Jermaine Stegall is an accomplished and versatile composer and conductor. Stegall’s extensive music studies include a BA from Northern Illinois University’s School of Music, a Master’s degree in Music Composition from the University of North Texas, and the prestigious Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program at USC. Following his formal education, he was selected as a Sundance Composer Lab Fellow, as well as the BMI Conducting Workshop. With over 50 projects to his credit, Stegall’s professional career began as a music intern for the film I, Robot, and Stegall’s scoring and conducting assignments have included film and TV shows in all genres, to leading bands at major musical events.…
-
-
Interview…Composer Alec Puro on ‘The Crew’, ‘Black Summer’ and ‘The Mighty Ones’
The composing world is a fast paced industry. It’s a lot of hustle just to get in the door, and then, once you got the job, it’s even faster. Oh, and if you’re in composing for television, it’s faster still. So why would anyone want to do this for a living? Well, if you’re like Alec Puro, it’s just too much fun not to. Alec has a lifetime of experiences playing and making music. A seasoned drummer, producer and all around nice guy, Alec makes it look easy and has done music (both composing and licensing) for multiple, multiple TV shows. On his crowded plate are a trio of projects…
-
Interview…Director John Swab on the Facts and Finances of ‘Body Brokers’
One of the more eye opening films we’ve seen in a while is John Swab’s Body Brokers. A kind of medically-focused sister to The Big Short, Swab manages two things with his narrative: it is an exposé as well as an autobiography. Tulsa native writer/director John Swab lived the life portrayed by Jack Kilmer’s character in the film. He similarly got swept up in the true-life business happening in the healthcare world where drug treatment served as a cover for a predatory business, enlisting addicts to recruit other addicts. This is as wild a story as it comes, and Swab gives us some first-hand insight into it as well as…
-
Off the Shelf…’Scare Me’
Editor’s Note: This write-up comes from guest reviewer, OFCA and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic Federico Furzan. Horror movies are supposed to be scary. They’re supposed to disturb you, shake you, and leave you scarred at least for a couple of minutes. That’s the whole goal of the genre, to take you to a primal position of fear in order to escape the mundane, often overwhelming reality. Comedies are similar in nature. They’re supposed to make you laugh so hard you can forget about the things that happened to you minutes ago. If they’re actually good, you will get new memories and you will laugh several hours after at the same stupid…
-
David Oyelwo’s Directorial Debut ‘The Water Man’ Acquired by RLJE Films
We always love to see an actor take the leap from working in front of the camera to behind it. And the next star to make that transition is David Oyelwo. Some of Oyelwo’s best and most recent work has been in Selma, Gringo, and Come Away. Now for his directorial debut, he helms the family adventure film, The Water Man, which has been acquired by RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, for North America, and by Netflix for the rest of the world. The film had its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival to much critical praise and also opened this year’s Urbanworld Film Festival. Oyelowo had this to…
-
G-S-T Review…’Rage’
Editor’s Note: This write-up comes from guest reviewer, OFCA and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic Federico Furzan. Call it fear, or an unsettling feeling, but this is precisely what I generally get with genre films made in Australia. They hit a nerve with their ability to show violence in a brutal and realistic way, and it’s like filmmakers have no sense of limits when trying to portray a horrific situation. I don’t stay away from those films, but I’m not the same guy when credits roll. With Rage this was a surprise because I definitely did not expect the movie to go that way. It certainly doesn’t show it from the beginning…
-
Music Review…’Spider-Man: Miles Morales’ Swings and Soars on Vinyl
Erich Wolfgang Korngold once said that “music is music whether it’s for the movie theater or the concert hall or a video game.” We might have paraphrased a little at the end, but he’s right. Moreover, it’s long been understood that a good video game score can help make any game memorable. It can also have a wondrous life outside the pixelated adventure as well. Today’s music review focuses on Mondo and Hollywood Records’ vinyl release of the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Miles Morales. However, before we dig in, here’s sliver of transparency: this review was done as a stand-alone listening experience. I’ve not played a Spider-Man game since the PS1…
-
Interview…Cinematographer Richard Schaefer Discusses Visual Impact and Shooting Style in ‘The Last Champion’
Last year, the Glenn Withrow directed family drama, The Last Champion, was released by Redburn Street Pictures. It tells the story of John Wright (played by Cole Hauser), a scandal-ridden ex-Olympian who, following his mother’s death, returns to a hometown that has not forgiven him. It’s an emotional sports movie, and we’re glad to see one about wrestling. In a story about facing the past, it’s also about finding the hero in all of us. We spoke to cinematographer Rich Schaefer about his experiences on the uplifting film. Schaefer used to wrestle, so he was able to bring some personal expertise to the shoots and help Glenn Withrow get some…
-
Interview…John Powell on ‘Solo’, John Williams, and A Long Time Before A Galaxy Far, Far Away
British composer John Powell began his career in the advertising world writing music for commercials. Growing up in a musical family, you could say it was in his blood and it wasn’t long before he left the jingle world and headed to Los Angeles after being recruited by Hans Zimmer. While there, he worked on titles like The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado before being groomed for his first big solo outing: Face/Off. Talk about making an entrance. Powell came out swinging – to match the ballet of bullets and boat chases in the John Woo actioner – but he also gave the film lots of…
-
Interview…Composer Will Bates and Director Mike Cahill Discuss ‘Bliss’
Will Bates is an award-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist and founder of music production company Fall On Your Sword. As a solo artist and multi-instrumentalist, Bates has recorded and toured around the globe. As a saxophonist, Bates has collaborated with legendary artists ranging from 60’s icon Lulu to techno legend Marshall Jefferson. Bates works frequently with director Mike Cahill, and the two weave mind-expanding narrative magic for TV and film. Cahill (Another Earth, I Origins) wrote and directed the new film, Bliss, which is being distributed by Amazon Studios and the soundtrack will be released by Milan Records. It tells the multi-layered story of a man whose life lacks purpose, and he…
-
Must Listen: Will Bates and Skye Edwards’ ‘You and I’ Music Video from Mike Cahill’s ‘Bliss’
On February 5th, Amazon Studios will release the latest film from director Mike Cahill (Another Earth, I Origins). Bliss tells the story of an unfulfilled man (Owen Wilson) and a mysterious woman (Salma Hayek) who believe they are living in a simulated reality, but when their newfound ‘Bliss’ world begins to bleed into the ‘ugly’ world they must decide what’s real and where they truly belong. The film sports an impressive and dynamic score written by Cahill’s long-time composing collaborator, Will Bates. Along with writing the score, Bates penned the song ‘You and I‘ which he recorded with Morcheeba’s Skye Edwards. GoSeeTalk recently had a chat with Cahill and Bates…
-
Interview…Ilan Eshkeri on Honesty and Hope in BBC’s ‘A Perfect Planet’
Ilan Eshkeri is an award-winning composer, artist, songwriter, producer and creator. We spoke with Ilan in 2015 (about 47 Ronin, Black Sea and The Snowman & The Snowdog) and were happy to catch up with him to discuss his process writing music for BBC’s A Perfect Planet. This new nature series is his fourth collaboration with legendary naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The bulk of this interview focuses on his efforts to write that music and the underlying idea of hope in many of the themes (we’ve included selections from his score below). Recently, Ilan and Ralph Fiennes completed their third film together – a biopic about Rudolf Nureyev, The White…
