Notes in the Dark

Yeah, I know I’m supposed to be reviewing CDs but I just wanted to take this opportunity to kvetch a bit about scoring assignments — or rather, how scoring assignments are perceived by the fan community at large. Today we’ve got some wonderful news that David Shire’s score for Zodiac is coming out on Varese. (I just ordered Intrada’s The Hindenburg for old time’s sake, btw.) Over at FSM some are wondering why Howard “I Just Scored One of the Most Massively Successful Moneymaking Film Trilogies of All Time” Shore is not collaborating with David Fincher on this film. I honestly do not know the reason, but why do so few people speculate on one obvious factor in assignments… the money factor? Is it not a logical question to at least ask?
Everyone talks about “A-listers” but no one ever seems to speak openly about the fact that films actually have budgets and that that sometimes factors in to why this or that composer is, or isn’t used. For instance, in the ongoing Harry Potter saga where John Williams has now been replaced by two different composers of “lower standing,” I’ve been surprised that no one has noted that Williams is probably, uh, pretty expensive. I honestly don’t know how much that was a factor in him not doing the next Potter film, but the idea that any film producer would automatically hire Williams for a production if he were available, seems naive.

A long time ago I talked about the concept of the Golden Ghetto: a phenomenon where talented composers become in demand enough to command A-list commissions (and, if you read this previous post on the budget for The Village, those commissions can be lucrative indeed), but paradoxically, the only budgets that can afford the A-listers are ones for films that appeal to the least common denominator (derivative blockbusters and the like). The composer gets more money to hire a big orchestra, which would seem to promise more opportunity for quality and creativity, but may run into enough creative edicts from above and time constraints that cancels out the luxuries that such a budget affords.

Just saying: It isn’t always about schedule conflicts.