Alan Silvestri

Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer, conductor, orchestrator and music producer of film scores. He has received two Grammy Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for nearly all of his feature films, including the Back to the Future film series (1985–1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), What Lies Beneath (2000), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007), Flight (2012) and The Walk (2015).

Silvestri also scored many other popular movies, including Predator (1987), The Abyss (1989), Father of the Bride (1991), The Bodyguard (1992), Eraser (1996), The Parent Trap (1998), Practical Magic (1998), Stuart Little (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), Lilo & Stitch (2002), Van Helsing (2004), the first three Night at the Museum films, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The A-Team (2010), Ready Player One (2018), and five Marvel Cinematic Universe films including Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Avengers: Doomsday (2026).

Early life and education Silvestri was born March 26, 1950. His grandparents emigrated in 1909 from the Italian town of Castell'Alfero, and settled in Teaneck, New Jersey. He grew up in Teaneck, and graduated in 1968 from Teaneck High School. He attended Berklee College of Music for two years. He was a drummer for a short time in 1966 with Teaneck-based rock band the Wildcats.

Career Silvestri moved to Los Angeles in 1970. "I came to Hollywood in 1970 broke.... I didn't even have any goals or plans. I didn't even go to movies. And I knew nothing about composers or composing," he said. In 1972, while he was working intermittently as a session guitarist, the producer of the low-budget action film The Doberman Gang asked him to score the picture. Silvestri agreed, despite a lack of experience: "I went out and bought a how-to-compose book by Earl Hagen.... At one point, I was using beer cans for percussion."

Personal life Silvestri and his wife Sandra own a vineyard, Silvestri Vineyards, in Carmel Valley, California. He also has a wine tasting room for his vineyards on the ground floor of the Enchanted Oaks Building. He has a daughter and two sons. He is a licensed pilot, and he flies his own aircraft - a King Air 65-C90A.

Filmography Film - 1970s and 1980s Year Title Director Studio Notes 1972 The Doberman Gang Byron Chudnow Dimension Pictures With Bradford Craig 1975 Las Vegas Lady Noel Nosseck Crown International Pictures 1976 The Amazing Dobermans Byron Ross Chudnow Golden Films 1978 The Fifth Floor Howard Avedis Film Ventures International 1983 Tiger Man Matt Cimber Credited as Alan Sylvestri 1984 Romancing the Stone Robert Zemeckis 20th Century Fox First collaboration with Robert Zemeckis Par où t'es rentré ? On t'a pas vu sortir Philippe Clair Gaumont 1985 Fandango Kevin Reynolds Amblin EntertainmentWarner Bros. Cat's Eye Lewis Teague De Laurentiis Entertainment GroupMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Back to the Future Robert Zemeckis Amblin EntertainmentUniversal Pictures Nominated — Saturn Award for Best MusicNominated — Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Summer Rental Carl Reiner Paramount Pictures 1986 The Clan of the Cave Bear Michael Chapman Producers Sales OrganizationWarner Bros. The Delta Force Menahem Golan Golan-GlobusThe Cannon Group American Anthem Albert Magnoli Lorimar Motion PicturesColumbia Pictures Flight of the Navigator Randal Kleiser Walt Disney Pictures No Mercy Richard Pearce TriStar Pictures 1987 Critical Condition Michael Apted Paramount Pictures Outrageous Fortune Arthur Hiller Silver Screen Partners IIInterscope CommunicationsTouchstone Pictures Won — BMI Film Music Award Predator John McTiernan Lawrence Gordon ProductionsSilver PicturesDavis Entertainment20th Century Fox Won — Saturn Award for Best MusicWon — BMI Film Music Award Overboard Garry Marshall Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1988 Mac and Me Stewart Raffill Orion Pictures Who Framed Roger Rabbit Robert Zemeckis Amblin EntertainmentTouchstone Pictures Also conductorWon — BMI Film Music AwardNominated — Saturn Award for Best MusicNominated — Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media My Stepmother Is an Alien Richard BenjaminWeintraub Entertainment GroupColumbia Pictures 1989 She's Out of Control Stan Dragoti The Abyss James Cameron Lightstorm Entertainment 20th Century Fox Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Music Back to the Future Part II Robert Zemeckis Amblin EntertainmentUniversal Pictures Won — BMI Film Music Award

Film - 1990s

Film - 2000s

Film - 2010s

Film - 2020s Year Title Director Studio Notes 2020 The WitchesRobert Zemeckis ImageMoversNecropia EntertainmentEsperanto FilmojDouble Dare You ProductionsWarner Bros. 2022 Pinocchio ImageMoversDepth of FieldWalt Disney PicturesDisney+ Also lyricist, conductor and orchestrator 2024 Here MiramaxImageMoversPlaytoneSony Pictures Releasing 2025 The Electric State Anthony & Joe Russo NetflixAGBOSkybound Entertainment Also conductorReplaced Steve JablonskyLilo & Stitch Dean Fleischer Camp Walt Disney PicturesRideback Themes only; score composed by Dan RomerThe Fantastic Four: First Steps Matt Shakman Marvel StudiosWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Mid-Credits scene only; score composed by Michael Giacchino Play Dirty Shane Black Team DowneyModern PicturesBig Indie PicturesAmazon MGM Studios 2026 Behemoth! Tony Gilroy Searchlight Pictures Score composed with: James Newton Howard, Brandon Roberts and Michael Giacchino Avengers: Doomsday Anthony & Joe Russo Marvel StudiosAGBOWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures 2027 Avengers: Secret Wars

Television Year Title Channel Notes 1978–1979 Starsky & Hutch ABC 3 episodes 1978–1983 CHiPs NBC 95 episodes 1983 Manimal 5 episodes T. J. Hooker ABC – CBS Episode: "A Child Is Missing" 1986 Amazing Stories NBC Episode: "Go to the Head of Class" 1989–1995 Tales from the Crypt HBO 7 episodes1991–1992Back to the Future CBS Theme only 2014 Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Fox / National Geographic Channel 13 episodesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (for "Standing Up in the Milky Way")Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music 2020 Cosmos: Possible Worlds 13 episodes

Awards and nominations Silvestri has received two Academy Award nominations: Best Original Score for Forrest Gump (1994); and Best Original Song for "Believe" on The Polar Express soundtrack. He also received two Golden Globe nominations: Best Score for Forrest Gump and Best Song for The Polar Express. Silvestri received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in 1995.

He has also received nine Grammy Award nominations, winning two awards: Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Believe" from The Polar Express in 2004; and Best Instrumental Composition for "Cast Away End Credits" from Cast Away in 2002. His other nominations were for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special and Best Instrumental Composition, for Back to the Future in 1985, Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television, for Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988, Best Instrumental Composition, for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit Suite" in 1989, Best Pop Instrumental Performance, for "I'm Forrest...Forrest Gump (The Feather Theme)" in 1994, Best Instrumental Composition, for Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, and Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media, for Avengers: Endgame in 2019. During the 2005 Grammy Awards, Josh Groban performed "Believe".

He has won two Emmys, both for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey – Outstanding Main Title Theme Music and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for the episode "Standing Up in the Milky Way". He has won the Saturn Award for Best Music three times, for his scores for Predator (1987), Back to the Future Part III (1989/90), and Van Helsing (2004). On September 23, 2011, he received the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award from the City of Vienna the yearly film-music gala concert Hollywood in Vienna.

Association Year Category Project ResultRef.Academy Awards 1994 Best Original Score Forrest Gump 2004 Best Original Song The Polar Express ("Believe") Golden Globe Awards 1994 Best Original Score Forrest Gump 2004 Best Original Song The Polar Express ("Believe") Outstanding Music Composition for a Series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey ("Standing Up in the Milky Way") Grammy Awards 1986 Best Instrumental Composition Back to the Future Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media 1989 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1990 Best Instrumental Composition Who Framed Roger Rabbit ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit Suite") 1995 Best Pop Instrumental Performance Forrest Gump 2002 Best Instrumental Composition Cast Away ("End Credits") 2006 Best Song Written for Visual Media The Polar Express ("Believe") 2019 Best Instrumental Composition Avengers: Infinity War 2020 Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Avengers: Endgame