Legendary songwriter Diane Warren could be eyeing an 18th Oscar nomination.
The 17-time Oscar nominee and Honorary Oscar recipient has announced the release of her latest song, “By Any Means,” written for Paramount‘s 1960s-set crime thriller of the same name — which is, believe it or not, the first time a Warren-composed song title matches its movie’s title. The song is performed by Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Isley Brothers alongside singer-songwriter David Kushner.
“I wanted to write a song that captured the spirit of the film which is about those who go beyond the rules to do what is necessary,” Warren says in a statement provided to Gold Derby. “My idea was to take an iconic artist who came from that era and pair them with an artist from this current era. Having the legendary Isley Brothers come on board was a dream come true. They are as amazing today as they were when they were performing during the time of these events, they are so authentic to this story. David Kushner is a great young singer who sounds like he could have come from that era, too. He is a young guy with an old soul voice. The combination of him and the Isleys is pure magic.”
Directed by Elegance Bratton (The Inspection), By Any Means, which hits theaters on Sept. 4, is inspired by a true story of a young Black FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) sent to 1960s Mississippi to investigate a wave of brutal killings targeting civil rights leaders. Forced to work alongside notorious mafia hitman Greg Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg), the agent finds himself pulled into a deadly hunt where justice and vengeance begin to blur.
Isley Brothers frontman Ronald Isley explains how the story resonated with his band. “Having lived through the Civil Rights Era, this story is personal,” he says. “We saw firsthand the courage, sacrifice and struggle it took for change to come. Music has always had the power to speak to what people are going through, and Diane Warren has written a song that carries that kind of meaning.”
The new single arrives on streaming platforms Aug. 21, followed by its official music video on Aug. 28, ahead of the full soundtrack release via AB Records/The Orchard on Sept. 18.
Warren is the composer of 33 top 10 hits — nine of which topped Billboard‘sHot 100 — a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, and the recipient of a Grammy, an Emmy, an Ivor Novello Award, two Golden Globes, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
