December 21, 2020
Emmy-winning composer Geoff Zanelli joins us for another quarantine All Access as we catch up with Geoff and talk about his newest scores to Fatale starring Hillary Swank and Michael Ealy as well as You Should Have Left starring Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried
It’s been a while since Geoff was a guest on All Access so we catch up on some of the scores he’s written since then including Christopher Robin, Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, and more!
Geoff discuss many other topics including overcoming self-doubt, building relationships with directors like Deon Taylor and David Koepp, breaking down the psychology of music and much more!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
*Apologies, Zoom accidentally defaulted back to the microphone on Kaya’s AirPods at the start of the call.
December 11, 2020
Composer Henry Jackman joins us once again for another All Access as we chat and discuss about a bunch of projects that have come out since the last time Henry was on All Access. We discuss scores such as Detective Pikachu, 21 Bridges, Jumanji: The Next Level, Extraction and more!
We dive deep into two of Henry’s most recent scores, which are Mosul and The Comey Rule. Henry talks about scoring a foreign language film that was written and directed by an American, as well as what enticed him to score the first dramatization of Donald Trump’s presidency. We discuss the balance you have to have when dealing with real-life events, and how tricky political dramas can be to score.
As usual, we branch into a multitude of other topics with Henry who always has so much great insight. You can check out Mosul on Netflix right now and catch The Comey Rule on Showtime.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
![The Newton Brothers (Composers: The Haunting Of Bly Manor | Doctor Sleep)]()
October 25, 2020
The Newton Brothers may not be related by blood, but their shared musical passion and skills that compliment one another led them to form an incredible friendship and creative partnership.
Andy Grush and Taylor Newton Stewart join in for this virtual All Access where we dive deep into their careers, their approach to scoring films as a duo, how they work with directors, where their inspirations come from, and we look at many of the collaborations they’ve had with director Mike Flanagan.
Andy and Taylor talk about their work with director Mike Flanagan, including the incredible Doctor Sleep which was a follow up to The Shining. We discuss how the Kubrick estate let them take a look at much of the material that was rejected from Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind-Tourre in the original The Shining. Plus how they approached scoring the film in their own unique voices.
We also dive into the “Haunting” anthology series, and compare and contrast The Haunting Of Hill House and The Haunting Of Bly Manor. Hear Andy and Taylor discuss how they wanted to connect the two series through recurring themes and motifs, and how certain themes aren’t necessarily attached to any particular character. We break down how to appreciate and recognize many of the archetypes and formulas of the horror genre so that you can approach it in your own unique way.
Andy and Taylor are two fantastic talents who have proven their versatility in a wide spectrum of genres, and with their partnership with Flanagan have proven to hone their abilities to craft emotionally deep scores in a genre that doesn’t see that approach too often.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
![Rachel Portman (Composer: ask the river)]()
July 8, 2020
Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman is one of the most prolific composers working today. Her amazing filmography spans so many different genres with amazing filmmakers with films like Emma, The Cider House Rules, Hart's War, Chocolat, Oliver Twist, The Joy Luck Club and many many more.
Rachel discusses her path to becoming a composer, and how she decided to stay in the UK and build her life and career there. We deep dive into her writing process, and she talks about where the first note typically comes from. We also discuss what traits she loves in directors that make her job a lot easier, and how she's gotten to work with some amazing directors.
We also explore her new album, ask the river. Rachel composed this instrumental album over a year as a way to really get in touch with the natural world around us. It's a beautiful album experience that allowed her to write freely away from picture for something that's truly personal. Rachel also performs a piece from the album on her piano.
Rachel Portman's storytelling abilities with music are truly astounding. She has managed to carve her own unique path with her career, which has made her one of the most respected and admired composers in the field. Her score to Emma also made her the first female composer to ever win an Academy Award. It was a true pleasure having Rachel Portman on this episode of All Access.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
![Rebecca Sugar (Creator: Steven Universe)]()
March 1, 2020
Rebecca Sugar helped define a generation with her groundbreaking series, Steven Universe. For this All Access we welcome the creative mind behind the world of Steven Universe as she shares her story of growing up in suburban Maryland, her love of animation and music, and how she landed at Cartoon Network Studios where she ultimately pitched the idea for Steven Universe.
For this All Access we sit with Rebecca as she talks about what her initial dreams and aspirations were when she was young, and show she discovered animation. She shares stories of going to school, and how she was hired at Cartoon Network Studios where she was part of the crew for Adventure Time. We talk about how Steven Universe started at the ground level, and how the series has evolved over the seasons. Rebecca also shares the process of creating the ambitious Steven Universe: The Movie, including an in-depth look at her songwriting process and mapping out the songs in the movie. Rebecca also talks about working with composers Aivi & Surasshu on the series as well as on the movie. She talks about what she loved about their sound, and how their score to Steven Universe brings the world to life.
Other topics that we discuss include being open and vulnerable in storytelling, overcoming the pressure of putting yourself out there in the world, what themes and ideas she wanted Steven Universe to cover, working with her entire production team and how the team became a family, the overall animation process, and so much more.
Rebecca's skills as an artist, writer, director, producer, musician, singer and songwriter all make her one of the most talented storytellers working today. She wears many hats, but also loves the collaborative process of animation. We are thrilled to have Rebecca on this episode of All Access.
You can catch Steven Universe: Future on Cartoon Network, new episodes begin airing on March 6th, 2020.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
![Chad Cannon (Composer: American Factory)]()
February 22, 2020
Composer Chad Cannon has worked with composers such as Joe Hisaishi, Howard Shore, Alexandre Desplat and Tyler Bates. His love for storytelling comes from his love of human stories. As a composer, Chas has quickly established his unique voice as a storyteller, and all of that is evident in his score for the Oscar-winning American Factory.
American Factory won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Annual Academy Awards. The film is an important look at factories and the people working in them. The film is about a Chinese billionaire who opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant. We see hope lead to how high-tech China clashes with working-class America. The film is also backed by Michelle and Barack Obama's Higher Ground Productions.
In this interview we learn about Chad's unique path to becoming a composer, and how he ended up in Japan working with legendary composer Joe Hisaishi. We dig into American Factory and how Chad approached the score, including what it means to score non-fiction and help the story of real everyday people.
Chad is a true talent that brings a wonderful touch to his projects and it was an absolute honor to have him as a guest. You can stream American Factory on Netflix.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
![Nathan Johnson (Composer: Knives Out)]()
November 27, 2019
[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Nathan Johnson's versatility as a composer and a storyteller can be seen across all his scores as well as all his projects he does outside of film composing. In this All Access we take a trip down memory lane as Nathan talks about growing up with his cousin, director Rian Jonson.
Both Nathan and Rian dabbled in music and filmmaking when they were younger, and that blossomed from being family members messing around to the two of them being creative partners. Nathan has scored every one of Rian's films except Star Wars: The Last Jedi (for obvious reasons).
In this All Access we dissect scores such as Brick, The Brothers Bloom, Looper and of course Knives Out. We also dive into Nathan's work as a director with some of his extremely amazing music videos and other visual art. Hear about Nathan's general approach and process to scoring plus tons of amazing stories such as when Rian Johnson invited him to the scoring sessions of The Last Jedi.
It's a joy to sit down and just talk and dissect creativity with a composer and visual artist such as Nathan, who has the rare perspective of coming at music with so much else in his creative repertoire.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
![John Powell (Composer: How To Train Your Dragon 3)]()
November 18, 2019
[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Earlier this year, we had a fantastic All Access with How To Train Your Dragon trilogy writer/director Dean DeBlois and John Powell. But for our 3rd All Access with John, we wanted to explore the last chapter in the HTTYD trilogy from John's point of view as well as take the opportunity to revisit some stories that we touched upon way back in our first All Access.
Part reboot and part new examination, John talks about his path to becoming a composer as we examine his career's beginnings. We tackle a variety of different topics as we always do as John opens up about his process and approach to writing music to picture. John reflects back on the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy, specifically how he found his own life reflected upon the films. We also talk a lot about ending the trilogy and how John carefully crafted the score.
Sitting down with John Powell is always a pleasure and joy, and it's terrific to have him back on a brand new All Access!
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
![John Lunn (Composer: Downton Abbey)]()
November 15, 2019
[Watch the video interview on our YouTube Channel]
Composer John Lunn has built a career that spans across multiple genres in film and television. For over two decades, John has contributed music to make worlds come alive, carve out characters and inject the emotional core of the story into the narrative.
In this All Access, we caught up with John while he was in town to walk through his career and discuss his approach and philosophies with scoring. John shares his techniques for starting a brand new TV series, as well as how the music can evolve or not evolve across seasons. John also talks about his technique for coming up with a main title theme, and how he tends to write a few episodes worth of music first and let the music speak out to see what melody rises to the top.
We also dive into Downton Abbey, and what the approach was to return to that world with the feature film that takes place after the end of the series. John talks about how working with the same crew and talent made it feel like it was picking back up right where they left off.
John Lunn is one is not only one of the kindest people around, but also a magnificent storyteller. It's an honor to have him on All Access.
A Film.Music.Media Interview | Produced & Presented by Kaya Savas
