Trivia

Son of composer Alfred Newman; nephew of Lionel Newman and Emil Newman; cousin of Randy Newman and Joey Newman.; brother of composer David Newman, Tim Newman, Maria Newman.

Has scored at least one Oscar-nominated film every year since 1994: 1994: The Shawshank Redemption (1994) (Nominee: Best Pic, etc.), Little Women (1994) (Nominee: Best Score, etc.) 1995: Unstrung Heroes (1995) (Nominee: Best Score) 1996: The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) (Nominee: Best Director, etc.) 1997: Oscar and Lucinda (1997) (Nominee: Best Costume Design) 1998: The Horse Whisperer (1998) (Nominee: Best Song) 1999: American Beauty (1999) (Winner: Best Picture, etc.), The Green Mile (1999) (Nominee: Best Pic, etc.) 2000: Erin Brockovich (2000) (Winner: Best Actress, etc.) 2001: In the Bedroom (2001) (Nominee: Best Pic, etc.) 2002: Road to Perdition (2002) (Winner: Best Cinematography, etc.) 2003: Finding Nemo (2003) (Winner: Best Animated Feature, etc.) 2004: A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) (Winner: Best Makeup, etc.) 2005: Cinderella Man (2005) (Nominee: Best Supporting Actor, etc.) 2006: The Good German (2006) (Nominee: Best Score), Little Children (2006) (Nominee: Best Actress, etc.).

Lives in the house in which he grew up (designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright), and writes in the same home studio used by his father Alfred Newman.

Parts of his score to The Shawshank Redemption (1994) were used in the trailer for Brokeback Mountain (2005), and All the King's Men (2006).

During the 2000 Summer Olympics, parts of his scores to Erin Brockovich (2000), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), and How to Make an American Quilt (1995) (and possibly others) were played on NBC during short biographies of certain athletes.

Parts of his scores to both American Beauty (1999) and Pay It Forward (2000) were used in the trailer for About Schmidt (2002).

The well known marimba part which begins and plays throughout American Beauty (1999) was actually written by the marimba player, who was just playing around during a preliminary recording session.

Scored 2/5 of the Best Picture nominees in 1999: American Beauty (1999) and The Green Mile (1999).

Graduated from Yale University with a masters in music composition Keyboard player for "The Innocents" rock band

During Tina Turner's video biography at the 2005 Kennedy Center Honors, part of Oprah Winfrey''s narration was accompanied by a portion of Newman's score to Road to Perdition (2002).

As with the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, pieces from Newman's scores were used amidst biographies of Olympians such as Leann Parsley during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Part of his score to Angels in America (2003) was used in the trailer for Love in the Time of Cholera (2007).

As of 2024, he has composed the score of nine films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Scent of a Woman (1992), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), American Beauty (1999), The Green Mile (1999), Erin Brockovich (2000), In the Bedroom (2001), The Help (2011), Bridge of Spies (2015) and 1917 (2019). Of those, American Beauty (1999) is a winner in the category.

During the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, parts of his score to Road to Perdition (2002) was used during a reflective piece on the life of Nodar Kumaritashvili, a Georgian luger killed during a training session hours before the Olympic games began.

Was nominated for Film Composer of the Year in 2008 by the International Film Music Critics Association.

Part of his score to The War (1994) was used in the trailers to both American Beauty (1999) and Life as a House (2001).

Prior to scoring Reckless (1984), Newman wrote music for off-Broadway productions, theater, and bands "The Innocents" and "Tokyo 77".

Part of his score to Unstrung Heroes (1995) was used in the trailer for Adaptation. (2002).

Part of his score to Jarhead (2005) was used in the trailer for The Last King of Scotland (2006).

Part of his score for Angels in America (2003) was used in the trailer for Milk (2008).

His scores for American Beauty (1999) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994) were nominated for AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores. Neither made the list.

Stepson of veteran film composer Robert O. Ragland.

Has 3 children - Evan, Julia & Jack.

Brother of Tim Newman.

Brother of David Newman, Maria Newman, Tim Newman and Lucy Newman.

Part of his score for Scent of a Woman (1992) was used in the trailer for Powder (1995).