Stay ConnectedIn a unique weekly podcast, Edith Bowman sits down with a variety of film directors, actors, producers and composers to talk about the music that inspired them and how they use music in their films, from their current release to key moments in their career. The music chosen by our guests is woven into the interview and used alongside clips from their films.
Useful Links
Edith’s website
Soundtracking On Instagram
Edith’s Instagram
Soundtracking Extra On Youtube
Spotify
Twitter
Facebook
It’s always a pleasure to welcome a directorial debutant to Soundtracking – what with their entirely fresh take on the art of source music and score.
Not that Andy Serkis is a novice when it comes to cinema. As an actor, he played Gollum in Lord Of The Rings and Caesar in the Planet Of The Apes franchise, with roles in the new Star Wars and Black Panther to come soon.
He also brilliantly captured the essence of troubled troubadour Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock N Roll, which was directed by our good friend Mat Whitecross. Indeed it’s thanks to Mat you’ll get to hear Andy’s version of My Old Man from the film – after his editor Marc dug out a copy for us.
Andy’s first major foray behind the camera is Breathe. Starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy, Breathe tells the story of Robin Cavendish, who was given three months to live after being paralysed from the neck down by polio at the age of 28. He became a pioneering advocate for the disabled and travelled the world with his wife, Diana Blacker, in the hope of transforming the lives of others like him. Since Robin's son Jonathan is Andy's partner at their production and motion capture company, Imaginarium, he had a deeply personal connection to the narrative. This extended to the music, which was composed by his friend, Nitin Sawhney.
Now while this is Andy's first job in charge of an actual feature film, he previously directed the cutaway scenes for video game, Heavenly Sword. And who did he get to score that? None other than Nitin, of course ...
Of the many directors we've featured on this show, few can claim to have served up such a diverse body of work as Michael Winterbottom.
Michaeal is one of Britain's most inventive and ground-breaking film-makers. From his 1995 debut Butterfly Kiss to controversial love story 9 Songs and gritty docu-drama Road To Guantanamo, he has consistently experimented with subject matter and form - often to critically-acclaimed & award-winning effect,
There can be no finer example of his talents than bittersweet comedy The Trip - which starred Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon and was described by Richard Curtis as one of the greatest television programmes of all time.
Rather like The Trip, his latest project On The Road blurs the line between fact and fiction. Ostensibly a documentary about a real tour by the band Wolf Alice, the narrative revolves around a relationship between two members of the crew, played by actors Leah Harvey and James McArdle.
Though he tends to use source music over score, Michael has worked with composer Michael Nyman on several occasions,
Plenty about Mr Nyman during the conversation, as well as music by The Sex Pistols, Richard Strauss, Happy Mondays, Joy Division, Elbow and The Super Furry Animals.
This episode is brought to you by Casper Mattresses and Tide Bank. Details of special offers available to you can be heard at the start of the programme.
It's high time we had a bit of Nordic Noir on this show, so it's an absolute pleasure to welcome rising Swedish star Tomas Alfredson to Soundtracking.
Tomas made his name with Let The Right One In - which was scored by Johan Söderqvist, won numerous awards and was described by legendary critic Roger Ebert as the 'best modern Vampire movie'.
He then took charge of the adaptation of John Le Carre's classic novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, for which he employed the services of Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias.
Now he brings us another project based on a book in the shape of The Snowman, Jo Nesbo's dark, disturbing and thrilling international bestseller. Starring Michael Fassbender, Rebeccca Ferguson and Charlotte Gainsbourg. the film is scored by the ever reliable Marco Beltrami.
Since the score is not commercially available yet, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to our friends at Back Lot Music for sending us all the cues in advance. You can get hold of them yourself in a week or so, but meantime you'll hear plenty of examples as Tomas deconstructs Marco's work in fascinating detail ...
Following our chat with Clint in episode 52, we had a little snippet left over in which he talked briefly about his score for Loving Vincent. And given that it's out this week, we thought we'd publish it now.
The conversation is accompanied by two of his cues from the movie, Marguerite Gachet At The Piano and Wheatfield With Crows.
It's been a while since we can recall such a keenly anticipated cinematic event, or one that has then gone on to exceed all our wildest expectations. But that is what our guest this week Denis Villeneuve has achieved with Bladerunner 2049.
We discuss taking on the legacy of Vangelis - plus his trio of films with composer Jóhann Jóhannsson: Prisoners, Sicario and Arrival
Given how tragically hard we've found it to speak to women on this show, it's a genuine delight to welcome writer, director and producer Nancy Meyers to Soundtracking.
Nancy is one of the grand dames of Hollywood. Having earned an Oscar nomination for her original screenplay for Private Benjamin in 1980, she's since been responsible for a string of commercial smashes, including The Parent Trap, Something's Gotta Give and The Holiday.
Indeed, her second film as director, What Women Want, was at one stage the most successful film ever directed by a woman, taking in $183 million in the United States alone.
Her latest project is Home Again, for which she assumed the role of producer for her daughter Hallie. The film is scored by John Debney, who features prominently in the Jon Favreau episode too.
What with being one of the undoubted queens of the Rom-Com, Nancy has worked with several legendary composers over the years - from Bill Conti and Alan Silvestri to the inimitable Hans Zimmer.
You'll hear plenty of their work throughout the conversation, but where else could we begin than with Carole King?
As drummer for one of the world's most successful, respected and critically-acclaimed bands, he's thrilled music-lovers across the planet for a quarter of a century.
Now Philip Selway of Radiohead has turned his hand to film scores - taking charge of the music for Polly Steele's debut feature, Let Me Go.
Based on the memoir of Helga Schneider, Let Me Go tells the story of a woman who discovers her mother had strong ties with the Nazis many years after she was abandoned by her as a child. It features four incredibly strong and well-drawn female characters - which inspired Philip's compositions in all sorts of fascinating ways.
Philip is the first of our guests who spends most of his time being a rock-star - albeit a particularly humble and unassuming one. As such, he and Edith not only explore the specifics of his score for Let Me Go, but also the different creative challenges it posed to those he encounters in his day job.
We've had several polymaths on this show, from Jon Favreau to Matt Ross and Warren Beatty - who are as at home in front of the camera as behind it. And Stanley Tucci certaininly falls into that category - an actor, writer and director who's been involved with countless critically acclaimed works of film and television.
Stanley's latest project is Final Portrait. Starring the sensational Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer, it's based on the true story of the time American journalist James Lord sat for world-renowned artist, Alberto Giacometti. Critics agree it's a charming delight - as do we!
Given the 1960s Parisian setting, there were plenty of opportunities to play around with the idiomatic French music of the era. But Stanley was keen to avoid cliche, complimenting the familiar sounds of accordions and chanteuses with Evan Lurie's whimsical score. You'll hear plenty of examples of music from the film, as well as bits and bobs from Stanley's other films.
Following a string of seasoned moviemakers such as Luc Besson, Doug Liman and Steven Soderbergh, we bring you a relative novice this week in the shape of Benedict Andrews. At least - a novice in cinematic terms.
For Benedict is one of the world's foremost theatre and opera directors, who makes the transition to the screen with psychological thriller Una.
Given this is Benedict's first film, much of the conversation focuses on the differences between the mediums in which he's worked. It also gives us an opportunity to play you examples of music from his stage productions, including extracts from Alex Baranowski's smoky, cinematic score for Streetcar Named Desire, which starred Gillian Anderson.
But there's plenty to discuss when it come to Una too. Starring the ever excellent Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn, the narrative centres on a woman confronting an older man about a illicit sexual relationship which took place in their past. The film is scored by Benedict's friend Jed Kurzel, whose work we discussed at length during a previous show with Jed's brother, Justin.
Jed has developed a reputation as a composer of serious weight, as evidence by the fact he and the London Contemporary Orchestra recently provided the music for Ridley Scott's Alien Covenant. Hardly surprising, then, that Benedict turned to his old mate on taking the plunge from stage to screen ...
When Edith sat down with Steven Soderbergh, he immediately told her he'd been listening to our podcast by way of research. That unsettled her a little bit, but we hope you'll agree his homework served him well - such was the magnificence of his company!
As a director, he's renowned for his expert use of both needle-drop and score - with Thomas Newman and Cliff Martinez two of his go-to composers.
His latest project Logan Lucky sees him reunited with David Holmes, with whom he struck up a most fruitful relationship on Out Of Sight and the Ocean films. And it's with Logan Lucky we began - and David's Original Score Medley that features on the soundtrack to the film ...
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
