The Film Scorer

Viggo Mortensen

As season 4 draws to a close, I'm joined by someone all of you should know: Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings, The Road)! One thing you might not know about Viggo - it was certainly news to me - is that he's also a musician, making a number of albums with famed guitarist Buckethead and even scoring a couple films, including his latest directorial effort The Dead Don't Hurt. As such, we discuss his musical history, his score for The Dead Don't Hurt, his first foray into making music for film in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, balancing various behind-the-scenes roles in the same film, and plenty more. Even though this is a pretty short interview, we cover a surprising amount of ground.

Candidly, this was the most surreal, hard to believe interview I've ever done. When I saw Viggo pop up on video to chat with me, I was certain I was being pranked, or maybe just dreaming; I'm sure I'll wake up at any second...

Viggo's score is available on all major platforms, while The Dead Don't Hurt has just finished its theatrical run and will likely be coming to home video soon.

I also want to flag that I accidentally attribute a (poorly) paraphrased quote to Ernest Hemingway that's actually from Mark Twain.

Jason Graves

On the latest episode, I'm joined by Jason Graves! Jason is best known for a number of different video game scores, such as the Dead Space games, Tomb Raider, Far Cry Primal, and Moss 1 and 2, so it's no surprise that we spend much of our conversation talking about his latest game scores: Still Wakes the Deep and No Rest for the Wicked. They're two very different games, in terms of genre, style, gameplay, and more, and so Jason's scores are equally unique. We probably spend the most time talking about the former game's score, which is a combination of a string quarter, woodwinds, a bass synth, and a roughly two foot tall sculpture - it may seem weird, but I promise that it sounds good. Along the way, we cover things like his journey through scoring, how he works with game writers to understand concepts and plot points before they're rendered in-game, and differences (perceived and real) between scoring for film and video games.

 

Still Wakes the Deep (the game and the score) releases on June 18, while No Rest for the Wicked is currently in early access with Jason's score forthcoming. You can also find many of Jason's other scores physically or on all major platforms. Find out more about Jason on his website.

Carla Patullo

Recently anointed Grammy winner Carla Patullo joins The Film Scorer podcast! While Carla has over thirty scores under her belt, she might be most known for her non-score album So She Howls, for which Carla won the Grammy for Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album earlier this year. Unsurprisingly, then, Carla and I spend a fair bit of time talking about that album. However, and perhaps more importantly, we actually focus much of our discussion on the genesis of that album: Carla's cancer diagnosis a few years ago. Carla began by recording little voice and vocal snippets, which eventually evolved into a full album. She told me she was worried it might be her final album, but that if so she wanted a chance to sing "one last time". Fortunately, it isn't.  We also move into discussions on the scoring world, her love for short films, the concerns surrounding AI, and plenty more.

You can find out more about Carla on her website.

Suvi-Eeva Äikäs & Ben Steiner

In a Film Scorer first, a composer-director team joins the show! Composer Suvi-Eeva Äikäs & director Ben Steiner recently worked together on Ben's film Matriarch (which Ben directed and which Suvi scored). As such, we primarily talk about Suvi's score for Matriarch from both the director and composer perspectives (and with them each touching on sound design as well, particularly regarding the score edging into sound design and the sound design edging into score). Along the way, we touch on some big questions, like the role of film music, collaborating (and how to push back), and plenty more.

Suvi and Ben actually connected in Bristol, England through a mutual friend, Ben Salisbury (Annihilation, Ex Machina). Suvi has also worked with Ben Salisbury and his longtime composing partner Geoff Barrow on several projects, including Devs and Men.

You can find out more about Suvi on her website or about Ben on his website. Suvi's score is out on all major platforms, and Matriarch is currently on Hulu.

Film Score Recap: October Through December 2023

While 2023 ended several months ago, here at The Film Scorer it's only just happened. Tune-in to hear about some of the best film scores that rounded-out the year, included Poor Things by Jerskin Fendrix, Killers of the Flower Moon by Robbie Robertson, Godzilla: Minus One by Naoki Sato, and plenty more that you may not be quite as familiar with.

Keep your eye on The Film Scorer website for reviews and articles covering some of these scores, including detailed writeups and lists.

For a full list of the scores discussed in this episode, see below:

• Poor Things - Jerskin Fendrix
• American Fiction - Laura Karpman
• The Marvels - Laura Karpman
• Killers of the Flower Moon - Robbie Robertson
• All of Us Strangers - Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
• The Killer - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
• L'autre Laurens - Thomas Turine
• My Animal - Augustus Muller/Boy Harsher
• Holly - Johnny Jewel
• The Royal Hotel - Jed Palmer
• Biosphere - Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans
• The Pigeon Tunnel - Philip Glass and Paul Leonard-Morgan
• Grasshopper Republic - Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
• Dream Scenario - Owen Pallett
• Saltburn - Anthony Willis
• Napoleon - Martin Phipps
• Mars Express - Fred Avril and Philippe Monthaye
• Godzilla Minus One - Naoki Sati
• Eileen - Richard Reed Parry
• The Iron Claw - Richard Reed Parry
• Society of the Snow - Michael Giacchino
• Leave the World Behind - Mac Quayle
• The Boys in the Boat - Alexandre Desplat
• Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget - Harry Gregson-Williams
• Migration - John Powell
• Rebel Moon - Part One - Tom Holkenberg/Junkie XL
• Ferrari - Daniel Pemberton

Eiko Ishibashi Scores 'Evil Does Not Exist'

Fresh off of scoring Evil Does Not Exist, composer Eiko Ishibashi joins The Film Scorer podcast! Evil Does Not Exist is Eiko's second collaboration with acclaimed director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and the film itself actually stemmed from Eiko approaching Ryusuke regarding providing visuals for her live performance. Evil Does Not Exist grew out of that, while also spawning the film Gift, a sort of "composer's cut" of Evil Does Not Exist, which removes spoken dialogue and focuses on Eiko's music. Not surprisingly, we compare and contrast her work on Evil Does Not Exist and her prior score, Drive My Car (the Oscar winner for Best International Film). Along the way, we also cover things like Eiko's approach to music and preference to giving control to the director, trends in Japanese film music, and more. 

Note that this is an interpreted interview, so you'll hear snippets of Eiko's responses in Japanese but the answers are primarily via English translation.

You can find out more about Eiko on her website. Eiko's score releases digitally and on physical media on June 28, and Evil Does Not Exist is currently in theaters.

Gareth Coker Scores Ark

To celebrate his first full-length tv series score, Gareth Coker joins The Film Scorer podcast! You video game fans in particular may know Gareth from his work scoring games like Ori, Ark, and Halo Infinite, but Gareth hasn't stopped there. Given that he's already scored the various Ark games, it's no surprise that he was tapped to score Ark: The Animated Series, the animated adaptation of the Ark games. As such, we spend much of our interview talking about his scores for both the show and the game series and the interaction between the two, such as shared palettes and themes (including for the Broodmother fights). Along the way, we also talk about things like the score for Shōgun (Gareth's a fan), the keys behind making great exploration music (with a shoutout to Jesper Kyd's score for Assassin's Creed 2), and plenty more.

Candidly I wasn't super familiar with Gareth's music previously, other than his work on Ori and the Blind Forest, largely because I don't really play video games, which in turn probably limits how much video game music I listen to broadly. So preparing to talk with Gareth gave me the chance/excuse to start digging into his other scores, primarily for the Ark games. With Ark: The Animated Series, Gareth is able to bring the Ark palette into tv, with a massive orchestral score that's actually packed but also heavily focused on building great character themes. The success and quality of the score is, in part, a testament to the resources given to Gareth in the scoring process, something I'd love to see every studio do!

You can find out more about Gareth on his website. Ark: The Animated Series is currently streaming on Paramount+ while Gareth's score, and much of his other music, is widely available digitally.

An Interview with Mike Post

Five-time Grammy winner Mike Post joins The Film Scorer podcast! A lot of you will probably be familiar with Mike already, who boasts one of the most impressive tv resumes of all time. For those of you that aren't, Mike's responsible for the two-note “dun-dun” sound in Law & Order, as well as themes and scores for shows like The Rockford Files, Hill Street Blues, The A-Team, Magnum P.I., NYPD Blue, L.A. Law, various Law & Order shows, and many, many more. He's also played for and with tons of classic artists, like Sonny & Cher and Kenny Rogers, and has produced albums for a number of artists, including Van Halen. Frankly, it's one heck of a career. Despite all that, Mike and I focus our conversation on something a bit different: his new album, Message from the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta (though of course we still talk a bit about some of those other pieces too - they're too intriguing to pass up!).

Message from the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta marks Mike's first non-tv album in something like 55 years. I assumed that would be particularly exciting, releasing music that's his, but he surprised me by saying "[t]he music I make for TV is my own music, it’s just attached to somebody else’s art.” It's a very cool mixture, with half of the album being an exploration of an orchestra and bluegrass rhythm section and the second half exploring orchestra and the blues. He's also pulled in some of the heaviest hitters in each respective genre to make up the rhythm sections - highly recommend looking up each player!

You can find out more about Mike on his website. Message from the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta is currently available on all major platforms here.

Andrew Scott Bell Spills Blood and Honey

Last year's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey drew a pretty divisive reception, but my favorite part, Andrew Scott Bell's score, rose above all the noise and discord. With Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 about to release, Andrew joins me on The Film Scorer podcast. Unsurprisingly, Andrew and I spend a good chunk of the interview talking about his scores for both parts, including the aspect that impressed me the most: how he crafts an organic, "real" sounding score in the face of a very limited budget. Along the way, he talks about the importance of staying a bit playful, he showcases some of the weird, custom instruments used in his scores (like the "beehiveolin", a cello made out of a bear's skull, and the "glorious box"), and Andrew plays some clips from his scores for parts 1 and 2. The latter aspect was really cool: Andrew had a number of cues ready to go to give a closer view into the sound of the score.

You can find out more about Andrew on his website. Andrew's various scores are available on all major platforms, while Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 plays in theaters from March 26-28, with the score release likely to follow shortly thereafter.

The Best Film Scores of 2023

Another year, another list of the ten "best" film scores, this time I'm running through 2023. These scores aren't presented in any particular order - I intended to go alphabetically, but instead ended up going by vibes instead, wherever the solo conversation took me. At the end of the day, even though these are described as the "best", they're really just favorites - the idea of something being "best" in the arts is silly, and any attempt to discover that sort of "truth" futile. Feel free to chime in with some of your favorites from the world of film and beyond!