Well here we are at the last Tech Support column of 2007. As I reflect on the past year, I thought I’d do something I almost never do at her at In Contention – review. I’ve decided to focus on the most acclaimed scores of 2007.

Before proceeding, I should note that I have not yet heard the acclaimed scores of Clint Eastwood on “Grace is Gone” or Olivier Bernet for “Persepolis.” I’d also like to preface this by saying that I consider Glen Hansard’s song score to “Once” to be the most film-serving and original musical accomplishment of 2007. Being such an unconventional “score,” however, and relying almost entirely on songs, I personally feel that a column dedicated to reviewing scores is not the best place to discuss it.

I was very much looking forward to the return of Alan Menken to Disney movies in 2007 with “Enchanted.” His score and songs have received much acclaim. Though I enjoyed the film, and “That’s How You Know” was a fun number, I was ultimately disappointed with the work. I found the other songs to be lacking and the work to be on the whole formulaic, absent of the majesty of Menken’s past memorable efforts on “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid.”

Howard Shore and David Cronenberg know each other incredibly well, having collaborated for over 20 years. Their latest joint effort, “Eastern Promises,” proved once again that these two are in sync creatively. Like their last film, “A History of Violence,” I found this score to be sold in its theme, a brooding, appropriately “Russian” melody. One more feather in this composer’s cap.

Another noted composer-director team is Alan Silvestri and Robert Zemeckis. On “Beowulf,” Silvestri combined the sort of modern orchestrations we’d expect in an epic with traditional Scandinavian instruments. In the realm of epic scores, I can’t say that I think this will be living in the hall of classics, but it served the film quite well indeed.

The soundtrack for “Into the Wild” has garnered much acclaim, particularly for Eddie Vedder’s songs. The score was primarily written by Michael Brook, though both Vedder and guitarist Kaki King receive joint credit. It has also been subject of a considerable deal of praise. I can’t say I was blown away by it, finding it to be in no way bad but not particularly special or able to stand out from Vedder’s frequently arriving voice.

Alberto Iglesias lent his talents to Marc Forster’s “The Kite Runner” this year. There is certainly a lot of music in the film and it is both noticeable and memorable. It also has an appropriately international feel, with Iglesias’s Latin influence being quite apparent. That said, while I would hardly call the work “bad,” there is something about it that does not quite work for me. I suppose I ultimately feel there is simply too much music, the sort which can often overpower what’s on screen, even if the music itself is quite nice.

Three years ago, Michael Giacchino brought invaluable life, originality and action to Brad Bird’s “The Incredibles” through his score. This year, Giacchino again served Bird incredibly well on “Ratatouille,” a score that was fun, clever, creative and at times delightfully French. I can’t say I feel he reached the same heights he reached on “The Incredibles” but the work was still top-notch and I hope Bird and Giacchino continue to work together for many years into the future.

Finishing with my top five scores of 2007…

5) Alexandre Desplat – “Lust, Caution”

Alexandre Desplat is, without a doubt, my favourite composer of this decade. Since his major American breakthrough (even if it was on a British film), “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” he has continued to stretch himself and entertain us on efforts such as “Birth,” “Syriana,” “The Queen” and “The Painted Veil,” not to mention his continued work in French cinema.

I was tremendously excited when he was hired to compose “The Golden Compass” earlier this year but ultimately it was his compositions for “Lust, Caution” that truly moved me in 2007. Ang Lee’s films always have great music and this proved to be no exception. The music managed to be beautiful and haunting in its own right, just like the film, while also being appropriately cultured, with a touch of Western influence – just like the setting of the film. This composer just seems to get better every year.

4) Dario Marinaelli – “Atonement”

On “Pride and Prejudice” two years ago, Dario Marianelli proved he knew the sort of music that Joe Wright’s films needed. He tops that achievement in my books with this year’s “Atonement.” The haunting melodies, so ably assisted by the sound of a typewriter, will be remembered by all who see the film – longing and tragically romantic.

3) Marco Beltrami – “3:10 to Yuma”

From its opening notes, Beltrami’s score to James Mangold’s “3:10 to Yuma” brings us into the film’s action. It was almost as though I knew right away that this remake was going to improve upon its original, a rare feat indeed. A throwback to westerns of the past, Beltrami’s score is exciting and memorable yet never manages to overpower the film. A very fine accomplishment, and a personal favorite of mine given my love of the Western genre.

2) Nick Cave, Warren Ellis – “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”

Just as “3:10 to Yuma” was not alone in being one of the great westerns of the year, it was not alone in being one of the year’s great westerns with a great score. Andrew Dominik’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” was elevated by the haunting, thematic work of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

Dominik’s film has often been compared to a Malick effort and it was certainly one of the most ambitious efforts of 2007. And just as is the case with Malick films, its music was integral to its mood and storytelling. Cave and Ellis lived up to the necessary challenge.

1) Jonny Greenwood – “There Will Be Blood”

One of few 2007 films to rival Dominik’s in terms of ambition was Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood.” For the music on the film, Anderson chose not to re-collaborate with his usual composer Jon Brion, but instead looked to Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.

I must concede that this choice struck me as a tad odd and, having read the script, I knew the work of the composer would be challenging but also extremely important. But stark, film-matching and fantastically original, this is the finest achievement in original music compositions for a film in 2007 as far as I’m concerned. It seems as though every note was carefully considered and then perfectly placed.

I have no idea if Greenwood will continue to work in cinema. But regardless, this effort would stand alone as an amazing accomplishment of film music.

I’ll be taking next week off as I welcome in 2008 and head to Calgary for a few days. So have a very Happy New Year – I’ll see you here in two weeks time.

Now that a list of finalists has been announced, the time seems right to delve into analysis for the last “crafts” category – Best Original Song.

I should say that there are never any locks here, with seemingly sure bets often failing to make the cut. It is a rather odd category, in my opinion, as I often wonder if original song writing is such an important contribution to filmmaking that it deserves a category to itself whereas tasks like stunt co-ordination and casting are not currently awarded. However, the fact of the matter is that the category’s existence often results in many stars coming to the show who otherwise would not – so it’s not going anywhere any time soon.

An alteration in the rules two years ago changed the process of choosing the nominees slightly. Each song will be screened to the music branch in the context used in the film and then given a grade. If five films receive the minimum grade, the songs with the five highest averages become the nominees. Furthermore, if not enough songs receive high enough vote tallies, there could be less than five nominees, as we saw in 2005. I would not be surprised in the slightest if this happened again.

Sean Penn chose to make Eddie Vedder’s songs key to “Into the Wild.” With Paramount Vantage pushing hard, I suspect they will end up being very much in contention. “Guaranteed” seems to be leading the way with both BFCA and Globe nominations, and I’d tentatively call it this category’s frontrunner. But I would not be surprised in the slightest if “Society” also ended up with a nomination. The third eligible song, “Rise Up,” appears the least likely of the three but one never knows what might happen.

Alan Menken used to dominate this category. In the seven years from 1989 to 1995, he received eight nominations and four wins. But after a final nod for “Hercules” a decade ago, he’s been absent from the scene. Along with Stephen Schwartz, Menken has written several new songs for Disney’s latest hit, “Enchanted,” and seems poised to return to the big race. Judging by the BFCA and Globe nominations, I would say that “That’s How You Know,” which, in my opinion, is clearly the best of the three ditties, is likely to be his ticket. Even so, “Happy Working Song” and “So Close” ought not to be ruled out.

”Hairspray” has decided to promote just one of its original songs: “Come So Far (Got So Far to Go).” Personally, I felt that “Ladies Choice” was the better of the new tunes for the film. Even so, this civil rights ballad is the more traditional Oscar-nominee of the two and it has been rewarded with a BFCA nomination. It is probably a solid bet for a nod.

Another musical, “Once,” received immense acclaim this summer and its soundtrack topped the list of reasons for its success. Despite easily being one of my favorite films of the year, I have no delusions that it is on the way to any of the major categories (though one can hope). But the film could find a home here. Fox Searchlight is pushing hard and has chosen to concentrate on two tracks: “Falling Slowly” and “If You Want Me”. I personally was not surprised by the Globe shutout, this being the sort of small, independent film that the HFPA ignores. “Falling Slowly,” a BFCA nominee, seems the more likely of the two songs to end up short-listed.

Animated films traditionally do very well with Best Original Song. “Le Festin” from “Ratatouille” was a fun ditty. “Royal Pain” from “Shrek the Third” continued on the series’ tradition of opening with a track of interest. At the end of the day, however, neither song is all that memorable and I suspect we’ll be seeing no animated films nominated this year.

Anthony Hamilton’s “Do You Feel Me?” from “American Gangster” is, in my opinion, one of the best original songs in film this year not to come from “Once.” In a high profile film, with a notable role in the movie and with a BFCA nomination behind it, this seems, on paper, to be a solid bet for a nomination. Even so, for some reason I find myself doubting it and can’t put my finger on just why.

“The Golden Compass” has garnered a reputation as a considerable flop in recent weeks. Even so, Kate Bush is the sort of performer you’d think the Academy would love to have at the telecast, so a nomination for “Lyra” would not shock me to death.

Shakira’s “Despedida” from “Love in the Time of Cholera” is a beautiful, haunting song and I found its Golden Globe nomination to be tremendously heartening. Not being in English, and also being in another notable flop, it will struggle for a nomination. But this is a category that tends to disregard a film’s quality. “Al Otro Lado del Rio” from “The Motorcycle Diaries” won two years ago, so perhaps language isn’t much of a barrier.

A few years ago, a nomination for a song such as “Walk Hard” from “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” would have seemed absurd. But after nominees such as “Blame Canada” and winners like “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” things seem…less certain. This ballad earned a Globe nod so it ought to be considered, especially as a nomination would result in current money-maker Judd Apatow becoming an Oscar nominee!

A man who has dominated the Oscar scene recently is Clint Eastwood, managing seven nominations, including two wins in the past four years. Seemingly unable to have an awards season without him, citations from the BFCA and HFPA have brought Eastwood’s music from “Grace is Gone” into contention for a nomination this year. His Golden Globe-nominated song, “Grace is Gone,” was written by six-time Oscar nominee Carol Bayer Sager. Even so, I’m skeptical that the music branch is going to embrace an actor-director as one of their own. But you never know.

That completes analysis of all ten crafts categories. More to come in the New Year. Stay tuned next week for an original score review column.

With “Into the Wild” and “Michael Clayton” continuing to grab attention this awards season for writer-directors Sean Penn and Tony Gilroy, not to mention the film’s stars, it is easy to forget the tech artists who played an immensely important role in crafting the films. In particular, the pacing of the two films, created by their editing, was pivotal to the feel of each.

I recently spoke with the editors of both efforts, Jay Cassidy and John Gilroy.

Cassidy has been Penn’s editor on all of the director’s previous films. “He was involved all the way and we would even work at his house,” Cassidy recalls, emphasizing that the filmmaking process is part of Penn’s life.
John Gilroy and Tony Gilroy had never worked together prior to “Michael Clayton,” but they nevertheless know each other very well –they are brothers! At the end of the day, however, John says that he worked with his elder brother the same way he has worked with many directors in the past. “As he’s shooting, I’m cutting,” Gilroy explains, adding that he’s not a big believer in the “rough cut” and mines the scenes deeply as he gets them. After the shooting, however, he says that the two of them were working shoulder-to-shoulder.

Cassidy underlines that the atmosphere of comfort on “Into the Wild” went far beyond his relationship with the director. As Penn tends to reunite his crews from past efforts, virtually all the crafts artists knew each other before arriving on the set. “We all know Sean so well and it’s very comfortable working with the same team,” Cassidy explains. He cites Eric Gautier, the cinematographer, as a notable new edition but also says that “it took him five minutes to get in tune with our vision.”

Gilroy also considers relationships with other crafts artists to be of the utmost importance as they all are trying to create the best movie possible. “I’m a pretty hands-on guy,” he says. In particular, he considers himself pretty heavily involved in the sound design, more so as his career advances. He explains that this extends to work with composers, also noting that he worked closely with James Newtown Howard on “Michael Clayton.”

Both artists did point out particular challenges on the films. Cassidy found that pacing through the different themes of “Into the Wild” was a notable obstacle. He acknowledges that there were several places in the film where he and Penn made a conscious decision to “show off” the editing. But it was for the sheer enjoyment of experimentation.

Gilroy notes that throughout post-production, striking a balance between the film’s thriller aspects and its quiet, personal moments always had to be considered. But he does not hesitate to say that he considered the biggest obstacle to be the opening of the movie.

“We had this wonderful, free-associating dialogue by Tom Wilkinson but it was tricky trying to marry images to what he was saying,” Gilroy says. “We quickly knew we couldn’t do credits at the beginning and also soon realized we couldn’t show people because you’d associate the voiceover with the characters.” Eventually landing on showing the law firm at night, as a desolate, sleeping organism, was a decision that took a great deal of time to reach but one with which Gilroy is obviously very pleased.

For Cassidy, one of the rewards of “Into the Wild” has been gracious responses to the film. “This story was worth telling,” he says. “I think every film, if the material is rich enough, finds its own voice and if you recognize that, it tells you what to do. And there were no ‘if onlys’ when we were done.” There was no tension between filmmaker and producer on the film, Cassidy says.

Gilroy also acknowledges that producers and studios can often influence the picture heavily, noting that he has found himself in plenty such situations in his career. But he says that was not the case on “Michael Clayton,” that he and his brother were left on their own with no one looking over their shoulder, for which he is clearly grateful.
Despite having an enormous impact on the quality of a film, editors are almost never recognized by the movie-going public. But Cassidy does not mind, thinking that the job comes with an anonymous quality. “I don’t mind obscurity; if I do my job and it works, you shouldn’t notice it,” is Cassidy’s opinion on the matter, going on to state that he considers it faint phrase to say that a film is well-edited.

Gilroy considers editing to perhaps be a misunderstood craft, but he does not feel undervalued. “Hundreds of people, if not more, sweat and invest themselves in a movie, and it all comes down to us putting it together in the best way possible,” he says. “For me, that’s an honor.”

Film musicians have given the cinema some of its most memorable achievements. There are the booming themes of John Williams, which make the “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” series instantly recognizable. There’s the pitch-perfect suspense of Bernard Herrmann on Hitchcock efforts such as “Vertigo” and “Psycho.” And there are the haunting contributions of Nino Rota on classics such as “8½” and “The Godfather.” I could go on forever.

I recently had a chance to speak to two composers who have contributed greatly to the world of film music in 2007: Mark Isham and Dario Marianelli.

Marianelli received a somewhat surprising Oscar nomination two years ago for Joe Wright’s first feature film, “Pride & Prejudice.” This year, he re-teamed with the director on “Atonement,” offering a score which makes him the arguable frontrunner for the statuette this year.

Mark Isham, who was nominated 15 years ago in this category for “A River Runs Through It,” has had a very busy year on a number of high profile features: Terry George’s “Reservation Road,” Robert Redford’s “Lions for Lambs” and Paul Haggis’s “In the Valley of Elah.” His work is being heard in cinemas now more than ever, and I’d say that a return to the Kodak seems to be in his future sooner as opposed to later.

In addition to being the composer on “Atonement,” Marianelli is responsible for the music of “Goodbye Bafana,” “Far North” and “The Brave One.” He freely remarks that he feels he’s seen more of film directors this year than his own family.

Isham also admits to being struck by the variety of the films on which he’s worked. But he cites certain similarities between them.

“‘In the Valley of Elah’ and ‘Reservation Road’ are intimate films and very emotional,” he says. “But I strove to find the unique quality.”

Isham says “Reservation Road” is about the aftermath of a tragedy, unlike “Elah,” where tragic elements are only discovered at the resolution of the film. On the other hand, he says he was surprised – especially in light of the script – at what a large score “Lions for Lambs” ended up being. He says the work kept getting bigger as the philosophy of the film emerged and the points of view started to interact, ultimately growing into a 72-piece orchestra.

Both artists speak very fondly about the unique qualities that existed in their collaborations with their directors. Marianelli told me that Joe Wright is a very unusual director in that he likes the composer to be involved while he’s still working with the script.

“He asked me to write music straight away on ‘Pride and Prejudice,’” he recalls. He admits that was, to a certain extent, necessary, as there were scenes when the score was needed during filming. But he says Wright also wanted other themes, so that he could play them for the actors, giving them a better idea of the sort of music that would accompany their acting. The very same thing, Marianelli says, happened with the duo’s collaboration on “Atonement.”

Isham has worked with both Redford and Haggis before. He believes familiarity with a director can only improve the product. “It opens up more trust,” he says. “I can go out on a limb.”

Both composers recall particular moments on their films when they truly felt challenged. Marianelli cites Cecilia and Robbie’s second parting, when she gets on the bus in a busy London street, to be such a moment on his latest film. “It had to be the most heartbreaking moment,” he says. “That was when I knew the film needed a love melody.”

Marianelli also recalls the long steady cam beach walk shot as being particularly challenging as Wright originally did not want any music at all in that sequence. “But I just ignored him and wrote it anyway,” Marianelli says, with both laughter and pride in his voice. “It had to be detached, but very moving at the same time, and it was quite a challenge to marry the two together.”

But Marianelli stresses communication as the key to any collaboration: “The most enlightened directors I’ve been working with are the ones that engage in proper dialogue. There’s a process of discovery that goes on between a director and a composer, with an actively involved film editor often making it a triangle. Conversations can become very poetic and philosophical.”

“Each film usually has its spot in the score where you know whether you’ve got it or not,” Isham says. The composer also remembers the moment at the end of “Lions for Lambs,” when the film, which had been immersed in rich concepts and philosophy at its core, gets very personal: “The music had – up until then – had to take a backseat to the words. But at that moment, Bob said to let the music and image take over.”

“In the Valley of Elah” also had its special moments for Isham. “Paul had such success with ‘Crash’ and, in a way, I went out on a limb on the choice of score on that movie,” he says. Despite knowing that, if the film had cost more, the studio would have wanted a more “traditionally emotional” score, both Isham and Haggis really thought their choice for “Crash” was the right one.

But while describing “Elah” before the start of shooting, Haggis explained that he wanted a different sort of score, so Isham chose to make the score very organic with very few electronic elements. He and Haggis both proudly feel that the score had a very intimate tone, which they both felt was perfect for the film.

But with all the pride and personal feelings of professional success, the fact of the matter remains that it is a common complaint of composers that their work is lonesome.

“We spend long hours in little rooms in front of computers,” Marianelli says.

Isham notes the lack of other creative bodies in on the process at the time of scoring: “By the time I join, the picture is usually cut together in some sort of watchable form and a lot of people have left,” he says. “You don’t want to do anything that is going to throw a monkey wrench into the works.”

Marianelli is more terrified with a blank sheet of paper than screwing up work that’s already in place. He says that once something is on the page, even if it’s the wrong thing, it will trigger the chain of thoughts and bring you closer to the ultimate goals. And in “Atonement,” he says he tried to break down the barrier between being a spectator of a film’s soundscape and being a part of a film’s soundscape in a way that he had never done before with music.

At the end of the day, Isham says he has a tremendous amount of fun with his job, having worked in the industry for 25 years and still getting new projects all the time. He recalls “The Black Dahlia” as an example of a film in recent years where he both immensely enjoyed himself and did something he had never done before professionally.

Marianelli, meanwhile, is the first to admit that his career has developed considerably over the last few years in ways he never would have expected. After scoring Irish and British character dramas for a decade, with modest resources, his career took a significant turn in 2005 when he composed “The Brothers Grimm” for Terry Gilliam, who he describes as “the opposite of minimalism.” “V for Vendetta” soon followed, and he’s found himself far away from the European style of filmmaking he is used to. But he ultimately finds this to be indicative of a greater openness to European influence on scores for Hollywood movies.

“I realize I’m generalizing in a major way but by just looking at what’s happened to myself, Alberto Iglesias and Alexandre Desplat, I can see several European composers being asked to score studio movies.”