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THE SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS & LYRICISTS (SCL)

Presented A Special SCL Member Screening of the

The Weinstein Company film

DIRTY GIRL

Followed by a Q&A with

Songwriter/Singer MELISSA MANCHESTER,

Songwriter/Actress MARY STEENBURGEN,

Composer JEFF TOYNE,

and Director ABE SYLVIA

Moderated by Thabo Wolfaardt

MONDAY, JANUARY 16th, 2012

LOS ANGELES FILM SCHOOL, Hollywood, CA 90028

L-R:  ASCAP's Jeff Jernigan, composer Jeff Toyne, director Abe Sylvia, songwriter/performer Melissa Manchester, lyricist/actress Mary Steenburgen, SCL's Dan Foliart, SCL's Laura Dunn

Grammy Award- winning singer/songwriter/actress Melissa Manchester and Academy Award- winning actress Mary Steenburgen collaborate to create “Rainbird,” an original song for The Weinstein Company’s DIRTY GIRL (music by Manchester and lyrics by Steenburgen, orchestrated by Jeff Toyne). Written and directed by Abe Sylvia, DIRTY GIRL follows Danielle (Juno Temple) and her parenting class partner Clarke (Jeremy Dozier), on their journey to freedom. Together the mismatched misfits head to California, and discover each other and themselves through a funny and serendipitous friendship. The film features eight classic Melissa Manchester hits as well as the original song written for the film. Mary Steenburgen costars as Clarke’s mother; Manchester appears on screen as a pianist. Soundtrack available on Lakeshore Records.  

Writer/director Abe Sylvia described Melissa Manchester and Mary Steenburgen’s musical importance to the project: “Manchester’s nine songs showcased throughout the film make her the ‘musical muse’ of DIRTY GIRL.  Melissa’s music is Clarke’s guiding light, his rock. It is what allows him to face each day anew…the depth and breadth of her body of work has made it possible to score Clarke’s biggest emotional moments.  Mary Steenburgen is an artist who grasps the ephemeral. It should come as no surprise that an actress who oozes such beautiful poetry in her close-ups should turn out to be such an amazing lyricist.  The song she wrote with Melissa Manchester for DIRTY GIRL, ‘Rainbird,’ underscores a key turning point in the film. It is a melancholy lullaby that turns into an anthem of hope -- no easy task for a songwriter -- to bridge the gap between these two opposing musical moods. It is Mary's understanding and compassion for the roots of a character that makes her such a great lyricist.”

MELISSA MANCHESTER became the first artist to receive two original song Oscar nominations in the same year for different films-- "Through the Eyes of Love" (Ice Castles) and "I’ll Never Say Goodbye" (The Promise). She won the Grammy for Best Female Vocalist for “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.”  Last year, she wrote “I Know Who I Am” performed by Leona Lewis for Tyler Perry’s FOR COLORED GIRLS.  Her dozens of albums and soundtracks releases will include a Sony Legacy “Greatest Hits” album in January. Melissa Manchester received the Governor’s Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences for her contributions to music.

MARY STEENBURGEN is best known as an Academy Award winning actor.  She was most recently seen in THE HELP, STEP BROTHERS and THE PROPOSAL and is currently guest starring on 30 Rock and HBO’s Bored to Death.  In addition to her reputation as an actor, she has quietly been gaining acclaim as a songwriter for the last five years.  She is currently signed to Universal Music Publishing Group and her song “Fall Again” co-written with Matraca Berg, appears on Berg’s latest critically-acclaimed release The Dreaming Fields. Recently, Mary Steenburgen collaborated with esteemed music producer George Drakoulias for an upcoming FX series set in Nashville.

JEFF TOYNE is a Canadian-born composer who seamlessly weaves his majestic score around iconic, fan-favorite ‘80s songs, giving DIRTY GIRL the unmistakable feel of that era. Toyne has worked alongside such celebrated composers as Michael Kamen, Elliot Goldenthal, Brian Tyler and Edward Shearmur. In his music, Toyne blends orchestral virtuosity with cutting-edge music technology, creating a unique voice for each project.  Besides DIRTY GIRL, his feature film credits include BLOODED (2010, co-written with Ilan Eshkeri), 10 YEARS LATER(2009) and WITHIN (2009).  His past work in short films has been widely acclaimed; two of these shorts were nominated for an Academy Award. Equally at home in television, Toyne scored Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story (2011), Who Is Clark Rockefeller? (2010), and Taken in Broad Daylight (2009), the Lifetime network’s third-highest-rated show ever. Toyne was commissioned by the Canadian Armed Forces, for which he composed “Splendor Sine Occasu”, the Official March of the British Columbia Brigade.  In 2003, he was commissioned by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to write a work in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics.  The resulting piece, “No Fanfare,” enjoyed considerable press surrounding its World Premiere in December 2005.  In 2007, Toyne was accepted as one of six composers to attend the prestigious Sundance Composers Lab. Jeff Toyne divides his time between Los Angeles and Vancouver.

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THE SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS & LYRICISTS (SCL) is the non-profit and primary organization for professional film, TV and video game composers and lyricists, with a distinguished 65-year history in the fine art of creating music for motion pictures and television.  www.TheSCL.com

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