Fancyarcher

Christopher Plummer has passed away at the age of 91.
 
What a great career he had!
 

Interesting thread on Twitter by Joe Kramer explaining the state of film scoring right now.
 
 
"This is a sad truth for everyone trying to make it in show business - it is virtually impossible for people who are neither born into money or born into the business.  And it IS a business - money is the bottom line.  As one very successful producer recently told me "Joe, no one gives a shit about your art".  I can count the number of mainstream Hollywood composers that I KNOW write all their music themselves on one hand, John Williams being the most famous example.  Everyone else is a team leader, a figurehead for a team of composers who are getting no credit, very little money, and no job security.  None of us have any job security anyway.  One of my closest friends made a deal behind my back that swindled me out of hundreds of thousands of dollars and then dumped me for a Zimling and this was after assuring me that working for him/her was the same as having a "savings bond". In 2010, having scored "The Way of The Gun" and close to 40 TV movies for the Hallmark Channel, I was so broke I had to sell my CDs and DVDs to feed my son. This is not a pity-party for me.  This is just a reality check for people who dream of scoring movies in Hollywood: It is a cutthroat community of people who are in the business to get rich and famous.  Writing music of any quality is secondary to that ultimate goal. And keep in mind, being an artist is not a civil right - no one owes me anything, even the ex-friend who swindled me.  Making art is a hobby, and if we can manage to make some money from it, so much the better. I promise to always do my best to write all the music in anything I score myself, and if I don't, to properly credit the people who co-write with me (i.e. to the film in a meaningful way.  These promises have definitely impeded progress in my career - I haven't scored a single mainstream Hollywood movie since 'Rogue Nation'.  But I also haven't ripped anyone off, or swindled my friends, or presented a false impression. I promise not to hire an 'assistant' who is really a ghost-writer.  I promise to do my best not to just copy the temp, but to contribute of myself to directors, producers, or studio execs.  To the OP, Nadia, thank you for sharing your story.  There are a lot of hard truths that need to be shown to those who hope to join this business.  I think often of a quote once heard, spoken by one of the cinema's greatest composers:  "I got into this business to make a living.  Now people get into it to make a killing."  In closing, let me reiterate, this is not whining - this is a tough business, and it's not for the faint of heart to undertake. It can be wonderfully rewarding, but it is also impossibly challenging.  I hope it can evolve to a community that helps each other rather than competes with each other”.

“In the current health crisis, where movie theatres are shuttered or attendance is drastically limited because of the global pandemic, I still have hope bordering on certainty that when it’s safe, audiences will go back to the movies.
 
I’ve always devoted myself to our movie-going community — movie-going, as in leaving our homes to go to a theatre, and community, meaning a feeling of fellowship with others who have left their homes and are seated with us.
 
In a movie theatre, you watch movies with the significant others in your life, but also in the company of strangers. That’s the magic we experience when we go out to see a movie or a play or a concert or a comedy act.
 
We don’t know who all these people are sitting around us, but when the experience makes us laugh or cry or cheer or contemplate, and then when the lights come up and we leave our seats, the people with whom we head out into the real world don’t feel like complete strangers anymore.
 
We’ve become a community, alike in heart and spirit, or at any rate alike in having shared for a couple of hours a powerful experience.
 
That brief interval in a theatre doesn’t erase the many things that divide us: race or class or belief or gender or politics.
 
But our country and our world feel less divided, less fractured, after a congregation of strangers have laughed, cried, jumped out their seats together, all at the same time.
 
Art asks us to be aware of the particular and the universal, both at once. And that’s why, of all the things that have the potential to unite us, none is more powerful than the communal experience of the arts.”
 
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/steven-spielberg-empire-cinema-will-never-die/

Wow. This is a big one for me. The film meant a lot to me as a young boy. Not to get too involved or emotional about it, but I first saw The Land Before Time when I was around 5. My parents were divorcing and I was dealing with death for the first time in losing my grandfather. A film that centered around finding your family again was a bit of an anchor for a young Alan, and to this day I can barely get past the first few scenes with dry eyes.
 
It was also one of the very first times I became aware of music and has remained one of my favourite scores ever since, despite never actually owning a copy of it. This will be a day one purchase for me and I'll have a box of tissues ready for when I listen to it for the first time.

Mark Mothersbaugh. Was quite surprised when I learned he wasn't scoring it myself. 

https://www.varesesarabande.com/products/how-to-train-your-dragon-the-deluxe-edition-cd
 
First Solo now this! 

I don't understand the problem. It's actually a pretty decent way at implementing long-term systemic change.

What the hell??? This is so shocking and heartbreaking. I had no idea how he had cancer, he was one of the best actors of his generation, and it just felt like his career was really taking off too. RIP Mr. Boseman, it's incredible what he was able to do while battling his own body. 

What the hell??? This is so shocking and heartbreaking. I had no idea how he had cancer, he was one of the best actors of his generation, and it just felt like his career was really taking off too. RIP Mr. Boseman, it's incredible what he was able to do while battling his own body. 

What the hell??? This is so shocking and heartbreaking. I had no idea how he had cancer, he was one of the best actors of his generation, and it just felt like his career was really taking off too. RIP Mr. Boseman, it's incredible what he was able to do while battling his own body. 

Wow, his career just taking off into the stratosphere.  So young.  What a sad shame.
 
 

I'm curious about your thoughts after listening to it!

I realize how much I've neglected this thread, so I have some belated updates to share... first, we followed up our lengthy conversation with Neil S. Bulk with an even lengthier conversation with Chris Malone, our longest episode to date (we didn't split this one because there wasn't a good splitting point, but trust me, it flies by!)
https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/4802774-odyssey-interviews-chris-malone


(This is Chris with Eric Tomlinson, who recorded many Goldsmith scores, including Tora! Tora! Tora!, Ransom, Take a Hard Ride, The Omen, High Velocity, Damien: Omen II, The Boys from Brazil, Alien, Caboblanco, Outland, Night Crossing, Supergirl...)

And in his Gold Nugget series, Jens had a conversation with Bryan Erdy, who among other things talks about the ballet set to Goldsmith's score to Capricorn One:
https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/4163672-gold-nugget-7-dropped-names-with-bryan-erdy

And finally, this past weekend we released the first in a new series called Soundtrack Spotlight. For this one (just half an hour!) I'm joined by Doug and Roger of Intrada to talk about their new release of The Don Is Dead, with generous sound samples:
https://goldsmithodyssey.buzzsprout.com/159614/5097955-odyssey-soundtrack-spotlight-the-don-is-dead-1973

@karelm @Brundlefly @Display Name @TownerFan @Mr. Breathmask @Faleel J.M. @El Jefe @Modest Expectations @Laserschwert @publicist @BrotherSound @Modest Expectations @Jay @Stefancos @Jurassic Shark @Disco Stu let me know what you think!

Yavar

From my understanding Bernstein was asked back, but turned it down because he was tired of scoring comedy films by that point. Edelman who had worked with Reitman on Twins the previous year got the job instead as result. 

Exactly. From Richard Kraft's wonderful write-up of his relationship with Bernstein:
 
 

It really is an incredibly rich cue. I love how it starts silently, and then builds to the sudden slight feeling of dread and drama. I appreciated it so much more after listening to it on its own several times on the CD too. Just one of those great touches that Williams generally brings to his work. Great analysis too. 

It really is an incredibly rich cue. I love how it starts silently, and then builds to the sudden slight feeling of dread and drama. I appreciated it so much more after listening to it on its own several times on the CD too. Just one of those great touches that Williams generally brings to his work. Great analysis too. 

Another week, another great cue from The Rise of Skywalker to talk about. Since a lot of what we've been celebrating in this score has been its leitmotivic richness, I thought I'd change things up and offer a piece that is pretty athematic on the surface: the FYC track "Advice" (or, probably more properly, 7m8 "Father Knows Best").
 
 
I don't have a whole lot to say about this sequence, other than it strikes me as very effective, more so because Williams avoids any too on-the-nose statement of Kylo Ren's themes here. There's a few other cues in SW that feature this sort of two-voice counterpoint in high strings ("Death of Dooku" comes to mind), but this is the most poignant. The closest comparison I can draw is with the similarly evocative, sad "Watching the Eclipse" from Angela's Ashes. There's no direct reference to "Torn Apart," to my ears, but the harmonic language in m. 16 does venture into similar harmonic territory).

Instead of further analysis, I thought I'd offer a transcription of the stringy part, before the orchestra swells and Kylo/Ben tosses his saber. (Alas, this one's by ear and thus prone to inaccuracy, esp. in rhythm -- no score leaks for this one unfortunately AFAIK...)
 

This was announced in the Vienna thread, but I am guessing that is not regularly checked by many.  The piece is extremely good--so why not give it its own thread. Here you go:
 
 
DG has now released a video of the performance:
 

I'm just chuffed that we've gotten so much music from John Williams this decade. It's kinda been a dream.
 
I always said I would just about pass out if he followed through with this Star Wars trilogy. I was cautious about him doing a seventh and I was prepared for him cancelling on an eighth. So once again, I'm not fantasizing about December until we get a tweet that music is being recorded. So far so good, fingers crossed etc.
 
Retirement or not, this is the last time I'll have any kinds of expectations for a new JW score. For one, this is as much as I could possibly ask for. Episode IX would be such a win. I have not forgotten when Deathly Hallows was the last conceivable opportunity for some John Williams finale shit.
 
For another, I really enjoy these new scores but I listen to them more or less satisfied with the idea that he's got his mega classics out of his system by now. He's sure had a lot of them. It's corny but I mostly just love these soundtracks as some extra quality time with the old man. His talent is inspiring and his music continues to be such a part of me. I instantly recognize all the old autopilot tricks and treasure the new surprises. I'm going to miss him when he's not writing music anymore. My relationship with John Williams is one-sided and imaginary but that's the agreement which allows it to feel deep and true and personal. Always wishing him the very best and appreciate whatever he's got in store for me.

She reached 104 years, quite a respectable age. I may put on The Adventures of Robin Hood tonight as a tribute.

Here.
 
It's tiny bit different from the regular tired anecdotes. It's a pretty good article.
 
 
 
Karol

Just before his passing Ennio Morricone wrote a touching goodbye...
 
“I, Ennio Morricone, am dead. 
So I announce it to all the friends who have always been close to me and also to those who are a little far away, whom I greet with great affection. Impossible to name them all.
But a special memory is for Peppuccio and Roberta, fraternal friends very present in the last years of our life. 
There is only one reason that prompts me to greet everyone like this and to have a funeral in private form: I don't want to disturb you. 
I warmly greet Ines, Laura, Sara, Enzo and Norbert for sharing a large part of my life with me and my family. 
I want to remember with love my sisters Adriana, Maria and Franca and their loved ones and to let them know how much I loved them. 
A full intense and profound greeting to my children, Marco, Alessandra, Andrea and Giovanni, my daughter-in-law Monica, and to my grandchildren Francesca, Valentina, Francesco and Luca. 
I hope they understand how much I loved them. 
Last but not least (Maria). I renew to you the extraordinary love that has held us together and that I am sorry to abandon. 
To you the most painful farewell. "
 
Translation from Italian using Google Translate
https://tg24.sky.it/spettacolo/musica/2020/07/06/necrologio-morricone

Fuck.
 
RIP Maestro. Before I could even possibly fathom the breadth of his work, and what he did to expand the lexicon of film music outside of the Hollywood tradition, he was one of the first to make me cry when I was just starting to get into this stuff. He was one of the very very few who was actually capable of touching of the heavens with his music. The kind of touch rarely equalled by even his own colleagues.
 
 

I hate to be the one breaking this very sad news. 
 
Maestro Ennio Morricone passed away last night:
 
https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/2020/07/06/addio-a-ennio-morricone_13319023-9654-4ba1-a7f2-c3f53dbd7f60.html
 
It seems he fell in his home the other day and broke a leg. Will report later when I have more news.

https://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/articoli/morto-roma-ennio-morricone-198cf918-8323-42e2-8d4d-7fa76ffac244.html
 
Devastating news...