David Coscina

I think Minority Report might appeal to the composers and musicians on this board more than to the soundtrack listener. This is not a dig to those who enjoy listening to scores only, but for those of us who actually know what kind of work went into the score, well, let's just say we have a greater opinion of it as is witnessed in the comments here.

Sorry guys, I completely forgot about Unbreakable which is unforgivable seeing that it's one of my favorite scores of his. And I don't dislike Howard, it's just I've never been that confident in his upbeat heroic cues, maybe except for Wyatt Earp and that was more western than anything.

I hear that there isn't a composer attached to this film yet (Sylvian or whatever Nolan's regular composer is isn't signed at this time). I wonder who they might get. Here's my suggestions: 1. HOward Shore- Imagine a Se7en styled scored for the decay of Gotham city. Yep, I think it would be great. 2. Gabriel Yared- Actually a friend of mine made this suggestion but I'm going with it because Yared has proven he can score anything (I have a 2 disc set of many of his films from the past 12 years and it's all solid material). And he can write amazing themes! But since this is Warner, I think there's no chance that he'll work on this picture. 3. John Williams- Oh yeah, I went there. I think a dark score, kinda like Minority Report, would work interestingly in this context. And I think this Williams guy is pretty good at writing themes too...I think I've heard a couple... People who absolutely shouldn't score this film: 1. Danny Elfman- I love his Batman score but the tone of this story isn't heroic. It's brooding self-examination. And poor Danny is all comic-booked out! 2. Hans Zimmer- Two words: SUCK-FEST. 3. John Debney- Hey he had his crack at Spiderman and blew it! 4. James Newton Howard- Cannot write heroic music to save his life. Just remember the heroic theme from The Postman- uggghh. Or Waterworld...uhggggg.

Yes, it's a real good film. And the score is much more textured than one thinks. It's like Sleepers to me; it took me months to get into that score but I still really find it compelling, especially tracks like "The Football Game". I don't think it's fair to expect Williams to produce Star Wars or Raiders or whatever everytime he scores a film. It's a disservice to him and to the fans themselves as they are missing out on some great music.

2 Bb trumpets, French Horn, tenor trombone, and tuba. They are the True North Brass, a Canadian quintet. They sound amazing too.

I'm with Alex on this. I'm glad we didn't get the ubiquitous loud music, quick editing style that seems endemic to most big blockbuster trailers. I really got hyped after seeing the teaser trailers for Godzilla and look how that film turned out. CRAP. On the other hand, I saw the trailer for Thelma and Louise and from that surmised it was a chick flick where two ladies go for a fun filled romp about the country. The film turned out to be far from that in tone. Point is, it's very hard to get an idea of how good a film will be based on the previews. I know it's a little ironic since trailers are supposed to entice folks to see the film. there are many other examples I can find where a trailer wasn't good but the film was great, and vise-versa. We'll just have to wait to see the film. But if it's anything like the screenplay I have for it, it will be pretty good. and I agree that it's very heartnening to see a complete LACK of CGI crap. I hope Nolan goes back to the old way of making films- good story, good acting, and action sequences that are well choreographed as opposed to being edited all to hell where the audience can see what's going on (because the actors are too inept at hand to hand combat- i.e. Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman and Robin). Do what the Wachowski brothers did with the Matrix- get your actors to learn martial arts for 4 months. They might not be as proficient as Jet Li or Jackie Chan, but at least the audience will buy it more than disguising their lack of knowledge with incongruous editing....blech!

I think it's worth hanging onto but that's just me.

It's hard to guage a film from a teaser. I like the scope and atmosphere of this new film. But then again, I thought all Batman movies were a shameful recreation of the comic character and not at all faithful to it.

Yeah, isn't it just a I-V-I progression? Boooooooooooooooring!!!!!!

I'm a fan of Vangelis' older works but hearing this makes me long for a John Williams score. I mean, Vangelis is using sampled orchestral instruments much the same as Zimmer does. You know what would be interesting to do is temp Yared's Troy music, especially "Approach of the Greeks" with parts of Alexander...I bet it would put Vangelis' score to shame. I agree with Ocelot, Charlesk and Morlock. This is really rudimentry composing, even more simplistic than Zimmer's recent fare. Williams would have done a far better job on this project and I'm still surprised that Stone did not ask him to score this...unless he did and WIlliams had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts.... Oh well, another possibly great film score down the toilet....

me too

He's a very gracious interviewee isn't he? And his music is phenomenal, not just for Troy. He deserves more recognition, and more high profile projects. Film score fans should be able to hear the full range of his abilities.

Let us know what you think!

I agree that it would be grea if Williams came up to conduct his music in Toronto. Although technically, he has been to TO. Back in 1993 when he recorded portions of Schindler's List using the Toronto Mendelsohn Choir. I think that's the only time he's been up here. Goldsmith, God rest his soul did conduct the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1990. I was lucky enough to see him that evening and it was a great experience to hear ST:TMP live, as well as Alien, Papillon, Rambo, and many other scores. But I do hope Williams does visit Canada at some point.

First Blood is tied with Papillon as my all time favorite Goldsmith score. I'll put both on later when I get home from work.

I'm in the same mood as everyone else on this board. Saddened and shocked mostly. And I don't think it's fanboyish to feel the loss of Goldsmith. A lot of us here grew up listening to his music and knew him through that medium. A composer's music is a personal extension of themselves and those who listen to their music get a bit of an understanding of that person. We'll all miss Goldsmith and his amazing musical imagination. He was a master at his craft. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family on this sad day.

Thanks Gents! I'm working on some longer pieces at the moment, one for brass ensemble (that will eventually get performed by real musicians).

Yeah, I could have included The Good the Bad and The Ugly or Once Upon a Time in the West....oh wait, wrong decade.

Darn. Some great writing in that season.

Yeah, looking at all these, I have to admit that Williams' music for Superman is still the strongest. Some amazing writing and I love how the score develops throughout the film. Thumbs up Johnny!

The Superman thread got me curious as to what people think is the best superhero score

Well it isn't Williams but who is really? Actually, that would be a good poll. Best superhero score. I don't think there are that many...hmmmmmm

Ottman scoring this film is a big mistake. His style is way too clunky and limited, especially in comparison to Williams' original. Someone like Broughton would be better off scoring it. And as much as McG being off the project is good in directorial terms, he would have most-likely had Shearmur score the film and I would have very much liked to hear what he would have done. From the bit of music I've heard for SKY CAPTAIN, it would have been really great. For those who don't know, there is a scene for SKY CAPTAIN at AppleTrailers or at the Sky Captain site. Check it out. Pretty neat music and visuals.

Yeah, there's a lot of great works that missed.

It's an urban epic.