Justin Hurwitz
Hurwitz in 2016
Born (1985-01-22) January 22, 1985
Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
EducationNicolet High School
Alma materHarvard University
Occupation(s)Composer, screenwriter

Justin Hurwitz[2] (born January 22, 1985)[1] is an American film composer and a television writer. He is best known for his longtime collaboration with director Damien Chazelle, scoring each of his films: Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009), Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016), First Man (2018), and Babylon (2022).[3][4][5][6]

For La La Land, Hurwitz won two Academy Awards, Best Original Score and Best Original Song (for "City of Stars"), as well as the Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.[7] He won two more Golden Globes for Best Original Score for First Man and Babylon.[1]

Early life

Hurwitz is the son of Gail (née Halabe), a professional ballet dancer turned registered nurse, and Ken Hurwitz, a writer.[8][9][10] He is of Jewish heritage (from Russia, Poland, Damascus in Syria, and Beirut in Lebanon).[11][12][13][14][15] His family moved to Wisconsin in 1998,[9] where he attended Nicolet High School.[16][17]

Hurwitz attended Harvard University, where he was roommates with director Damien Chazelle.[18] They collaborated on a student film that would become Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, which was released in 2009.[9][6] While in school, Hurwitz was a member of the Harvard Lampoon and was an original member of the indie-pop band Chester French with Chazelle.[19]

Career

After college, Hurwitz and Chazelle moved to Los Angeles, where Hurwitz wrote comedy for the sitcom The League and one episode of the animated comedy TV series The Simpsons.[9] Thanks to the success of Guy and Madeline, they were able to obtain financing for their next collaboration, the 2014 film Whiplash – with Hurwitz scoring the film and Chazelle writing and directing.[9] Hurwitz also scored Chazelle's 2016 film La La Land, for which Chazelle won the Oscar for Best Director, and Hurwitz won two Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Hurwitz, Pasek, and Paul will return as songwriters for the upcoming stage musical adaptation of the film, directed by Bartlett Sher from a book by Ayad Akhtar and Matthew Decker, with Marc Platt and Lionsgate returning to produce.[20]

Filmography

Films

Year Film Role
2009 Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench Composer
2014 Whiplash Composer
2016 La La Land Composer
2018 First Man Composer
2022 Babylon Composer

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Perfect Couples Writer Episode: "Perfect Exes"
2011 The Simpsons Writer Episode: "The Falcon and the D'ohman"
2011–2015 The League Writer 7 episodes
2017–2020 Curb Your Enthusiasm Writer/producer 11 episodes

Awards and nominations

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Justin Hurwitz". Golden Globes. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  2. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 13, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars". JWeekly.
  3. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 10, 2016). "How 'La La Land' Director Damien Chazelle, His Team & Lionsgate Faced the Music & Resurrected the Original Hollywood Musical". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  4. ↑ "'Moonlight' Named Best Picture by L.A. Film Critics". Yahoo!. 5 December 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ Orr, Christopher (December 9, 2016). "The Novelty and Nostalgia of 'La La Land'". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Bryan Abrams (September 23, 2014). "Whiplash Composer Justin Hurwitz Settles the Score". wheretowatch.com.
  7. ↑ "Justin Hurwitz wins best original score in a motion picture at Golden Globes". The Hollywood Reporter. 8 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 13, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Bloom, Nate (February 27, 2017). "News go to the Oscars; Justin Hurwitz's proud Marin mom; etc". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Both my children are very proud of their Middle Eastern heritage and culture
  10. ↑ Levy, Piet (February 17, 2017). "Oscar-nominated 'La La Land' composer Justin Hurwitz got his start in Milwaukee". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  11. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 23, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars, 2017". Jewish Standard. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  12. ↑ Times of Israel: "La La Land: Who knew it was so Jewish" by Francine Wolfsiz February 27, 2017
  13. ↑ Jerusalem Post: "HOW DID JEWISH TALENT FARE AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES?" January 9, 2017
  14. ↑ Jewish Telegraph Agency: "Oscars 2017: 7 unexpected Jewish facts" By Gabe Friedman February 23, 2017
  15. ↑ Connecticut Jewish Ledger: "La La Land's Jewish composer nominated for Oscar" January 25th, 2017
  16. ↑ Chris Foran (January 9, 2017). "Nicolet's Justin Hurwitz wins 2 Golden Globes". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  17. ↑ TMJ4 News: "Nicolet HS graduate Justin Hurwitz wins 2 Golden Globes for 'La La Land'" by Brandon Rook January 9, 2017
  18. ↑ Walsh, Colleen (January 20, 2017). "From Harvard to 'La La Land'". Harvard Gazette.
  19. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Chester French - Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  20. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (February 7, 2023). "'La La Land' to Become a Broadway Musical". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
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