Jon Brion Tyler Bates
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Volume 9, Number 3 Original Music Soundtracks for Movies and Television Hey, Kiddo! PG. 28 The Music OF THE CHRIST MUSIC FOR JESUS— AND SATAN, TOO! The Bride REVISITED WAXMAN’S LANDMARK HORROR SHOW Robin Hood TIMES TWO KORNGOLD’S CLASSIC ON CD AND DVD The Future of FILM SCORING THREE COMPOSERS, ONE GIANT NAME: Jon Briona Tyler Bates 03 > 7 252 74 93704 2 $4.95 U.S. • $5.95 Canada MARCH 2004 CONTENTS DEPARTMENTS COVER STORY 2 Editorial 10 The Future of Film Scoring Doug Says So! We were entertained by the fact that three of today’s ris- ing film composers become one giant composer when 4 News you put their names together: Jon Brion+Brian Tyler+Tyler Gabriel’s Burn. Bates=Jon Brio/an Tyler Bates. So we interviewed them. 5 Record Label By Jeff Bond Round-up What’s on the way. 11 Memory Bars 5 Now Playing Jon Brion takes on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Movies and CDs in 16 Dead dawns again. release. 14 Journey Beyond Timeline 6 Pukas Brian Tyler scores a trio of new films. In Case of Emergency. 7 Upcoming Film 16 Dead Can Dance Assignments Tyler Bates tackles Dawn of the Dead. Who’s writing what for whom. FEATURES 8 Concerts Film music performed 18 For Christ’s Sake around the globe. Given the popularity that the boring and violent Passion of the Christ has enjoyed over the past couple months, we 9 Mail Bag thought it seemed an appropriate time to take a look at the White Shores. musical history of Jesus movies. By Kyle Renick 30 Score More reviews, including 21 What the Devil?! 18 Risen from the dead. Hidalgo, Monster, Gypsy, Without evil there could be no good, so it must be good and a box-set featuring to be evil sometimes. Take a look at this list of notable film some guy named Jerry. scores for movies about Satan. By Kyle Renick 45 Multimedia Review Welcome Back to 25 The Bride Revisited Sherwood! Too “cartoony,” or appropriately melodramatic—which- ever way you go, Franz Waxman’s score for The Bride of Frankenstein remains a score worthy of a closer look. 36 FSM Marketplace By Gabriel Miller-Phillips and Scott Essman 28 The RZA Makes His Own Breaks Hip-hop artist The RZA brings a new sound to film with his beats for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series. By John Allina 25 He belongs dead? Film Score Monthly (ISSN 1077-4289) is published ten times a year (with double issues in May/June and November/December) for $36.95 per year by Vineyard Haven LLC., 8503 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232. Periodicals postage paid at Culver City, CA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Film Score Monthly, 8503 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232 FILM SCORE MONTHLY 1 MARCH 2004 EDITORIAL Doug Decrees Volume 8 • Number 9 Our esteemed writer tackles composer training or lack thereof. his month’s FSM features interviews trying to run before they walk. If you haven’t EDITORIAL STAFF with Jon Brion, Brian Tyler, Tyler Bates composed much before, maybe a 100-piece Editor & Publisher Tand, three composers who, besides only symphony orchestra isn’t the place to start. The LUKAS KENDALL having four different names among them, have orchestrator will certainly dress up your ideas, Executive Editor two important qualities in common. One, each is and the players will do their best to breathe life JONATHAN Z. KAPLAN potentially poised to head up the next big wave into what you’ve written, but they’re disguis- Managing Editor of film music; and two, none comes from a for- ing the music, not changing it. Is that what you TIM CURRAN mal musical training. intended? Design Director And there’s this month’s can of worms: Brian Tyler recently gave an interview where JOE SIKORYAK Do composers need to have a classical music he said that he performs every part of his Supervising Content Consultant training in order to write effective symphonic compositions to make sure that they’re play- AL KAPLAN music? History proves pretty conclusively, no. able. That’s a great impulse, but does it work? Editor-at-Large JEFF BOND Some of the best composers, both in the film I’m going to assume that Mr. Tyler doesn’t play Copyeditor and concert worlds, have avoided the hal- every known instrument. And yet he can’t pos- STEVE GILMARTIN lowed halls of conservatories. However, if I had sibly mean that he checks for playability at his Contributing Writers to make a request of composers who haven’t keyboard. A piano is not a violin. So, rather than DOUG ADAMS come through the symphonic world—and trying to assert a musical training by sheer force JOHN ALLINA your impressive CD collection doesn’t count of will, why not go to that bass flute player and STEPHEN B. ARMSTRONG as training, guys!—it would be this: Write what ask them to read through the part and see if the SCOTT ESSMAN you know. Danny Elfman came out of the pop leaps work. Get the harp player to check your JOHN FITZPATRICK world, so he stepped into the film world lean- pedaling for you. Don’t allow a bank of synths WILLIAM FLANIGAN ing on the same sorts of cabaret-cum-sideshow and sequences to assure you what your human LUKE GOLJAN ideas he played with in Oingo Boingo, then players will be comfortable playing. At least one MARK GRIFFIN STEVEN A. KENNEDY worked his way up to the big symphonic stuff. high-profile orchestral score from summer 2003 DARREN MACDONALD There are a good 10 scores between Pee-wee (which wasn’t written by any of this month’s GABRIEL MILLER-PHILLIPS and Batman. James Newton Howard, who actu- interviewees) contained figures that were so KYLE RENICK ally did study music at college, then entered unplayable by brass instruments that its messi- CARY WONG the professional world via pop and rock, began ness degraded the whole project. with the same synth-heavy music he’d been When Igor Stravinsky was asked to write BUSINESS STAFF perfecting in the studio. Even composers like his Violin Concerto, he almost passed up the Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, who opportunity because he felt he didn’t know the Editorial & Subscriptions had no formal compositional training (Bernstein instrument well enough. This was in the 1930s, 8503 Washington Blvd studied music, but never composition specifi- after many of his famous works had already Culver City, CA 90232 PH. 310-253-9595 cally), began with works that they themselves become staples. It was only after he was assured FAX 310-253-9588 could play on piano, then branched out into that the violinist for whom the work was being E-MAIL [email protected] the symphonic world. And let’s be honest, these written would offer advice that he agreed. In Sales & Marketing Manager composers are more interesting for the foreign this issue of FSM, Tyler sings the praises of BOB HEBERT elements they brought into the classical world: Korngold and Goldsmith, and recounts how he 8503 Washington Blvd circus tunes, synths, jazz rhythms, Tin Pan Alley hopes to follow in their footsteps. That’s won- harmonies. It’s a richer musical world for their derful; it’s great for the art form and for the fans. Culver City, CA 90232 diverse histories. But Korngold and Goldsmith sound like they do PH. 323-962-6077 Back in FSM Vol. 5, No. 7., Bruce Broughton, because of their methodology—a studious and FAX 310-253-9588 who, yes, comes from a classical background, hard-earned understanding of their orchestral had this to say, “So much of music now is forces. Music conservatories are only one path Supervising Mail Order Handler MAILMAN AL improvised and written at the keyboard that to this knowledge, but no matter how you get Our Website orchestrally it’s pretty dull. There’s a lot of there, it’s an important journey. Is updated five times weekly! chords. I hear a lot of guys, really well-known Point your browser at: guys, and I listen to their scores and I think ‘Oh WWW.FILMSCOREMONTHLY.COM yeah—right hand, left hand, right hand, right © 2003 Vineyard Haven LLC. hand’—they’re just pads with a few interesting Printed in the U.S.A. sounds thrown in.” That’s heartbreaking to read. Doug Adams Again, I think the issue is that composers are Contributing Writer MARCH 2004 2 FILM SCORE MONTHLY EDITORIAL Get fast, friendly, expert service www.intrada.com $14.99 $15.99 $19.99 Get the latest and greatest film music on CD at www.intrada.com. We stock thousands of soundtracks from around the world and post updates as soon as new titles arrive. We guarantee your satisfaction with over 20 years of experience—serving collectors, fans, composers, film music professionals and newcomers! $15.99 $16.99 $16.99 Sign up for our FREE weekly e-mail bulletin of all the latest releases. visit: www.intrada.com e-mail: [email protected] fax: 1-510-336-1615 call: 1-510-336-1612 $17.99 2-CD set $24.99 $19.99 The Intrada Special Collection Volume 14 Narrow Margin By Bruce Broughton Available May 25 This 1990 thriller (starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer) gave Bruce Broughton the opportunity to write one of the most $19.99 $19.99 $21.99 exciting fi lm scores ever. 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