Cool News
ScoreKeeper Wants To Point You Towards A Fascinating Interview With Danny Elfman!!
Greetings! ScoreKeeper here pointing the way toward an hour-long rare and rather candid interview with the one and only Danny Elfman.
Tommy Pearson of Stage and Screen Online recently conducted an interesting interview with Danny Elfman covering a wide range of topics from his new score to the upcoming biopic about Notorious B.I.G. called NOTORIOUS (2009), to his classic scores of yesterday, and even a touch of American politics just to keep the conversation hot ‘n spicy!
I have to admit the stern, all-caps advisory WARNING: THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE nestled next to the download link sure sounds like a tempting invitation to me!
As with all interviews posted at Stage and Screen Online, the two, half-hour long MP3s are free and available for download.
Fans of Elfman are sure to want to check this out…OK sure, Elfman detractors can listen too…
FIND IT HERE!!!
ScoreKeeper!!!
FIND IT HERE!!!
ScoreKeeper!!!
-
+ Expand All
-
Up there with Silvestri and Zimmer IMHO.
-
At least Williams' scores attempts to sound different from time to time ("JFK", "Close Encounters", "Munich"). Elfman's cues always seemed derived from the same pot.
Thank God Zimmer and Newton Howard went a different route for texturing "Dark Knight". -
And by the way: John William´s Superman theme - the best one there is. Ever.
-
I wonder how you would have reviewed Bach while he was alive.
As for different Elfman scores, Edward Scissorhands, To Die For, Good Will Hunting, Standard Operating Procedure. All quite different I think you'll find. -
Elfman creates novelty music at best. Stupid FORBIDDEN ZONE shit. I loved it in BLUE HARVEST when Chris Griffen respectfully introduced John Williams and then beheaded Danny Elfman.
-
The soundtrack to Standard Operating Procedure = novelty music?
-
Star Wars, CE3K, Jaws, Raiders, Memoirs, Superman. This is grand, sweeping music well ingrained into pop culture, and, perhaps most importantly, quite...hummable. That's McCartney's secret---write those melodies that get stuck in your head. And that's why he and John Williams are very rich men. Quite honestly, I'm trying to think of a single Danny Elfman score that I can actually hum to myself...
-
...and anyone who thinks all of his sco/res sound the same is frigging deaf.
-
I think Elfman's doing alright for himself financially. As for themes you can hum to, how many themes by Zimmer, or Silvestri, or Newton Howard do you hum - and more importantly, does it mean their ability as composers are lessened because of their lack of hum-ish-ness.
Comparing Williams to Elfman is a bit like comparing Elmer Bernstein to John Barry. They're both amazing at what they do (or did), but they sure do it differently. -
Elfman is pretty good, not the best, but good. His work with Burton is phenomenal. The score for Edward Scissorhands and Batman are classics. Still I would rate Williams, James Newton Howard, and the amazing Clint Mansell before Elfman
-
Go listen to Midnight Run, and then Black Beauty, then check out his work on Standard Operating Procedure and his latest score on Milk. Check? Then promplty proceed to shut THE FUCK up.
-
That is all.
-
I must hear more of Mansell's stuff. I love his work with Aronofsky, and his music for Sahara is a guilty pleasure.
I think Williams is the most successful living film composer. Trying to rate everyone else just feels unfair. -
Thin Red Line and Lion King don't suck at all.
-
Welcome to 2008.
-
Sure, Elfman's doing okay for himself. No doubt about it. He's a dynamic young composer that understands the film medium, the importance of originality, and the skill of being flexible with different ensembles. Hollywood is not exactly crawling with guys like this, and someone obviously likes what Danny Elfman brings to the table. Amy Chasing, your Bernstein/Barry analogy is a good one, but when it comes to writing signature music, I truly believe John Williams has no peer. The guy knows what side the bread is buttered on, and he knows that people want film music that serves as something other than padding. I just hope we don't get to the point that scripts are reading "SCENE 36. Cue pedestrian, forgettable horns and percussion"...
-
...I'll heed the advice of some of the other TBers in checking out some of his scores I have not yet heard. Thanks for the heads-up.
-
After watching most of the films that containt Elfman and Horner scores, I can honestly say that they've been using the "scene 36 cue" technique since the early nineties. Hell, in Horner's case, since Star Trek II.
-
Elfman doesn't make themes to be hummed. The beauty of film music is that's not a requirement for it to still be excellent. I dare say his theme to Batman is as memorable as Williams' Superman, even if it's not as popular or hummable. Batman Animated knew what they were doing when they chose Elfman's theme for their show. They could have just as easily not.
-
I don't know about you guys, but it's been a long time since either Danny Elfman OR John Williams penned a memorable/hummable tune. Elfman's finale was some time around Edward Scissorhands (or The Flash live-action TV show theme), while for Williams' last hummable tune was around Jurassic Park. Elfman has just been rehashing his own work as of late - Spider-Man, Ang Lee's Hulk, Hellboy II...there was nary a memorable tune in any of them.
-
I say this because he hasn't actually created music for his most memorable works. He took pre-existing music, tweaked it, and applied it to the likes of Star Wars.
Also, I just have to say, when Danny does interviews, he *really* does interviews! The last time I heard him do one was on XM Radio's Cinemagic channel, and it was at least an hour long. -
One of my all time favourite credits muzak. Very Elfmanesque I think too. Nice score. We'll take it!
-
I'll just add: it's probably not the greatest score in the history of the universe but it just fits in so well with the march of the Martians towards earth and the retro 50s sci-fi...
-
you're a moron. or a first year music student. or both...
-
I would recognise the Spider-Man theme if I heard it without watching the film. Also the songs from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Men In Black, and his work in Spy Kids.
Williams wrote some lovely themes for all the recent Star Wars prequels (arguably the best thing about those films) and I quite like his work on Memoirs Of A Geisha and The Terminal.
Discussions titled "James 'cut & paste' Horner" and "John 'copying Holst' Williams" have been done to death and shouldn't be started here. -
elfman has gone from goofing on the gong show, to cult rock icon, to brilliant composer, in a a span of 20 years, while many of his contemporaries now make surprise apearances on the macy's thanksgiving pararde, and the glut of doofy reality shows...and charlie and the chocalate factory showed that the guy can still write a catchy ditty if he wants...long live the elfman...although i still dont dig the scientology shit
-
WTF are you talking about?
-
Dec 01, 2008 3:22:36 AM CST
You are warning AICN talkbackers about strong languange?
by derlanghaarige
Have you ever read the site that you write for? ;)
-
Great. Now we gotta do this thing with Danny Elfman.
-
Midnight Run and Black Beauty were HORRIBLE scores. I'm no fan of Williams' stuff the last 15 years either. What this universe needs is Goldsmith and Bernard Hermann back. And Proman dead in a crack-and-tuberculosis-filled alley.
-
We think he's a righteous dude.
-
Williams has completely watered down during the last 15 years. His score for KOTCS was shit. Even the normally bombastic and triumphant "Raiders march" seems weakly conducted. That film had no memorable themes in it, save the ones he recycled from previous entries. He DID have a couple of good themes in the SW prequels, but the overall scores were disappointing incidental ramblings. On your other point, Jerry Goldsmith is indeed sorely missed. His work on the otherwise tepid "Star Trek the Motion Picture" is one of the best film scores ever.
-
Is one of the most moronic things ever posted here. Come on, seriously.
-
He excels when he does something away from the superhero/Tim Burton school. Delores Claiborne is excellent, Midnight Run is the BEST rock/funk/r &b score for a film in the last 30 years. Sommersby is a terrific score. He does seem to fall back on old tricks with any superhero/fantasy score. Batman/Men In Black/Darkman - all too much of the same cloth. He did try a more gothic/romantic sound on Hellboy 2 and it was partially successful. But there's no denying he is a very talented composer. But yes, Goldsmith's magic is sorely missed. Williams is on auto pilot, Silvestri doesn't work enough, Broughton is criminally underemployed, it's a sad state for today's film music overall.
-
...great scores- Elfman is very talented. I'm still a Williams man through and through. The soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a classic and I recommend anyone who has not heard it and is a fan of classical movie soundtracks to check it out as it is up there with his Star Wars A New Hope, Superman and Raiders music...
-
Wojciech Kilar wrote and conducted the soundtrack- amazing again- finer than the film in fact...
-
I was talking about Elfman's range there. And, yes those scores are beutiful. And if you cannot appreciate them it's your fucking problem. Go piss on something different in your eternal miserablness.
-
Where's the appreciation here? The guy did decades of STUNNING work and he's nearly 80 and still manages to create amazing work in films like "Munich" and "A.I.".
Scum. -
For one, I'm actually a college grad and I got my BA in music. For another, I've actually heard works by the likes of Takamitsu and other composers and thought "Kripes! That's the Tatooine sand dune music!". And you know what? It was my music composition teacher who taught us that Williams is a hack.
So, go ahead. Call me a moron. At least my statement is rooted in fact; your opinions are rooted in blind fanboyism. -
That album rocked!
-
Examine this link and consider the information discussed: http://www.filmtracks.com/comments/titles/phantom_menace/index.cgi?read=145
-
I agree that Williams's later work with Lucas is ass but then, in the midst of the lackluster prequel-work "Battle of the Fates" he goes and does Harry Potter with more of that melodic magic we're used to (I love the Daigon Alley theme). Elfman has done great work (Nightbreed, Beetlejuice, TNb4Xmas, etc) and my guess is ALL of you can hum the theme from the first Batman Elfman did back in 1989 (come on people, if you don't remember that theme then how about Spiderman? Not as iconic as Supes but easily remembered!). Elfman is no Williams to be sure...no one is...but then both men do bland work on occasion. But to say that nothing either men have done lately is memorable I think is simply not thinking of the variety of work these composers have done lately. I can instantly think of '89 Batman's theme, probably the second most iconic superhero theme ever (obviously next to Williams's Superman theme). And give me that 10 second melody from Potter over anything Williams did in any of the prequels.
-
Hence his screen name. "AI" was one of the worst scores EVER (so much sugar in it I had to wear dentures when I left the theater). Proman: you obviously took too much jism to the face. Take it easy and realize that Elfman is a hack 92% of the time (kinda like your mom, actually) and has no "range" (unlike your range in the "reach-around"). Four notes and you can tell it's an Elfman score.
-
And you try to prove that by sending a link ( which doesn't work by the way) to another fanboy website. Really. I don't give a rat's ass what your composition teacher taught you, you can claim "blind fanboy" but the opposing view is nothing but blind elitism. Let me quote "In the Classical era, it was considered a necessary part of a young composer’s training to study under and to ‘imitate’ his master’s works – as well as that of other composers. Bach studied and copied the motets and masses of the Rennaissance period – paying particular attention to Palestrina’s masses and motets.
Beethoven studied under Haydn, ‘imitating’ certain traits of Classical music and bringing them into the Romantic era. Although ‘commissioned’ pieces existed and therefore composers were financially rewarded - this ‘imitation’ was still for positive creative purposes" . No one is arguing there are likely imitations and lifts here and there but you can go back through classical music and find many examples of the same. You can even point to Elfman using the same themes/motifs over and over again. Sorry, but I'd take someone like Leonard Bernstein or Slotkin's opinion of Williams over your music teacher. To just toss out a blanket term like "hack" when referring to Williams is just ill informed and ignorant. -
...between influences and actual borrowing. If you're familiar with Dvorak's "New World" Symphony, Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring", Holst's "The Planets", and so on, then you'd definitely hear some of his film scores in those works, although tweaked ever so slightly so that technically, they're not direct copies.
And ya know what? I heard the cross comparisons, and I heard it for myself. Yeah, he stole from these composers. Big difference from simply being influenced.
So, to just dismiss my criticism with a knee-jerk reaction and simply saying Leonard Bernstein seems to like Williams is ignorant of itself. -
The "Williams rips-off other composers" debate has been done to death. Move on and stop looking like you're ripping-off other people's arguments.
Besides, it DOESN'T MATTER what you or your peers or your teachers think of any composer. John Williams sleeps just fine, he's made a good living, and will forever be popularly known as the man who brought the symphony orchestra back into films. -
It's just that I'm not the first one to notice the trend in his scores, and I'm also not the first to cite the sources of "borrowed" material. And even the man himself admitted to his borrowing (although I can't tell you the source of the quote) of musical works.
He did a lot to make film scores a focal point, though. I'll give him that. And if you love the scores for Indiana Jones or Harry Potter, by all means, enjoy them. I'll maintain my preference for Danny Elfman. -
John Williams comes from a jazz background, while Danny Elfman comes from a pop one. So it's a bit like comparing Miles Davis and Peter Gabriel. Apples and Volkswagens anyone?
-
Dec 01, 2008 7:16:39 PM CST
I Can't Believe Nobody Has Mentioned Pee Wee's Big Adventure
by thelordofhell
I frigin' hum that soundtrack in my head every other day.
-
Dec 01, 2008 7:20:13 PM CST
Williams vs. Elfman----They're Both Good, However......
by thelordofhell
Elfman's got Williams beat hands down in the hot wife department.
-
So I guess there's no love for that either. Man what a tough crowd. I like him and Williams. Trying to compare the two of them is like trying to compare apples to oranges or oddly Superman to Batman. They both do great works even if the sound is different.
-
What your professor says is irrelevant, because so many of Williams film scores are absolute perfection for the films they accompany. It doesn't matter that he cribbed here and was influenced there. If you gathered your favorite 10 composers (living or dead) and had them collaborate for 5 years, they STILL wouldn't be able to come up with better scores for: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, STAR WARS, SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE, E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL, JURASSIC PARK, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, JAWS, etc....
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 209 total posts 207 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 160 total posts 97 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 144 total posts 77 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 68 total posts 68 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 64 total posts 60 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 480 total posts 55 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 53 total posts 50 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 118 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 182 total posts 27 posts