James Cameron Not Sure Who Will Compose Music for Avatar 2-5 After Losing Composer James Horner

LOS ANGELES — Legendary director James Cameron built a strong rapport with the late great composer James Horner on films including “Titanic” and “Avatar.”

Horner died in a tragic plane crash in 2015. Flying was a hobby he had enjoyed for years.

Cameron spoke about hearing the news for the first time, and hoping it wasn’t the case.

“We really felt this great sort of glow of friendship, and joint artistic accomplishment,” he said in an never-before-seen interview featured in SCORE: The Interviews, available in paperback and on Kindle. “We were really looking forward to the next thing.”

The next thing was Avatar 2, and subsequent Avatar films Cameron has been working on developing for years.

“We talked a little bit about the Avatar scores coming up, and he was very excited about that,” Cameron told the crew of SCORE: A Film Music Documentary in a rare extended interview.

With Horner’s legacy strongly cemented as one of the finest composers in history, Cameron still worries about how he’ll ever be able to replace him.

The never-before-seen interview with Cameron is one of dozens featured in the new book SCORE: The Interviews, available in paperback and on Kindle — a treasure trove of rare interviews and insight with dozens of composers and directors will accompany the June release of SCORE: A Film Music Documentary.

The 352-page paperback book is packed with insider stories and never-before-heard in-depth interviews with dozens of maestros of the modern age, including Hans Zimmer, James Cameron, Quincy Jones, Rachel Portman, and one of the last long-form interviews conducted with Hollywood icon Garry Marshall. Readers will step into the soundproof studios of film's top composers with the SCORE team to experience composers' journeys, struggles, secrets and how they find their groove. The book is available on Amazon.

Composers Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, Inception), Quincy Jones (The Color Purple, The Pawnbroker, In Cold Blood), Randy Newman (Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., The Natural), Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Seven), Trent Reznor (The Social Network, Gone Girl, Nine Inch Nails), Tom Holkenborg (Mad Max: Fury Road, Batman v. Superman) and more. Plus, hear rare insight from director James Cameron and the legacy of James Horner, along with one of the final interviews conducted with legendary director Garry Marshall.

Modern maestros reveal their creative secrets.

Composer David Arnold: Bond, the British sound and using music from dreams.
Director James Cameron: How score shapes a film and working with James Horner.
Composer Quincy Jones: Music's evolution and emotive power on us.
Composer Randy Newman: Great film music in history and scoring for animated films.
Composer Rachel Portman: Using music to your advantage and female film composers.
Composer Howard Shore: The great epic film score and connecting all the dots.
Composer Hans Zimmer: The joy (and vulnerability) of musical experimentation.
Director Garry Marshall: How to use music to fill, fix and enhance film.
Composer Bear McCreary: Creating an efficient, tight-knit film composing team.

Goosebumps and exploring music's cutting edge.

Composers Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: Production value and the film score as an album.
Composer Brian Tyler: Growth, excitement and striving for perfection.
Composer Mychael Danna: Musical styles across different nationalities.
Composer Tom Holkenborg: Intensity and goosebumps.
Composer Harry Gregson-Williams: Traditional score meets technology.
Composer Steve Jablonsky: Reinventing electronic sounds.
Composer John Debney: Inspirations from childhood to the scoring stage.
Composer Trevor Rabin: Wrestling with the clock and working with producers.
Composer Patrick Doyle: Life and passion reflecting through music.