Film.Music.Media

Composer Interview: Fil Eisler (March 23, 2015)

Composer Fil Eisler returns to Film.Music.Media for a chat about his most recent work including the season's biggest smash-hit series, Empire. We dive-in to discuss Fil's approach for a show that isn't afraid to hide what it is. Empire is a drama with soap opera qualities, and we discuss what is needed from the score on a show such as that. Fil also talks about how the score must work with the songs appearing in the series as well. Beyond the world of Empire we also chat about Fil's other series, UnReal on Lifetime that airs this June and looks to rebrand the network's image which from the melodramatic shows/movies it's usually known for. On the film side of things, we chat about his scores for the dramedy Growing Up And Other Lies starring Adam Brody and horror/comedy Kitchen Sink starring Vanessa Hudgens and Bob Odenkirk. Fil has been a guest many times, but we never run out of things to discuss. Each new project is always testing the versatility of this smart and talented composer who continues to impress.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special ThanksFil EislerJana DavidoffCW3PR

Composer Interview: Patrick Doyle (March 11, 2015)

Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated Patrick Doyle is one of the industry's most respected film composers, and one of the warmest and friendliest people out there. Patrick takes some time to discuss his simply wonderful score to Disney's Cinderella, which sees him re-teaming once again with director Kenneth Branagh. Patrick shares how he followed the path to becoming a composer, and how he met Kenneth Branagh while working in the same theater company. We discuss what it's like collaborating with a director from the beginning of both their careers, and how the process between them remains the same after all their films. We dive into Cinderella and how Patrick decided to approach the music to one of the most well-known stories of all-time. Listening to Patrick explain his creative process is a true delight.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Patrick DoyleBeth KrakowerWilliam Scot "Grecco" BrayKrakower Poling PR

Composer Interview: Tom Holkenborg [Junkie XL] (March 11, 2015)

Composer Tom Holkenborg (also known as Junkie XL) is on an unstoppable roll as one of Hollywood's most in-demand composers. With such hits as 300: Rise Of An Empire, Divergent and much more under his belt he has become one of the prominent sounds of the industry. Tom takes some time to chat about his most recent score to Run All Night starring Liam Neeson. We discuss the unusual process that this score had including the quick 4-week process, as well as compiling a conceptual score after only hearing the plot from an executive at Warner Brothers. Tom shares how that 1-hour musical compilation of ideas got him the job. He talks about researching classic gangster films, including those of composer Ennio Morricone in order to learn how to mesh intensity with emotions. Tom is one of the most clever and innovative musical minds working today and this interview is a great exploration of his creative process. We also pry a bit into Tom's upcoming scores to Mad Max: Fury Road and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Tom HolkenborgRay CostaAlbert TelloCosta Communications

Composer Interview: Cris Velasco (February 15, 2015)

Composer Cris Velasco takes some time to chat about his recent scores to Assassin's Creed: Unity - Dead Kings as well as his work with Clive Barker on the Book Of Blood digital comics. Cris shares about how he found the calling of music composition in college, and why he chose to pursue video game scoring. We discuss his approach and process for video game scoring including what every type of gameplay requires from the music as well as his trick on how to avoid the annoying music loops that gamers hate so much. Cris then discusses his approach for Dead Kings, but even more fascinatingly discusses the process for scoring a digital comic with Clive Barker. Cris Velasco's music has always stood out from the rest because of his impressive melodic structures and emotional pull, and it was an honor to chat with one of the titans of the video game music world.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Cris VelascoGreg O'Connor-ReadTop Dollar PR
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Composer Interview: Matthew Margeson (February 10, 2015)

Composer Matthew Margeson takes some time to talk about his fantastic new score to Kingsman: The Secret Service, which he co-composed with friend and collaborator Henry Jackman. Matt shares his path to film composing and reveals his love for Broadway and musicals, which was the source of his love for music. He got to realize his dream by doing additional orchestrating for the recent Disney adaptation of Into The Woods. We talk in-depth about collaboration, and how he found his path working as an assistant to high-profile composers including Henry Jackman. Matt talks about all the things you will learn being an additional composer, and how that evolved into a fantastic working relationship with Henry. We discuss Kingsman and everything the movie needed musically, including working on a stylized project with director Matthew Vaughn. Matt is a fantastic talent who has shown extreme versatility and a strong style very early in his career. His grasp on film music shines through his work, and it was a pleasure to chat with him about his process.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Matthew MargesonRay CostaAsenath NakayamaAlbert TelloCosta Communications
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Composer Interview: Eric Serra (January 23, 2015)

Eric Serra is one of the most iconic sounds and talents in the film music world. For this all-encompassing interview we discuss how he was reluctantly dragged into film music by an early acquaintance named Luc Besson early in his career, which ended up leading him to find his true passion as a composer. Eric shares so many interesting stories from scores like The Fifth Element, Leon: The Professional and working on GoldenEye. He shares the origin of his signature "cohhhh" sound that permeated his soundscape on a few scores but then went on to be used by and to influence other composers as well. We discuss different creative challenges that he has faced, be it from finding ways to reinvent his sound or how to deal with producers to protect his music in the mixing stage. Eric was visiting Los Angeles from France, but was kind enough to sit down for this amazing chat over some drinks at the Caffe Primo on Sunset Boulevard. A different atmosphere than our usual interviews with one of the most unique and influential talents in the film music world.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Eric SerraElaine SchockMeredith LouieShock Ink
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Composer Interview: Joseph S. DeBeasi (January 23, 2015)

Joseph S. DeBeasi jumped into the Hollywood spotlight over the 2015 Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend with his work on the underscore for Clint Eastwood's record-breaking film American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper. In this fascinating interview Joseph shares about his musical path, and how he has made an amazing career as a music editor working on huge projects. Through a series of fortunate circumstances he found himself working with one of the greatest filmmaking legends of all-time. We dissect the unusual process for American Sniper, which was anything but traditional when it came to the music. The musical process for Joseph was to find the emotional undercurrent, this had to work as a companion to "Taya's Theme", which Clint wrote as well as with the sound design of the entire picture. From trying an orchestral approach to tossing everything out and re-working from an electronic approach, we discuss the fascinating process behind the movie and Joseph's musical goals for the task at hand. Joseph's fine-tuned abilities to pin-point the tone and emotions of what's on-screen are evident in his work on American Sniper.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Joseph S. DeBeasi
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Composer Interview: Geoff Zanelli (January 16, 2015)

Emmy-winning composer Geoff Zanelli takes some time to talk about his two recent scores to Mortdecai and The Scorpion King 4: Quest For Power. For Mortdecai we discuss Geoff's continuing collaboration with director David Koepp as well as co-scoring with Mark Ronson. The collaboration with Mark was a unique one, but Geoff found that it reawakened a part of his musical background he hadn't tapped into for a while. We chat about the stylistic approach of a film that draws inspiration from the comedy capers of the 60's, and how it needed to be rooted in modern times. We also discuss the benefits and the hindrances of focus groups, which every film goes through. Geoff shares how on The Scorpion King 4 he learned to let loose and score a B-movie, which only had the intention of being campy and tongue in cheek. The question of "What other job on a film besides a composer would you ever want to do?" is also answered. Geoff was the very first interview ever on Film.Music.Media, and over the past 5 years we have never run out of interesting and fun things to discuss. Enjoy!
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Geoff ZanelliEmilie ErskineCW3PR
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Composer Interview: Alex Ebert (January 16, 2015)

Golden Globe-winning composer Alex Ebert takes some time to chat about his recent score to A Most Violent Year. Alex talks about how he started an interest in filmmaking, but then decided to pursue singing and songwriting with his bands IMA Robot & Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes. He tells the story of how he ended up with J.C. Chandor on All Is Lost and how that collaboration started. We delve into his process for A Most Violent Year. Alex is definitely a noteworthy talent and his work stands out from the rest.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Alex EbertRay CostaAlbert TelloCosta Communications
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Composer Interview: Ilan Eshkeri (December 5, 2014)

The very talented and versatile Ilan Eshkeri takes some time to chat about two of his recent scores, Still Alice and Black Sea. Ilan shares how he accidentally fell into the world of film music, and his path to becoming a composer. We talk extensively about his methods and approach, and Ilan goes into great detail about instrumentation and sound design on some of his work. We discuss in the ideas behind the score for Still Alice, and how much of a personal connection Ilan has to the topic of Alzheimer's Disease. From the structure to the instrumentation, the character of Alice and her battle with Alzheimer's Disease resonated deeply with Ilan who then tried to interpret that life struggle through music. We finish the interview by discussing his score for Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald's thriller Black Sea, starring Jude Law. From trying to echo the sounds of a submarine to creating disorientation, Ilan reveals his approach for the undersea thriller. This interview is truly an informative and resonating one, a wonderful chat and exploration of film music with one of the industry's most unique talents.
Interview Conducted By:Kaya Savas
Special Thanks:Ilan EshkeriChandler PolingJosine CohenWhite Bear PR
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