Composers are our jam, and we love getting in the weeds to find out how certain sounds and themes are made. Inspiration can literally come from anywhere. Sometimes, it’s the more obscure and unexpected muses that yield the most memorable themes. While these musicians work with picture (as well as discussions with filmmakers), many times their gut reactions are all it takes to bring amazing sounds into existence. I’ll always cite this example from Patrick Doyle to remind myself that anything is possible. So enter Canadian composer, Andrew Gordon Macpherson, who has tons of experience with all sorts of sounds and styles. His work on Dark Side of the Ring…
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Exclusive First Listen: Two Tracks from Carter Burwell’s Score to ‘Good Fortune’
Getting to break new music to you is a real treat. Sometimes it’s a pinch myself moment, and as such, in this new Lionsgate film starring Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, Sandra O and Keanu Reeves, all I can think to say is “woah!” So, hat tip to our good friends at Lakeshore Records for allowing us to grace your ears with not one, but two cues from Carter Burwell‘s score to Good Fortune. Burwell’s light-hearted score incorporates retro sounding keys and synths and mixes them with strings and vocalizations to create a mischievously whimsical backdrop to the surprising supernatural comedy. The tracks below have a good bit of…
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Interview…Director/Producer Roxanne Messina Captor on a Lifetime of Storytelling and Opportunities
There’s an old adage that when life gives you an opportunity, you take it. Or something like that. Regardless, when the chance to speak with our next guest came our way, we said yes immediately. Roxanne Messina Captor has literally done it all and seen it all. Let’s run down the list shall we? Child performer, Professional Ballet Dancer by age of 12, Broadway musical Performer: Fosse shows, Juilliard Theatre School, and Gene Kelly protégé. Emmy nominated Producer/Director, one of the founding original programming executives for Turner Network Television. Executive Director of the San Francisco International Film Festival and Film Society. Director/Producer of numerous TV movies and independent features. Created and wrote first ever…
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Interview…Troy Duffy on Themes, Theology and The MacManus Brothers in ‘The Boondock Saints, Volume 1: Blood Origin’
You could say that we are huge fans of The Boondock Saints, but our love and reverence for Troy Duffy’s amazing cinematic and narrative achievement goes only so far. Sure, we have a Peacoat, and own the films on DVD, but that’s about where it ends. We never got matching tattoos, bought tons of shirts, or named our animals after the MacManus Brothers. That would be the actions of super fans, and to that, we salute you. Over the years, we’ve been fortunate enough to meet actors Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco, even Jeff Danna, who composed the amazing score to the film. Today, we were beyond…
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[Fantastic Fest Interview]…Katherine Dudas and Avalon Fast – Finding Your Tribe On Stage or By Campfire
It’s been a few weeks since we left Fantastic Fest and, as it always happens, the films and experiences tend to stick with us like chewing gum. The festival is great for young filmmakers. For some, this is their first feature. But even if you’ve been doing this a while, one thing is certain: if you can shock, impress or surprise this group of battle-hardened cinema fans, then you have likely found your foothold in the industry. Having said that, not everything at this wild and crazy film fest is about psychopaths and vampires. FF is renowned as a place where those kinds of terrifying personalizes are welcomed and, often…
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Interview…Blitz//Berlin on Forging Friendships, Unique Sounds, and Genre Titles Hitting Theaters This Year
Blitz//Berlin is a group of three Juno Award winning film composers. The trio is best known for a variety of projects that border on strange an unusual, but their sound is so fitting for the likes of Jordan Peele’s “Scare Tactics”, “Blade Runner 2036”, “The Void”, and “Psycho Goreman”. They have numerous other films, television shows, video games, and film trailers to their credit…in fact, you might not even know they worked on some of your favorite things. Members Martin Macphail, Dean Rode and Tristan Tarr first met in high school, forming a Canadian punk band before beginning their film composing careers and relocating to Los Angeles in 2018. They…
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Interview…Director Derek Cianfrance on Realism and Relatability in ‘Roofman’
We should get this out of the way up front. Roofman is not a full-on comedy, and far from it actually. Even with Channing Tatum in a highly charismatic role, this story about Jeffrey Manchester is more true crime than a rousing or rambunctious tale of an underdog. Now there are plenty of heartfelt elements that make this shine, and much of that comes from the source material. While casting Tatum as the lead would make you think this is a sister sequel to Logan Lucky (which was an actual comedy crime caper), Manchester is not after one grand and hefty haul. He needs to disappear but he won’t be…
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Interview…Will Bates On the Sound of ‘Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost’
Many times, the most difficult creative process is going to be the most personal one. This year, filmmaker Ben Stiller is offers up a documentary about life behind the scenes in his family. To be clear, this isn’t about what went into Zoolander, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and There’s Something About Mary. This goes back one full generation to focus on his famous parents. The duo of “Stiller & Meara” laid the groundwork for many comedians coming down the pike. But this profound, personal look at the Stiller family shows that it wasn’t always smiles and laughs bringing up two children all while headlining night clubs and other ventures…
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[Fantastic Fest Interview]…Ying and Nathan Wong on ‘Road to Vendetta’
Most of the features and shorts that play at Fantastic Fest are labors of love created by indie and/or first-time filmmakers. They share a love of storytelling and are so passionate about their work. And, more times than none, you’d never believe that what you’re witnessing on the silver screens here in Austin is someone’s first at-bat. This year’s crop is yet another amazing harvest that shows what kind of visionaries are climbing and ascending the creative mountaintop in this world. With a one-two punch of action and highly unexpected humor that recalls the magic of Rush Hour, director Ying and cinematographer Nathan Wong, give us John Wick by way…
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[Fantastic Fest Interview]…Dean Francis and Sacha Horler on Addiction and Identity in ‘Body Blow’
One of the best things about going to Fantastic Fest is seeing something we may never get the chance to see again. This year had at least half a dozen like that, one of which is the erotic thriller, Body Blow. Let us set the scene for the steamy Aussie noir from director Dean Francis: Aiden, a young cop, embarks on a risky undercover mission where he meets Cody, a captivating male sex worker controlled by a drug lord drag queen. He dives into a perilous world, getting entangled in a deadly police conspiracy. A chance meeting at the Highball put us face to face with Francis (who is also…
