Soundtracking With Edith Bowman

There are so many cracking releases at the moment, we getting as much out to you as we can in something of a festive giveaway. We dropped Michael Giacchino earlier in the week, and now we bring you Frances O'Connor and Abel Korzeniowski, who joined me to discuss Emily. Frances wrote and directed the film, while Abel provided the score. It's a fictionalised version of the life of Emily Bronte, and concentrates on her romantic relationship with the curate William Weightman - there is no evidence that such a relationship ever occurred.

We are dropping two episodes of Soundtracking for you today - the first being with composer and director, Michael Giacchino Michael performed both duties for Marvel Studio's Werewolf By Night, which is a sly modern take on the classic monster movies of yesteryear. That's right. Directed. And scored. What a total dude. One of our favourite ever guests! And that hoodie ...

It's always lovely talking to actors on Soundtracking to get their perspective on music, and we have one for you in our latest episode in the shape of Violent Night star, David Harbour. Violent Night sees David star as a Father Christmas who is anything but the traditional image of cheery, rosy-cheeked, white bearded old man.  David also discusses the distinctive sound of Stranger Things, and his fondness for Counting Crows, which is something of an embarrassment to him when he's hanging out with his cool East Village pals.

Last time we had our latest guest on the podcast was when he was kind enough to join Edith for a Soundtracking Live at the BFI on London's South Bank. That was more of a career retrospective; this time, Tim Burton is here to talk about Wednesday, his first foray into making a television series. As is so often the case with Tim's work, Wednesday is scored by the great Danny Elfman, ably supported by Chris Bacon. There are also a couple of delicious needle-drops up for discussion.

It's a welcome return to Soundtracking for Luca Guadagnino, a writer and director who always talks so eloquently and revealingly about the music in his films.  His latest project is Bones And All. The ensemble cast features Timonthee Chalamet, Taylor Russell and Mark Rylance in what is part horror, part romantic road movie and part period drama. Bones and All is scored by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor - or A & T as Luca describes them - who will themselves be joining us soon.

Thrilled to have another director / composer combo on Soundtracking this week in the shape of Sebastian Lelio and Matthew Herbert, who have joined forces on the Chilean writer/director's latest film, The Wonder. Starring Florence Pugh, it follows an English nurse sent to an Irish village in the 1860s to observe a young girl who is seemingly able to survive without eating. It's an amazing experience, narratively, visually and sonically, so we highly recommnend you dive in.

It's one of those episodes of Soundtracking which we love so much, in which Edith gets to pick the brains of an up-and-coming filmmaker who's just beginning their journey in the industry. Charlotte Wells's debut feature Aftersun is an absolutely beautiful piece of work, telling the story of Sophie as she reflects upon a holiday with her then young father they took together 20 years earlier. As well as containing countless fantastic needle drops, Aftersun is also expertly scored by Oliver Coates, who very kindly furnished us with cues from his as yet unreleased score. Cheers, Oliver!

Bonus episode time with Ryan Coogler, director of the new Black Panther film, Wakanda Forever. The film's release is obviously hugely bittersweet for all involved with the sad passing of Chadwick Boseman - but, boy, have Ryan and the exceptional cast done his memory proud. Here he discusses Chadwick's legacy and the tonal influence his death has had on narrative, as well as the excellent soundtrack and Ludwig Goransson's score.

Anyone who knows Edith knows she is a massive fan of what Disney + is doing with Star Wars world-building, from the Mandalorian to Obi Wan Kenobi. Andor is no exception, taking the franchise in an altogether new direction with its visual palate, narrative pacing and Orwellian undertones. So it was a genuine thrill to spend a bit of time with show creator, Tony Gilroy, who also co-wrote Rogue One. Andor is scored by our old friend Nicholas Britell, and you'll hear plenty of his music throughout the conversation.

We're celebrating some of the most iconic film music of all time this week, as Mat Whitecross and David Arnold join Edith to discuss Mat's excellent documentary, The Sound Of 007. It does exactly what it says on the tin, featuring contributions from many of the key players from the franchise's 60 year history. 

It's a welcome return to Soundtracking for our guest this week, as Martin McDonagh joins us to discuss his new movie, The Banshees of Inisherin Starring Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, it is set on a small Irish island in the 1920s and tells the story of a musician who suddenly ends his friendship with a lifelong drinking buddy.  The Banshees of Inisherin sees Martin reunited with composer Carter Burwell, and you'll hear plenty of his score throughout the conversation.

This week's guest is a composer with a huge and varied body of work, who Edith regularly bumps into on the London screening circuit and has been trying to get on Soundtracking for some time. Nanita DesaI's work includes a remarkable number of TV shows - and films such as The Reason I Jump, For Sama and 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. The insight into the way she goes about her business is utterly fascinating.

Our guest this week is one of our favourite humans ever to interview - and someone who is in no small part the reason Soundtracking exists. David O'Russell's is an absolute master when it comes to using music in his films, as evidenced by his latest film Amsterdam, which is scored by our old friend, Daniel Pemberton. Try stopping Edith and him nattering at your peril!!!

We're discussing the music of a little gem of an Indie film today called It Is In Us All in the company of its director Antonia Campbell-Hughes and composer Tom Furse of The Horrors fame. Set in Donegal, It Is In Us All tells the story of Hamish, a Londoner who returns to his ancestral home of Donegal, and is drawn into the world of a boy who nearly kills him in a car crash. You can watch it right now on Curzon home cinema. Special thanks to Tom, who went to great and inconvenient lengths to provide us with cues from his score. Big ups!

We're really excited about our latest guest on Soundtracking, who has made an absolutely sensational film which you can watch right now on Netflix Romain Gavras's Athena explores, in electrifying fashion, the chaos that erupts in the eponymous French estate in the wake of a brutal killing. It really is jaw-dropping from the very opening scene, which is a work of art as and of itself. Athena is scored by Gener8ion, which is Romain's collaborative creative project with his friend, Benoit Heitz, aka Serkin, and we'll pepper plenty of the music throughout the conversation. 

It's been over three decades since the original graphic novel was published, but 2022 is the year that finally sees Neil Gaiman's seminal comic book series The Sandman translated to the screen. To try and explain the premise and scope of the Netflix fantasy series in a sentence or two would, frankly, be futile - and an insult to the epic dimensions of Neil's imagination, and the work of the team that helped realise his vision for television. So you'll have to settle for one of said team instead - composer David Buckley - whose score is as complex, nuanced and varied as the narrative itself.

It's another of those episodes we enjoy so much on Soundtracking, in which Edith gets to speak to both a director and a composer about a film they've worked on together On this occasion, it's Tom George and Daniel Pemberton, discussing Daniel's score for Tom's debut feature, See How They Run Starring Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith, Harris Dickinson, and David Oyelowo, See How They Run is a comedy whodunnit set in 50s London, which is in cinemas now. 

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer with a hugely diverse body of work - ranging from Big and Se7en to Ed Wood and Silence Of The Lambs. Howard Shore has collaborated with Martin Scorsese on numerous occasions, and famously scored Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies. He has also provided musical accompaniment to 16 of David Cronenberg's films, including his latest, Crimes Of The Future, which is what he joined Edith to discuss.

As regular listeners to the podcast know, we love it when we get to speak to directors and their composers at the same time, which is what we're doing with Emma Holly Jones and Amelia Warner in our latest episode. Emma enlisted Amelia for her debut feature film, Mr Malcolm's List, a period rom-com about two friends who plot revenge on the eponymous suitor for rejecting one of them as a bride. 

We have a composer for you today who has been on our wish-list for a very long time. Benjamin Wallfisch has built up strong relationships in the industry, perhaps most notably with our old friend Hans Zimmer, with whom he has collaborated on several projects including Blade Runner 2049. Benjamin's latest outing is on Ron Howard's Thirteen Lives, which tells the miraculous true story of the boys and the football coach who were rescued from a Thai cave having been trapped by flooding.