Helena Zengel and Tom Hanks in 'News of the World.' For Universal's Tom Hanks starrer, the composer took a less-is-more approach for the post-Civil War drama. Eight-time Oscar nominee James Newton Howard, whose projects have ranged from My Best Friend's Wedding to multiple Batman films and the Hunger Games series, added a Western to his extensive résumé in 2020. The famed composer took on the score for Paul Greengrass' News of the World, which stars Tom Hanks as a Civil War vet transporting a young girl (Helena Zengel) cross-country to her family. Howard recently chatted with THR about creating a less-is-more sound, breaking out of his comfort zone and incorporating a Western landscape into his music.