Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.

ScoreKeeper Talks To Composer John Powell About BOURNE, X3, UNITED 93, HAPPY FEET, And...MAD MAX: FURY ROAD!?!?

1st by moondoggy2u	Dec 30th, 2006 06:47:19 PM
Just had to say it.
Oh, and how does Happy Feet count? by moondoggy2u	Dec 30th, 2006 06:49:09 PM
It seemed like all the composer did was tune his radio to FM Light 100.
But is Gibson in it?! by Kirbymanly	Dec 30th, 2006 06:55:27 PM
The film is called Mad Max so he better be!
Wasnt crazy about X3's title theme, in fact I hated it. by Shermdawg	Dec 30th, 2006 07:34:11 PM
Mostly because X2's was so good. But, as I've done so many times in the past, give props to the Egyptian sounding track that was used during the climatic showdown between Jean and Logan. (Shoulda been Scott!!!) And the version that was in the credits with the added percussion was even more amazing!
Mad Max 4 Would Be Cool If It Was At Sea by Red Lantern	Dec 30th, 2006 08:47:50 PM
Waterworld was a bad Mad Max movie, they could and should do the whole water thing right with Mad Max 4. Plus, POTC was such a huge hit that the whole water and pirate thing is in right now. Mad Max 2 could easily have been called The Road Pirate.
I love this mans work! by Lewster3000	Dec 30th, 2006 09:00:33 PM
His score for Flight 93 was amazing. I was a bit dissapointed with X3 though. Cant wait to see what approach hel take on Mad Max 4!
Liked his work with Bourne... by Christopher3	Dec 30th, 2006 09:36:44 PM
But I can't remember a lick of United 93's or X3's score.
Animated? by kurdt420	Dec 30th, 2006 09:54:55 PM
Why bother?
Favorite Powell scores: by Osmosis Jones	Dec 30th, 2006 10:05:56 PM
Chicken Run, Paycheck, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mad Max at Sea huh? by McGsStepson	Dec 30th, 2006 10:18:47 PM
Sounds like Waterworld to me. Though that film was quite a success.
I Agree, Sea Is The Way To Go by Spooge McDuck	Dec 30th, 2006 11:00:07 PM
They played out all the land based stuff, I don't know what more they could do with it. The character is great though, Mad Max on the Ocean would bring new life to the series. Plus, he always has a pet in the movies, so a parrot is a good fit for this one. It works the pirate theme in and it could come in handy as a carrier pigeon or something to get Max out of a jam.
No Mad Max on water please and it must have Mel by streakerfreak1983	Dec 30th, 2006 11:17:10 PM
Sorry, but I would not like to see Max on water. They need to go back to the roughness of the first one. Bring back the interceptor. Thunderdome just did not work without it and there was not enough of it in the Road Warrior
Did anyone notice this about the X3 score... by blindambition238	Dec 30th, 2006 11:35:01 PM
Powell did a decent job with the X3 score, though not as good as Ottman (sp?). However I distinctly remember thinking during the Jean Grey and Wolverine finale at San Fran, that the theme sounded EXACTLY like the love theme from the last 2 Zorro films. I cant phonetically type out the tune though. Maybe someone can verify if I'm just being paranoid.
Give Powell Madman! by casinoskunk	Dec 31st, 2006 02:42:09 AM
PLEASE!!!!
Great composer, some thoughts on X3 and Happy Feet by Evil Hobbit	Dec 31st, 2006 06:55:27 AM
I always find Powell to be a highly energetic composer. His music always feels fresh and original. Obviously I was highly anticipating his score for X3. After viewing it I came out with some highly mixed feelings about the film itself, and also the score. I loved some moments but it all felt so rushed. So I went to the store, bought the album and see how it played out. Ironicly, if you listen to it on album it is one of the most compelling superhero scores so far. It is rich with themes and the execution in orchestral bombast pays of extremely well. The way the Dark Phoenix theme is evolved up untill the final climax in Dark Phoenix Tragedy and Phoenix Rises is extraordinary. The action music is extremely well written and works perfectly with the film. But at some other points it doesn't. I think this is all to blame with the way the film is cut and/or written. The film moves from actionscene to actionscene, allowing almost no time for character development or emotional context in between. One of these storylines that isn't explored properly is the one of Angel. It set's up in the flashback of when he was a little boy but eventuelly stops only to go back to him when he heroicly jumps out of the window. Because the storyline itself wasn't realy allowed to breath and build up to that moment the pay-off in the music lacks of the same problem. Same thing happends with the death of Scott or the funeral scene. It's so short that it doesn't realy have the time to build up something descent. In the film, all these pieces feel like short moments of there own but doesn't realy connect with the film itself. If you listen to the music on album, the emotional context suddenly works. Proving that Powell's writing where acurate but isn't allow to work on every part of the film because of an underwhelming screenplay. Other then that the X3 score is among one of my favorites of the year. Same goes for Happy Feet. Not only are the songs blend in a superb way the underscore itself is extremely powerfull. If I listen to the Story of Mumble Happyfeet there is one particular piece of music that is probebly my favorite piece of filmmusic this year right there with Newton Howards the Great Eatlon and Elfman's Wilbur's Homecoming. The track starts at 3.53 and is part of the pinguins travelling to the aliens. It reminds me a bit of Harry Gregsons style for the Tony Scott films but soon enough kicks in with that Powell touch of highly energetic percussion and rhythm at 4.44. It is the piece played at the scene where the little pinguins are walking against this mighty blizzard. Blown backwards, but they hang on and keep walking forwards. Probably my favorite scene of the year and one of the most compelling shots created in an animated film ever. All in all, a great composer that is getting better and better.
Excellent, thanks Scorekeeper... by KillaKane	Dec 31st, 2006 06:55:34 AM
Been a fan of Powell's work for a while now, certainly one of the best to emerge from the Media Ventures stable. After the likes of Borne, United 93, and Happy Feet he's distinguished himself in the breadth and scope of his work. The guy really knows how to write great string motifs (I think his abilities as a violinist come to the fore in his orchestrations there) and he has a flair for catchy harmonic progressions and melodic hooks. The X-men 3 theme was huge and markedly more bombastic, much more exciting than the previous Kamen/Otman offerings, and the best of the bunch imho (Otman's underscore for X2 was superb though).
WTF? by cornponious	Dec 31st, 2006 07:09:30 AM
Did I read that Mad Max 4 is going to be animated?? Years of eager anticipation have just been dashed against the rocks like Piggy and his brains.
Eric Bana for Max! by KillaKane	Dec 31st, 2006 07:18:43 AM
He's perfect in every way (if Gibbo won't strap on the leg brace for a 4th outing that is) plus it's rumoured he's a huge fan and wants the gig. Agreed that the franchaise has to return to the form of the first two, no ferral muppets, eighties naffness and languid pacing. MM4 needs a finale that can stand toe to toe with the climax of Road Warror/MM2 (still without peer in my book). I'm all for Max coming to terms with regaining his humanity just as long as that arc takes a back seat to an unholy amount of mutant wasteland marauder carnage and an uber cool road war! Max has to be inducted back into the MFP (tooled up with a pimped up Ford Falcon!) for a last Apocalyptic showdown in order to preserve the last remnants of civilisation in a decaying Sydney! Or something along those lines, maybe a genesis type Adam and Eve scenario where he's got to protect the last viable pair of 'breeders'? - yeah been done to death, but it'll fly with this ;-) High octane brutality on road and sea is fair game too, but by definition Max is, and shall always be, the 'Warrior of the Road'. Just want to see this film made by a George Miller firing on all cylinders!
The Bourne Supremacy score is a masterpiece. by CreasyBear	Dec 31st, 2006 07:58:55 AM
The Bourne Identity and The Italian Job also have a great drive and intensity to them, without being bombastic like most heist / mission movie scores. I'm excited to hear what he does with Ultimatum.
Um, what about Harry Gregson-Williams? by LordMadhammer	Dec 31st, 2006 08:53:35 AM
What did John Powell do in Shrek? Antz was cool though.
MORE INTERVIEW WITH POWELL : by Frye666	Dec 31st, 2006 09:37:40 AM
http://www.filmzene.net/read.p hp?u=interju_john_powell_engli sh.html
MORE INTERVIEW WITH POWELL : by Frye666	Dec 31st, 2006 09:38:29 AM
http://www.filmzene.net/read.p hp?u=interju_john_powell_engli sh.html
He's talking about Happy Feet, not Mad Max 4 by DocBosch	Dec 31st, 2006 09:54:54 AM
SK: What’s the status now on MAD MAX 4? Is he still on schedule to make it? JP: You know, I don’t know. I think so. I think George is just coming out of what was an incredibly hard process for him [Happy Feet]. He took this film [Happy Feet] on not knowing how he was going to make it and he had to figure out how to make it. It’s not like any animation film [Happy Feet] you’ve seen. It’s [Happy Feet] not produced or directed the same way. A large part of it is that it’s a live action director making an animation movie [Happy Feet].
MMIV: Please make this movie! Mel Also by uberman	Dec 31st, 2006 12:03:58 PM
Without Mel it would be like Indy Jones without Ford. Also, memory serves me, I recall that at the end of the last movie they were going to the wasted cities.
Oh. [Happy Feet] by cornponious	Dec 31st, 2006 01:05:45 PM
Oh.[Happy Feet]
mad max stuck in a highrise on christmas eve by LarryTheCableGuy	Dec 31st, 2006 04:08:28 PM
with apocalypse terrorists and glass and he has no shoes
mad max stuck in a highrise on christmas eve by LarryTheCableGuy	Dec 31st, 2006 04:10:11 PM
with apocalypse terrorists and glass and he has no shoes
HighRise by shellfishh	Dec 31st, 2006 06:24:52 PM
It would be like Die Hard 2, except in a building. Brilliant!
Powell's power. by Darkman	Dec 31st, 2006 07:26:20 PM
I really enjoyed X3 and ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN. All told, I must say that PAYCHECK is still his best work. Thanks for the interview.
Mad Max At Sea Sounds Inspired by Prophet Jeremiah	Dec 31st, 2006 09:14:54 PM
Of course the disappointment of Waterworld almost demands that this be done right. Nonetheless, while I never thought about it before, it certainly feels right to follow this approach. And I never really noticed the pet theme before, but a bird of some sort would be a nice nod to continuity.
Mad Max finds a mailbag delivers the letters by Regicidal_Maniac	Dec 31st, 2006 09:21:31 PM
'coz that's NEVER been done, unlike unlike Mad Max At Sea, also think of the FedEx product placement. Seriously though if they can't entice Mel back than I too am no longer interested.
Max At Sea Is Very Appealing by Bazooms	Dec 31st, 2006 11:57:00 PM
Not sure about the idea of a bird though, it seems a bit much even though the precedents have been set. I'm not sure what other kind of pet you use though, so you might be able to get away with a hawk or something. The parrot is too over the top though.
Didn't Carter Burwell... by NuteG	Jan 1st, 2007 04:32:03 AM
...compose for "The Bourne Identity"?
NuteG by NuteG	Jan 1st, 2007 04:33:27 AM
No, NuteG, he didn't. I just checked. Better luck next time, eh?
Powell was very gracious about the X1 score. by half vader	Jan 1st, 2007 09:05:58 AM
Considering that score was one of the worst of all time. I like less ostentatious scores that underline but I actually was distracted by that limp piece of crap sucking the life out of the movie. I liked Ottman's X2, but my God when he wasn't paying homage to Williams in SR I thought I was watching/listening to X2 again. It was like watching Spiderman and having Batman flashbacks. Crazy kids! Great interview, btw.
RE: blindambition238 by roachy	Jan 1st, 2007 02:05:52 PM
No, you're not crazy. I thought the exact same thing, the first time I seen X-3. Still love it though.
The score for X-Men 3 is one of the most boring... by ScarranHalfBreed	Jan 1st, 2007 03:01:26 PM
...scores ever scored. But Bourne Supremacy kicks ARSE. When Powell is crap, he's very crap, but when he's good he's fantastic.
JOHN POWELL GOTTA EAT by Pound Sand	Jan 1st, 2007 04:21:55 PM
Sure the X3 score was mediocre, but to his credit, it's a challenge to score a movie with no plot.
Am I The Only One To Catch.... by CaptDanielRoe	Jan 2nd, 2007 12:24:29 PM
...The fact that Mad Max 4 is described above as an animated film?! Oh, and, no, sea is not the way to go. Maybe do it in lava, ala The Core. Or maybe do it in chocolate, ala Willy Wonka. But not seawater, thanks.

Talkbacks

ScoreKeeper Talks To Composer John Powell About BOURNE, X3, UNITED 93, HAPPY FEET, And...MAD MAX: FURY ROAD!?!?

User login

Quick Talkback

Talkbacks