Composer, Producer, Music Supervisor

Having worked across film and television for over three decades, Charles Newman’s path into film music began with an early breakthrough placement in the cult classic Empire Records. His band PLEASE collaborated with Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and renowned mixer Tom Lord-Alge on “Here It Comes Again,” earning a spot in the film and on its platinum-selling A&M Records soundtrack. From there, Newman expanded into a multifaceted career as a composer, producer, music supervisor, and editor, contributing to a wide range of narrative and documentary projects.

He has scored multiple award-winning documentaries and supervised music for features including All These Small Moments (Orion Pictures), starring Molly Ringwald, Jemima Kirke, and Brian d’Arcy James, as well as Monday, developed as part of Robert Rodriguez’s Rebel Without a Crew initiative, along with several television projects.

Newman’s score for the 2020 documentary Denise Ho: Becoming the Song was recognized as a New York Times Critics’ Pick. He later served as both music supervisor and composer on Millennium Bugs, building a distinctive score from unreleased 1990s material sourced from archived DAT recordings of PLEASE—an approach that reflects his ongoing interest in music-driven storytelling rooted in authenticity and texture.

Recent work highlights his range across genres and formats. He scored the thriller short Blood Positive with collaborator Jon DeRosa, which premiered on Bloody Disgusting; supervised music and collaborated with Andy Rourke of The Smiths on the indie short The Wrong Guy; and served as music supervisor and producer on The List (Universal Pictures), creating original songs with a diverse roster of artists.

In 2023, Newman scored the indie short Chicken, starring Matt Walsh and Criss Angel, and continued producing original music with emerging and established artists alike.

Most recently, he served as music supervisor, score mixer, and contributing composer on The Unexpecteds, directed by Alejandro Montoya Marin and featuring Matt Walsh, Alejandro DeHoyos, Chelsea Rendon, and Francisco Ramos. The film premiered at Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and went on to win Best Comedy at SModcastle Film Festival, where Kevin Smith subsequently joined as executive producer ahead of its 2025 release.

He also served as music supervisor and soundtrack producer on RUN, directed by Melissa Miller and starring Sarah Levy, Adam Pally, Phillipa Soo, and Chris Redd. The film is currently being finalized for release later this year.

Across his work, Newman is known for a collaborative, artist-forward approach—developing custom soundtracks that integrate original music, curated songs, and score into a cohesive narrative voice.