[Who would score YOUR film?]

Ahh, fuck it. Close the thread.

[Who would score YOUR film?]

2 minutes ago, LSH said:

Be realistic.

 

[Who would score YOUR film?]

THIS IS JUST FOR FUN - NO ARGUMENTS

 

Let's say you're a director in Hollywood; who would you go for? From the current platter of talent. No dead people. Be realistic. Choose your [specific] genres too.

 

Mine would be:

 

Fantasy / Sci-Fi : James Newton Howard

Animation : Dario Marianelli / Thomas Newman

Action / Thriller : John Powell / Christopher Lennertz

Romance : James Newton Howard / Craig Armstrong

Western : Thomas Newman / Bear McCreary / David Arnold

Drama : Thomas Newman / Johan Söderqvist

 

I'll add more when I think.

 

 

 

 

[What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)]

9 hours ago, Edmilson said:

JNH's score was pretty good, a mix between his 90s thriller music (like The Fugitive) and Christopher Young-like horror. 

 

Yeah, that's a pretty good description. I've got the CD somewhere collecting dust... I'll have to give it another listen. Thanks for the reminder.

[Favorite composer(s) who made their big breakthough after the year 2000?]

5 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

You seem to have an odd obsession with Thor whenever he posts. 

 

Thank god, I thought it was just me.

 

Has anyone actually met the maniac besides me?

[What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)]

17 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

He did Titanic two years later.

 

Yes..?

[What Is The Last Score You Listened To From 2022?]

3 hours ago, Jay said:

I think the first great cue of 2022 is this cue from Joseph Shirley's Book of Boba Fett score

 

 

That's actually... quite... good. Crikey. It sounds almost Thomas Newman-y in parts. In a good way. Especially those few bars that lead into the Force theme (quite a lovely version of that by the way) at the beginning. Wow.

 

By the way, who the hell is Joseph Shirley?

[What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)]

 

I don't really know what to say. It's fucking great. Yes, it's derivative (it's Horner), but it has some of my favourite iterations of his trademarks.

 

Re-Entry & Splashdown is an absolute powerhouse cue of emotions. The torturous four minutes of 'radio silence' in the film scored tensely but with complete reverence (children's choir and snare drums - what a great combination) --- and then that explosive thematic release. Utterly gorgeous, tear-jerking stuff. 

 

I mean, we're only talking 1995 and yet we'll never ever hear music like this in a film again. How sad.

[Favorite composer(s) who made their big breakthough after the year 2000?]

6 hours ago, Luke Skywalker said:

Giacchino wins. 

 

Thor-bait if I ever saw it.

 

Anyway, 

 

I have to side with Thor on the Powell thing here.

 

I remembered his name from Antz (1998). And I was only eight at the time. And we're talking a big DreamWorks animation feature that essentially competed with Pixar's similarly themed second release, A BUG'S LIFE, that same year.

 

That's enough to define a breakthrough in my eyes.

[John Powell's PAYCHECK (2003) - 2021 2CD Varese Deluxe Edition]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Hmmm, that's a great question.  I'll have to think about it

 

BTW, if no one's heard Source Code before, check out the JNH-esque main titles:

 

 

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice this. It's great, isn't it!

 

I quite liked the film too and was happy that the score is quite prominent in the mix.

[What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)]

 

I'm doing a mid-nineties James Horner binge. I'm also getting drunk during it.

 

Starting with this score and a Diplomatico-Reserva Rum Old-Fashioned.

 

I've only listened to this one a couple of times all the way through. I do like it though.

 

I even like the song. But then, I'm a considerable Steve Winwood fan. He actually grew up on the same street as me... fun fact about me.

 

[Does Disney not feel like paying Williams anymore?]

Williams ain't gonna be around forever. And that fact motivates two different things:

 

1. Get as much out of him now while you still can.

 

2. Nurture a new generation of younger composers to continue the franchise.

 

Looks to me they are doing a bit of both.

[What Is The Last Film You Watched? (Older Films)]

THE ROCK

dir. Michael Bay

 

What can I say. It's Bay's best film by a long shot... at least the one with the most re-watch value (hence my 58th viewing or thereabouts).

 

Connery and Cage are the most unlikely duo. But they're great together. Snappy dialogue (from various sources I'm told), crunchy 90s-style action sequences (which I genuinely think benefit from Bay's music video aesthetic), superb score (the peak of Media Ventures), and most surprisingly of all... an honourable antagonist (one of Ed Harris' best characters IMO).

 

All in all, a superb 90s action film that absolutely takes itself too seriously in the right measure... but ultimately accepts that it's fluff. I miss this sort of stuff. 

["The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made" - Vanity Fair article 2/21/22]

27 minutes ago, Manakin Skywalker said:

 

Well it was a metaphor, so not literally exactly 5 specific people. 

 

Come on, it might be. Let's face it, he's had enough time to count.

 

EDIT: 

 

That was a cruel joke. He's very talented and I genuinely wish he got more gigs.

[The Thomas Newman Thread]

I don't normally get so aggy awaiting a release but I really want to hear his score for the recently released DOG. It has been mentioned favourably in a few film reviews....

 

Vanity Fair:

The great film composer Thomas Newman does invaluable work, his compositions gracefully leading us to pockets of feeling that would otherwise go unreached.

 

The Guardian:

 ...it looks and sounds the part (Thomas Newman score – check)...

 

The Playlist:

...Thomas Newman’s score is evocative, even if he’s riffing on familiar themes...

 

Tilt:

Gorgeous vistas across the Pacific Coast are accentuated by Thomas Newman’s plucky score...

 

MSB Reviews:

...Briggs and Lulu share emotionally impactful interactions that will generate a lot of smiles, a few laughs, and, who knows, a tear or two - Thomas Newman's fantastic score will surely cause that.

 

****

 

And the director made this weird albeit encouraging comment in an interview with BoxOfficePro:

 

We have a big score with Thomas Newman and an orchestra, really providing a sonic experience for everybody that’s going to be a lot better than watching it on your iPad or something.

 

 

Just release the fucking thing.

[How do you name commonly named tracks (e.g. Main Title)]

I used to be massively anal about my organisation of music but I gave up on it recently. I realised that I was caring too much about impressing myself. I can find what I'm looking for when I need it... and that's enough. 

["The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made" - Vanity Fair article 2/21/22]

9 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

But I think the question is, fair as in what they deserve, not what they are legally paid. Of course they get paid if they are on the cuesheet.

 

Ok, I get what you're saying. I guess 'fair' is a pretty arbitrary term in this messy system. 

["The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made" - Vanity Fair article 2/21/22]

5 minutes ago, Bayesian said:

When you say "cuesheet sheet credits," is that to mean that the composers listed are given fair payments and royalties?

 

Yes. At least it should. ASCAP, BMI, etc legislation, no?

["The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made" - Vanity Fair article 2/21/22]

19 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said:

 

Oscars are like bitcoin - they have value if people trading in them think they have value.

 

And whether you like it or not - the film industry absolutely does. Absolutely absolutely absolutely. To a person. Would they like to be nominated? Heck ya. Would they like to win one? Double heck ya. 

 

So there you go. That's the reason they have value - to them. Maybe not to you but to them - for sure. 

 

No, I completely agree. I was being totally flippant with my comment. It's just a shame. Film music is a very unique art amongst art. 

 

23 minutes ago, Mephariel said:

 

But we sort know this is the truth for years right? People just like to ignore it. I could be wrong but Christopher Nightingale wrote a lot of the main theme for Doctor Strange. Steve Jablonsky wrote one of the main themes for King Arthur I believe. Zimmer wrote the Pirates theme even though Badelt is on the cover. 

 

From Jonathan Broxton of UK Movie Music:

 

"This is an important article. As someone who is deeply immersed in film music, none of this is surprising - in fact, among my peer group it's basically common knowledge - but it should at least put a pin in the old-fashioned notion that a composer sits alone, working in an ivory tower, toiling away in creative solitude. This is not, and has rarely ever, been the case; as far back as the Hollywood golden age the studio system employed ghostwriters and additional composers.

 

And, you know, as a basic rule, working collaboratively with others isn't necessarily a bad thing - sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to get the work done, and some people just work better being around others to bounce ideas off. That's fine. Deadlines are real. The real issue is credit and remuneration, and that's where Hollywood has been failing for years."

 

Yeah, I understand that. And with all honesty I shouldn't really care. I'm an armchair critic as much as most of us are. I love film music, more than most genres, and it's my fucking crutch in the worst of times. I care about the people that make it as much as I care about the people who provide any other material substance in my life that I enjoy... which is utmost respect.

 

So yeah, get the credits and royalties right. I can't do much from where I'm sitting but I hope it gets better because film music is not an art-form that deserves this sort of internal madness.

["The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made" - Vanity Fair article 2/21/22]

1 minute ago, Edmilson said:

The article actually made me realize how much worse the situation actually is. Before today, I thought the credited composer at least provided the main themes and/or scored the major scenes. But according to the article, the main composer doesn't do even that, he basically just says "this is a sad scene so write just some generic sad music for strings while I relax and enjoy the credits".

 

Imagine listening and falling in love with a score only to discover that the guy who was credited as the main composer didn't write more than a few notes, and instead his job was to sit down and order his minions to do all the hard work. It's so disappoiting and depressing. 

 

I'm seriously bummed by this article. Ignorance is indeed a blessing.

 

I'd like to know how prevalent it is outside of the Zimmer camp, I really would.

 

I mean, I don't think the likes of Thomas Newman, Howard Shore or Alan Silvestri outsource composition duties. James Newton Howard has rebutted claims that he does.

 

I agree with you though, Edmilson, it is upsetting.  

["The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made" - Vanity Fair article 2/21/22]

8 minutes ago, TheUlyssesian said:

i know all this is a real problem. For the kind of movies I like, all this isn’t a problem. But overall I agree this is a real problem.

 

 Though I would also argue that films where this is a real problem are not usually up for awards.

 

Oscars mean jack shit in a creative sense and it's so very awfully sad that it's deemed a stamp of quality... and a plus-point on your CV.

[Did Danny Elfman work on Spider-Man 3?]

Not entirely on-topic but I've got to offer all film composers my absolute respect. I write music, and I love doing it (wrote music for some student films back when I was at university), but I don't think I could hack it as a film composer in Hollywood despite any shred of talent that I might have. Very much in the same way that I love cooking but couldn't be a chef. Too much politics and meddling. Fuck that.

["The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made" - Vanity Fair article 2/21/22]

4 hours ago, KK said:

Kind of a "this whole game sucks...but we can't do anything about it" situation.

 

Nail on the head really. I mean this is a prevalent practice in a lot of industries and it's probably worse now than it ever was. Working in middle management for the past eight years has proven this to me. You never get recognition/reparations that are due.

 

I'm bitter and little drunk. 

[What Is The Last Score You Listened To? (older scores)]

5 hours ago, Thor said:

 

The problem with this (and many other nature documentary scores these days) is that it's stylistically all-over-the-place. It's a fashion now to tap into all kinds of things -- pop, tangos, twangy country, what-have-you -- inbetween the more trademark orchestral lushness. So it doesn't feel as consistent as Fenton's earlier nature documentary scores. You can solve a bit by programming, of course, but only so much since its very nature is eclectic. But by all means, the good parts here are quite good.

 

Not heard this one but I can kinda predict what you mean. I've heard some of the other 'Disneynature' - Harry Gregson-Williams has done a few - and they are similar to what you describe.

 

I'm not a patriot one bit but leave nature documentary fayre to the BBC please.

 

 

Aww man what a lovely one this is.

 

There are many pleasing Newman trademarks out there but the noodly oboe over warm string chords and airy synth pedal-note just breaks me. It's my Achilles' Heel. It's so pretty and it fucking kills me every time. 

 

More of this please Tom.

["The Ugly Truth of How Movie Scores Are Made" - Vanity Fair article 2/21/22]

4 hours ago, Ludwig said:

Ok, so Deborah Lurie is my new favorite person:

 

 

I met Deborah Lurie at an event a good few years ago and she is one incredibly lovely, talented and forward-thinking individual.

 

She spoke very highly of Christopher Young, of whom she replaced on AN UNFINISHED LIFE but ultimately assisted completing Spiderman with if I remember rightly.