Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

If the release of If Beale Street Could Talk gave us a much needed excuse to get Barry Jenkins onto our screen music podcast, Soundtracking, then it also provided the perfect opportunity to invite his composer Nicholas Britell back for a second time.

Nicholas's turn in episode 46 was a delight, illuminating the nuances of his Oscar-nominated score for Moonlight in ways that were quite beyond anything we'd imagined.

His work on Beale Street is equally layered, encapsulating with its mournful strings and wistful horns the old adage that the course of true love never runs smooth. It is, from start to finish, gut-wrenchingly beautiful, and has quite rightly seen him nominated by the Academy again. At the time of recording, we don't know if he landed the gong, but he'd certainly make a worthy winner.

We also discuss his work on Adam McKay's Vice too - a film with a mere 8 Oscar nominations - and Battle Of The Sexes, which was directed by former guests on this show, Valerie Farris and Jonathan Dayton.

It's been the best part of eight years since Joe Cornish released his directorial debut Attack The Block. And in our humble opinion, his follow up The Kid Who Would Be King has been well worth the wait.

That's not to say Joe hasn't been busy, co-writing the Adventures Of Tintin with Edgar Wright, Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson, and Ant Man with Edgar and Paul Rudd, among others.

But it's great to have him back at the helm. Based on an idea Joe originally had as a twelve year old, The Kid Who Would Be King tells the story of a young boy who finds King Arthur's legendary sword Excalibur, and must then use it to stop the mythical enchantress Morgana from destroying the world.

The film is scored by Electric Wave Bureau, a collective comprising Damon Albarn, his wife Suzi Winstanley, Michael Smith and Nelson De Freitas, and you'll hear plenty of their work sprinkled throughout the conversation.

There's also music  by John Williams, Led Zeppelin, Prefab Sprout and, er, Bucks Fizz ...

We have another polymath for you in the latest episode of Soundtracking - this time in the shape of Australian actor, writer and director Joel Edgerton.

Joel's latest project is Boy Erased - in which he admirably deploys all three of these skills. Based on a memoir by Garrard Conley, the film stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Troye Sivan, and tells the story of the son of devout Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program.

Boy Erased is scored by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, who also collaborated with Joel on his directorial debut, The Gift. At Joel's behest, it's a nuanced affair, hinting at the darker themes of the movie without ever over-stating them. They also make great use of choral voices.

We should mention that Joel and Edith discuss a key plot detail during the course of the interview, so if you're planning to see the film, you might want to hold fire before listening to this ...

Ever since meeting him prior to the release of Moonlight, Edith has been longing to get Barry Jenkins onto Soundtracking. So it's an absolute pleasure to welcome him along ahead of the UK opening of his latest movie - the magnificent If Beale Street Could Talk.

Based on the novel by James Baldwin, it tells the story of a young African-American woman who seeks to clear the name of her imprisoned lover before the birth of their child.

If Beale Street Could Talk has recieved three Oscar nominations including Best Adapted Screenplay for Barry and Best Original Score for his composer and former guest on this show, Nicholas Britell.

At Barry's request, Nick's score leans heavily on jazz tropes. We also discuss his excellent taste in needle-drops, from Nina Simone to Al Green and Barbara Lewis.

When the opportunity to interview the Canadian writer, director and animator Dean Deblois presented itself, we just had to say yes, even though our schedule is choc-a-block.

For alongside Chris Sanders, Dean is the man behind the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy - a series of films that have brought Edith and her two boys an immense amount of joy. They're also responsible for Lilo And Stich, another big hit in the Bowman household.

The final installment of the trilogy is called Hidden World. Scored by John Powell (with a little help from Jonsi of Icelandic band Sigur Ros), it brings to a conclusion the story of Hiccup the Viking and his dragon, Toothless. The animation is mind-blowing, and beautifully compliments a narrative that's both wildly thrilling and deeply moving.

As always, we'll be interspersing relevant music with the conversation, including the Jonsi tracks that feature on the end credits of the first two films - Sticks & Stones and Where No One Goes.

18 years after he brought us the lo-fi superhero thriller Unbreakable - and a mere 3 since the surprise sequel Split - M Night Shyamalan finally completes his so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy with Glass.

All the key players from the pervious films return, led by Bruce Willis's blue collar vigilante and Samuel L Jackson and James McEvoy's super-villains. Much of the action takes place in the mental institution where the trio are incarcerated and probed by Sarah Paulson's sceptical psychiatrist. 

Glass is scored by West Dylan Thordson, who also provided the music for Split. It's an edgy, minimalist affair - with the ambient gloom and agitated strings reminiscent of Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow's incredible work on Alex Garland's Annihilation (see episode 85!) 

And it's with West's cue Backfire that we begin, as Night reflects upon the history of a trilogy nearly two decades in the making. 

We should say that if you haven't seen Split and intend to do so anytime soon, you might want to wait before listening to this, though it wouldn't be the end of the world ...

You may not be familiar with her name, but you will certainly know her films. For Elizabeth Karlsen has produced a whole host of cinematic gems - including The Crying Game, Little Voice, Made In Dagenham, Great Expectations and Carol. And having spoken to her husband Stephen Woolley on this show previously, it's a pleasure to welcome her to Soundtracking, Edith's weekly podcast about screen music.

Indeed, such has their lasting influence been that they are to receive The Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema at the 2019 BAFTA Film Awards.

Elizabeth's latest project is Colette. Staring Keira Knightly and Dominic West, Colette tells the true story of a French woman whose husband exploits her creative talents by persuading her to write under his name. The success of the ensuing series of novels brings them both considerable fame, though she soon becomes frustrated that she cannot take the credit she deserves.

Colette is scored by Thomas Adès, and it is with his title track from the movie that we begin our interview. You'll also hear music from Bronski Beat, Frank Sinatra and Minnie Riperton among others.

We should add that there's a fair bit of choice language in this episode - not least from the mouth of Sir Michael Caine …

Two episodes of Soundtracking in 2019 - two five-star films. Following Yorgos Lanthimos's appearance to discuss his subversive period drama The Favourite, Jon S Baird joins us for our latest show to talk us through the music in his much-vaunted Laurel & Hardy biopic, Stan & Ollie.

Starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly, Stan & Ollie tells the story of their theatre tour of the British Isles many years after the peak of their fame. By turns funny and moving, it brims with charm, innocence and wit. The central performances are utterly convincing, and beautifully complimented by Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda as the comedy duo's wives.

Having worked with Clint Mansell on Filth, Jon employed the services of composer Rolfe Kent for the score, whose previous work includes Sideways and Up In The Air - not to mention Dexter. And, as always you'll hear plenty of Rolfe's work sprinkled throughout the conversation, even though his cues from the film have yet to be commercially released.

But where else could we begin that with his take on Dance Of The Cuckoos - the unmistakable Laurel & Hardy theme ...

Our latest episode of Soundtracking couldn't be better timed, what with Olivia Coleman having just landed a Golden Globe for her performance as Queen Anne in The Favourite. If you haven't heard it already, her acceptance speech is particularly amusing - and will most likely be one of several she has to deliver during this awards season.

Telling the story of two ambitious women (played by Rachel Weisz & Emma Stone) competing for Anne's affection, The Favourite is directed by our old friend Yorgos Lanthimos. And we're delighted to say he returns to the show to discuss the sonic intricacies of his brilliant film. 

As you may recall if you listened to his previous outing, Yorgos has never hired a composer, preferring instead to source existing compositions. That said, he's most happy to profess extreme gratitude to his sound designer Johnnie Burn - as, in fact, are we. For Johnny not only provided us with a couple of specific cues from the movie, but also pointed us in the direction of a lovely video which reveals how he and his team went about soundscaping the drama. 

You can find that video in full at Soundworkscollection.com - though we've dropped a bit of it into our conversation here too.

Happy New Year, one and all, and welcome to this bonus episode of Soundtracking, as we kick off 2019 by celebrating the nominees for the EE Rising Star Award at February's British Academy Film Awards.

Now in its 14th year, the EE Rising Star Award is the only category at the ceremony voted for by the public. Previous winners include Tom Holland, James McAvoy, Eva Green, Tom Hardy, Kristen Stewart, John Boyega and last year’s winner, Daniel Kaluuya

So how are the nominees chosen? Well, a panel of industry experts and enthusiasts gather at BAFTA HQ to discuss potential candidates. And Edith is one of them!

And so to the shortlist, presented in alphabetical order in the time honoured tradition: the nominees are Jessie Buckley, Cynthia Erivo, Barry Keoghan, Lakeith Stanfield & Letitia Wright.

All you have to do to vote online for your favourite is head to ee.co.uk/BAFTA now! The winner will be revealed at the EE British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 10th February.

To give you a flavour of the competition, we're delighted to say we're joined by the three female nominees, who reflect upon their careers and genuine passion for music. As you'll hear, all of them can sing for starters ...