Well, file this under ‘U’ for unexpected, unbelievable, and utterly awesome. One of our very, very favorite films from the last decade is, hands down, The Croods. What Dreamworks and team did was deliver something so inventive, so imaginative, and so darn fun, I can’t understand why it hasn’t captured more of an audience. We raved about it in 2013 (check out our glowing review here) and I’ve loved it every single time I’ve seen it since. And now we have a sequel!! There’s something so incredibly charming about this family dynamic (including the stellar cast who are all back for this sequel) set against the simply gorgeous pre-hysterial narrative…
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Sweet Trailer…Jimmy O. Yang in ‘The Opening Act’
They say that laughter is the best medicine. And after this year, we’re gonna need a lot of it. So, if your funny bone is need of some tickling and your gut quite busted in a while, then enter The Opening Act. The latest from the RLJ Entertainment films follows Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley) who dreams of being a stand-up comedian. It’s a long way to the top, and he’s got no shortage of hecklers and challenges along the way making him question how much he really wants it. Whether or not this is the Rocky of the stand-up comedy genre remains to be seen. But if having Vince…
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Interview…Alexander Bornstein on Transformers and the Sounds of Cybertron
Alexander Bornstein is an award-winning composer currently based in Los Angeles. His music can be currently heard in television, independent films, feature films, web series, and documentaries. Alexander has also been at the forefront of new multimedia platforms such as composing music for Doug Liman’s Invisible, one of the earliest series produced for virtual reality. Recent works include First to the Moon: The Journey of Apollo 8 and additional music for numerous TV series including The Boys and Lost in Space. He is currently scoring the upcoming Netflix Original Anime Series Transformers War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege. Over the years, Alexander’s work has brought him through major music studios including…
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Interview…Blockbuster Podcast Team Takes A Deep Dive Into Season 2 and James Cameron
Over the years, one of the creatives we’ve been lucky enough to get to know is Matt Schrader. We first interviewed Matt back in 2016 while he was cooking up his first film – SCORE: A Film Music Documentary. This one-of-a-kind doc was quite the endeavor and Schrader made a lateral shift from his journalist background to take a big step into telling the story he wanted to tell. And, as score fans ourselves, we’re so glad he did! On the heels of that, and using the contacts made while filming the documentary, Schrader and team (which included Kenny Holmes and Robert Kraft) started SCORE: The Podcast to give composers…
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Interview…Tuppence Middleton on Method Acting, Taking Chances and Trusting Your Gut
In this severely pandemic-affected world, film fans can find solace and levity in films. And what a perfect time for a sweet-natured, feel-good comedy to come along. Now if you would’ve told me that I would fall head over heels for a film about, and I’m not kidding, a group of fishermen who sing shanties in their downtime, I’d have taken that bet. Well, blow me down, this is one cute film! Headlining Fisherman’s Friends, (the latest from Samuel Goldwyn Films), is British actress Tuppence Middleton. In the film, she plays James Purefoy’s daughter and the two have genuine (if commonplace) dynamic – him the protective father, her the young…
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Music Review…’Avengers: Infinity War + Endgame’ Behemoth Box Set
Alan Silvestri is one of our very favorite composers, and his contributions to film are nearly unparalleled. When it was announced that Mondo and Hollywood Records would be releasing the complete scores to Infinity War and Endgame on vinyl, the only thing better than that would be to have the Time Stone so we could actually get it sooner – good news is that it was well worth the wait. We are thrilled to review this box set as Silvestri’s music spins on our turntable, and, trust me, these albums are not to be missed! One of the reasons we love Silvestri’s work is that he has an absolute knack…
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‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ Composer to Give Series A Tune Up
Next month, the long-awaited (and even longer teased) third leg of the Bill & Ted franchise will be released. The trailer looks to deliver the goods, and in this crazy pandemic-affected year, it will be great to have some much-needed levity and escapism. Part of what makes the series so enjoyable (aside from the chemistry of the leads) is the music. In the upcoming film, the famous duo is still trying to write the song that will unite the world. Some would have guessed that it was KISS’ “God Gave Rock ‘N’ Roll To You II” which played in the finale to 1991’s Bogus Journey. But in the efforts of…
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Interview…Composer Joe Trapanese Talks Orchestration and Composition of Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, The Raid and Lady and the Tramp
This year, Tron: Legacy celebrates turns 10, and a huge part of that film was the amazing music from Daft Punk – it was the duo’s first film score and quite an endeavor for all involved. The combination of electronic and orchestral music seemed like a long shot, but if anyone could stick the landing, it was probably them. Truth be told, they had help from a young Joseph Trapanese and Bruce Broughton as well as two years to collaborate and work their magic. As far as we’re concerned, the world is a lot better with that music in it. So in this installment of our podcast series – one…
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Official Sneak Peek of IFC Midnight’s ‘Relic’
Hey all, hope you’re happy and healthy in week 3,482 of the lock down. At times like this, we’re so glad we have movies to keep us distracted, entertained, or whatever they do for us. And on that note, the GST team is excited about the writer/director Natalie Erika James’ unforgettable and auspicious feature debut from IFC Midnight, and are delighted to share this clip from Relic. The familial horror yarn starring Emily Mortimer, Bella Heathcote, and Robyn Nevin had its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 to critical acclaim, praising the film as a fresh and terrifying twist on the notorious haunted-house tale. Enjoy this first…
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Interview…Composer Paul Leonard-Morgan on High Energy, Cyberpunk, and Philip Glass
Over the years, we’ve spoken to lots of people in the entertainment business, and neither our good friend Bryan Kluger (of BoomStickComics) nor myself have met many individuals with the all-out energy and enthusiasm that Paul Leonard-Morgan exudes. No joke. The Scottish composer is a delight to speak with and you can tell he doesn’t just love his job…he realllly loves it and that comes through in how he describes his process (using analog synthesizers), his projects (Disney Test Track at Epcot Center and Limitless), and his collaborators (Alex Garland, Mark Romanek). He loves life, cares for everyone, has great taste in film and scores, and he even coined a catchphrase…
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Interview…Composer Joseph Stephens on Danny McBride, HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones, and “Misbehavin'”
This week, we got to hang out with North Carolina-based multi-instrumentalist, film score composer, and songwriter Joseph Stephens. He’s got a lot of experience in TV and film and one of the gems in Stephens’ in his crown is the a little ditty called “Misbehavin‘” otherwise known as the most unlikely of upbeat bangers featured in The Righteous Gemstones, HBO’s breakout series from series creator Danny McBride. Stephens is the composer behind the show and has worked with McBride many times; their relationship goes back to their college days. Stephens composed and co-wrote the original song with McBride and Edi Patterson (who both star in the series). The twangy, fun-loving song…
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Sweet Trailer…’Bill & Ted Face the Music’
Whoa. The wait is finally over. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are back, and star in the first official trailer for Bill & Ted Face the Music! Can’t believe this is almost upon us, but in these crazy times I think we need a feel-good type of film that picks us up and rocks our world. This sequel is directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) and the score will be composed by Mark Isham – two equally triumphant dudes. Remember: Be excellent to each other annnd Party on, dudes! Once told they’d save the universe during a time-traveling adventure, 2 would-be rockers from San Dimas, California find themselves as middle-aged…
