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Tortilla Heaven
18-Mar-2007 -

Christopher Lennertz and Ozomatli cook up a tasty score.

Film and television composer Christopher Lennertz teams with celebrated multi-cultural band Ozomatli to provide a tasty score to the indie release Tortilla Heaven for director Judy Hecht Dumontet. Lennertz and Ozomatli previously worked together on the band's Street Signs CD, where Lennertz's arranging work with an orchestra helped the 10-piece band take home a Grammy award for best Latin Rock Album of the Year. Tortilla Heaven opened in limited release March 16. For Tortilla Heaven, Lennertz collaborated with members of Ozomatli to incorporate a rock'n Espanol sound into the comedy film. Starring George Lopez and Miguel Sandoval, the comedy based on a true story begins when the face of Jesus appears on a hand-made tortilla in a tiny New Mexico town, a miracle that threatens to turn the sleepy community upside down.

Emmy nominated for his score for the TV show Supernatural, his television credits include Fox's Brimstone, The WB's, The Strip, Supernatural and the theme song for the MTV series Tough Enough, which appeared on the album for the show and put him on the Billboard top 100 charts for weeks. His powerful, full orchestral score for the Stephen Spielberg-created videogame Medal of Honor: Rising Sun earned an award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and led him to score two more Medal of Honor games.

Ozomatli's festive music has been heard in a number of movies and television shows, but their work with Lennertz is something different. "It's totally way out from what you would think," bassist Wil-Dog Abers says. "Now we're doing this really moody scene and I think it's cool that people are really learning what we can do. It's really exciting."

Lennertz began his musical education at the early age of nine and quickly developed what director Joshua Butler (Saint Sinner) calls "an incredible gift for melody." After learning to play the trumpet and guitar, he ventured out of performance to study composition, jazz arranging, and theory in high school. Soon, he made his way to the University of Southern California to continue his musical education and begin scoring films.

Lennertz has since expanded his repertoire as a composer for all types of media, from film to television and even to videogames. Among his film scores are several notable independent films, including the jazz-based gangster drama Baby Face Nelson featuring Academy Award winner F. Murry Abraham, the seductive thriller Lured Innocence starring Dennis Hopper, and the film festival favorite, Art House.

Of late, Lennertz scored the thriller The Deal, starring Christian Slater and Selma Blair; and Sledge: The Untold Story, a mockumentary featuring Angelina Jolie. Upcoming projects include, The Comebacks with David Koechner (The Office, Talladega Nights, Anchorman); and Perfect Christmas, a family romance starring Terrence Howard, Queen Latifah and Gabrielle Union.



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