Hans Florian Zimmer (born September 12, 1957);
Is a German film composer and music producer.
For nearly three decades Zimmer has composed music for over 100 films including some critically acclaimed film scores, such as The Lion King, Gladiator, and The Dark Knight. Some of his recent compositions for motion pictures are Sherlock Holmes (2009), Inception (2010), Megamind (2010), Rango (2011), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011).
Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He is the head of the film music division at DreamWorks studios, and works with other composers through the company which he founded, Remote Control Productions.
His works are notable for integrating electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral arrangements. He has received four Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Classical BRIT Award, and an Academy Award. He is named also on the list of the "Top 100 living geniuses", published by The Daily Telegraph.
n the 2000s, Zimmer has composed scores for Hollywood blockbuster films including Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), The Last Samurai (2003), The Da Vinci Code (2006) The Simpsons Movie (2007), and Angels and Demons (2009). While writing the score for The Last Samurai, Zimmer felt that his knowledge of Japanese music was extremely limited. He began doing extensive research, but the more he studied, the less he felt he knew. Finally, Zimmer took what he had written to Japan for feedback and was shocked when he was asked how he knew so much about Japanese music.
During the scoring of The Last Samurai in spring 2003, Zimmer was approached by the producer Jerry Bruckheimer, with whom he had worked previously on Crimson Tide, The Rock and Pearl Harbor. Bruckheimer had finished shooting Pirates of the Caribbean:
