Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Terrence Malick moviestend to have great music.
It sounds very odd, but it was a really cool, unusual script.
It had a long title.
Something about theChief of Sinners.
Terry went off to doTheTree of Life, and I didnt hear back from him again.
Like many people, Im a big admirer of his.
Apparently Malick turned in a version that was way too depressing and strange for the producers.
But we talked a lot about this guy, [Bishop] T.D.
Is that his name?
One of these really evangelical, dramatic, charismatic guys.
We watched a lot of his sermons together.
The music I was writing was terribly wrong.
Terry has a wonderful sense of music, and theres music from all over the place inA Hidden Life.
The original score is one part of it.
Some other composers in the past have been upset about his working methods.
And his use of different sources of music and different composers was emblematic of his work.
So I really didnt expect this to be any different.
It was similar to working with Michael Mann.
I worked with him onCollateral.
I knew that Michael was going to use music from all kinds of different places.
That happened most recently withBlackhat.
I guess the response to that is, What did you think was going to happen?
Have youseenhis other work?I think thats very well said.
It happens with Marty Scorsese.
Thats the way certain directors use music.
I totally get it, by the way.
I dont have a problem with it.
A lot of times you get really happy results from that.
Sometimes you might disagree with the spotting.
But it really was a collaboration?It really was.
I mean the first one particularly.
InBatman Beginswe were holed up at Air Studios in London, across the hall from each other.
We worked on every cue together pretty much in that movie.
I will credit Hans with writing the iconic two-note Batman theme.
I had written another theme that I thought was really good, but I lost that one.
It was a very lovely, friendly competitive thing going on.
Weve managed to remain good friends ever since.
Its a slightly darker, Wagnerian-key in thing.
One day, Chris Nolan came and said, You know, guys, I had the strangest dream.
I dreamt that both of your themes were together in one theme.
So we decided wed link them together and see if they work.
Hanss was better, I guess, for this.
How odd thatyourpiece was the more Wagnerian.
But that counterpoint fits the themes of the film.We influenced each other.
How does the bass drum sound?
How does the bass sound?
How does the high-end sound?
How is the orchestra fitting in with the background of this percussion instrument?
I continue to have a great relationship with M. Night Shyamalan.
What is the easiest, simplest, most economical way this could be stated?
I think thats a good thing to know as a film composer.
I loved working with Chris Nolan.
I love working with Lawrence Kasdan.
Francis Lawrence I love.
There are very few situations that Ive been unhappy in.
If I got really unhappy I would just leave.
I started a movie with Jason Reitman calledUp in the Airand I think I was just the wrong sensibility.
It was very friendly, though.
Jason and I just parted company on that one.
And then I was actually working with Hans on another movie calledIts Complicatedwith Nancy Meyers.
I was a third wheel, so I exited stage left.
But generally speaking, I can learn.
I was so certain about what should happen.
But then I became a good listener.
So I think I learn every time now.
It can be a very stressful and maddening process.
Its a miracle I kept getting hired.
Of course I didnt let it out externally because he was so nice.
But my stomach was doing flip-flops, I was really angry.
I was ranting and raving to my agent.
Obviously, Ive learned from that, but its hard.
You want me to dowhat?
Did you work with Garry again after?I did.
I worked with Garry onRunaway Bride, which was a great experience.
I was more mature at that point.
I kept growing up, and it all got easier and better.
The thing that is most upsetting is for a director to be inconsistent.
Thats happened lots of times.
Everybody thought in the very beginning that it was a thriller, so I had written this thriller score.
And we realized, well, its really a love story.
So I rewrote the whole thing for Hilary Hahn, solo violin.
You said Terrence Malick knows his music pretty well.
Whats that conversation like?
Is it granular and technical?
I hear he loves to talk in metaphors.Yeah, its very metaphorical.
He thought ofA Hidden Lifereally as a battle of light and dark.
What he talked about more than anything was the river.
I think it was effective.
He really did want a sound for light.
A sound, or a tune, or a feeling, or a motif for hope.
There was also one that we called Descent.
Is he doing the right thing by abandoning his wife and children in this very unforgiving town?
Or should he dedicate himself to a cause that he despises?
I literally just decided to write music ascending up the scale.
It sounds stupid, but there are conventions in music that work because they work.
Terry also wanted a piece, which we called Knotted, which was two solo instruments.
They would be intertwined as Franz and Fani.
The music was the voice of these two characters very specifically and architecturally.
Obviously, there are existing classical pieces in the film, too.
Where do those fit in?
Are they there as temp tracks early on?Oftentimes theyre there.
Sometimes my pieces replace them.
You dont want to sound too puny up against this glorious music that youre coming out of.
So for me, there was no question I was going to remain in a traditional 19th-century modality.
Being able to match the sound and sensibility of a classical piece pays other dividends, too.
Maybe Ill get credit for some of the Handel thats in the movie, right?
