an commissioned him to write the "Terracotta Warriors" opera about emperor Qin, to premiere in 2010 at the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site's monumental new development. Further west, with Little Nicholas (2009) Klaus was trusted a french national icon. The humorous stories around the adventures of the 9 year old boy in the nostalgic 1950s sold 10 million books in over 30 countries. In 2009 it was adapted to film for the first time ever. Heart-warming, tender stories like these are one of Klaus' passions. His inspiration is fueled by contrasting projects.- IMDb Mini Biography By: office@klausbadelt.com
- He worked on The Promise soundtrack for almost 6 months, which critics and fans consider as his best score. Also the song which can be heard in the movie's end credits is an ancient folk song in China, and very few people can still sing it. As Badelt commented it, he traveled almost two weeks in China to find someone who is able to sing the whole folk song and could help him to rearrange it for the score.
- Frequently worked with composer Hans Zimmer.
- He has 4 children: Juliette Lily Badelt, (2001), Lukas Klaus Badelt (2004), Alma Malona Badelt (2011), and Linus Nicolaus Badelt (2015).
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content