- This topic is empty.
- Posts
Steven Zailian is writing and direction an adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel All the King’s Men, starring Sean Penn and Jude Law.
Elfman scored the last film directed by Zailian, the excellent A Civil Action, could it be possible that he will score this one too? Having shown his skill at composing music for Southern dramas with an Oscar nomination for Big Fish.
If I’m not mistaken, Elfman was not very pleased by the way his music was treated in A Civil Action…
No, I think he was happy with the way his music was treated, it was more that he was forced to go back and rescore sections of it (while he was in the middle of scoring INSTINCT!) due to editing changes, which were due to abysmal test screenings.
That said, I would rank A CIVIL ACTION as one of his least successful scores! I usually strongly dispute the argument that Elfman doesn’t write memorable themes anymore, but man are the CIVIL ACTION themes unmemorable! INSTINCT wasn’t that great either. That whole period — post GOOD WILL HUNTING and pre SLEEPY HOLLOW — is kind of a wash out for me.
I knew there was something about the sessions but I wasn’t sure. Wasn’t also his music for the titles replaced by a song in the end ? Thanks anyway…
I like the A Civil Action’s score though it’s pretty hard to listen to the album in its entirety. The film itself is quite laborious even if the actors are doing everything they can to make it interesting.
I called that his “humanist period” : Extreme Measures, Instinct, A Civil Action, Good Will Hunting, those films share that same philanthropic feeling.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.