Okay, so I’m again officially the last to know something.  This marvelous young actor/comedian named Andrew Goldenberg, a.k.a. Goldentusk, has been writing, producing, and starring in a series of imaginative original videos, taking movie theme songs and putting his own words to them, and playing all the characters.  Maybe you’ve seen them — I hadn’t until yesterday, actually — but I’m now officially in love. 

You all know what happens when you browse around YouTube — an hour later you forgot what you were looking for but have found twenty other things that you really like.  Finding Goldentusk’s videos was like that for me.  It doesn’t hurt that I stumbled upon his version of John Williams’ Superman theme first, for several reasons.  I love Superman, I love Christopher Reeve’s Superman the most, and I love Williams’ score.  Obviously so does Goldentusk.  On his YouTube page for his Superman Theme Song, he calls it “possibly the greatest theme song ever composed”, and I wouldn’t disagree.  I think it’s thrilling, and the passion, humor, excitement and emotion that Andrew puts into his lyrics and his performance of Williams’ music are infectious.  It was his first production, officially released in July of 2006, and you really just need to watch it.  You’ll be in good company — it’s been viewed well over four million times.

How could you not love that?  “And I know that you can see my underwear…” — please, it’s hilarious!  And adorable!

Goldenberg didn’t just pull this clever talent out of a hat — he’s been a working actor since he was a kid, and is a member of several comedy troupes (manyvideos available of his work with them on YouTube also).  There’s a great interview with him by DanaRoseCrystal available here, with basically his whole life and how he came about doing these unique theme song vids.  Goldentusk’s next film song was his James Bond theme, set to the iconic Bond theme, originally composed by Monty Norman and made iconic in the many John Barry scores for Bond films.  This one’s got almost three million views.

He turned again to John Williams for his third release, the theme from Jaws.  Watch Goldenberg portray Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and a hapless kid on a raft — and the shark, too.  Over two million views for this rather scary and terrific oceanic adventure!

I hope you’re paying attention to the nifty use of stock background photos as scenery; it works beautifully.  Number four in Goldentusk’s movie hit parade was his December 2006 unveiling of another John Williams score, the theme to Back to the Future.  By now you’ve figured out the premise of these videos, basically it’s the story of the movie, recounted through song, with frequent doses of knowing humor.  A winning combination, I’d say!

One of Goldentusk’s most acclaimed songs is his version of the theme to Batman, music by Danny Elfman.  It’s a dramatic retelling of the movie’s key plot points with especially effective editing and effects.  This has delighted YouTube audiences almost as much as his Superman, but it’s definitely more serious. 

Horror fans will love his version of the theme from Halloween, with music by the film’s director John Carpenter.  Goldentusk released this in October 2007.

Seventh for Goldentusk was his Indiana Jones/Raiders of the Lost Ark song, done to John Williams’ famous march theme from all the movies, released about the time of the latest Indiana Jones movie from last year. 

He next tackled another John Williams favorite, the main theme from Star Wars, where he expertly captures all that made these movies into the legends that they are — some more so than others, of course.  This was a January 2009 release.  I love the slightly petulant Luke Skywalker…

Goldentusk’s most recent production is his May release of the theme to Terminator 2, music by Brad Fiedel.  Always good to have somebody try to explain time travel anomalies, and have fun doing it, too! 

You’ve just gotta love what Andrew Goldenberg is doing.  He has the perfect combination of humor and respect for these films, plus a huge amount of genuine affection, which comes across.  The lack of cynicism and the presence of appreciation is a delight to behold, and I look forward to more of his creations.  Goldentusk is one fella who surely deserves whatever good things come his way, and I salute his creativity!