When people find something they love, they devour it and cannot wait for the next version/iteration of whatever it is. Be it the iPhone, a Porsche 911, or opening day for MLB, fans will show up in droves for the new hotness. In this case we’d like to highlight a trifecta of pop culture fans who should rejoice in similar fashion. This year we get the big screen adaptation of Street Fighter that is sure to please video game aficionados, cinephiles and film score fans. In this stylistically hybridized film, the punches on screen would lack something if they weren’t propelled by nostalgia and a rocking soundtrack which makes you…
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Interview…Joe Trapanese Dives to Great Sonic Depths in ‘Whalefall’
Over the years, I’ve had the great opportunity to speak with many multi-hyphenates in the entertainment business. My pursuits fall somewhere between a hobby and an obsession as I chase conversations and laughs with creatives I admire. And so many conversations have been meaningful, fun and a fantastic peek into the creative process. One session with a composer is good. A second is great. Three…well, you see where I’m going. There’s no such thing as diminishing returns here! Now enter composer Joseph Trapanese. He’s someone we always have fun with and Joe has had wind in his sails for a long time. His credits go back twenty years and Joe…
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Interview…Composer Rock Burwell’s Strange, Sincere and Spooky Sounds in ‘Obsession’
They say that “Love is a many-splendored thing.” It can also be a hair-pulling, skin-crawling nightmare that will keep you awake in terror. Well, maybe that’s not a great many people’s experience, but it’s certainly the case in Obsession. The massive box office hit succeeded because it was a compelling story that was also an alliteration of descriptions; it is simple, scary, sombre, sincere, and psychotic. You’re probably saying “Marc, psychotic begins with P.” Well, you’re right, but I don’t see it that way because Obsession scared the P right out of me. And part of what made Curry Barker’s film exceptionally unnerving (aside from Inde Navarrette‘s now legendary turn)…
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[Tribeca FF Interview]…Rob Arthur’s ‘Frampton’ Is A Crowd-Pleasing Tribute To A Rare Rock Legend
Editor’s note: This interview piece originally ran on May 29. It is being republished to coincide with a special event at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Thursday, October 15. The film has the honor of being the Opening Night Feature Documentary. Additionally, there’s also a special Q&A with Rob Arthur and Peter Frampton and Gala to follow. Tickets Available HERE Ahead of its premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, we had a rocking good time with director Rob Arthur about Frampton. This insightful and crowd-pleasing doc about the one-and-only UK rock legend shows us the fun, fame, friendship, frailty and legacy of being Peter Frampton. The exceptional doc will…
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Interview…Jared Michael Fry Combines Classical Compositions and Indigenous Voices for ‘Heart of the Beast’
A film is far more than the sum of its parts. When images and sound combine, the results echo in eternity. We had the absolute thrill speaking with composer Jared Michael Fry about his score to David Ayer’s Heart of the Beast. This film is their third time working together and the duo hit this one way out of the part. To provide an authentic, culturally specific foundation for the score, Fry brought in the award-winning Alaskan Inuit group Pamyua, whose vocalizations, Yup’ik-language singing, chanting, humming and drumming were recorded remotely. He merged these elements with ethereal vocals from the London-based choral ensemble London Voices. “With the music, I was…
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Interview…Composer Stephanie Economou Shines A Light For ‘Lanterns’ on HBOMax
Emotion comes in all forms, and when music is doing what it does best, it can really move you. Even the most obscure sound palette can start the water works. As DC Studios’ Lanterns is not your typical detective procedural, the sound needed to take a similarly unconventional approach. Spoiler: it was the right choice. Stephanie Economou has had her fair share of exciting projects, and ones where adventure and danger abound. The approach on this show is different from past works, and speaks more to the kind of music she loves. Herein, Stephanie dives into some ‘90s and ‘00s era guitar rock and the driving bass riffs literally propel…
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Interview…Composer Steven Price on the Looney Fun of ‘Coyote vs Acme’
After enduring years of catastrophic product failures at the hands of ACME, Inc., a tenacious, unemployed coyote uncovers a corporate cover-up and spearheads an unhinged battle against the multinational conglomerate that’s been blowing him up in the name of profit. The film has it all. Humor, heart, a legal battle and much more. There’s also a roadrunner. And dynamite. So that goes a long way to say that Coyote vs Acme is a blast! As such, we were thrilled to catch up with an old friend of the site. And it’s shocking to realize that it’s been more than ten years since we last spoke with him. Steven Price, the…
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Interview…Composer Aisling Brouwer on the Heart, Humanity and Historic Instruments of ‘Pompeii: Out of Time’
Aisling Brouwer is a wondrous sonic stringsmith and a truly enjoyable guest to chat with. Her compositions on Pompeii: Out of Time walk the line between documentary, true crime and dramatization yet the wand she weaves puts all the pieces together brilliantly. “Scoring Pompeii: Out of Time meant finding music for a moment we all think we already know and then discovering how much of it we didn’t. I wanted the score to hold space for both the seismic force and scale of Vesuvius, and the intimate, human choices of the people living through it. The Pompeiian Cornu sits at the heart of that search – an instrument reborn from…
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Interview…Christian Lundberg’s Score Turns Up the Heat for Season 5 of ‘The Bear’
Composer Christian Lundberg is an anomaly in music and, his atypical career finds him breathing some of the rarest existing air in Hollywood. The Swedish born guitarist is proof that there is no “right” way to make it in Hollywood. The man who is bringing unbelievable amounts of chill and high intensity to The Bear on FX didn’t start out wanting to be a composer. He started off doing music tech services. As LA is the city of dreams, it seems quite fitting that he took the opportunities as they came and built upon that to get where he is. There is no rulebook for success, and that goes doubly…
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Interview…Composer Michael Wandmacher’s Unique Sound Palette and Working with Amy Lee on ‘The Seventh Turn’
It’s gotta be exciting and daunting being a composer. Many times they are asked to make a project better or give it life with some acoustic accompaniment. And it’s not often that there is a rule book or one singular path forward. Many of the brilliant people we’ve spoken with over the years have admitted to odd bouts of inspiration, dialogue with the filmmakers and many just kind of feel their way through the project. Art should evoke a desired emotion, and the best artists really hit us in the heart. Today we spoke with Michael Wandmacher about his revolutionary score to Eric D. Howell‘s supernatural short film. His work…
