• Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment,  Podcast Interview

    Interview…Composer David Fleming on Danger and Discovery in ‘Damsel’

    Every once in a while it’s fun escape into a popcorn fantasy film, and something with a sword or two and a dragon are usually sure to please. In this case, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo delivers in all categories all the while offering a tale you thought you had seen before. With Netflix’s Damsel, he puts a spin on the “princess in distress” framework to make Millie Bobby Brown the hero of her own story. Then again, just looking at the album artwork below, you could probably figure that out. To elevate and enhance the story, composer David Fleming was brought in to give Juan Carlos’ story literal wings. His work…

  • Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    Interview…Composer Andrew Kawczynski on Collaboration, Inspiration, Huge Films and Dream Jobs

    Where does inspiration come from? How much influence does it have on you? And how does it help any creative get their work across the finish line? These are questions every artist has, and the answers can be wildly different. We interview a lot of composers and everyone has uniquely different stories, yet there is one constant we continually find baffling: they never have any time. On this episode of The GoSeeTalk Podcast Experience we spent more than an hour with seasoned composer Andrew Kawczynski. Last year, he and Lorne Balfe produced the adrenaline-fueled, head-nodding score to Gran Turismo. If you thought young Jann Mardenborough was in for a rough…

  • Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment,  Podcast Interview

    Interview…Tina Guo on Determination, Being Yourself and Rocking Out

    In the sports world there are all sorts of inspirational slogans like “winners aren’t born and they’re made“. You’ve heard them before, seen posters in gyms, yadda, yadda, yadda. But does that translate to the entertainment world, specifically with musicians? Well, if if you look hard enough you might find a few rare instances where it is true, and when it comes to our latest guest, she wasn’t made, she’s more accurately manufactured. Tina Guo is a world-renowned cellist whose talent is nearly eclipsed by her personality. Made in China – this next part is 100% true – and born to musician parents in the communist army, Tina has an…

  • Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    Interview…Jasha Klebe on the Freedom and Found Sounds of ‘Queer As Folk’

    Jasha Klebe is a composer known for emotive melodies and impactful scores. Most notably, Jasha co-scored the BAFTA and Emmy nominated music of BBC’s Planet Earth II, alongside Hans Zimmer and Jacob Shea. He additionally provided music to the follow up series, Blue Planet II, as well as wrote the Emmy nominated music of National Geographic’s Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes. Jasha also composed the score to Netflix’s 2015 Oscar-nominated documentary, Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom and National Geographic’s, Diana: In Her Own Words. Jasha began his musical career at the age of 5, singing at his Grandparents’ opera house, Cinnabar Theater, in Petaluma, CA. He studied classical piano…

  • Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment,  Podcast Interview

    Interview…Composer Steve Mazzaro on the Quirky and Charming Score to ’Army of Thieves’

    Every few years, some piece of pop culture jumps up, grabs hold of us and just won’t let go. In this case, it was the unassuming prequel to Zach Snyder’s Army of the Dead. Considering they both deal with zombies, perhaps the surprise (and parallel) was quite funny, even serendipitous. What really comes alive in this heist film, which are usually fun by nature, is the music. At times, it is white-hot to match the energy (and calamity) fueling this team of discarded dorks. Other times, it is somber and anguished as these characters wear their emotions on their sleeves. Further, the sound pulsing through the speakers is so unexpected…

  • Movies/Entertainment

    Podcast: 2021 Recap – Films, Scores and More!

    Hi everybody. Well, we’re completely out of 2021 (whew!) and as we march forward into what the future of cinema holds, let’s take a quick look back to what impressed or depressed us in the last twelve months. On today’s show, I’m again joined by my compadre, my Consigliere, my caballero, Federico Furzan. Together, we run down the best & worst of 2021 as well as our favorite films, film scores, and anticipated features hitting screens in the coming months. How closely do the picks of these two high-flying film friends with low standards align with one another? I guess you’ll have to check out the episode to find out.…

  • Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment,  Podcast Interview

    Interview…Composer David Fleming on Ron Howard, Hans Zimmer and ‘Hillbilly Elegy’

    This year has taken a toll on all of us, and yet one constant has surfaced: family can get us through almost anything. Or maybe it’s that we’re more likely to survive Covid than our families? Either way, even though every family has its problems, we’re certainly better together than we are apart. As such, Hillbilly Elegy is about family and a whole lot more. The film adaptation of the best-selling book is directed by Ron Howard and, like all his films, there’s a real emotion weight because the story highlights the struggles and triumphs of characters who are broken or about to break. Helping give this tale its heart…

  • Movies/Entertainment

    Hans Zimmer to Receive Max Steiner Award During Hollywood in Vienna Gala

    Hans Zimmer’s illustrious career has spanned over 150 film and television projects and encompasses about every genre and popular film franchise one can think about, from “Driving Miss Daisy” to “The Dark Knight” and from “The Lion King” to “Dunkirk”. Hollywood in Vienna CEO and Founder Sandra Tomek is proud to announce that Academy Award, Tony Award, 2-time Golden Globe and 3-time Grammy Winner Hans Zimmer will be honored with the 2018 Max Steiner Award in Vienna during the Annual Hollywood in Vienna Concert Gala. It is such an honor to be celebrated and receive this award – it lauds the contributions the composer has made to the industry and cements…

  • Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    Interview…Benjamin Wallfisch on the Strength of ‘Hidden Figures’, and the DNA of His Scores

    Editor’s Note: This interview was originally published in March of this year. We have posted it again to coincide with the digital/Blu-Ray release of Gore Verbinski’s A Cure For Wellness on June 6. Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Benjamin Wallfisch is recognized as one of the leading film composers of his generation, with a career spanning over a decade and 60 feature films. He has composed music for such legendary film makers as Steven Spielberg, Rupert Wyatt, Gore Verbinksi and Lars von Trier, and has worked on scores that have been recognized with awards and nominations at the Academy Awards, BAFTAs and World Soundtrack Awards. Wallfisch fit us into his extremely…

  • Composer Series,  Dallas International,  Features,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment,  Video Interviews

    [DIFF Video Interview]…Matt Schrader Screens ‘SCORE: A Film Music Documentary’ at the Dallas International Film Festival

    The 2017 Dallas International Film Festival brought many amazing films and documentaries to DFW, but few hit as close to home (musically speaking) as Matt Schrader‘s feature, SCORE: A Film Music Documentary. Schrader’s film profiles various personalities and titans in the industry to chronicle the history of film music, reaffirm its importance in our culture, and attempt to explain why certain scores continue to resonate decades later. I can honestly say I’ve been a music fan longer than I’ve been a film fan, and as such, forgive the pun, this doc was music to my ears. We spoke to Schrader in 2015 while he was in the middle of interviewing the composers for…

  • Movies/Entertainment,  Trailers

    Sweet Trailer…’Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’

    Jimmy Kimmel showcases some bad ass trailers, and after wowing us with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Captain America: Winter Soldier and the like, here now is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Maybe he likes films with a hefty colon in the title? Anyway, this second (third if you were at SDCC) look at rock star Zack Snyder‘s Bats v Supes epic throwdown has all the making of greatness…unless you’re the internet and have picked holes in everything from Batfleck, to Doomsday looking rather underwhelming, or Jesse Eisenberg looking like Jerry Lewis just stumbled into the wrong movie. Well, you can’t please all the people all the time. We…

  • Composer Series,  Interviews,  Movies/Entertainment

    Interview…Composer Penka Kouneva on ‘The Woman Astronaut’

    Film and game composer Penka Kouneva has worked for 15 years in Los Angeles on a variety of projects from games, to shorts, to feature films. Her own music is a blend of her Eastern-European upbringing, classical training, modern film & game music, and influences ranging from rock, electronica, Medieval chant to non-Western music. A woman composer role model on the vanguard of the rising momentum for women creatives in entertainment, Penka Kouneva made Hollywood history as the first woman Lead Orchestrator on films with a budget over $100M – Ender’s Game and Elysium. In various capacitites, she has had notable collaborations with the celebrity composers Hans Zimmer (orchestrator: Pirates 3,…