Reusing scores in trailers

[Perndog]

When I went to see Jesus die last week, there was a preview for this sickeningly sweet movie about two tigers. It wouldn't have bothered me, except they put THE SCORE FOR THE LION KING behind it.

>:

I understand that they don't generally write scores for movies until shortly before they are released (I know a movie composer who says they generally get two to three weeks to score a movie and start a couple of months before release). But if they're going to rip off another film's score for a trailer, do they have to use such a familiar one? It completely distracted me and the trailer didn't do it justice at all.

Has anyone else ever noticed this?

[AChimp]

Yeah, it seems like every movie that has an "epic struggle" in it uses the Gladiator music now. And one of the trailers for The Two Towers (I think) used music from Requiem for a Dream... or at least something very similar.

The Scorpion King used the music from Conan the Barbarian, too. I was mad. >:

[Jixby Phillips]

THE DRAGON HEART'S THEME (OR WHATEVER ITS CALLED) FROM THE BRUCE LEE STORY :eek

[Snatchtastic]

Carmina Burana has been used an ass load of times in movies and television. I think it was even used in a video game :/

[pjalne]

Yeah, but Carmina is a classical piece. It's still overused, though.

I remember I could point out at least three different themes in the Pearl Harbor trailer, among them the Crow theme and some others by, I think, Elfman and Zimmer. Or maybe it was Powell, I don't remember. The music from Braveheart is also used a lot, and don't get me started on The Rock. Like Perndog said, it's perfectly understandable that they don't have a score ready at that point in the production process, but they should lay off the most famous ones for their own sake.

[wreckreation]

Big Fish got the edward scissorhands score.

[Perndog]

That's right, I remember that one! That bothered me, too. >: >:

My theory is they do it keeping in mind all the people who don't pay attention to movie scores (read: the majority). They stick a score from a good movie in a trailer to subliminally convince people that the movie in the trailer is as good as the one they ripped the score from. Of course, Big Fish really was a good movie, but I wonder if it would have sold fewer tickets at first if they'd used a less familiar score in the trailer...

[pjalne]

It's kind okay though, since both movies have Elfman scores.

[SMN]

The trailer for the Goonies had the Neverending Story score in it. I was watching it on the DVD when I realized that the music seemed kinda fimiliar.