"What keeps my creative spirit and music vital and fresh, is that the alchemy and elements of each film are different, each time inspiring a unique score.
The burning desire to make each film score the best it can be, is the fire that drives me to work so hard.
The powerful role music plays in a film is extraordinary. For this reason I dedicate myself completely to my work."
- Wendy Blackstone
Wendy Blackstone is an award-winning composer. Her work is a testament to her passion and commitment to film scoring.
Wendy has scored over 140 films and TV shows, ten of which have won or been nominated for an Academy Award.
She is the first woman signed to CAA and one of the first women invited to the music branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures arts and Sciences.
Visuals created by the artist Tempe Hale to accompany the event The Women Who Score: Soundtracks Live, a historical concert celebrating Wendy’s music and the music of other women composers in film, television, video games and interactive media.
Coming to HBO April 17, 2024
A documentary on the Oklahoma City Bombing directed by Marc Levin and produced by Daphne Pinkerson. Executive Producer Katie Couric.
Executive Producers for HBO, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller.
Score by Wendy Blackstone
The Wonderland Murders & The Secret History of Hollywood
The four-episode limited series on MGM+ will air this Summer. Based on Michael Connelly’s Audible podcast of the same name, it explores the infamous Wonderland murder case in 1980s Los Angeles. Connelly also created Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer.
Directed by Alison Ellwood
Score by Wendy Blackstone
Biography
Wendy Blackstone has composed original filmscores for 130 plus film and TV projects. With equal strengths in drama and comedy, fiction and non-fiction, her artistic and eclectic approach inspires her to create a unique score for each film. Determined to innovate, Wendy combines experimentation with the great musical traditions of the past. She weaves originally designed sounds with acoustic ensembles to create the best score for each film.
A native New Yorker, Wendy takes advantage of the rich cultural and artistic diversity of her city. Wendy composes in a wide range of styles: contemporary classical, downtown experimental, rock, minimalist, jazz, and Latin. Her ongoing connection with these music scenes is a vital part of her artistic persona.
After scoring the comedy Dear Diary for Dreamworks, Executive Producers Spielberg and Katzenberg became fans of Wendy’s work. According to Producer Barry Jossen, Spielberg said, “Wendy’s music took the show from a 3 to a 9.” Directed by David Frankel, Dear Diary, went on to win an Oscar.
Nine of the films Wendy has scored have been nominated or won Academy Awards including Dutch Master. Girl in the River and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory.
Feature film accomplishments: Music for Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, Lost in Florence (which Wendy also Produced), Love Walked In for Sony Pictures, starring Terence Stamp, Denis Leary, directed by Oscar winning Director, Juan Jose Campanella; Nick Gomez’s New Jersey Drive, executive produced by Spike Lee for Universal Pictures; Latin music for Betty Thomas’ comedy, Only You, starring Helen Hunt and Andrew McCarthy, and The Dutch Master, Susan Seidelman’s comedy starring Mira Sorvino and Aida Tuturro.
Wendy has scored numerous TV series: Crime Scene (Netflix), Profiler (NBC, drama), New York News (CBS, drama), For The People (Lifetime, drama), Maybe It’s Me (WB, comedy) and MasterClass (HBO).
Documentaries titles include: Ai Weiwei Yours Truly, Desert One, Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists (HBO), Warning:This Drug May Kill You (HBO), American Jihad (Showtime), The Girl In the River (HBO), I am Not Your Guru: Tony Robbins, Larry Kramer In Love and Anger (HBO), Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus (HBO), Whitey (CNN). Blackstone continues to work with the top filmmakers in the field.
Wendy’s work in theater includes Anna Deavere Smith’s Tony-nominated Twilight: Los Angeles, directed by George C. Wolfe (Angels In America, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) for both the Public Theater and Broadway’s Cort Theatre.
Wendy was the first female film composer signed to CAA by Brian Loucks. Wendy then went on to be one of the first women film composers signed to Gorfaine Schwartz Agency . She was also one of the first to join the Music Branch of AMPAS. In 2016, Wendy’s music was performed at a historical concert in Los Angeles celebrating the music of the top international women film composers.
Wendy divides her time between NYC, Italy and LA. She speaks Italian, Spanish and French, and holds both US and EU passports.
Coming to PBS in 2024 - Firelighters: Fire Is Medicine
Directed by Sande Zeig and scored by Wendy Blackstone
Score by Wendy Blackstone
Pelosi in the House
Score Wendy Blackstone
Directed by Alexandra Pelosi. Executive produced by Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heler
Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
Score Wendy Blackstone
Directed by Joe Berlinger. Executive produced by Joe Berlinger, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Sara Bernstein, and others.
"Special praise to composer Wendy Blackstone for the sumptuous score."
— Hollywood Reporter on Loved Walked In
“Wendy’s music took the project from a three to a nine.”
— Steven Spielberg on Dear Diary
"Thank you for everything. You are a national treasure.”
— Alexandra Pelosi on Pelosi in the House
"A dramatically moody score by composer Wendy Blackstone.”
— Vincent Canby, The New York Times on Twilight Los Angeles
“Wendy’s magic kicked up the show three notches.”
— Joe Berlinger on Crime Scene
“A powerful suspenseful score by Wendy Blackstone.”
— Variety on The Boy Who Cried Bitch
“The excellent score is by Wendy Blackstone.”
— Terence Rafferty, New Yorker on Lodz Ghetto
“Setting off the impeccable work is a phenomenal score so inventive and so detailed that it makes the film seem three dimensional.”
— Sheila Benson, LA Times on Lodz Ghetto
“Its musical score by Wendy Blackstone is haunting and beautiful.”
— Scott Williams, Associated Press on Lodz Ghetto