Jeff Danna gets animated with Chicago 10 score

By Patrick Luce Dec 23, 2006, 21:44 GMT

Award winning composer Jeff Danna scores Chicago 10 - the documentary that will open this year's Sundance Film Festival January 18th.

Directed by Brett Morgen, the film takes a groundbreaking approach to documentary filmmaking by combining live-action footage with animation to recreate the trials of the anti-war protestors at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The animated segments, which illustrate the events of the trial itself, include trial transcripts read by Hank Azaria, Nick Nolte and Mark Ruffalo. Chicago 10 is only the second non-fiction film in history chosen to open the prestigious festival in Park City, UT.

The animated documentary, heralded as possibly the next step in animated films, tells the story of the infamous 1969 trial of the Chicago Seven. In 1968, eight student protest leaders and counter-culture figures were charged with conspiracy to incite violence at the 1968 Democratic Convention.

Originally, the group was comprised of eight defendants including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Black Panther Party activist Bobby Seale. It took two years and a series of appeals for the seven defendants to finally be found not guilty of the charges.

Jeff Danna, just honored with the SOCAN International Film Music award for his work on the #1 Sony Pictures release, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, has demonstrated versatility and adeptness as a composer.  For example, in the epic film The Gospel of John, Danna painstakingly researched ancient instruments to create an authentic score and incorporated a full orchestra and a choir for the music. 

For the film The Kid Stays in the Picture, a look at legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, Danna researched music of various time periods to create a score that would incorporate the eras of Robert Evan's personal journey.  Other Danna credits include his acclaimed score to the Miramax Othello adaptation O, The Grey Zone, Green Dragon, and Roger Spottiswoode's The Yeltsin Project.
           
In addition to his busy scoring schedule, Danna enjoys a career as a recording artist.  His collaborative orchestral Celtic albums with brother Mychael reached worldwide success and placed in the Top 10 on the Billboard charts. Jeff Danna has received numerous BMI and SOCAN Awards for scoring excellence.

His upcoming projects include Closing the Ring, a romantic drama starring Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, and Mischa Barton, and Nimrod Nation, an eight-part documentary series about a Michigan town's obsession with high school basketball, also directed by Brett Morgen.