Thomas Newman

American Beauty (1999)

A telesales operative becomes disillusioned with his existence and begins to hunger for fresh excitement in his life. As he experiences a new awakening of the senses, his wife and daughter also undergo changes that seriously affect their family. Critically acclaimed, this film won Oscars for Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Film.

The Great Outdoors (1988)

It’s vacation time for outdoorsy Chicago man Chet Ripley (John Candy), along with his wife, Connie (Stephanie Faracy), and their two kids, Buck (Chris Young) and Ben (Ian Giatti). But a serene weekend of fishing at a Wisconsin lakeside cabin gets crashed by Connie’s obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd), his wife, Kate (Annette Bening), and the couple’s two daughters. As the excursion wears on, the Ripleys find themselves at odds with the stuffy Craig family.

When science whiz Mitch Taylor (Gabe Jarret) arrives at Pacific Tech as a freshman, he's paired up with genius senior Chris Knight (Val Kilmer) to work on a laser project. Mitch initially doesn't care for Knight's slacker attitude, but is eventually won over, and their friendship allows them to make new progress on the laser project. It's only when the boys learn that the government intends to use the laser as a weapon that they start to question what they've actually been working for.

Real Genius (1985)

When science whiz Mitch Taylor (Gabe Jarret) arrives at Pacific Tech as a freshman, he’s paired up with genius senior Chris Knight (Val Kilmer) to work on a laser project. Mitch initially doesn’t care for Knight’s slacker attitude, but is eventually won over, and their friendship allows them to make new progress on the laser project. It’s only when the boys learn that the government intends to use the laser as a weapon that they start to question what they’ve actually been working for.