Composer Threads The Official Michael Giacchino Thread

[Jonesy 55]

Michael Giacchino Scoring ‘Ratatouille’ Ride for Disneyland Paris

Cool

[Jay 37,352]

More music that will never get a release

[Jonesy 55]

Actually, this might be released in digital form.

[Jay 37,352]

Like all his other ride and theme park music hasn't?

[Jonesy 55]

Space Mountain is available on this album

[Jonesy 55]

Wow! That compilation also includes The Throne Room cue from Giacchino's Star Tours.

[Jay 37,352]

http://instagram.com/p/nf4-tzQYmX/

[scallenger 483]

LOL. Well, I think I would too...

[Jay 37,352]

For those who don't have MG's The Lost World video game score on physical disc, it's available via on-demand CDR from Amazon now, with a strange new cover

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IICKOOE

For reference, here is the original release / cover

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00000636R

[Kendal_Ozzel 36]

I have the original CD, because I am a Michael Giaccompletionist.

[Jay 37,352]

Well, with the news that Giacchino is scoring Jurassic Park 4, time to update this old list here!

Wow! With the news that Giacchino will be score Matt Reeves' Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, time to update the list!

2014 (April 4) Captain America 2 (Russos) - ???????
2014 (May 16) Godzilla (Gareth Edwards) - ??????
2014 (May 23) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves) - ??????
2014 (May 30) The Good Dinosaur (Bob Peterson/Pixar) - Thomas Newman
2014 (Jul 25) Jupiter Ascending (Wachowskis) - Giacchino!
2014 (Aug 1) Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn) - ?????
2014 (Aug 8) Dracula (Gary Shore) - ?????
2014 (Dec 19) Tomorrowland (Brad Bird) - Giacchino!

2015 (May ??) Star Wars Episode VII (JJ Abrams) - Probably Williams
2015 (May ??) Avengers 2 (Joss Whedon) - ??????
2015 (Jun 19) Inside Out (Pete Docter/Pixar) - ??????
2015 (Nov 25) Finding Dory (Andrew Stanton/Pixar) - Thomas Newman
2015 (??? ??) Mission: Impossible 5 (Christopher McQuarrie) - probably either Giacchino or Joe Kraemer

2016 (??? ??) Día de los Muertos (Pixar) - ???????

???? (??? ??) 1906 (Brad Bird) - ??????

Is now

2014 (April 4) Captain America 2 (Russos) - Henry Jackman
2014 (May 16) Godzilla (Gareth Edwards) - ??????
2014 (May 23) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves) - Giacchino!
2014 (May 30) The Good Dinosaur (Bob Peterson/Pixar) - Thomas Newman
2014 (Jul 25) Jupiter Ascending (Wachowskis) - Giacchino!
2014 (Aug 1) Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn) - ?????
2014 (Aug 8) Dracula (Gary Shore) - ?????
2014 (Dec 19) Tomorrowland (Brad Bird) - Giacchino!


2015 (May 01) Avengers 2 (Joss Whedon) - ??????
2015 (May ??) Star Wars Episode VII (JJ Abrams) - probably Williams
2015 (Jun 19) Inside Out (Pete Docter/Pixar) - probably Giacchino
2015 (Nov 25) Finding Dory (Andrew Stanton/Pixar) - Thomas Newman
2015 (Dec ??) Mission: Impossible 5 (Christopher McQuarrie) - probably either Giacchino or Joe Kraemer

2016 (??? ??) Día de los Muertos (Pixar) - ???????

???? (??? ??) 1906 (Brad Bird) - ??????



So I guess Giacchino officially doesn't have time in his schedule to do Godzilla. I actually don't see another 2014 score being added to his plate, unless it's something he writes and records in late 2013 (like John Carter situation).

3 scores is enough for 2014 anyway - those three should all be fairly long scores and, as long as he is inspired by good movies, 3 pretty interesting scores.

His 2015 is becoming much more interesting. With Williams likely on board for Star Wars and him likely on board for Inside Out and MI5, it remains to be seen if he'll pick up a 3rd and maybe 4th score that year. His take on The Avengers would probably be pretty great!

Since this last version:

-Tomorrowland and The Good Dinosaur moved from 2014 to 2015, Findy Dory moved from 2015 to 2016
-Godzilla, Guardians of the Galaxy, Dracula, Avengers 2, and Star Wars 7 all had composers announced
-This Is Where I Leave You and JP4 added to Giacchino's slate

2014 films
(April 4) Captain America 2 (Russos) - Henry Jackman
(May 16) Godzilla (Gareth Edwards) - Alexandre Desplat
(Jul 11) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves) - Giacchino!
(Jul 18) Jupiter Ascending (Wachowskis) - Giacchino!
(Aug 1) Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn) - Tyler Bates
(Sep 12) This Is Where I Leave You (Shawn Levy) - Giacchino!
(Oct 17) Dracula Untold (Gary Shore) - Ramin Djawadi

2015 films
(May 01) Avengers 2 (Joss Whedon) - Brian Tyler
(May 22) Tomorrowland (Brad Bird) - Giacchino!
(Jun 12) Jurassic World (Colin Trevorrow) - Giacchino!
(Jun 19) Inside Out (Pete Docter/Pixar) - probably Giacchino
(Nov 25) The Good Dinosaur (Bob Peterson/Pixar) - Thomas Newman
(Dec 18) Star Wars Episode VII (JJ Abrams) - Williams
(Dec 25) Mission: Impossible 5 (Christopher McQuarrie) - presumably Joe Kraemer or Michael Giacchino

2016 films
(Jun 17) Finding Dory (Andrew Stanton/Pixar) - Thomas Newman
(Jul 29) Planet of the Apes 3 (Matt Reeves) - probably Giacchino

Unscheduled films
Día de los Muertos (Pixar)
Cars 3 (Pixar)
Incredibles 2 (Pixar)
1906 (Brad Bird)


Some notes of interest:
-There's still no official confirmation on Inside Out, but it certainly seems likely (since Giacchino scores Up and won the Oscar for it). Strange it hasn't been confirmed.
-Tomorrowland moving out of the late 2014 timeslot frees up Giacchino to score a film opening then, but I don't know if there are any that don't already have composers attached at this point! There could be a surprise coming though, who knows!
-If Joe Kraemer gets the Mission Impossible 5 gig over Giacchino, he could score a Q4 2015 film. Some possibilities:

(Oct 2) Frankenstein (Paul McGuigan)
(Oct 9) Jungle Book (Jon Favreau)
(Nov 25) Midnight Special (Jeff Nichols)

so nothing too exciting. Most of the big Q4 2015 films already have composers attached:

(Oct 16) Crimson Peak (Guillermo del Toro) - Fernando Velázquez

(Nov 6) Bond 24 (Sam Mendes) - presumably Thomas Newman, even with him having The Good Dinosaur opening the same month

(Nov 20) Hunger Games 4 (Francis Lawrence) - James Newton Howard

(Nov 25) The Good Dinosaur (Bob Peterson/Pixar) - Thomas Newman

(Dec 18) Star Wars Episode VII (JJ Abrams) - John Williams

(Dec 18) Inferno (Ron Howard) - presumably Hans Zimmer

(Dec 23) Kung Fu Panda 3 - presumably Zimmer and/or Powell

(Dec 25) Mission: Impossible 5 (Christopher McQuarrie) - presumably Joe Kraemer or Michael Giacchino

[Jonesy 55]

Quote

2015 (Jun 19) Inside Out (Pete Docter/Pixar) - probably Giacchino

According to IMDB, Joel McNeely is listed as composer for Inside Out, but I doubt it's true.

[Jay 37,352]

Doesn't seem likely. I would think Giacchino is a lock for Inside Out, even with it opening within weeks of Tomorrowland and Jurassic World. Being animated, MG would probably finish work Inside Out before those other ones, anyway.

[Jonesy 55]

Doesn't seem likely.

Indeed. McNeely isn't attached to these projects. On the other hand, Giacchino said that he was working on a secret Pixar project and I think it might be Inside Out.

[Jay 37,352]

Correct. At the time he said that, Good Dinosaur, Inside Out, Finding Dory, and Día de los Muertos where the 4 Pixar films in the works, and since then Thomas Newman got the Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory gigs. With Día de los Muertos come coming out until 2016 at the earliest, it's gotta be Inside Out that he was talking about. I just don't get why it hasn't been officially confirmed.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

With Giacchino doing Jurassic World, Joe Kraemer might have a better shot at M:I 5.

[Jay 37,352]

What does one have to do with the other? Jurassic World opens in June, MI5 opens in December.

[Max 141]

This was kind of a given, but Giacchino has confirmed that he's scoring Pixar's Inside Out!

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2014/05/25/michael-giacchino-to-score-pixars-inside-out/

[Jay 37,352]

Yup totally expected, but still great news!

[Max 141]

Yup totally expected, but still great news!

Indeed! That'll make three Giacchino scores (Tomorrowland, Jurassic World, and Inside Out) within a month of each other. I can't wait!

[Jay 37,352]

Not just within a month - 3 out of 4 consecutive weeks! Impressive during summer blockbuster time!

[Jonesy 55]

This was kind of a given, but Giacchino has confirmed that he's scoring Pixar's Inside Out.

http://filmmusicreporter.com/2014/05/25/michael-giacchino-to-score-pixars-inside-out/

Cool

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Jason, Star Trek, MI and POTA he does for money, and the real passion lies with his scores for the Indie, small budget films John Carter and Jupiter Ascending?

You really talk bullocks mate!

[Jay 37,352]

I never said anything about his passion

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Whats the difference between Star Trek, MI and Carter? All are big budget action epic scores.

[Jay 37,352]

The difference is that with Star Trek and MI, at various points in their scores he was forced to refrain the theme tune to a 1960s television show. With John Carter, the entire score from beginning to end was his, and the score ended up being much more rich and rewarding for it.

 

I am sure Jupiter Ascending and Tomorrowland will be more unique and interesting of scores than Jurassic World will be. Though I personally am excited for all three.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Im not that familiar with his MI stuff, but for Trek, he barely used the Sandy Courage material. It certainly doesnt sound any less like a Gia score, like Search For Spock sounds 100% Horner.

Gia references the theme, but doesnt depend on it at all really

[Jay 37,352]

The difference is that with Star Trek and MI, at various points in their scores he was forced to refrain the theme tune to a 1960s television show. With John Carter, the entire score from beginning to end was his, and the score ended up being much more rich and rewarding for it.

I thought you preferred his Star Trek scores to John Carter?

I said JC was more rich, not that I like it more. I like STID more than ST09. Whether or not I like STID more than JC, I'd have to ponder on.

JC I was not initially SUPER impressed with but boy, has it really grown on me with time. It's easily one of his top 3 scores, no question.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,352]

Im not that familiar with his MI stuff, but for Trek, he barely used the Sandy Courage material. It certainly doesnt sound any less like a Gia score, like Search For Spock sounds 100% Horner.

Gia references the theme, but doesnt depend on it at all really

Still, the point is that beyond the required re-use of an old TV theme, he was also scoring the 11th entry in a 40 year franchise, so there was expectations about how the film and score should be, surely with many bigwigs having their say. With John Carter, there was nothing he had to lean on or any certain sound to be expanded, and the results was one hum dinger of a score!

To get back to your prior idea about him scoring smaller indies vs large blockbuster films, he simply hasn't done that many of those. But I do quite enjoy his scores to Let Me In, and have heard good things about Earth Days.

[Uni 306]

Word on the street is that Gia sucks. . . .

I'm feeling more motivated than ever to listen to more of his stuff. I haven't gotten around to several of his scores yet, so I've been a bit ambivalent on the guy. I liked his ST material a lot, and Super 8 had its moments (though the notion that he was somehow "resurrecting" the spirit of CE3K was laughable). The Incredibles was a great tribute to the old-school style of James Bond that Barry perfected all those years ago. In my mind he's certainly a competent composer with some bright spots in his repertoire. I don't quite get all the negative press he's received.

So I'm gonna sit down with more of his music. Either I'll find that he spent himself completely on the scores I've already heard and tanked the rest of his work . . . or I'll find that he's much as I've discovered him to be to this point. (Maybe I'll find his other stuff is even better by comparison.) If either of the latter two pan out, I'll be another one puzzled by why he gets so much guff 'round these parts.

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Uni 306]

Deal.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Gia doesnt suck. He's just a bit bland.

[scallenger 483]

Uni, you should listen to some of his albums from LOST. Definitely shows some of his more unique side, plus some of his best themes. If you only had time for one album out of the 6 seasons, I would probably listen to Season 4. If you had time for more, Season 6. Then Season 1. The rest are decent but not totally essential.

[Uni 306]

Excellent and useful advice! And as it happens, I have access to these. I'll give them a try.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Torrents?

[Jay 37,352]

The LOST albums are on Spotify.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Whats that?

[Jay 37,352]

Please stop making pointless point-count-padding posts. Thanks.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Indeed!

[Jay 37,352]

Uni, the good/bad with Giacchino's OSTs is that their long lengths tend to be great for his existing fans who want as much of his music as they can get, but bad for beginners trying to get into his scores.

Here are some 20 minute "primers" you can try out for some of my favorite Giacchino scores

Super 8

1. Super 8 (01:44)

4. Acting Chops (00:40)

6. Thoughts Of Cubism (00:48)

7. We'll Fix It In Post-Haste (00:43)

9. Train Of Thought (00:35)

10. Circle Gets The Cube (01:05)

22. The Evacuation Of Lillian (03:39)

23. A Truckload Of Trouble (00:57)

31. Letting Go (05:15)

32. Super 8 Suite (05:51)

John Carter

1. A Thern For The Worse (07:39)

3. Gravity Of The Situation (01:20)

5. Sab Than Pursues The Princess (05:34)

9. Carter They Come, Carter They Fall (03:55)

18. Ten Bitter Years (03:13)

Mission Impossible 4

2. Light The Fuse (02:01)

5. Kremlin With Anticipation (04:12)

17. Mood India (04:28)

18. Mumbai's The Word (07:14)

20. World's Worst Parking Valet (05:03)

Star Trek Into Darkness

1. Logos / Pranking the Natives (03:01)

3. Sub Prime Directive (02:23)

4. London Calling (02:09)

6. The Kronos Wartet (05:26)

8. Ship to Ship (02:50)

10. Warp Core Values (02:56)

12. The San Fran Hustle (05:00)

[crocodile 8,006]

I actually love his Bollywood cues in Mission: Impossible 4. It's a really fun score and gives the film a bit of lighter and globe-trotting edge, while also serving modern aciton.

Karol

[Ricard 2,245]

Interview with Giacchino at Empire Online:

Michael Giacchino on Being a Composer - The Star Trek and Up composer talks us through his day

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Such a strict schedule is not what we associate with composers who, thanks to biopics like Amadeus and Immortal Beloved, are often portrayed as fiery iconoclasts only at peace when they’re burning the midnight oil

It's an interesting myth that keeps coming up: the great professional who burns the midnight oil, or haphazardly waiting for inspiration and creative genius.

But, the vast majority of great __________s tended to adhere to very strict routines/schedules.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Completely identify with his inability to constantly write write write. Composing isn't one's whole life, it's just a very important part of it. Of course, when I was younger, the midnight oil burning, tortured artiste waiting for inspiration bullshit seemed like the natural mode of creative existence to me. Luckily it doesn't take long to get to know better.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Are you sure? My inspiration is best when the night falls.

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

It was for me as well. But that's just a matter of being less distracted by things at night. If you can give yourself the proper space, time, and isolation during the day, it's just as good. Better. That's when the brain is meant to work.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I think the time of day can vary person to person (some people are genetically predisposed to be insomniac night owls, probably because we needed people to take the night watch back in the day). What doesn't vary is that mental resources are finite, and the less automated and structured your day, the more of those resources you expend on things that are not productive output.

At work (we make games) we have a saying: life is just like a video game. It has a mana/stamina bar that depletes and recharges, you just don't see it. But you need to be aware of it.

You can expend that mana deciding what time you will eat lunch or you can use it on making a small design decision for the game.