Carlos Rafael Rivera (The Queen's Gambit, Hacks) is one of the few composers my mom has asked me about, so I'm extra excited to have him join the show! Carlos's latest project is Department Q, his fourth series with writer-director Scott Frank (joining Godless, The Queen's Gambit, and Monsieur Spade, as well as the film A Walk Among The Tombstones). Normally this is where I'd say something like "unsurprisingly, we spend most of our time talking about that score", but that's not the case here. Instead, we spend most of the interview dancing around Department Q, whether it be talking about his career working with Scott Frank (going back to when he taught Scott guitar in the early 2000s), the changing nature of friendships as you age, or 80s thrash. Ultimately everything goes back to Department Q, but not everything is about Department Q.
Carlos's score, and much of his other music, is available on all major platforms. Department Q is currently on Netflix. You can find out more about Carlos on his website.
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26:49
Thomas Newman and Julia Newman
What a surreal moment - getting to chat with Thomas Newman and Julia Newman! Whether you're a big film music fan or a casual film goer, I'll guess that you're familiar with Tom, having been nominated for fifteen Academy Awards (I accidentally say fourteen...) and scoring projects like The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, Finding Nemo & Finding Dory, 1917, and loads more. Now, Julia is picking up the family's film and tv scoring mantle, and the two of them recently co-scored Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, a dramatization of the Menendez brothers crimes. We use the series as a jumping off point for the conversation, regularly referring to and discussing it while also pivoting into broader conversations about collaboration, improvisation and working quickly, the use of theme and repetition, and plenty more.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is currently on Netflix, and Tom and Julia's score (as well as much of their other work) is available on all major platforms.
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28:16
Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey Score Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
The Mission Impossible franchise has been going strong for nearly thirty years, so it's a bit surreal to see it apparently come to an end, with Tom Cruise hanging up the mantle as Ethan Hunt. To celebrate the final entry, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, the film's composers Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey join the show! Naturally, the three of us spend most of the interview talking about Mission: Impossible, including spending a year straight exclusively scoring the film, how score fits into the broader film making process in a project of this scale, the difficulty in scoring the two major set pieces, and how and when to utilize Lalo Schifrin's iconic main theme.
The last point was a particularly interesting one to me, as I've seen quite a few people wondering about it as well given that they don't quote the full theme often at all. Trust me, it's all intentional and done for good reason!
I also want to point out how prevalent the theme of teamwork is in this interview. Naturally, it's become a main thematic motif throughout the film series, with Cruise's Ethan Hunt willing to essentially do anything possible to save his team (and, in turn, save the world). Would Max or Alfie hold onto a biplane as it speeds thousands of feet in the air? Not sure. But they will spend a lot of timing raising up their colleagues and team members. Something I can definitely get behind.
One note: Alfie's voice is the first you'll hear and Max provides the first longer answer.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is currently in theaters, and Max and Alfie's score (as well as much of their other work) is available on all major platforms.
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44:19
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44:19
Scoring Squid Game with Jung Jae-Il (Parasite, Mickey 17)
Ahead of the premiere of the third and final season of Squid Game, I chat with the show's composer, Jung Jae-Il (Parasite, Mickey 17). Obviously Jae-Il and I spend much of the conversation talking about Squid Game, including the palette, the differences in score and approach between the seasons (due to different games and loads of character deaths), and the closure that season 3 brings. Along the way we cover things like 90s British death metal, the piano as his natural language, the social themes of the projects he scores, and plenty more.
Season 3 of Squid Game premieres on Netflix on June 27, and Jae-Il's score is forthcoming. However, much of Jae-Il's other music, including scores and solo work, is available physically and on all major platforms.
We also used a translator here (although Jae-Il's English is very good), whose voice you will hear throughout the interview.
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18:54
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18:54
Leo Birenberg & Zach Robinson (Cobra Kai, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man)
Composers Leo Birenberg & Zach Robinson join The Film Scorer Podcast to round out the unofficial (and accidental) trilogy of duo interviews (joining Meg Remy & Grace Glowicki and Aaron May & David Ridley). Leo and Zach are fresh off of scoring the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai as well as the first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, so it's no surprise that we spend much of our conversation talking about those two scores (and Cobra Kai as a whole). In doing so, we cover things like the importance of putting their own stamp on a score (including making individual Cobra Kai fights seem unique and making their Spider-Man distinct from the many other entries), the daunting nature of creating a Spider-Man score in the wake of Daniel Pemberton's masterpieces, and the bittersweet nature of finishing Cobra Kai. For reference, of the two, Leo is the first to speak.
Leo & Zach's scores are available on all major platforms, as are their other various other scores. There's also a compilation album of "greatest hits" from Cobra Kai seasons 4, 5, and 6 coming out later this year via Mutant. Cobra Kai is currently on Netflix while Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is on Disney+. You can find out more about Leo & Zach on their respective websites (Leo; Zach).
The Film Scorer Podcast features a wide array of long-form interviews with film composers, including up-and-comers, established veterans, and everybody in between.
Hear first-hand from masters of the craft about the film scoring process, see behind-the-scenes, and learn all about the art of film and film music.
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