Tony Gilroy has described “Behemoth!” as a movie about movie music, and the extraordinary lineup behind it makes that ambition sound almost literal. The Playlist can confirm that nine composers are contributing music to the Searchlight Pictures drama: Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Henry Jackman, Nami Melumad, Brandon Roberts, and Alan Silvestri.
The group is known internally as the “Behemoth! Collective,” an appropriately imposing name for a roster that brings together an Oscar winner, multiple Academy Award nominees, veteran film composers, songwriters, producers, and multi-instrumentalists from several generations of screen music. Film Music Reporter previously reported Newton Howard’s involvement, but The Playlist can now reveal the complete nine-member lineup.
READ MORE: Tony Gilroy Says He Turned Down ‘Michael Clayton’ Prequel Series Offers & Talks ‘Behemoth!’ Details
Precisely how the Collective’s work will be divided remains under wraps, but sources close to the project tell The Playlist that its contributions include music composed for films within the film, diegetic music that transcends into the score, musical vignettes, and several other inventive uses.
Some new comments from Olivia Wilde, who has a part in the ensemble, also help explain why Gilroy’s film requires such an unusually large and varied musical team. During a recent appearance on the “SmartLess” podcast, co-hosted by her “Behemoth!” castmate Will Arnett, Wilde described the film as an exploration of the process of screen music.
“It’s kind of a love letter to that world, and they show that process, which is so cool,” Wilde said.
“It’s fascinating,” she continued. “It’s really, really fascinating, getting in and out of the people who inhabit that world and what they are. Some of them are just the most brilliant.”
Arnett described his own character as an all-around musician capable of playing several instruments, while Wilde also revealed that he plays the brother of Pedro Pascal’s central character.
Gilroy previously gave The Playlist a more detailed preview of “Behemoth!” during press for his critically acclaimed “Andor” series, describing Pascal’s character as a cellist and former child prodigy from a family of studio musicians. After spending approximately 20 years traveling as a musician for hire, he returns to Los Angeles and begins recording again.
Some musical cues trigger flashbacks that gradually reveal Pascal’s character’s history and explain why he originally left the city. “The whole movie is surfing on music,” Gilroy explained.
The title does not refer to Pascal’s character, but to the enormous fictional production being scored near the end of the story. “‘Behemoth!’ is the fake name of this huge movie at the end,” Gilroy said.
The subject is deeply personal for Gilroy. Before becoming a screenwriter, he was a musician trying to make it in Los Angeles, and music remains near and dear to his heart—not an abstract language, but one he understands intimately. His fascination with scoring only deepened once he began participating in the musical process on his own films.
“I’ve been obsessed with movie music since they let me have a hand in it,” he previously told The Playlist.
The Collective includes several composers whose work has previously intersected with Gilroy’s. Howard scored all three of his directorial features—“Michael Clayton,” “Duplicity,” and “The Bourne Legacy”—while Roberts composed the music for the second season of “Andor.”
Giacchino also previously crossed paths with Gilroy on “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which Gilroy extensively reshaped during post-production. Giacchino composed the film’s score. Giacchino’s credits also include “The Incredibles,” “Ratatouille,” “Star Trek,” “The Batman,” and his Oscar-winning score for “Up.”
Silvestri, meanwhile, is best known for his long-running collaboration with Robert Zemeckis, including “Back to the Future,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Forrest Gump,” and “Cast Away,” along with his work on “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
Jackman’s work blends classical composition, electronic music, and record production, with credits including “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Big Hero 6,” “Kong: Skull Island,” and the recent “Jumanji” films.
Melumad became the first woman to score within the “Star Trek” franchise, composing music for both “Star Trek: Prodigy” and “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.”
Abels is best known for his genre-bending collaborations with Jordan Peele on “Get Out,” “Us,” and “Nope.” Bear is one half of the Grammy-winning songwriting duo Barlow & Bear, which created the songs for “Moana 2,” and Frank is the songwriter, producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist behind the Los Angeles musical project Storefront Church.
Together, the nine composers span traditional orchestral scoring, franchise filmmaking, independent songwriting, pop production, electronic music, and television. That breadth suggests music will serve as the film’s connective tissue, flowing among the movies-within-the-movie, character performances, and Pascal’s memories. For Gilroy, it appears to be the movie’s organizing principle.
Support independent movie journalism to keep it alive. Sign up for The Playlist Newsletter. All the content you want and, oh, right, it’s free.
Searchlight Pictures is releasing “Behemoth!,” though the studio has not announced a date. Given Gilroy’s pedigree, Pascal’s star power, and the project’s scale, it already seems tailor-made for the fall film festival circuit.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
Source link
#Behemoth #Tony #Gilroys #Music #Drama #Pedro #Pascal #Features #Composers #Including #Michael #Giacchino #James #Newton #Howard #Alan #Silvestri



Post Comment