James Horner was an amazing artiste: Antoine Fuqua

Director Antoine Fuqua has a special place for late composer James Horner in his heart, as he says "The Magnificent Seven" would not have been possible without him.

Fuqua also shared that Horner, who died in a plane crash last year, had composed for the movie without seeing any footage.

"James Horner was an amazing artiste. He was one of the most incredible people I have ever met. But he was very gentle, loving father, and he was a great friend. This movie probably wouldn't have happened without James," Fuqua said here.

"The Magnificent Seven" is a remake of the 1960 classic, which itself is a remake of the legendary 1954 Japanese film "The Seven Samurai". The film released in India on Friday. The press event was organised by Sony Pictures Entertainment here.

The film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio.

Fuqua, known for Academy Award-winning film "Training Day", says working with him was a magnificent experience.

"While I was making the movie, after he died, his manager and the composer who finished the movie called me and he said, 'James had a gift for you. And we want to bring it to you'... And they came to my trailer and he said, 'James wrote the score for you.' And I thought, 'What do you mean James wrote the score for me. HowIJ He didn't see any footage, he never saw the movie'.

"He said, 'Yeah, he went through the script and he already started to compose the music and he was going to surprise you'. And they played it for me. Seven songs. It was actually seven songs. It was seven songs and, yeah, it blew me away. It was magnificent. So James is an amazing human being," he said.

Fuqua also shared that it was his push that propelled him to make the movie.