HANS ZIMMER AND JAMES NEWTON HOWARD COLLABORATE ON SCORE

On June 15th, Warner Bros. Pictures' BATMAN BEGINS, from director Christopher Nolan, the summer's most anticipated theatrical release, opens nationwide featuring a score that will immediately make music history - a unique collaboration between two of the screen's most honored and respected composers, Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, working together for the first time. Warner Sunset Records will release the CD for Batman Begins on June 14th. The soundtrack contains 12 tracks composed by Zimmer and Howard and is 60 minutes in length.

"Watching this unique collaboration between two great talents has been constantly fascinating and exciting. Their contribution to Batman Begins has been immeasurable," said Nolan. "Collaborating on this project has been a lot of fun. Since Batman Begins is a character driven story, we wanted to give Batman credibility through the music. We've created a score that tried to stay true to the duality of the character, capturing the motion, energy, darkness and rage of Batman," said Zimmer and Howard. Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder, disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman, a masked crusader who uses his strength, intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.

Zimmer is one of the most respected and talented composers in the business with over 100 film scores to his credit highlighted by his Oscar winning score for The Lion King as well as scores for Oscar winning films including Gladiator, Rainman, and Driving Miss Daisy. Zimmer's credits also include The Last Samurai, Black Hawk Down, Thelma and Louise, and the upcoming DreamWorks release Madagascar.

James Newton Howard, a six time Oscar nominee, is best known for his spine tingling scores for M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, for which he received an Oscar nomination, as well as The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs. Howard's list of credits includes over 90 films including The Fugitive, The Prince of Tides and most recently The Interpreter.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Syncopy production of a film by Christopher Nolan, CHRISTIAN BALE in Batman Begins, starring MICHAEL CAINE, LIAM NEESON, KATIE HOLMES, GARY OLDMAN, CILLIAN MURPHY, TOM WILKINSON, RUTGER HAUER, KEN WATANABE and MORGAN FREEMAN. Directed by CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, the film is produced by EMMA THOMAS, CHARLES ROVEN and LARRY FRANCO. The screenplay is by CHRISTOPHER NOLAN and DAVID S. GOYER, story by DAVID S. GOYER, based upon BATMAN characters created by BOB KANE and published by DC COMICS. The executive producers are BENJAMIN MELNIKER and MICHAEL E. USLAN. The director of photography is WALLY PFISTER, A.S.C.; the production designer is NATHAN CROWLEY; the film is edited by LEE SMITH, A.C.E.; the costume designer is LINDY HEMMING; and the music is by HANS ZIMMER and JAMES NEWTON HOWARD. This film has been rated "PG-13" by the MPAA for "intense action violence, disturbing images and some thematic elements." Batman Begins will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. www.batmanbegins.com