Bates, score composer for movies and television including director Zack Snyder's blockbuster hits 300 and Dawn of the Dead, has signed on with Snyder again for Watchmen. Snyder, who praised the score to 300 saying, "It moves the film into mythology cauterizing the images as you view them, making them something they could never be alone" has once again asked Bates to join his creative team. The film based on the graphic novel stars Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson.
20th Century Fox's The Day the Earth Stood Still directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose), a remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film, stars Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates.
With more than forty film and television scores to his credit, Bates' inventive style has become the visceral cornerstone of projects including Rob Zombie's box-office number one hit Halloween, The Devil's Rejects, and the 2008 release of Zombie's animated feature The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. Following the 1997 Atlantic Records album release of his band Pet, Tyler began focusing primarily on scoring movies, and now with a list of impressive credits and a very distinctive approach to scoring films, he is one of the most sought after composers in Hollywood. In addition to films, Bates composes the score for Showtime's dark comedy, Californication, which stars David Duchovny. He is also putting the finishing touches to the music for Liquid Entertainment's 2008 release of Rise of the Argonauts for major video-gaming systems.