Orchestral tribute to Hollywood panned

A local music producer didn’t like what she heard or saw at an AI-laden, out-of-tune event Monday at the Centennial Concert Hall.

When Lana Winterhalt and her musician husband bought tickets to see an orchestral tribute to the music of cinematic composer Hans Zimmer, the Lorette-area performers were excited to listen to their favourite cuts from films such as Interstellar and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

They sensed their evening might not go as planned when the musicians failed to get in tune. Then the famed 20th Century Fox fanfare sounded out as a canned recording, instead of being played by the ensemble gathered onstage.

Winterhalt soon realized the videos accompanying the music mostly seemed to be images created through generative artificial intelligence. Instead of the zebra, tiger, hippo and giraffe from the Zimmer-scored Madagascar film series, the audience was shown “four janky-looking AI characters,” Winterhalt says.

While some audience members walked out, Winterhalt searched the company behind the touring production, Star Entertainment, adding to her regret at purchasing a ticket.

In 2023, Howard Shore, the Oscar-winning Canadian composer, shared a note to his social media pages advising that he was not affiliated with the U.S.-based Star Entertainment’s American and German tours playing his compositions from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film franchises.

“Please be warned, Howard Shore has nothing to do with these concerts,” said the statement. “There is a current lawsuit in process to have the concerts stopped. The music that is being played is assembled from unauthorized bootleg arrangements and not at the standard of quality insisted upon by Howard Shore.”

Winterhalt took to social media Tuesday morning to make a similar call, noting that the event in Winnipeg was a standard venue rental, but questioning the underlying responsibilities inherent to a venue of historic repute to stand for artist rights.

“I get it, sort of,” she said, with regard to the venue’s booking. “But if the concert hall doesn’t stand up for good, beautiful art, then we’re toast.”

Before its stop in Winnipeg, Star Entertainment’s touring production has seen other cancellations and reschedulings: last year, an April concert of Zimmer’s compositions in Toronto was cancelled before being rescheduled to October; the show was rescheduled at least once more.

In March, Montreal’s Rialto Theatre cancelled Star’s stops in town; an ice storm prevented the company’s travel from Toronto. In Winnipeg, this week’s shows were originally slated for May 2025 before a series of delays on the production company’s side held up the performances by nearly a calendar year.

“The music that is being played is assembled from unauthorized bootleg arrangements and not at the standard of quality insisted upon by Howard Shore.”

The Manitoba Centennial Centre Corporation says the booking was made in July 2024.

Manager of marketing and entertainment Gerry McDougal says Star Entertainment made assurances ahead of their performance that the legal challenges from Shore had been resolved, and that the company was compliant when it came to required venue payments and licences.

“The performances are a straight rental,” says McDougal, who says any issues with the performance quality fall on the production company rather than the venue.

Michael Pollock, a Los Angeles-based assistant producer of the Star Entertainment tour, was reached by phone Tuesday afternoon. He fairly asserted that touring productions, especially ones that cross international borders, are subject to changing schedules.

A director of development for the company’s film production team, Pollock says the company has heard Winnipeg consumer complaints and takes them “very seriously.”

“If we don’t live up to people’s expectations, we want to try to make it as right as possible,” he says, pointing to the possibility of free tickets for the company’s next stop in the city or a possible refund.

At Monday night’s performance, Pollock says, the touring company, which usually features 35 instrumentalists and as many as 10 singers, was hampered by a spate of illnesses, which led to “a little bit smaller” of an orchestra than normal.

When asked about the evening’s visual element, Pollock wouldn’t confirm whether artificial intelligence was used, deferring to the company’s lawyers.

“If we don’t live up to people’s expectations, we want to try to make it as right as possible.”

“We state very clearly that we aren’t associated with the movie productions. We create mood imagery that isn’t trademarked or copyrighted,” Pollock says.

With regard to any cease-and-desist notices, Pollock assured the Free Press that there presently were none, and that the legal issue with composer Shore had been “settled in our favour.”

The Free Press reached out to Shore’s manager, Jean-Jacques Cesbron of CAMI Music, to ask if that was the case.

“No,” was the one-word response.

While there were some walkouts on Monday, McDougal says there were “plenty of people who applauded,” though he understands that the performance quality — “as can happen almost any night” — fell below some audience members’ expectations for the home of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Manitoba Opera.

McDougal says he watched Winterhalt’s video review, posted to her public Instagram, and would never begrudge an artist for sharing their opinion.

Regarding Tuesday’s concert, and Winterhalt’s call for ticket-buyers to request refunds, the centennial centre corporation says it has no plans to cancel the event at the 2,297-seat venue.

“The show will go on as planned,” McDougal says.

However, the concert hall has no future holds in place for Star Entertainment to return.

Looking ahead to the venue’s spring concert schedule, an authorized performance of Howard Shore’s Oscar-winning score for The Fellowship of the Ring is slated for a two-night stand on June 19 and 20.

“We state very clearly that we aren’t associated with the movie productions. We create mood imagery that isn’t trademarked or copyrighted.”

Those shows will be soundtracked by the FILMharmonique Orchestra, a Canadian touring company that has accompanied artists including Zimmer, Stevie Wonder and Patrick Watson.

Joining FILMharmonique will be dozens of singers from Manitoba’s Prairie Voices, Winnipeg Boys Choir and the Winnipeg Youth Chorus.

With trademark approval from the Saul Zaentz Company, Tolkien Enterprises and New Line Productions Inc., the score will be performed live to sync with the motion picture, which will play in high definition.

Tickets are still available for tonight’s concert, with a pre-purchase note from the concert hall: “The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Rings of Power are trademarks of their respective owners. This concert is an independent event and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the studios, production companies, or respective trademark owners.”

winnipegfreepress.com/benwaldman