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I would just let him do whatever he wanted to do to make the movie better… and let his imagination run wild! Very few film composers are giving free reign anymore, I would like to see a director give composers more latitude to experiment and be composers instead of negotiators.
Nat
Remember, the Green Hornet’s theme is “flight of the bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov, so it would be nice to here the Russian/Jazz combination as the elements in this score… like a jazzy Wanted sound. That would be cool!!!
Also, Moby was interviewed and he talked about his love of the “Mr. Plow” song, and that he has done 7 versions of it including an 80’s vintage Rap version that they played during the episode.
Nat
My personal ten would be:
10. Red Dragon
9. Hellboy II
8. Hulk
7. Spider-Man 2
6. SOP
5. Planet of the Apes
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
3. Big Fish
2. Wanted
1. Serenada SchizophranaJust one different score than you Elfboy, but the order is somewhat different, but at least we can agree on the number one slot!
This is more or less a listening frequency issue on the numbering system for me.
Nat
I Still can’t stop playing Serenada Schizophrana – I really consider that to be his best work he’s EVER done! And the one-two-three punch of S.O.P., WANTED, and HELLBOY II kept all of us busy that year (Wanted, song and all, was a blast and is only second to Serenada as the most played Elfman CD since it was released). The movie also treated the score beautifully – the best music to movie mix of Elfman music since Big Fish (or even Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). I have nothing but great anticipation at what the 10’s will bring!
Thor, you’re joking about it’s chances at the Oscars, right? It was nominated last year, the Grammy year is different than the Oscar year, hence 2008 releases (Milk) mixing with 2009 (UP).
I happen to like “Instinct” a lot… guess I’m the only one, but thought “Proof Of Life” was one of his least successful. I still listen to “A Civil Action”, consider “A Simple Plan” & “Sleepy Hollow” to be among his best and “Planet Of the Apes” is not far behind – heck, I even listen to the suite from “Anywhere But Here” often (having put it on a compilation CD I made that also includes his material for Spy Kids).
I don’t think that period was weak for him at all!
Consider that Elfman has only been composing for Films since 1985 (Forbidden Zone being more of an extension of his Oingo Boingo days) – That’s ONLY 25 years now! I say it like that because Williams has been a film composer since 1958 (liken his earlier work in TV and Radio with Danny’s Oingo Boingo days) – That would mean you could say that Williams peaked at Star Wars, Jaws, Superman, and Raiders. But after which he produced so much more great music like Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and A.I. just to name a few. Elfman has a lot more time, and music left, and cinema will change a few more times in the upcoming years that will allow him to grow as an film composer – if it doesn’t then he has shown that he won’t put up with temp-work and will gravitate towards work that will let him express himself. I’m just glad, like Williams, that he’s not a sheep like other composers tend to become.
I think the Beatles got more interesting as they grew older because they started experimenting with their sound… I love bands that can create a new entire sound world for each song, I guess that’s why my favorite band is They Might Be Giants.
Did you notice that Lalo Schifrin also attended the premiere? Actuallly it was an eclectic group, but what you would expect coming from a Tarentino Red Carpet.
I really enjoyed the movie… also Eli Roth, who is in the movie, directed the film within the film. Tarentino just exudes cinema whither you like it or loathe it – he loves the stuff, and this film is yet again another bloody love letter.
Thanks for sharing, looks like the evening went smoothly, and I love the setup with the projection! Congrats!
Nat
Where I bought it they said they only had One copy… seems like this is becoming more and more the norm for stores on releases because of online file sites like iTunes and Amazon. I remember when I managed a music store we would get about 100 copies of about 3 or 4 of the biggest titles being released that week, but I doubt any store orders that many copies any more.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! And congrats on everything (being mentioned in the Batman: The Animated Series CD Liner notes meant a lot to you, and all of us as well) Great Job!
If anyone is interested this was released on the 2 Disc Special Edition DVD of “20 Million Miles to Earth” – it contains a commentary with Harryhausen on the film as well!
On the CD and Documentation for Superman IV it has John Williams writing the themes for Nuclear Man and Lacey… so he didn’t write these? Did Courage just use Williams name to make the score more important then? What news do you have on this issue Descent?
I was talking about series as opposed to just sequels for a sequels sake, I’m not debating Lucas’ crappy filmmaker skills. I’m just talking about a proper series is what Elfman should score and not the sequels he has and used Star Wars as an example. And whither you like the films or not John Williams did write some wonderful scores (even for the prequels).
In the words of Sargent Hulka… “Lighten up Francis.”
Can we just talk about Elfman here or relate it to Elfman, this is not a George Lucas board after all?
He had nothing to do with the creation of Howard the Duck – it was already a comic before he produced the movie….
????
I’m confused, do you Hate George Lucas or something, and you didn’t even respond to any of the Joseph Campbell stuff.
Anyway, I just want to go on record saying that I much rather have Elfman scoring many unrelated movies of many styles than have him stuck in a series of films. It just seems to me that in our day now of sequels and prequels and such there is very little original films being made anymore.
All the Star Wars saga is based upon Joseph Campbell’s work with distilling myths (Campbell always refered to Lucas as is best student), and all the archetypes are all there, even in the prequels, I do believe there was an unfleshed-out backstory and saga in the works long before the first film was finished. It’s success just allowed Lucas to explore all of it. It’s all about the heroes’ journey and redemption of the Son of the father (Vader after all is Dutch for father). The little things like the role of the droids were a little sketchy when referenced in the prequels, but the overall ark of the story is as old as storytelling itself, Lucas just morphed it to Space Opera Fantasy.
The movies were written after the fact not before though, there wasn’t a clear defined ark, only one created by each screenwriter that came onto each movie. Part of the problem of adapting a comic book is that the material is episodic and, if it’s an old character, has gone through many different interpretations.
The funny thing is that Hollywood cares more about filthy language than they do about violence. Britain is usually more anti-violence… what a weird system the MPAA has?!?!?!?
The Idea of a franchise is easier to deal with when there is a clear ark to the characters involved. In series like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings they had a beginning and end, and at least had direction based upon the creator’s vision before the films were made. Spider-man and Batman are just episodic in nature. If Elfman was giving an actual series I would be delighted, but projects like those are few and far between. I always wondered if Tim Burton ever had a dream project that would span multiple films that he could get made now with his great success… now that would be nirvana!!!
I rather hear a new score to a new movie over a series from Elfman any day. The man is wonderful at reinventing himself!
Superman is about an alien being sent as a “savior” to humanity, and Superman having to deal with his alien origin and duty compared to his human upbringing and personal needs – The first half is necessary in establishing that, and John Williams’ music doesn’t hurt!
I believe you mean David Newman’s score to THE SPIRIT?
While I haven’t heard the score for WATCHMEN, THE SPIRIT’s score has a heavy Elfman influence, and it’s a shame because the original writing by Newman in that score is really good. I think the score was prey to the temp tracking. Overall, Newman isn’t given enough time to really develop with all the jumping around it does. And there is a Batman vibe going on as you stated correctly in your first post… just listen to the first track at the 4:44 mark for that!
