Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

When Jon Favreau joined Edith to discuss his remake of The Jungle Book, he revealed that the aspect of the film he was most preoccupied with was the music.

Our latest guest Bill Condon says much the same thing about his retelling of a more recent Disney classic, Beauty And The Beast.

In Bill's case, it was a potential deal-breaker: he only agreed to direct the project on the condition that the man who composed the original score came on board. That man is Alan Menken, whose Oscar-winning themes for the 1991 animation reverberate loud and clear throughout this live action reboot.

We also discuss his work with pre-eminent composer, Carter Burwell, who has collaborated with Bill on several occasions

The mighty Kong has traveled a long way since we first saw him batting away aeroplanes atop the Empire State Building to the melodramatic strains of the great Max Steiner.

CGI now rules when it comes to Monster Movies, just as Marcel Delgado's model of the giant ape did the New York skyline back in 1933.

But some things in cinema never change - including the way music is used to set an identifiable tone for narrative.

In the case of Kong: Skull Island, young American director Jordan Vogt-Roberts has sought to introduce the familiar sonic stylings of the Vietnam War to the traditional thrills and spills of the matinee creature feature - with most entertaining results.

During the course of his conversation with Edith you'll hear plenty of musical nods to Apocalypse Now and Good Morning Vietnam - and also discover which Rolling Stones track provided the inspiration for Henry Jackman's score.

They also reflect upon Jordan's previous film, The Kings Of Summer, with extracts from composer Ryan Miller's wonderful experimental soundscape underlaying the discussion.

But the show begins on Skull Island, where Samuel L Jackson and his men go about their business to the pounding beats of Creedence Clearwater Revival, David Bowie and Black Sabbath ...

If one could embody charm, it might very well take the form of James Mangold - an open, warm and intelligent man who also happens to have a proven track record in delivering quite tremendous movies.

His latest offering is Logan - a dark, violent and spandex-free addition to the X-Men franchise, which sees Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in the throes of existential crises. Critics love it - in part due to the director's offbeat take on a sometimes formulaic genre. And as we'll discover, offbeat is a word which applies equally to Marco Beltrami's score ...

While James doesn't entirely accept the claim himself, his films have been described as eclectic. He's certainly tackled a rich variety of subject matter - from Cop Land to Girl Interrupted and the Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line - with scores and soundtracks to boot.

Enjoy!

Another week, another Academy Award winner - this time in the shape of Tennessee director Gore Verbinski.

Gore secured the Oscar for Rango – a firm family favourite in Edith's house - and has also notched up a string of box office smashes, from Mouse Hunt and The Mexican to The Pirates Of The Caribbean trilogy.

As you’d expect from someone ranked as the 10th highest grossing director in the world, he’s also collaborated with some mighty fine composers.

On which note, Gore is not the first of our guests to have developed a productive relationship with Hans Zimmer. As well as scoring several of his movies, Hans also offers regular advice on who to hire when he’s not available. Indeed, this applies to Gore’s latest film - the psychological horror A Cure For Wellness.

Based on his own nighhtmares, it stars Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs and Mia Goth and tells the story of a young American executive who is sent to a mysterious rehabilitation center in the Swiss Alps. As is typical of the genre, music and sound design play a key role in building tension – with the cornerstone of Ben Wallfisch’s excellent score a creepy lullaby that’s reprised in various forms throughout the film …

As Ron Howard observed in one of our previous episodes, Ang Lee is a filmmaker with a quite extraordinary range. He followed the majestic Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with comic book joyride Hulk - before bringing us Brokeback Mountain, Lust Caution and The Life Of Pi.

Such a diverse array of subject matter has very different musical requirements, with Tan Dun, Mychael Danna, Danny Elfman and Alexandre Desplat among the composers he’s worked with.

And these collaborations are exactly what we’re here to discuss on Soundtracking – a weekly podcast about screen music with Edith.

Ang’s latest movie is Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. Starring young British actor Joe Alwynn in the title role, it tells the story of a soldier returning from Iraq who’s suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

From the point of view of score, the narrative posed a new set of challenges for the Taiwanese director - given that much of the action unfolds in a sports stadium …

Over the years, there's been many a filmmaker in possession of a sensational record collection. We've spoken to a few on this show - from Andrea Arnold and Richard Linklater to Nicolas Winding Refn and Danny Boyle. But just because you have impeccable taste, doesn't mean you can successfully translate it to the screen.

Thankfully, writer / director Mike Mills knows how to enhance a story with sound - as evidenced by his latest movie, 20th Century Women. Set in 1979, it tells the story of a mother who enlists her bohemian friends to help raise her son, and is part-based on his own childhood.

Music is central to both the development of narrative and character - with the artists featured all close to Mike's heart. Each selection is inspired by personal experience, from offerings by Siouxsie And The Banshees through The Buzzcocks to Black Flag. Indeed, when it comes to Talking Heads, he even bought the T-Shirt (well, his sister did anyway) ...

There are SO many great tunes in here, you'd be a fool to miss it.

When you’ve made 5 movies that average over 90 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s fair to say you’re doing something right in the eyes of the discerning film fan.

Writer / director Jeff Nichols has done just that. From his debut Shotgun Stories to Take Shelter, Mud and Midnight Special, he’s proved himself to be a master craftsmen, capable of breathing life into an incredibly diverse range of subjects.

His latest offering Loving is no exception. Starring Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, it tells the true story of the landmark US court case Loving versus Virginia, which challenged the state laws prohibiting inter-racial marriage.

As with all my guests, music is a central feature of Jeff’s work. From the scores provided by his go-to composer David Wingo to the considered placement of pop favourites from his youth, he has more than met the contrasting sonic demands presented by the narratives he’s brought us.

From the very opening sequence of Danny Boyle's debut Shallow Grave - in which the viewer zooms through the streets of Edinburgh to the dark pounding beats of Leftfield - it was clear we were dealing with a filmmaker of great visual flair who understood a thing or two about music too.

As if proof were needed, he followed Shallow Grave with Trainspotting and that set of songs - which rank it alongside the likes of Pulp FIction and Lock, Stock ... as one of the defining pop soundtracks of the 1990's.

Two decades on and Danny is still blazing a trail. Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie and Spud back - alongside Iggy, Blondie, and one or two artists for the 'T2' generation.

In the case of Danny, there's simply too much ground to cover in one show. So, for the time being at least, we focus on his various collaborations with John Murphy, AR Rahman and Rick Smith and Karl Hyde from Underworld - who, of course, had a big musical hand to play in both Trainspotting films ...

As double-bills go on a show such as this, it’s hard to imagine a more relevant combo than the director and composer of La La Land - the film that’s causing quite the song and dance the world over.

In our previous episode we had the pleasure of talking to director Damien Chazelle about his musical masterpiece; this time round, it’s all about his composer and great friend, Justin Hurwitz.

If you’re new to the show, the format is simple. Each week, Edith speaks to key figures from the world of cinema about the music in their work, with relevant examples of the cues we discuss woven into the discussion.

So it is you'll be hearing extracts from Justin’s compositions for Guy And Madeline On A Park Bench, Whiplash and La La Land, all of which he scored for Damien.

The pair met in their Freshman year at Harvard, forming a band called Chester French who went on to have considerable success after they went their own way to make movies. But Chester French’s loss has been our gain, with Whiplash and La La Land in particular earning near-universal acclaim – not to mention awards and nominations aplenty …

If you've had the pleasure of watching Damien Chazelle's breakthrough feature Whiplash, you'll know it's a hard act it is to follow. But follow it he has with La La Land, an utterly beguiling 21st century musical set in the city of angels.

Having just landed 7 Golden Globes - including Best Screenplay and actress and actor awards for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling - it's now been nominated for 11 Baftas.

In the case of both Whiplash and La La Land, the music is provided by Damien's old college roommate Justin Hurwitz, who I'm delighted to say joins me next week. You’ll hear plenty of examples from both scores, as well as a spot of West Side Story and Singing In The Rain.