Article: Battlefield Hollywood

With the thunder of war drums and the fanfare of trumpets, Swedish composer Elia Cmiral has given "Battlefield Earth" -- and himself -- an imposing introduction.

The man behind the music of major movie productions such as "Ronin," "Stigmata" and now the science fiction epic featuring John Travolta reflected on how, having escaped the totalitarian regime of the former Czechoslovakia for the peace of Sweden, he found the will to succeed in the battlefield that is Hollywood.

"Even as a child, I had music, theater and art under my skin because I lived it," he said. "My mother was an actress, my father was the stage director at the local theater, and my grandfather was a composer, organist and ...