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Christopher Lennertz
American composer (born 1972)
American composer (born 1972)
| Field | Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| name | Christopher Lennertz | ||
| image | Mosma 2024 - Matt Bowen & Christopher Lennertz (cropped).jpg | ||
| caption | Lennertz in 2024 | ||
| birth_name | Christopher Joseph Lennertz | ||
| birth_date | |||
| birth_place | Methuen, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
| occupation | |||
| instrument | |||
| years_active | 1998–present | ||
| spouse | |||
| website | |||
| module | {{Infobox person | ||
| embed | yes | ||
| signature | [[File:Christopher Lennertz signature.svg | 200px | class=skin-invert]] |
| genre |
Christopher Joseph Lennertz (born January 2, 1972) is an American composer, conductor, songwriter, and lyricist. He has composed the scores for films such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Hop, Horrible Bosses, Think Like a Man and Smurfs: The Lost Village, and the Medal of Honor video game series created by Steven Spielberg. He additionally composed the scores for Supernatural, Revolution, The Boys and Gen V, all created by Eric Kripke.
He composed the score for Sausage Party and Galavant with Alan Menken, and the television series Agent Carter, which included a first-ever Marvel musical number co-written by him and Glenn Slater. He later composed the scores for Lost in Space and Sausage Party: Foodtopia.
Early life and education
Christopher Joseph Lennertz was born on January 2, 1972 in Methuen, Massachusetts. He attended Easton Area High School in Easton, Pennsylvania and then Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he studied with Academy Award-winner Elmer Bernstein. He was mentored as an assistant, arranger, and orchestrator to legendary composers Basil Poledouris and Michael Kamen.
Career
Lennertz began his musical career in 1998, though his first credit as an orchestrator was in 2000, with the direct-to-video animated film Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, where he served as an orchestrator and additional music provider. His first major breakthrough composition was in 2007, with the jukebox musical comedy Alvin and the Chipmunks, directed by Tim Hill; the album containing his score for the film was released in 2008. Lennertz would also collaborate with several directors, including Hill, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, Seth Gordon, Tim Story, and Matthew O'Callaghan.
He would continue to compose and conduct music for several other blockbuster films, including Marmaduke (2010), Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2011), Hop (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011), Think Like a Man (2012), The Wedding Ringer (2015), and Sausage Party (2016). He composed the score for six Looney Tunes animated short films, directed by Matthew O'Callaghan and animated by Reel FX Creative Studios. Outside of composing music for films, Lennertz composed the score for video games, including Medal of Honor titles such as Rising Sun (2003), Pacific Assault (2004), and European Assault (2005), as well as James Bond games such as From Russia with Love (2005), and 007: Quantum of Solace (2008). Lennertz has also composed the score for television shows, including Supernatural (2005–2020), Agent Carter (2015–2016), Lost in Space (2018–2021), The Boys (2019–present; with Matt Bowen), Gen V (2023–present; with Matt Bowen), and Sausage Party: Foodtopia (2024–present).
Personal life
Lennertz married Shannon Madden Lennertz on August 13, 2008. They had two children together, Tobi (born January 20, 2008) and Vesper (born March 13, 2013).
Filmography
Films
2000s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins | Tad Stones | Walt Disney Television Animation | |
| Pixar Animation Studios | Direct-to-video; as orchestrator and additional music only; score by Adam Berry | |||
| A Diva's Christmas Carol | Richard Schenkman | VH1 | Television film | |
| 2002 | Saint Sinner | Joshua Butler | Syfy | |
| 2004 | Soul Plane | Jessy Terrero | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
| 2005 | Confessions of an Action Star | Brad Martin | Lightyear Entertainment | |
| Three Wise Guys | Robert Iscove | USA Network | Television film | |
| 2006 | Dr. Dolittle 3 | Rich Thorne | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment | Direct-to-video film |
| Shark Bait | Howard E. Baker | |||
| John Fox | The Weinstein Company | First score for an animated film | ||
| 2007 | Tortilla Heaven | Judy Hecht Dumontet | Archangel Releasing | |
| The Comebacks | Tom Brady | Fox Atomic | ||
| The Perfect Holiday | Lance Rivera | Destination Films | ||
| Yari Film Group | ||||
| Alvin and the Chipmunks | Tim Hill | 20th Century Fox | First collaboration with Tim Hill | |
| 2008 | Meet the Spartans | Jason Friedberg | ||
| Aaron Seltzer | First collaboration with Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer | |||
| Disaster Movie | Lionsgate Films | Second collaboration with Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer | ||
| 2009 | Adam | Max Mayer | Fox Searchlight Pictures | |
| The Open Road | Michael Meredith | Anchor Bay Entertainment | ||
| The Horde | Benjamin Rocher | |||
| Yannick Dahan | Canal+ |
2010s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Marmaduke | Tom Dey | 20th Century Fox | |
| Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore | Brad Peyton | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
| Coyote Falls | Matthew O'Callaghan | Warner Bros. Animation | ||
| Reel FX Creative Studios | Short film; released with Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore | |||
| Vampires Suck | Jason Friedberg | |||
| Aaron Seltzer | 20th Century Fox | Third collaboration with Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer | ||
| Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam | Paul Hoen | Disney Channel | Television film | |
| Fur of Flying | Matthew O'Callaghan | Warner Bros. Animation | ||
| Reel FX Creative Studios | Short film; released with Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole | |||
| Rabid Rider | Short film; released with Yogi Bear | |||
| 2011 | Hop | Tim Hill | Illumination Entertainment | Second collaboration with Tim Hill |
| Lemonade Mouth | Patricia Riggen | Disney Channel | Television film | |
| Horrible Bosses | Seth Gordon | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
| New Line Cinema | First collaboration with Seth Gordon | |||
| I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat | Matthew O'Callaghan | Warner Bros. Animation | ||
| Reel FX Creative Studios | Short film; adaptation score only; song by Billy May, Warren Foster and Michael Maltese; released with Happy Feet Two | |||
| The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol | Troy Quane | Sony Pictures Animation | Short film; released as part of The Smurfs three-disc holiday gift set | |
| 2012 | Daffy's Rhapsody | Matthew O'Callaghan | Warner Bros. Animation | |
| Reel FX Creative Studios | Short film; adaptation score only; song by Billy May, Warren Foster and Michael Maltese; released with Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | |||
| Think Like a Man | Tim Story | Screen Gems | First collaboration with Tim Story | |
| Thanks for Sharing | Stuart Blumberg | Lionsgate | ||
| Girl in Progress | Patricia Riggen | Pantelion Films | ||
| Lionsgate | ||||
| Item 47 | Louis D'Esposito | Marvel Studios | Marvel One-Shot direct-to-video short film; inspired the TV series of the same name | |
| 2013 | Identity Thief | Seth Gordon | Universal Pictures | Second collaboration with Seth Gordon |
| Remember Sunday | Jeff Bleckner | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Television film | |
| As Cool as I Am | Max Moyer | IFC Films | ||
| Agent Carter | Louis D'Esposito | Marvel Studios | Marvel One-Shot direct-to-video short film; inspired the TV series of the same name | |
| The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow | Stephen Franck | Sony Pictures Animation | Direct-to-video short film | |
| Battle of the Year | Benson Lee | Screen Gems | ||
| Gimme Shelter | Patricia Riggen | Lionsgate | ||
| Pantelion Films | ||||
| 2014 | Ride Along | Tim Story | Universal Pictures | Second collaboration with Tim Story |
| Flash in the Pain | Matthew O'Callaghan | Warner Bros. Animation | ||
| Reel FX Creative Studios | ||||
| Think Like a Man Too | Tim Story | Screen Gems | Third collaboration with Tim Story | |
| Horrible Bosses 2 | Sean Anders | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
| New Line Cinema | ||||
| 2015 | The Wedding Ringer | Jeremy Garelick | Screen Gems | |
| Miramax Films | ||||
| 2016 | Ride Along 2 | Tim Story | Universal Pictures | Featuring Shelia E & Arturo Sandoval; additional music provided by Alexander Bornstein, Matt Bowen & Jess Stroup |
| Fourth collaboration with Tim Story | ||||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | Kirk Jones | |||
| The Boss | Ben Falcone | |||
| Bad Moms | Jon Lucas | |||
| Scott Moore | STX Entertainment | Featuring Soloist by KT Tunstall | ||
| Sausage Party | Greg Tiernan | |||
| Conrad Vernon | Columbia Pictures | |||
| Nitrogen Studios | R-rated animated film; composed with Alan Menken | |||
| Kevin Hart: What Now? | Leslie Small | |||
| Tim Story | Universal Pictures | Fifth collaboration with Tim Story | ||
| 2017 | Smurfs: The Lost Village | Kelly Asbury | Sony Pictures Animation | Additional music provided by Philip White |
| First collaboration with Kelly Asbury | ||||
| Baywatch | Seth Gordon | Paramount Pictures | Additional music provided by Alexander Bornstein, Joshua R. Mosley, Nathan Rightour & Zack Ryan | |
| Third collaboration with Seth Gordon | ||||
| Boo 2! A Madea Halloween | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry Studios | Themes only; score composed by Philip White | |
| A Bad Moms Christmas | Jon Lucas Scott Moore | STX Entertainment | ||
| El Camino Christmas | David E. Talbert | Netflix | ||
| Pitch Perfect 3 | Trish Sie | Universal Pictures | ||
| 2018 | Acrimony | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry Studios | |
| Uncle Drew | Charles Stone III | Summit Entertainment | ||
| Temple Hill Entertainment | ||||
| The Happytime Murders | Brian Henson | STX Entertainment | ||
| Nobody's Fool | Tyler Perry | Tyler Perry Studios | Score producer only; score composed by Phillip White | |
| 2019 | A Madea Family Funeral | Tyler Perry Studios | Themes only; score composed by Phillip White | |
| UglyDolls | Kelly Asbury | STX Entertainment | Also wrote songs with Glenn Slater | |
| Second collaboration with Kelly Asbury | ||||
| Shaft | Tim Story | Warner Bros. Pictures | ||
| New Line Cinema | Additional music provided by Alexander Bornstein, Dara Taylor & Stu Thomas | |||
| Sixth collaboration with Tim Story | ||||
| Jexi | Jon Lucas | |||
| Scott Moore | Lionsgate | Composed with Philip White |
2020s
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Tom & Jerry | Tim Story | Warner Animation Group | Seventh collaboration with Tim Story |
| Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar | Josh Greenbaum | Gloria Sanchez Productions | Composed with Dara Taylor | |
| The Loud House Movie | Dave Needham | Nickelodeon Movies | Composed with Philip White | |
| 2022 | 13: The Musical | Tamra Davis | Zadan/Meron Productions | Song lyrics by Jason Robert Brown |
| The Curse of Bridge Hollow | Jeff Wadlow | Ugly Baby Productions | ||
| 2023 | Dashing Through the Snow | Tim Story | Walt Disney Pictures | Eighth collaboration with Tim Story |
| 2025 | Back in Action | Seth Gordon | Chernin Entertainment | |
| The Pickup | Tim Story | Amazon MGM Studios | Ninth collaboration with Tim Story |
Television
| Year | Title | TV Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Brimstone | Fox | |
| 2000 | The Strip | UPN | |
| 2005–2020 | Supernatural | The WB (2005–2006) | |
| The CW (2006–2020) | Composed with Jay Gruska | ||
| 2012–2014 | Revolution | NBC | |
| 2015–2016 | Galavant | ABC | Composed with Alan Menken |
| Song lyrics by Glenn Slater | |||
| Agent Carter | |||
| 2018–2021 | Lost in Space | Netflix | Original Lost in Space Theme by John Williams |
| 2018 | Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever. | Composed with Matt Bowen | |
| 2019–present | The Boys | Amazon Prime Video | Composed with Matt Bowen |
| 2022–present | Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock | Apple TV+ | |
| 2023 | Gen V | Amazon Prime Video | Composed with Matt Bowen |
| 2024–present | Sausage Party: Foodtopia |
Video games
| Year | Title | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | EA Games | Original Medal of Honor theme by Michael Giacchino |
| 2004 | Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault | ||
| 2005 | Medal of Honor: European Assault | ||
| From Russia with Love | Electronic Arts | ||
| Gun | Activision | ||
| 2007 | The Simpsons Game | Electronic Arts | Additional music composed with Tim Wynn; score composed by Hans Zimmer and James Dooley |
| Warhawk | Sony Computer Entertainment | Composed with Tim Wynn | |
| 2008 | Quantum of Solace | Activision | |
| 2009 | The Godfather II | Electronic Arts | |
| 2010 | Mass Effect 2: Overlord | Downloadable content for Mass Effect 2 | |
| Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker | |||
| 2011 | The Sims 3: Pets | Expansion pack for The Sims 3 | |
| 2012 | Mass Effect 3 | Composed with Sascha Dikiciyan, Clint Mansell, Cris Velasco, and Sam Hulick | |
| Starhawk | Sony Computer Entertainment | ||
| 2013 | Madden NFL 25 | EA Sports | |
| Cancelled | Scalebound | Microsoft Studios | Project cancelled in 2017 |
| Composed with Hitomi Kurokawa and Naoto Tanaka |
Awards and nominations
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Awards | February 17, 2024 | Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production | Pacemaker | |
| BMI Film & TV Awards | May 14, 2025 | Streaming Series Award | The Boys | |
| Creative Arts Emmy Awards | August 19, 2006 | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) | Supernatural: "Pilot" | rowspan="2" |
| September 11–12, 2021 | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | The Boys: "Never Truly Vanish" | ||
| September 6–7, 2025 | The Boys: "We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here" – "Let's Put The Christ Back In Christmas" | |||
| Interactive Achievement Awards | March 4, 2004 | Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition | Medal of Honor: Rising Sun | |
| IFMCA Awards | February 20, 2008 | Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media | Warhawk (with Timothy Michael Wynn) | rowspan="2" |
| February 25, 2011 | Best Original Score for a Comedy Film | Vampires Suck |
References
References
- Lennertz, Christopher. (August 12, 2021). "15 years and I love you more than ever. Happy Anniversary, baby! @shanouxnoux".
- Lennertz, Christopher. (January 20, 2024). "I can't believe you're 16! 15 was quite a year…think we can top it?! So proud of you and love you so much @tobi._.lennertz !!! ❤️❤️❤️🎉🎉🎉🎁🎁🎁".
- Lennertz, Christopher. (March 13, 2023). "10 YO BDay success accomplished! Happy BDay to my baby girl! Love you so much! @shanouxnoux".
- S. Palmer, Michael. (December 1, 2011). "A Sneak Peek at 'The Smurfs' Second Screen and Exclusive Blu-ray Special Features".
- (February 15, 2016). "Christopher Lennertz Scoring 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'".
- (2016-10-11). "Christopher Lennertz to score Smurfs: The Lost Village".
- (2020-07-22). "Christopher Lennertz to Score Tim Story's 'Tom & Jerry'".
- (2023-06-26). "Christopher Lennertz Scoring Tim Story's Disney+ Movie ''Dashing Through the Snow''".
- (2024-11-14). "Christopher Lennertz Scoring Seth Gordon's ''Back in Action''".
- (2012-03-14). "Christopher Lennertz to Score Eric Kripke's & J.J. Abrams' 'Revolution'".
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