What happens when a YouTube star and a legendary film composer are in Antarctica at the same time? In the case of Jimmy Donaldson (aka MrBeast) and Hans Zimmer, that means filming and creating an original soundtrack for a YouTube video – all within the space of 12 days.
After arriving in Antarctica to film his latest YouTube video, which features the stunt-joke maker spending 50 hours outside the Union Glacier area, Donaldson quickly learned that Zimmer was also in the area. He took the opportunity to pitch the composer, and within the span of about four hours, the two struck a deal to have the Oscar winner score the upcoming YouTube video, according to Donaldson.
“The moment I heard that Hans was also there, I knew I had to work with him on this one way or another. No one else would understand what it’s like to survive in such a crazy place! We had to get it done super fast, and when we reached out he was just as thrilled,” Donaldson said in a statement.
MrBeast in Antarctica
Tarek Salameh
To create the original soundtrack in a limited time frame, Zimmer joined James Everingham and Adam Lukas, members of the Bleeding Fingers Music composer collective; the trio previously collaborated on the soundtrack for the BBC documentary series Frozen Planet II.
The final product, “I Survived 50 Hours in Antarctica,” will be published on YouTube on December 24. The original piece, ‘Antarctica or Bust’, is also being released on Spotify via Bleeding Fingers Music.
‘If MrBeast challenges you, you can bet it’s going to be crazy…’ Score my Antarctica video in a few days, please, Hans? Challenge accepted!!’” Zimmer said in a statement. “We had a lot of fun and we hope you enjoy it.”
