This News Friday 10/10/97

by Lukas Kendall

Someone asked me if there's a good soundtrack specialty store in London. Yes, there is! Go to Rare Discs at 18 Bloomsbury St; ph: 171-580-3516.

Check out the newest feature here at the FSM web site: Andy Dursin's Aisle Seat! The column up now was actually written several weeks ago, so it's a tad out of date. This is where Andy can rant and rave to his heart's content, and be solely responsible for his lunatic ideas. In case you don't know, Andy has written for FSM forever and also has a voice you will ONE DAY hear doing "tonight at 9, Kirstie Alley, John Travolta, in the comedy hit of the decade, Look Who's Talking" network promos. For future reference, Andy will be updating his page generally on Tuesdays.

Hollywood session player Malcolm McNab pointed out something cool about the end credits to L.A. Confidential: it's his first screen credit in 28 years and 1200 movie and TV soundtracks. He's the solo trumpet you've been hearing on films such as Dances with Wolves, Crimson Tide, Executive Decision, Chain Reaction, The Specialist, Independence Day, and Air Force One.

The Verhoeven Question

From Rich Nelson, rnelson@kikuobata.com

I know you've been saying that Basil Poledouris' Starship Troopers score will be slammin and I believe you because Basil is the man. I've never heard why Mr. "More Blood" Verhoeven didn't have Jerry Goldsmith take a crack at it since they seemed to have been building a strong collaboration.

I know that Poledouris has a relationship with the director that predates Goldsmith and that itself may explain it but is there more to the story?

There is a very simple explanation (reader Jon Davies asked about this, too), which is that Verhoeven "casts" his composer depending on who he thinks will be most appropriate for the film. He says he prefers Goldsmith for more intellectual, distant scores of perception, like Basic Instinct and Total Recall, and Poledouris for the more blood and guts, down and dirty emotional stuff like Flesh and Blood and Starship Troopers. He said that if was making a movie about the Crusades, he would use Basil, but if he was making one about the Marquis de Sade, he'd use Jerry. All this and more in the cover story on Starship Troopers for our Vol. 2, No. 8 FSM, now in production.

Silvestri at the Director's Guild

Alan Silvestri will be the next featured musician in the "composer to composer" series sponsored by ASCAP and the SCL. This will take place next Wednesday, October 15, 7PM, at the Directors Guild of America, Theatre #2, 7920 Sunset (parking underneath). Call to register: 310-281-2812. It's free to members of SCL, non-members $25, students $15. See the SCL's site at www.filmscore.org.

Concerts

There will be a concert tribute (chamber ensemble) to Wojciech Kilar on Saturday, October 25, at the Narcis de Carreras Auditorium, La Caixa, C/Santa Clara 11, 4, Girona, Spain. Phone or fax 72-50-33-52 for more information, Spanish readers. Pieces will include music from Bram Stokerıs Dracula, Death and the Maiden and The Portrait of a Lady.

You Spanish guys are in luck again: the 6th Valencia International Film Music Congress will take place October 16-19 in Valencia, with Maurice Jarre and Piero Piccioni among the many scheduled guests. Jarre will conduct concerts of his film music on the 16th and 17th. Call 6-392-15-06 or fax: 6-391-51-56. Fundacio Municipal de Cine, Plaza del Arzobispo, 2 Acc. B, 46003 Valencia, Spain.

There will be an incredibly cool event October 23. But, itıs really expensive. But, itıs for a good cause. Richard Kraft of the Kraft-Benjamin Agency is being honored by the Crohnıs & Colitis Foundation of America at their 22nd Annual Awards Dinner at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, 9500 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA. Richard lost his brother, David, to Crohnıs disease several years ago--David was a film music fan, journalist and all-around friend beloved by many in the industry--and Richard has since done much to help the charity. Crohnıs disease is an inflammation of the bowels that usually strikes in adolesence.

Richard represents several A-list film composers, and has lined up Elmer Bernstein, Danny Elfman, Jerry Goldsmith, Basil Poledouris, Marc Shaiman and Wendy & Lisa to perform at the benefit dinner. Shaiman and Poledouris will be on piano, I assume the others as well. This is an almost unbelievable opportunity--I mean, Iıve never seen Jerry Goldsmith live in a concert setting on piano.

The event is $250. In other words, the price of a really collectible CD. Your money is tax deductible, and is going to an honest-to-goodness real charity. Spead the word, bite the bullet, give money to a good cause, and see a once-in-a-lifetime event. Send to Crohnıs & Colitis Foundation of America, 4201 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 624, Los Angeles CA 90010. If you have any questions, call 213-935-HOPE (4673), ask for Allison.

A couple of things coming up on November 7th:

1) The Austin Chamber Ensemble will present an evening of chamber music by film composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Jerome Moross, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Franz Waxman, J.A.C. Redford and Mark Governor. See http://www.armonico.org/ (news from Richard MacDonald).

2) Ron Jones will conduct his Vivaldi Dreams chamber ensemble in several Vivaldi works, as well as original compositions. This will be in Burbank. Call 818-845-3902. As always, see Ron's web site, emotif.com.

Another Cool Movie Coming Up

From SL Sreenivas, slsreeni@hcla.com

I must say you are really lucky to have already seen the movies that you talk about in [last Friday's] article--especially The Truman Show. I would sacrifice a limb to be able to see it.I am really astounded to know that Philip Glass is slated to score this movie--would you happen to know what motivated Weir's daring choice?

I read the Nyman interview at Roughcut and was pleasantly surprised at how down-to-earth he is and how frankly desirous he is of a Hollywood career (somehow I always thought his reputation as an intellectual composer for art films would naturally be accompanied by a disdain for Hollywood product).

The very thought of titans like Glass and Nyman working in mainstream Hollywood has me trembling with excitement.

Me too! To recap, last week I reported on a swell test screening I saw of The Truman Show (starring Jim Carrey), which Philip Glass is going to score. I don't know how Weir came to choose Glass, especially since he usually uses Maurice Jarre, but I'll try to find out! The cut I saw had temp music by Glass, and from Shine, among other things.

More Dasent

In response to a query last week about music by Peter Dasent, who scores Peter Jackson's films:

From Stefan Jania, sjania@t-online.de

There is a German album of Meet The Feebles with music by Peter Dasent. It seems to be still available here, but it's not the kind of music (and movie) I like. I have to admit I've seen it and I didn't like it...

There is also an album of Bad Taste, but the score was NOT written by Peter Dasent, but by Michelle Scullion. If have the LP (QDK Records 002), it contains some dialogue and sound effects from the film, has a fold-out cover, picture disc (...horrible picture on side 2...) and contains the movie poster, too. There is also a CD, but without all this "goodies". I've played the LP once and then it went in my collection filed under "strange."

The only Dasent album I know of is Heavenly Creatures, on Milan France.

Close Encounters - Again!

OK, to conclude some questions about Close Encounters and whether there was new music written for its 1980 Special Edition (yes, there was, recorded by John Williams and the Boston Symphony and Tanglewood Festival Chorus in Boston's Symphony Hall--info from Roger Grodsky).

From Jeffry D. Heise, jdh@socialstudies.com

The Philips CD Pops in Space (Williams's first recording with the Boston Pops) also includes some additional material for the Special Edition, but not the full version of "When You Wish Upon a Star." Also, the end title music for the 1980 edition has what seems like exit music after the credits finish and the screen goes to black. There is about two minutes of a choral version of the five tones that is quite lovely and adds quite an otherworldly tone as you walk out (you feel like you are being bathed in this music as it comes out of the surround speakers). Interestingly, the laserdisc that Criterion released that incorporated both versions of the film (you can assemble whichever version you wish, or even make one that has all scenes from both--and is by far the best version of the film) has the credits for the Special Edition onscreen, but the music for the earlier edition on the soundtrack! I was somewhat disappointed, in that I really liked the newer version better, but this is what we had, and I hope that the special edition that is supposed to be coming out in the (I hope) near future will have this exit music on it.

By the way, in DVD news, the Warner Bros. DVD of Contact scheduled for 12/16/97 will feature the Alan Silvestri score isolated in 5.1 channel surround, as well as audio commentaries by Jodie Foster, Robert Zemeckis and visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston, storyboards, computer modeling and more. Thanks to Jim Auman for the info.

Viva North

From Kevin Deany, deany@lbpc.com

On October 3, Pat Mooney asked if there were any other recordings of North's Viva Zapata available. If he is willing to spend the bucks, Elmer Bernstein recorded one side LP's worth in his old Film Music Collection series. If memory serves its about 25-30 minutes long. The other side features his Death of a Salesman score.

Forgot about that, sorry!

From Ignacio Gonzalez, ibg@batch-pc.es

The booklet inside 2001 said that Varese-Goldsmith were planning new editions of Spartacus (selections for this CD were made by North himself), Cleopatra and The Agony and the Ecstasy. What do you know about these two last titles from Varese?

Only that the next North album will be Viva Zapata, and that Spartacus is certainly on the slate for some time, but I don't know when.

Questions

Alan Silvestri's score to Mac and Me, the E.T. rip off from the late 1980s, was never released on any album. There was a 4-minute cut recorded on an Edel label 2CD compilation, Best of Science Fiction, but it was not the original soundtrack.

The new promo CD of Blue Thunder (Arthur B. Rubinstein) is something you'll have to order from the soundtrack specialty shops. It won't be in stores, as it is indeed, illegal to sell, not that that will stop anyone. Good score, by the way!

From Sean O'Neill, emerging@mondenet.com

I was wondering if you knew who scored the fanfare for Dreamworks, is it possibly John Williams since it is Spielberg's company.

Why didn't John Williams score The Color Purple; instead I think it was Quincy Jones. Spielberg usually uses or always uses Williams.

I don't know about that logo. Logo freaks, help! Quincy Jones scored The Color Purple because he was producing the movie, too.

From Dennis Logsdon, LogieD@aol.com

What is the difference between CDs such as Bandolero by Goldsmith. I was looking in an online catalog and three different labels, Edel, Intrada and project 3 were listed with a $18.00 difference between the high and low price. All three are listed as original soundtracks. I am only familiar with one of the labels, are two of them bootlegs or similiar in nature?

I think all are licensed, but only the Intrada CD was mastered from the original tapes. I think the others might have come off of LPs, which as we know makes them sound like dog shit. I mean has there ever been a single good sounding CD mastered from LP? (OK, The Professionals wasn't bad.) Get the Intrada disc, even though it's more expensive. Bandolero is a great Goldsmith western score.

Jeremiah Gard, gardmsu@hotmail.com

I really enjoy your website. Just a few questions that I thought you might be able to help me with.

1) What is the choir in "Glory" saying? Is it Latin? Gibberish? I am especially referring to track 10, where it seems that they are saying something, but I have never been able to understand them. If it is a language, has it ever been translated or written down?

2) I saw in one of the newsgroups, that someone was talking about a cd to be released on Oct. 7 called "Braveheart: More Songs from the Motion Picture" or something or other. Any idea if there is indeed going to be a so-titled release? If so do you know if it will contain any Horner material or will it consist of traditional Scottish songs.

The choir is singing "Bur-mina Car-ana." Just kidding. I don't know. Probably nonsense. I saw the More Music from Braveheart CD at Disc-Connection in L.A. yesterday, it seems to be combination of unreleased Horner music, dialogue and speeches, and traditional bagpipe music. Ooh, I think I'll pass on this baby, but Horner and Braveheart fans will want it.

Letter Writing Campaigns

From Andrew Langley, alangley@flash.net

I have set up a homepage that is a writing campaign to get a new score soundtrack released of The Goonies (1985) with ALL of the original music composed by David Grusin. As you may know, not many songs from this movie have been released, so I'm trying to get people to write in and demand a new one. Thank you.

The Goonies Soundtrack Writing Campaign:

http://www.flash.net/~alangley/goonies.htm

I print this because I like to help all people I meet, but I have to caution people against letter writing campaigns. In general, they aren't going to work for film score releases because there aren't enough film score fans to mobilize. If GRP got 5,000 letters, maybe they would start to think, "Um, we should check this out," but if they get, you know, 17, they probably won't even reach anybody with any decision making powers. Someone else is starting a letter writing campaign to get Jerry Goldsmith to agree to add another 10 minutes to the upcoming Star Trek: The Motion Picture CD rerelease, and that seems even more futile. But what do I know?

Be here next week for more wacky fun stuff!

Questions or comments to: Lukas@filmscoremonthly.com