Alexandre Michel Gerard Desplat (born 23 August 1961) is a film composer. Desplat was born to a French father and Greek mother who met at UC Berkeley, California. After their marriage they moved to France where Alexandre was born. At the age of five, he began playing piano and also became proficient on trumpet and flute. He studied with Claude Ballif, Iannis Xenakis in France and Jack Hayes in the USA. Desplat's musical interests were wide and he was also influenced by South American and African artists and teachers, among whom were Carlinhos Brown and Ray Lema. Desplat swiftly became skilled not only as a performer but also as a composer. New Moon (marketed as The Twilight Saga: New Moon) is a 2009 American romantic fantasy film. It is based on the novel of the same name by Stephenie Meyer and is the sequel to 2008's Twilight, which is based on Meyer's previous novel. Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel in late November 2008, following the early success of Twilight. Directed by Chris Weitz, the film stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively..