Billboard Picks Up Karpman's 'Cosmic Symphony' Doc — SkimNews
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- Billboard acquired the short documentary 'Cosmic Symphony,' the directorial debut of Oscar-nominated composer Laura Karpman, exploring irreplaceable musical instruments lost in the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.
- The film features bassist John Clayton, Susie Chung, Starr Parodi, and Diane Warren — Clayton lost a nearly 200-year-old bass formerly owned by Ray Brown when fire consumed his Altadena home.
- Karpman directed and composed the original score; the documentary includes instruments tied to Hollywood history, notably pianos used in The Wizard of Oz and the 2018 A Star Is Born.
- EGOT winner John Legend, two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and actress-singer Rita Wilson serve as executive producers alongside Mike Jackson, Christina Kounelias, and Peter Rotter.
- The film launches on Billboard TV (available on Amazon Fire and Samsung TV+) and Billboard's digital channels on October 27, following an October 26 Los Angeles premiere at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.
- All proceeds from a concert performance following the premiere — featuring the film's musicians and more — will go to MusiCares, the nonprofit providing health, financial, and emergency relief to professional musicians.
Why it matters: The film memorializes instruments with deep cultural and Hollywood lineage lost in the January 2025 LA fires — including a nearly 200-year-old Ray Brown bass and pianos from The Wizard of Oz and A Star Is Born — while channeling ticket proceeds from its October 26 Annenberg premiere directly to MusiCares' emergency relief for affected musicians.
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