What happens when a YouTube star and legendary film composer both happen to be in Antarctica at the same time? In the case of Jimmy Donaldson (a.k.a. MrBeast) and Hans Zimmer, that means filming and creating an original soundtrack for a YouTube video — all within the span of 12 days.
After arriving in Antarctica to film his latest YouTube video, which sees the stunt-happy creator 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 a span of roughly four hours, the two struck a deal to have the Oscar winner score the upcoming YouTube video, according to Donaldson.
“The moment I heard Hans was there too, I knew I had to work with him on this no matter what it took. No one else would understand what surviving in such a crazy place is like! We had to get it done super quick, and when we reached out, he was just as excited,” Donaldson said in a statement.
MrBeast in Antarctica
Tareq Salameh
To create the original soundtrack in a limited time frame, Zimmer linked up with James Everingham and Adam Lukas, members of the Bleeding Fingers Music composer collective; the trio previously collaborated on the soundtrack for the BBC docuseries Frozen Planet II.
The final product, “I Survived 50 Hours in Antarctica,” will be published via YouTube on Dec. 24. The original piece, “Antarctica or Bust,” will also be released on Spotify via Bleeding Fingers Music.
“When MrBeast sets you a challenge, you can bet things are going to get crazy… ‘Score my Antarctica video in just a few days, please, Hans? Challenge accepted!!’” Zimmer said in a statement. “We had a ton of fun, and we hope you enjoy.”
