Monthly Archives: January 2016

A unique score for the “Newtown” documentary

NewtownDVComposer Fil Eisler (Revenge, Empire) came up with a unique approach to scoring Newtown, the new documentary about the Sandy Hook elementary-school shootings and their aftermath: ask 16 colleagues — all of whom felt equally strongly about the need for a solution to gun violence in America — to contribute music, while he worked closely with the director to apply the various musical moods to the film itself. I attended the scoring sessions just before Christmas, and wrote about it for Variety just as the film is about to debut at Sundance.

Contenders for best score, part three!

My editor at Variety came up with an interesting angle, and one especially relevant in today’s world of sequels, spinoffs and reboots: what’s the role of music, and how do composers decide when and where to apply themes from previous films or TV shows? For this final story in our pre-nominations Oscar-music series, I received fascinating answers from John Williams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Thomas Newman (Spectre), Michael Giacchino (Jurassic World), Christophe Beck (The Peanuts Movie), Ludwig Goransson (Creed) and Joe Kraemer (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation).