Composers who need/ed the chance

JennyFlexFanJennyFlexFan Posts: 1,497MI6 Agent
There are quite a few composers out there who should've either gotten a chance or should have a chance at scoring a Bond movie.

Composer who SHOULD have gotten the chance:
Jerry Goldsmith, who composed many an action movie and is probably one of the most prolific film composers EVER! He provided a solid effort for Air Force One even though he only had two weeks to complete it.

Composers who need the chance:

Murray Gold - Listen to Doctor Who's "Westminster Bridge" and tell me he shouldn't be considered.

Michael Giacciano - Great job on mimicking Barry in "The Incredibles"

Jeff Tymoschuck - His chase music for NF and EON is phenomenal!

Don Veca - Listen to the music from Agent Under Fire. He combines 60s music with popular techno from today better than Arnold does in fact in some cases!

There are more I'm sure... and I'd like people to share who they think should have had a chance and should have one now since Arnold's Casino Royale (like the movie, IMO) was rather stale.

Comments

  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 37,860Chief of Staff
    I'd like people to share who they think should have had a chance and should have one now since Arnold's Casino Royale (like the movie, IMO) was rather stale.

    Me.

    Seriously, I don't think that Arnold's CR score was rather stale. On the contrary, I consider it to be better than TWINE and waaaay better than DAD, although the freshness of TND still endears that particular score to me. To pull a Dan Same, CR is my second favourite Arnold score- which still puts it after all of Barry's.

    The situation as I see it is that while Arnold excels with the slower, romantic pieces (eg "Casino", "City Of Lovers" which lose nothing by comparison with Barry) his action music with rare exceptions (eg "Backseat Driver" and just to keep you happy, JFF, "Pipeline") leans to the anonymous, far too often Mickey Mousing the onscreen events and relying to an unnecessary extent on percussion- I'm referring here to the synthetic drumbeats which pervade such works, not the excellent ethnic percussion which crops up on the scenesetting selections.
  • JennyFlexFanJennyFlexFan Posts: 1,497MI6 Agent
    Ah I see, and yes Barbel, you should be given the chance to compose! You're already better than Michael Kamen's LTK and I haven't heard your material! ;)

    And I suppose it boils down to personal taste. I am much more into the action tracks than the slow, romantic ones, so many of Arnold's tracks don't appeal to me. Ones that do appeal are the fast paced ones like Antonov, Submarine, Welcome to Cuba and Ice Bandits. I like some romantics tracks, Kowloon Bay and Casino being my favorites.

    Arnold did well for all of his scores. My favorite is TWINE followed by TND. Aside from Welcome To Cuba and Antonov, DAD is crap. CR, to me, has no merits, Miami International is just a mess and exhibits plain laziness in developing that cue.

    Still, Barbel should compose. Maybe the first step is doing an AJB movie. ;)

    Jerry Goldsmith, though, should've done one. And Murray Gold needs to do one. He should definitely be replacing Arnold and SOON.
  • spectre7spectre7 LondonPosts: 118MI6 Agent
    I believe Goldsmith was considered at one point for The Spy Who Loved Me, but I don't know how far they got with that.

    I'm not really sre who else could do one now, film music is in a pretty poor state at the moment. I'm afraid I'm not a Murray Gold fan, some of his music for Doctor Who is even more overbearing than David Arnold at his worst and has spoiled many episodes.

    I think someone like James Newton Howard or Christopher Young should be considered. I certainly don't want to see Hans Zimmer or any of his 'Media Ventures' clones get the job.
  • JennyFlexFanJennyFlexFan Posts: 1,497MI6 Agent
    Oh I agree about Zimmer, keep him as FAR away from Bond as possible.

    I also heard that Goldsmith was going to do TSWLM. He would've been great, and although I like Hamlisch's score, I'd like to hear what Goldsmith would've done. It would probably be a little more traditional and a little less disco, but who knows?

    I love Gold's music! It seems like it's hit-or-miss with most people, some love it others hate it, but I love Westminster Bridge. It's just so... amazing.
  • i expect u2 diei expect u2 die LondonPosts: 583MI6 Agent
    edited August 2007
    John Powell.

    His work on the Bourne films captivated me. Critically, it wasn't always so well recieved, but I found it really intelligent writing.

    If you want to listen to something more Bondian of his, the soundtrack to 'Paycheck' is not to be missed. I'd recommend that score to any music fan.
  • chrisno1chrisno1 LondonPosts: 3,598MI6 Agent
    John Powell.

    agreed.... yes i know this is a ressurrection topic, but Bourne is a great series (it isnt Bond, but by heck its great) and Powell hits the mark, especially in the first movie.

    Otherwise, I think the Eon guys really missed a trick after Burt Bacharach did the CR '67 soundtrack; its not a great movie, but BB really hits the mood with his soundtrack, and wrote an excellent theme song in Look Of Love that stands alone (a lot of people who know the song have no idea its from a spoof Bond) given his writing pedigree, i think he would have done a better job on those early '70s Bonds than George Martin and John Barry.
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 37,860Chief of Staff
    chrisno1 wrote:
    i think he would have done a better job on those early '70s Bonds than George Martin and John Barry.

    On TMWTGG, probably (JB was on an off day). On DAF, definitely not; the score is perhaps the best thing about that film.
  • JennyFlexFanJennyFlexFan Posts: 1,497MI6 Agent
    Definetely. DAF is superb Barry stuff, though a lot of it is quite CR67-esque, ironically enough. But Bacharach's work on that movie was pure genius, one of the best movie soundtracks I've ever heard/purchased hands down.

    Seriously though, sign Gold already and if they want an unknown to break through with talents, sign Tymoschuck, his work on the videogames is terribly underrated and quite Barry-esque, IMO, he handles the synths/techno samples with a little more flair and restraint than Arnold does.

    But Murray Gold... two words: Westminster Bridge.
  • TracyTracy the VillagePosts: 369MI6 Agent
    Murray Gold has to be my new favorite TV composer as his work matures into a more orchestral and narrative-driven style - it's like the evolution of Michael Giacchino's work on Alias to the point where you don't hear the electronica anymore (except during certain Torchwood cues). But though he's got a stronger grasp of scoring action/adventure sequences (the Pirates of the Caribbean quote in on the Doctor Who series 3 soundtrack's "The Doctor Forever" cracks me up every time), I just don't feel he's gritty enough for Bond...at least not at this time. Even on Torchwood, which is a lot darker, the music's a little too idiosyncratic and indiepop to mesh with the new Craig Bond pictures. It's not melodically taut enough for something that looks as as the upcoming Quantum of Solace. I feel like Gold would want to play around with a moody theme for a mourning Bond (a la "Doomsday") when the movie needs something shorter and colder, more action oriented. Gold's romantic themes are really lush (again, "Doomsday" and "Jack's Love Theme"), and I have a feeling that QoS is not going to be that kind of movie that encourages lush romantic cues.
    Flattery will get you nowhere, but don't stop trying.
  • General_OurumovGeneral_Ourumov United KingdomPosts: 861MI6 Agent
    edited August 2008
    I'm quite content with David Arnold, and don't think he has done a particularly bad job. As aforementioned, some of his action pieces are rather forgettable which happened a lot less with John Barry and even some of the other one-off composers. "Ice Bandits" is my favourite of his.
    JFF, I also agree that Don Veca did a marvellous job on AUF.

    I too think Michael Giacchino would be a pretty bankable choice for a Bond score. I enjoyed his Alias work enough to buy the soundtrack, and he did good work on the films 'Cats & Dogs', and 'The Incredibles'.
    James Newton Howard was another good suggestion.

    Someone said once about Don Davis, who did the Matrix series. I personally think he'd be too much like Arnold, but he might surprise us.

    I think possibly James Horner, also. Known more for his slower music, but his score for Aliens was racey and absolutely stunning. Proof he can handle the action.

    One other composer I think needs a nod is John Altman, who composed the Tank Chase Theme from GoldenEye. I think he should be given the opportunity to score an entire film also.
  • The CatThe Cat Where Blofeld is!Posts: 711MI6 Agent
    I think possibly James Horner, also. Known more for his slower music, but his score for Aliens was racey and absolutely stunning. Proof he can handle the action.

    Aliens celebrates 22 years today. Horner's new gig are slow-moving prestige projects and he'll stick with that.
  • Shady TreeShady Tree London, UKPosts: 2,998MI6 Agent
    edited August 2008
    There are quite a few composers out there who should've either gotten a chance or should have a chance at scoring a Bond movie.

    Composers who need the chance:

    Murray Gold - Listen to Doctor Who's "Westminster Bridge" and tell me he shouldn't be considered.

    Murray Gold's bold and sweeping score for the first Russell T. Davies 'Doctor Who' episode in 2005, 'Rose', sounds almost like an audition for the job of scoring a modern Bond movie. Gold has sustained his dramatic approach across all four seasons of the new 'Doctor Who'. (It seems unfair to dismiss his work as lacking the harder edge necessary for Bond, since after all 'Who' and even 'Torchwood' are very different shows to Bond.)

    On the subject of 'Doctor Who', has anyone else heard David Arnold's eerie rearrangement of the original Ron Grainer Doctor Who theme, as commissioned by Big Finish Productions for the intro to their earlier CD audio adventures of the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann)? It's a good piece of work, showing that Bond is not the only iconic series to benefit from Arnold's musical reworking...
    Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
  • Barry NelsonBarry Nelson ChicagoPosts: 1,508MI6 Agent
    After watching Yhe Incredibles toninght I would say Michael Giacciano. The music was very Barry like. My whole family picked up on the similarities.
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