In cinematic terms, it may very well just be the greatest story ever told. With its ground-breaking special effects, unforgettable cast of characters and universal themes, the original Star Wars trilogy has inspired and delighted film goers ever since A New Hope blew everyone away in 1977.
Among those to have felt its force is Gareth Edwards – the man charged with directing the latest addition to the franchise, Rogue One.
British director Sean Ellis has become a respected film maker with a stylistic approach that is urgent, visceral, and intense. With the help of composers Guy Farley and Robin Foster, he’s delivered soundscapes to match. From his Oscar Nominated short Cashback to the award winning Metro Manila, along with this years Anthropoid, Sean and his collaborators work incredibly affectively to twist our senes.
James Bobin has been part of some of the most colourful productions over the last 20 years that have taped into popular culture very specifically. He helped Sasha Baron Cohen create Ali G, Borat & Bruno was behind the most recent 2 Muppet Movies. He brought the fabulous Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie to our attention in Flight of the Conchords and this year he brought us his interpretation of Alice through The Looking Glass. A pleasure and a lot of fun to sit down and talk music with.
David Yates is such a wonderful, warm & honest man who has been seminal in fulfilling the full potential of bringing the Harry Potter books to life. He’s taken that relationship on further by making Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find them. Nicholas Hooper, Alexandre Desplat and James Newton Howard are just some of the names he’s collaborated with on the music in his films. A joy to spend time with and chat with, I hope you enjoy listening.
Writer, Actor, Director & Musician Christopher Guest has been involved in some of the funniest films ever made. Spinal Tap, A Might Wind and Best In Show make me chuckle even thinking about them. His specific style of mocumentary film making requires a certain style and approach to music. A wonderful opportunity to delve into the mind of a man who is most certainly a bit of a genius.
Mat Whitecross has had music at the core of so much of his work, Videos for Coldplay, a biopic on Ian Dury, a romantic comedy set to the backdrop of The Stone Roses Spike Island gig. And now his documentary, ‘Supersonic, charting a specific period of one of the most successful and loved bands of all time, Oasis. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the wonderful Mat Whitecross.
Derek Cianfrance has made a handful of films but in Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond The Pines and his new movie, Light Between Oceans he’s made a lasting impression on me both in his vision but also his sonic inspirations. The same could be said about sitting down and chatting with him, I had a blast. I hope you enjoy this latest Soundtracking episode as much as i did making it.
Award winning Danish film Director Nicholas Winding Refn talks about his latest film The Neon Demon which continues his fruitful relationship with composer Cliff Martinez. We also discover more about his sonic approach to film making both on set and in the editing room.
Director Ron Howard on the Music in His Films.
From child star to Academy Award winning director, Ron Howard has always made it his business to entertain. And entertain us he has – from A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13 and Frost / Nixon to his most recent offerings – the Beatles documentary Eight Days A Week and Dan Brown thriller Inferno.
My introduction to Andrea Arnold was through the award winning Fish Tank, a fantastic film. I was thrilled to get some time to sit down with around the release of her new film American Honey. It’s a vibrant, exhilarating trip with a young ‘mag crew,’ most of whom were genuinely part of that culture. To talk music and film with Andrea was a wonderful experience and as you can hear from the music she’s used, she a big fan.
Tate Taylor has worked with some of the best when it comes to scoring his movies. From The Help to depicting James Brown in Get On Up and now he brings us her big screen version of Paula Hawkins international bestseller The Girl On The Train, Tate know what he wants when it comes to soundscaping his film.
Thea Sharrock was the youngest ever artistic director at a British theatre when she joined the Southwark Playhouse in 2001 aged just 24. She went on to direct everywhere from the National to Broadway, working with the likes of Kevin Spacey, Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch & Daniel Radcliffe.
Now she’s turned her hand to the big screen with Me Before You – an adaptation of the international bestselling novel by Jo Jo Moyes. Her love of music is infectious and I hope you enjoy our journey talking Craig Armstrong, The Ramones and how she’s used music in Theatre, TV and now Film.
It’s a safe bet that any writer / director who borrows song titles to name his own films is something of an audiophile. Richard Linklater is unquestionably one of these. From Dazed and Confused To Boyhood and the so-called ‘Before’ Trilogy, he has forged a career making movies with a very specific sense of time and place – accompanied by soundtracks that appropriately underscore the mood he’s attempting to create.
His latest film continues this trend. Set in a fictional US college in 1980, Everybody Wants Some!! offers up a stonking array of contemporary tunes – from Donna Summer and Jermain Jackson to Blondie and The Sugarhill Gang. As with so much of his back catalogue, it’s also very funny and beautifully observed.
Though it’s impossible to pigeonhole the 9 feature films David Mackenzie has directed, there’s one thing they have in common: his obvious passion for music. His latest film Hell Or High Water is scored by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.
So expect to be taken on a musical journey, with tracks from as Townes Van Zandt, Waylon Jennings, Franz Ferdinand and The Bill Wells Trio among many others.
He’s an Actor, Writer & Director and his new film Captain Fantastic is one of my films of the year. Matt Ross has made a fantastic and memorable piece of cinema that stars Viggo Mortensen. In this weeks Soundtracking Matt takes us on his musical journey, one that encompasses bagpipes, German experimentalism and Bulgarian folk – not to mention Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Guns N Roses.
This week’s podcast is a very special one. Actor, director, writer and all-round good guy Jon Favreau (Swingers, Iron Man) talks about the making of the new Jungle Book movie.
From the big-band beats of Swingers to the Latin and R&B infused rhythms of Chef, Jon has always displayed a knack for using sound to perfectly compliment his visuals. This is no bad thing in the context of his remake of The Jungle Book, what with its formidable musical legacy. As well as George Bruns’ majestic score, it also features a series of unforgettable showstoppers by longtime Disney collaborators the Sherman brothers. Good job he had Bill Murray and Christopher Walken to help out!
Writer / Director Todd Phillips has been hugely successful in delivering a steady stream of huge comedy films. Each one of those has at least half a dozen scenes, that without the music, probably wouldn’t be as funny, dark or memorable. With a step towards more dramatic comedy with his new film War Dogs, Todd hasn’t changed his attitude towards the importance of music in film.
In our third Episode of Soundtracking, I talk to renowned and respected Writer /Director Todd Solondz about his relationship with music. We delve into his new film Wiener Dog, along with the musical journey through all his film making as well as his own personal one.
This week in our second in the new series I sit down with Writer/Director David Ayer. He’s known for his immersive & gritty style of film making in movies like End of Watch and Fury. How has music shaped and influenced his film making, along with working with composers Stephen Price and David Sardy? I hope you find this a fascinating insight into the mind of an incredibly accomplished film maker backed by an eclectic selection of music.
For our 1st show I chat to the incredible British film director Ben Wheatley. Ben made his name co-writing and directing the indie horror Kill List, before cementing his reputation with Sightseers and A Field In England. He has now taken on the considerable challenge of realising the dystopian visions of novelist JG Ballard in High Rise …
For our 1st show I chat to the incredible British film director Ben Wheatley. Ben made his name co-writing and directing the indie horror Kill List, before cementing his reputation with Sightseers and A Field In England. He has now taken on the considerable challenge of realising the dystopian visions of novelist JG Ballard in High Rise …
