RZA and Hans Zimmer bring ruckus to Vin Diesel film

Think back. All the way back to 1994. Think about the first time you saw The Lion King. The heartbreak, that mocking hyena laugh that haunted your mind for weeks, the powerful booming echo of James Earl Jones’ voice, and, most of all, that moving and adventurous score. Did you find yourself listening to the music as Simba and Nala rolled around in the jungle and think, "Man, that crescendo could really use a Wu-Tang beat behind it." If so, your day has arrived.

Renowned composer Hans Zimmer (who, amongst other accolades, won an Academy Award for his scoring of The Lion King) is teaming up with Wu-Tang Clan producer/auteur/chess guru RZA to score the new Vin Diesel flick Babylon A.D.

The two each bring formidable credentials to the table. The German-born Zimmer has worked on over 100 films, ranging from Rain Man to Gladiator to The Da Vinci Code. And while still a relative newcomer to film, the RZA is quickly becoming a legitimate force in the composing world, developing a style both unique to anyone else in his field as well as his own production norms with the Wu. RZA has scored such films as Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog, Kill Bill I and II and the animated Afro Samurai.

The film is based in the future and RZA is in charge of creating the music for Diesel’s character. RZA discussed the collaboration with Ugo. “The director came to me and told me, ‘RZA, I want you to be Vin Diesel's character,’ and he told Hans Zimmer, "I want you to help me bring this female character to life," We're bringing these worlds together; orchestra meets the RZA style of doing things.”

The future seems like a good fit for Wu-Tang beatmaster, whose music often feels like it lives within a state transcendent of time, drawing partially from the landscapes of places decades before he existed and partially from a future only he has explored.

Related links:
RZA on MySpace
YouTube: RZA - "Tragedy"
StraightNoChaser: RZA: Digital Daoist

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.