There will be many people who have never heard of Jimmy Donaldson, but as Mr Beast, the American has become known for spending the last decade building one of the biggest channels on YouTube. Donaldson’s channel mostly involves expensive stunts and has over 123 million subscribers, making it one of the top channels on the platform. That number is something that is only likely to increase, and could be helped by the internet personality’s latest video, which features a soundtrack by legendary composer Hans Zimmer.
While the pairing of a YouTube star and one of the greatest cinematic composers in history seems to be the stuff of dreams, the collaboration came about in just a 12-day period when the pair happened to be in Antarctica at the same time. Donaldson had traveled to the frozen continent for his latest YouTube stunt, and while spending 50 hours in the Union Glacier area, he discovered that Zimmer was also in the same area. According to Donaldson, he took the opportunity to make a pitch for the composer to provide a score for the video of his time in Antarctica, and within a few hours, everything was set. In a statement, Donaldson said:
“The moment I heard Hans was there too, I knew I had to work with him on this no matter what it took. No one else would understand what surviving in such a crazy place is like! We had to get it done super quick, and when we reached out, he was just as excited.”
Zimmer also confirmed his involvement in the video, along with that of his Frozen Planet II collaborators James Everingham and Adam Lukas, which was released on December 24 on the Mr Beast YouTube channel. In his own statement, Zimmer said:
“When MrBeast sets you a challenge, you can bet things are going to get crazy… ‘Score my Antarctica video in just a few days, please, Hans? Challenge accepted!!' We had a ton of fun, and we hope you enjoy.”
Hans Zimmer is One Of The Greatest Composers of All Time
As the composer behind the scores for movies such as The Lion King, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Dunkirk, Hans Zimmer has become one of the best-known composers in the business. Having been nominated for 10 Academy Awards during his career, this year saw Zimmer claim his second award for Best Original Score for his work on Denis Villeneuve's remake of Frank Herbert’s Dune. This comes 27 years after the composer’s last win for his iconic score of Disney’s The Lion King.
The Dune soundtrack was produced by WaterTower music and released in three versions back in July 2021, all written by Zimmer. On being able to release an album in Dolby Atmos, Hans Zimmer said, "I was inspired to look at this music in a different way and to take the audience on a journey beyond the movie. To fully showcase these unique sounds and this soundtrack, I felt it must be available via an immersive technology that utilizes spatial audio. So, it was decided to deliver it in Dolby Atmos."