Following the premiere of American Sniper (Clint Eastwood’s biographical film about Chris Kyle from the novel of the same name) last Monday, we spoke with screenwriter Jason Hall about his efforts bringing this story to the big screen. However because of Klyle’s untimely death during the writing process, that tragic event turned the production into an entirely different film. There’s always the intention to do right by any subject in a film like this, and Jason views the entire process not only as an obligation, but a privilege. Having met Chris before he ever wrote American Sniper, Jason got a first hand account of Chris’ life from Chris himself as well as…
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Interview…Composer J. Ralph on Documentaries, Real Life Heroes and the Call to Action
J. Ralph is an Academy Award-nominated composer, singer/songwriter and producer. He is also the founder of the internationally award-winning music production company The Rumor Mill, and has written and produced the music for numerous Grammy winning artists, Oscar-winning films, and The President of The United States, Barack Obama. Considered by many to have had a profound impact on the documentary medium, J. Ralph has helped elevate the experience of what it feels like to watch a documentary through his scores. Incredibly he has written and produced the music for 4 out of the last 5 Oscar winning/nominated documentary feature projects. In the 85 year history of the Academy Awards, J.…
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Interview…Music Supervisor Anna San Juan Gives Us the Score on Songs
A great many trades come together to produce a singular product in the entertainment world. Many are unsung, and even more have very little chance to explain their role in things we see on the big and small screens. In the opening and closing credits, viewers are presented with a barrage of nebulous terms which flash before our eyes. We at GST don’t think we’re alone in wondering what many of them are. So, if you, like us, have ever pondered what a technical term like “key grip”, “best boy” or “music supervisor “ was, let alone what their job really entailed, then we’d like to introduce you to one…
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Interview…Film Composer Henry Jackman on Big Screen Heroes and Even Bigger Themes
Since 2009, composer Henry Jackman has been adding blockbuster films to his resume at an incredible rate. And there’s a reason for it – he’s extremely good at his job. Jackman has consistently been providing the modern film world with some of the most thrilling, weighty, and substantive music of the last decade. That’s high praise, but he’s certainly earned his laurels with the likes of X-Men: First Class, and things haven’t slowed down since. In just five years, the Oxford educated British musician has ascended into the ranks of Hollywood’s elite composers. This year he was tapped to create an epic, futuristic score for Disney and Marvel’s Big Hero…
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Interview…Composer Antonio Sanchez on the Drums and Jazzy Ambiguity of ‘Birdman’
Thanksgiving is just a few days away, but before we dig into the seasonal fowl, let’s digest this year’s other most buzz-worthy winged creature. We wrote a rather glowing review of Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (check it out here), and last week we got to speak with Antonio Sanchez about his background and experiences on such an exceptional project. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu‘s one-of-a-kind film hit theaters in October, and people are still talking about it – a rarity for an independent film in the weeks before the awards heavy holiday season begins. Picking up speed on a weekly basis, Birdman is certainly the one to beat in 2014. It’s a tour…
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Interview…’V/H/S: Viral’ Directors Gregg Bishop, Marcel Sarmiento, Nacho Vigalondo
V/H/S: VIRAL screened at the 2014 Fantastic Fest, and fans of this horror anthology series just love it. Each segment offered something unique, dark and twisted and this leg of the purported trilogy really went for the throat. We had the chance to speak with directors Gregg Bishop, Marcel Sarmiento, and Nacho Vigalondo who share their experiences filming their violent, intense and jaw-dropping sequences. This installment might have fans and critics split, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Click here to read our review from Fantastic Fest. FYI, the bulb on our light kit went out halfway through the interview session. Instead of starting over, we decided to run with it and…
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Interview…’V/H/S: Viral’ Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
The purported final leg in the horror anthology series, V/H/S: VIRAL screened at the 2014 Fantastic Fest. In short, it was nuts but the crowd just loved it. Now, outside of the festival circuit, this installment might have fans and critics split, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Click here to read our review from Fantastic Fest. While at the Fest, we got to sit with directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead as well as the cast of the insane “Bonestorm” segment. They offer their experiences filming one of the series’ most intense sequences. Sure wish they could have done something with the skydiving idea they head, but this sequence still…
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Interview…Film/TV Composer Claude Foisy
For nearly 20 years, film and television composer Claude Foisy has written scores for a variety of projects. Some of his highlights include music for Pontypool, (starring Stephen McHattie), White Noise (starring Michael Keaton), and his TV credits include CW’s Beauty and the Beast, The 4400 and some of the Outer Limits TV show episodes to name just a few. Though he has a long history with the Wrong Turn films – Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort was released earlier this month – Foisy is a well-versed and accomplished musician. Enjoy our session with Claude. GoSeeTalk: Depending on who you speak with, horror films have unfortunately sort of de-evolved somewhat into mindless slashers. Regardless…
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Interview…’Tombville’ Writer/Director Nikolas List
Writer/Director Nikolas List studied film directing at the IAD in Belgium. Ange, his final university project, was selected by more than 50 international film festivals and awarded many prizes. List’s follow-up effort, Tombville, is also his full-length film debut and is a story that will stick with you long after you’ve seen it. Tombville follows 25 year old David, a man who wakes up in a village plunged into darkness with no memory of what happened or how he ended up there. He quickly realizes that it is impossible for him to escape: whatever direction he takes, he always finds himself back at the same point. Memories of his past come back to him bit by…
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Interview…Composer Nathan Johnson Discusses ‘Young Ones’, ‘Kill the Messenger’ and ‘Looper’ on Vinyl
The last time we spoke with composer Nathan Johnson was just about a year ago. Nathan is a master at making off-beat and imperfect instruments sound distant yet accessible on a number of vastly different narratives (see: Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper). Last October, Nathan offered some insight as to the work he did writing the score to Don Jon – Joseph Gordon Levitt’s contemporary take on the classic literary Lothario. It was an interesting film with, as you might expect, an equally unique score to match. But in the time since we spoke, Nathan has done two scores for films that were both released this month – Jake Paltrow‘s neo-Western Young Ones and the journalistic thriller…
