
The Film Scorer Podcast features a wide array of long-form interviews with film composers, including up-and-comers, established veterans, and everybody in between. Hear first-hand from masters of the craft about the film scoring process, see behind-the-scenes, and learn all about the art of film and film music.
Episodes

4 days ago
4 days ago
The BAFTAs air on February 16 and the Oscars on March 2. I'd never consider myself a big awards season guy, but I love that it's the one time of year where film music is widely celebrated and has a little spotlight, if only briefly. As such, here's a little peek into the six nominated scores between the two awards.
I've also done interviews on two of the six nominated scores (The Wild Robot and The Brutalist) and also interviewed Volker Bertelmann a little while back about his BAFTA and Oscar winning score for All Quiet on the Western Front, so seek those out as well
BAFTAs:
- Nosferatu – Robin Carolan
- Emilia Perez– Camille and Clément Ducol
- Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
- The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
- The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Oscars:
- Wicked – John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
- Emilia Perez– Camille and Clément Ducol
- Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
- The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
- The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg

Monday Jan 20, 2025
Film Score Recap: April Through June 2024
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Monday Jan 20, 2025
Although we've just entered 2025, this series is deep in the middle of 2024. The months of April, May, and June released some of my favorite scores of the year (feel free to guess which) as well as arguably the most popular score of the year in Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's Challengers, and plenty more scores, both big and small. I also noticed that I've interviewed almost a third of the composers mentioned during this period - I still get surprised now and again with just how many folks I've interviewed!
Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores, including detailed writeups and lists.
April: https://thefilmscorer.com/the-best-film-scores-of-april-2024/
For a full list of the scores discussed in this episode, see below:
- Challengers - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
- Confidenza - Thom Yorke
- Horizon: An American Saga, Chapter 1 - John Debney
- The Dead Don't Hurt - Viggo Mortensen
- Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo) - Jerome Rebotier
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - John Paesano
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Tom Holkenborg
- Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver - Tom Holkenborg
- Young Woman and the Sea - Amelia Warner
- The Rooster - Stefan Gregory
- The Swimming Diaries - Donna McKevitt
- Evil Does Not Exist - Eiko Ishibashi
- The First Omen - Mark Korven
- All You Need Is Death - Ian Lynch
- I Saw the TV Glow - Alex G
- The Glassworker - Carmine Di Florio and Usman Riaz
- Back to Black - Nick Cave and Warren Elli
- Sasquatch Sunset - The Octopus Project
- Civil War - Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury
- We Grown Now - Jay Wadley
- Unfrosted - Christophe Beck
- The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - Christopher Benstead
- If - Michael Giacchino
- Hit Man - Graham Reynolds

Friday Jan 10, 2025
Bryce Dessner Scores Sing Sing
Friday Jan 10, 2025
Friday Jan 10, 2025
In a quick 1-2 punch after talking with Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist), Bryce Dessner (The National, The Revenant, The Two Popes) joins The Film Scorer podcast! Bryce released two scores last year, for the films Sing Sing and We Live In Time. However, Bryce and I were under a tight time constraint and so had to pick and choose what we chatted about; no time for a classic rambling conversation. As such, we spend much of our conversation covering his score for Sing Sing. This includes, among other things, choosing to focus the music on nature and escapism (rather than the more obvious matching of the prison setting), making space for the performers, and the film's equitable compensation system. Of course, we still manage to pack a lot in, so we cover quite a bit more as well, both about Sing Sing and various unexpected topics.
Bryce's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Sing Sing was released earlier last year and will be re-released in theaters (at least in the US) on January 1. You can find out more about Bryce on his website.

Sunday Jan 05, 2025
Daniel Blumberg Builds The Brutalist
Sunday Jan 05, 2025
Sunday Jan 05, 2025
Much to my dismay, The Brutalist is not an industrial grindcore band. Nonetheless, I feel compelled to talk about it. As such, composer Daniel Blumberg joins the show! It should be no surprise, then, that we spend much of our time talking about his score to Brady Corbet's 3.5 hour epic, which is only Daniel's second feature score. This includes discussing the balance between improvisational and written music (especially when scoring to picture), using prepared piano to mirror the imagery and plot of the film, and how he and the sound design team overlapped their crafts to confuse the audience (and some of the other crew). Of course, we chat about a bunch of other things in between.
Daniel's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. The Brutalist is forthcoming, currently in limited theatrical release and will expand shortly.

Sunday Dec 22, 2024
Donna McKevitt
Sunday Dec 22, 2024
Sunday Dec 22, 2024
Composer Donna McKevitt joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Donna is someone that I've chatted to here and there over the last few years, so it was a treat having her on the show and finally getting the chance to "meet" her. Her latest scores are for The Swimming Diaries and My Name is Alfred Hitchcock, two very different documentaries and very different scores. Unsurprisingly, we spend much of our conversation talking about those two works, while also pivoting into other topics like the discrepancy in representation of male and female composers, the challenges that touring musicians face (and how much better things used to be, such as during her time in Miranda Sex Garden), and plenty more.
Donna's scores, and much of her other music, is available on all major platforms. The Swimming Diaries and My Name is Alfred Hitchcock are both forthcoming. You can find out more about Donna on her website.

Sunday Dec 15, 2024
The Angel
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
The Angel (Boiler Room, Kidulthood) joins The Film Scorer! Angel's latest score is for the crime thriller Heist 88, which came out last year but her score only released last month. As such, we spend much of our conversation talking about the score, including the hybrid palette, influences from Chicago's 1980s club/house music scene, and getting into Courtney B. Vance's head. We also touch on some of her other film and TV projects, her long career as a record producer and DJ, obtaining her early publishing catalog from Sony, and plenty more!
Angel's score, and much of her other music, is available on all major platforms. Heist 88 is currently available on Paramount+ or on demand. You can find out more about Angel on her website.

Sunday Nov 24, 2024
Wilbert Roget, II
Sunday Nov 24, 2024
Sunday Nov 24, 2024
In the latest episode of The Film Scorer podcast I'm joined by Wilbert Roget, II (Star Wars: Outlaws, Helldivers 2, Mortal Kombat). While Wilbert is best known for his work scoring video games, including recently receiving a Grammy nomination for Star Wars: Outlaws, our focus is on something a little different. Wilbert has just made his first foray into scoring for tv, with the limited series Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance! As such, we dig deep into his score for the six-episode series, including building out the eclectic sonic palette, working closely with the Japanese team, being the first non-Japanese composer to score a Gundam project (and the pressures that come with that, and plenty more. He even lists some of his favorite Gundam series, both in terms of overall show as well as primarily for their score. We also drive down other avenues, such as his work on other games, scoring 48-hour game jams, and how Japanese music his significantly impacted him.
Wilbert's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance is currently on Netflix (at least in most territories). You can find out more about Wilbert on his website.

Sunday Nov 10, 2024
Kris Bowers Scores The Wild Robot
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
Season 5 of The Film Scorer Podcast continues to pick up steam as Kris Bowers (Bridgerton, Green Book) joins the show! The Academy Award winner and nominee (who was just nominated for a Grammy for his score to The Color Purple a few days ago) recently scored the hit animated film The Wild Robot. As such, Kris and I spend much of our conversation talking about his score, which is both adventurous and a tearjerker, and filled with thematic exploration. The conversation touches on the challenges of scoring for animation, the increasing amount of space the film made for Kris's score, how it let Kris run wild with his passion for thematic and melodic scoring (drawing a number of Star Wars parallels), and plenty more.
Kris's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. The Wild Robot is currently in theaters, and available to watch at home now. You can find out more about Kris on his website.

Sunday Oct 27, 2024
Amelia Warner Scores The Young Woman and the Sea
Sunday Oct 27, 2024
Sunday Oct 27, 2024
Season 5 of The Film Scorer Podcast is here! In the Season 5 premiere I chat with composer Amelia Warner. Amelia's latest score is for the Disney sports biopic Young Woman and the Sea (starring Daisy Ridley), about Trudy Ederle, the first woman to swim across the English Channel. As such, we spend much of our conversation focused on that score, including how her score and approaches developed over time, balancing the film's sports and family aspects, working closely with legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and plenty more. Along the way, we also talk about things like Mary Shelley and the pros and cons of temp music.
Amelia's score, and much of her other music, is available on all major platforms, and Young Woman and the Sea is currently available on Disney+. You can find out more about Amelia on her website.

Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
Season Five Trailer - The Film Scorer Podcast
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
Tuesday Oct 22, 2024
Season Five of The Film Scorer Podcast is almost here! The new season launches on Sunday, October 27th, with new episodes continuing every other Sunday after that (more or less). Given the breadth of guests in season three, including Academy Award nominated actor-turned-composer Viggo Mortensen, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Abels, 2024 Academy Award nominees Jerskin Fendrix and Laura Karpman, Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij, you never who will show up this time around - all I can say is I already have some great guests lined up!
So subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, follow The Film Scorer on Instagram, Twitter, and Threads, and keep those ears open!