3 posts tagged “danny elfman”

Jason Bentley uncovered compelling stories behind the music for some of the year’s most highly acclaimed films in conversations with top composers on MBE. Check out some of the highlights below and read full transcripts and see other Oscar-related goodies HERE

Slumdog Millionaire composer A.R. Rahman discusses his approach to creating scores that are both perfect for film and listenable on their own.

--Rahman on his collaboration with M.I.A and Director Danny Boyle: “Danny wanted me to collaborate with her…She is like a tank of ideas.”  

--On Boyle:  “What I liked was he captured the spirit of Mumbai, which is undying. It was great.”

Composer Alexandre Desplat went backwards and forwards to capture the magical story of life and love in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

--On Director David Fincher: “David Fincher is a director who has a very precise point of view on every aspect of his art history and the music is one of them… he didn't want the score to be overdramatic, overwhelming to the audience.”

--On Benjamin Button’s Theme: “This whole idea of time reversing was ticking in my head and I just suggested to David that I could maybe try and find a tune, a little pattern, a little hook that could be played forwards and backwards.”

Milk Composer Danny Elfman tells Jason he considers the title character an American hero and jumped at the chance to work with Director Gus Van Sant again.  

--On Van Sant: “Getting into any project with Gus means I'm going to go in a lot of different directions and mess around with a lot of different ideas. With another director, that can be very frustrating. Trying to hone in on ‘What do you want for this movie?’ With Gus it's more of a process of fun experimentation.

--On his creative process: “I don't do research going into a movie. I think the least I know the better. I like to forget that I've even read the script, even though I do read the script because the more prepared I am in the beginning, the more it sends me down a specific direction which may not be the right direction…So I started with a real blank slate other than -- don't mess this up. Except I didn't use the word mess, but we're live on the air.”  

World-renowned composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard are deeply philosophical in their discussion of creating the music behind The Dark Knight, especially one of the most notable characters – The Joker, as played by Heath Ledger.  

--Zimmer on the Joker’s Theme: “I kept churning around…how do you describe anarchy, how do you describe a villian and not do it in a way that’s been done before? One of the things I got very much from the character was a fearlessness, and an evenness in a way. The Joker is the only person you can trust in the movie. The Joker is the only one who will never lie to you because he is consistent about his philosophy.”

“I really wanted to do the whole thing just with one note. I had this idea that rather than what a note is in the context of the notes surrounding it, what could I do emotionally through a performance within one note? How much can I stretch the meaning of a single note and get it down to such minimalism. I failed slightly. I had to use two notes in the end.”

--Howard on their avoidance of a traditional superhero theme: “We actually received a lot of grief about that, from a lot of people. ‘Why didn’t you write a big theme for Batman?  Because it wouldn’t have worked.”

The 81st Academy Awards® ceremony airs on February 22. 

Danny Elfman dropped by our studios to discuss his work on “Milk,” for which he earned an Oscar nomination! The famed composer talked about his inspirations and revealed some behind-the- scenes insight on his work and the movie. The famed composer also spotlighted some of his favorite songs – everything from Elliot Smith and Sparklehorse to his favorite classical pieces. Check it out here and keep an eye out for a transcript, which should be up by the end of the week.

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Upcoming Live Performances on MORNING BECOMES ECLECTIC with host JASON BENTLEY

Monday, January 26, Composer Danny Elfman shares music from the film MILK and songs that inspire him on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.

Wednesday, January 28, Trumpeter and composer Jon Hassell shares his latest release Last Night the Moon Came Dropping It's Clothes in the Street as guest deejay on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.

Thursday, January 29, Bloc Party kick out the jams on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.

Tuesday, February 10, Curumin honors his  Brazilian and Japanese roots with a seductive mix on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.

KCRW.COM PRESENTS

Wed, January 28, NIGHTMARES ON WAX at the MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG in NEW YORK CITY.
Tues, February 17, FUGIYA & MIYAGI W/ SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS at LE POISSON ROUGE in NEW YORK CITY.

KCRW PRESENTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Fri, January 23, THIS SHOW IS CANCELLED….. FEMI KUTI AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES ON SUNSET. REFUNDS AT POINT OF PURCHASE.
Sat, January 24, WEST INDIAN GIRL AT THE ROXY.
Sun, January 25, SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS AT CLUB NOKIA.
Mon, January 26, GABRIELLA CILMI AT THE HOTEL CAFE.
Fri, January 30, ELENI MANDELL AT THE HOTEL CAFE.
Fri, January 30, ADELE AT THE AVALON.
Mon, February 2, SONOS AT THE HOTEL CAFÉ.
Mon, February 2, NIGHTMARES ON WAX AT THE ECHOPLEX.
Wed, February 4, MATT & KIM AT THE TROUBADOUR.
Tues, February 10, CAT POWER AT THE AVALON.
Wed, February 11, CAT POWER AT THE AVALON.
Fri, February 13, PONCHO SANCHEZ AT THE CONGA ROOM.
Sun, February 15, JUANA MOLINA at THE SOHO in Santa Barbara.
Mon, February 16, JUANA MOLINA AT THE DETROIT BAR.
Tues, February 17, JUANA MOLINA AT THE TROUBADOUR.
Wed, February 18, ANDREW BIRD AT THE ORPHEUM.
Thurs, February 19, OF MONTREAL AT THE GLASS HOUSE in Pomona.
Fri, February 20, RYAN LINDSEY AT THE HOTEL CAFÉ.
Sat, February 21, LISA HANNIGAN AT THE TROUBADOUR.
Sun, February 22, KINKY at THE SOHO in Santa Barbara.
Tues, Feburary 24, KINKY AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Wed, March 4, M. WARD AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Wed, March 11, CUT COPY WITH MATT AND KIM AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Sat, March 14, DELTA SPIRIT at VELVET JONES IN SANTA BARBARA.
Mon, March 16, SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Thurs, March 19, LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO AT THE CONGA ROOM.
Sat, March 21, ALICE RUSSELL AT THE TROUBADOUR.
Fri, March 27, LOS LOBOS AT THE CONGA ROOM.
Sat, March 28, MADELEINE PEYROUX AT THE NOKIA THEATRE.
Mon, April 20, THE PRESETS AT THE GLASS HOUSE IN POMONA.