Justin Hurwitz

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Wikipedia

Justin Hurwitz
Hurwitz in 2016
Born (1985-01-22) January 22, 1985 (age 40)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
EducationNicolet High School
Alma materHarvard University
Occupation(s)Composer, Writer

Justin Hurwitz[2] (born January 22nd, 1985)[1] is an American film composer and 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).

For La La Land, Hurwitz won two Academy Awards, Best Original Score and Best Original Song (for "City of Stars"), as well as Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.[3] He has won two Grammy Awards for La La Land, one for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media and another one for Best Score Soundtrack For Original Media. He won two additional Golden Globes for Original Score for First Man and Babylon.[1]

Early life

Hurwitz is the son of Gail Hurwitz (née Halabe), a professional ballet dancer turned registered nurse, and Ken Hurwitz, a writer.[4][5][6] He is of Russian, Polish, Syrian and Lebanese descent.[7][8][9][10][11] His family moved to Wisconsin in 1998,[5] where he attended Nicolet High School.[12][13]

Hurwitz attended Harvard University, where he was roommates with director Damien Chazelle. They collaborated on a student film that would become Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, which was released in 2009.[5][14] While in college, Hurwitz was a member of the Harvard Lampoon, and was an original member of the indie-pop band Chester French with Chazelle.[15]

Career

After graduating 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.[5] After 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.[5] The film was a box office success, grossing over $50 million on a $3.3 million budget during its original theatrical run[16]. Hurwitz also scored Chazelle's 2016 film La La Land, for which Chazelle won the Academy Award for Best Director, and Hurwitz won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Hurwitz 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.[17]

Filmography

Films

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

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Perfect Couples Writer Episode: "Perfect Exes"
2011 The Simpsons Episode: "The Falcon and the D'ohman"
2011–2015 The League 7 episodes
2017–2024 Curb Your Enthusiasm Writer/Producer 12 episodes

Musicals

Year Title Notes
TBA La La Land

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. ↑ "Justin Hurwitz wins best original score in a motion picture at Golden Globes". The Hollywood Reporter. 8 January 2017.
  4. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 13, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars". Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  5. 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
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 23, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars, 2017". Jewish Standard. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  8. ↑ Times of Israel: "La La Land: Who knew it was so Jewish" by Francine Wolfsiz February 27, 2017
  9. ↑ Jerusalem Post: "HOW DID JEWISH TALENT FARE AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES?" January 9, 2017
  10. ↑ Jewish Telegraph Agency: "Oscars 2017: 7 unexpected Jewish facts" By Gabe Friedman February 23, 2017
  11. ↑ Connecticut Jewish Ledger: "La La Land's Jewish composer nominated for Oscar" January 25th, 2017
  12. ↑ Chris Foran (January 9, 2017). "Nicolet's Justin Hurwitz wins 2 Golden Globes". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  13. ↑ TMJ4 News: "Nicolet HS graduate Justin Hurwitz wins 2 Golden Globes for 'La La Land'" by Brandon Rook January 9, 2017
  14. ↑ Bryan Abrams (September 23, 2014). "Whiplash Composer Justin Hurwitz Settles the Score". wheretowatch.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  15. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Chester French - Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  16. ↑ "Whiplash". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  17. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (February 7, 2023). "'La La Land' to Become a Broadway Musical". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2023.