Soundtracking With Edith Bowman

It's been a jolly good week for our latest guest on Soundtracking, whose new film 1917 has just landed him a couple of gongs for best film and director at the Golden Globes and several BAFTA nominations. We are, of course, talking about Sam Mendes, who joined Edith for a chat at London's Imperial War Museum towards the end of last year. In case you don't know, 1917 tells the story of two soldiers in World War I charged with delivering a critical message to fellow troops, and is based on an firsthand account told to Sam by his grandfather.  Remarkably, the action is shot to appear like one continuous two-hour take. The fact that he pulls it off in such convincing fashion is thanks in no small part to the efforts of legendary cinematographer, Roger Deakins. The score, meanwhile, is provided by Thomas Newman, who also worked with Sam on American Beauty and his Bond films.

Happy New Year one and all, and welcome to the very first episode of Edith's film music podcast Soundtracking of 2020. Here's to the next decade of cinema and song! To celebrate, we've got not one but two guests for you, with two very different coming-of-age tales about young friendship and rebellion. Both, however, have tremendous warmth at their very core. First up is writer, director and actor Taika Waititi, who's new film Jojo Rabbit tells the story of a boy obsessed by Nazism who discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic. Oh yes, and whose imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler ... Then we speak to Brian Welsh about his wonderful celebration of 90s dance culture Beats, which stars Christian Ortega and Lorn McDonald as two pals gearing up for their first outdoor rave. As you'd expect, the soundtrack is an absolute banger.

Our guest on the very last episode of Soundtracking of the decade is Greta Gerwig, returning to the show to discuss her second outing as a writer/director, Little Women. It's the eighth film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic 1868 novel and boasts a staggering cast - including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Timothee Chalamet and Meryl Streep.  The score, meanwhile, is provided by Alexandre Desplat - and we will of course sprinkle plenty of his music throughout the conversation.

We have a treat for you on our latest episode of Soundtracking, what with it being Christmas and all, with not one guest but three! First up is the delightful Bryce Dessner of The National, who has scored the Netflix film The Two Popes, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce as the eponymous pontiffs, Benedict and Francis. As usual, you'll hear plenty of Bryce's music during the course of the conversation. Then there's something for all you Avengers fans with a very entertaining turn from Infinity War and Endgame writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Now, if we're honest, we don't talk about music at length - but they're such good fun we wanted to share the interview with you anyway.

Our guest on this week's Soundtracking is a writer/director we've long admired, from his Oscar nominated The Squid And The Whale to Frances Ha and Mistress America.  Now Noah Baumbach brings us Marriage Story, a hugely acclaimed tale of a couple (played by Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson) going through a horrible divorce. Available to watch now on Netflix, Marriage Story is scored by none other than Randy Newman - and there's of course plenty of his music to enjoy in this episode.

We're very excited about our latest episode of Soundtracking, which sees Edith joined by a supremely gifted actor, Edward Norton. Well, we say actor, but he's a little bit more than that, having written, produced and directed his latest project, the neo-noir Motherless Brooklyn. Based on a novel by Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn tells the story of Lionel Essrog, a private investigator with Tourette's syndrome trying to solve the murder of his mentor. The film serves up a sonic feast - from our Daniel Pemberton's wonky jazz-infused score to an original song by Thom Yorke featuring Flea and a considerable contribution from virtuoso horn player, Wynton Marsalis. We should say it also contains spoilers - but for Chinatown rather than Edward's own film!

One of our favourite films of the year has undoubtedly been Joker. We've already spoken to composer Hildur Guðnadóttir about her score for the movie, and now it's an utter delight to welcome director Todd Phillips back to Soundtracking for a second sitting. There was much to discuss, from Hildur's stunning contributions to the influence of Charlie Chaplin and the thorny issue of why he used a Gary Glitter cue.  We also have tracks from Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante.

Our guest on this week's soundtracking is something of a protofeminist in Hollywood terms, in that he makes it his mission to put strong, charismatic women at the very centre of his narratives. Paul Feig made his name with Bridesmaids in 2011 - a much loved comedy starring Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne and Mellisa McCarthy that has more than stood the test of time. 8 years later he's back with another female-led offering, Last Christmas, which was written by (and features) Emma Thompson and sees Emilia Clarke take the lead. Scored by Paul's regular collaborator Theodore Shapiro, Last Christmas is held together musically by a string of George Michael classics, both of whose work you'll hear plenty of ...

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is something of a demigod when it comes to the realms of music and film. Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video director and filmmaker who has snapped anyone who's anyone in the music industry, including Bob Dylan, Bjork, Bruce Springsteen and Miles Davies. Indeed, it was he who took those iconic pictures of Joy Division in the subway tunnel, beginning a relationship which ultimately led to him bringing us the Ian Curtis biopic, Control.  Anton has also had a long-standing relationship with U2 and Depeche Mode, and it is Depeche Mode's final concert of their Global Spirit tour that is the subject of his latest project - the documentary, Spirits In The Forest, which places a specific focus on six of the band's fans. Depeche Mode: SPIRITS in the Forest is in cinemas for one night only worldwide on 21 November. Find your closest screening at spiritsintheforest.com

It's a welcome return for David Michod to our latest episode of Soundtracking, in which the Australian director talks us through the music for his latest film, The King. The King is available on Netflix now, and is loosely based on on William Shakespeare's plays relating to Henry V.  In putting the movie together, David turned to a couple of friends of this show: co-writer and actor Joel Edgerton and composer Nicholas Britell. It's an intentionally otherworldly score, and, as ever, you'll hear plenty of it throughout the course of the conversation.

Our guest on this latest episode of Soundtracking is an actor who made his name portraying one of the most iconic frontmen ever to have graced a stage. Sam Riley's performance as Ian Curtis of Joy Division in Control was, quite simply, stunning - and perhaps informed by his own experiences of playing in his own band, 10,000 Things. As you'll discover, Sam is not only a great lover of music, but also absolutely cracking company. He can currently be seen appearing in Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil alongside Angelina Jolie.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is someone we've been wanting to get on the podcast for a very long time - as have many of you, judging by the feedback we receive on social media. Mica Levi, also known by her stage name Micachu, is a classically trained composer who came to the attention of the film world in 2014 with her debut score for Jonathan Glazer's Under The Skin.  Not only did Mica's work on her next film, Jackie, gain an Oscar nomination, but it also garnered vocal praise from none other than Ryuichi Sakamoto.  Now she's teamed up with Alejandro Landes for Monos, a deeply unsettling movie in which eight children with guns watch over a hostage and a cow on a faraway mountaintop.

It's another double-whammy on our latest episode of Soundtracking - this time in the shape of two composers of world-wide repute. Michael Giacchino cut his teeth on video games, before turning his attentions to film and television, with a host of award-winning scores for films such as The Incredibles, Up, Rogue One and Star Trek. David Arnold, meanwhile, is a much-loved British artist who's been making screen music for nigh-on three decades - with Zoolander, Tomorrow Never Dies and Sherlock among his many credits. Edith caught up with them ahead of a very special evening at London's Royal Albert Hall called Settling The Score, in which they played some of their greatest hits, for want of a better expression.  

It's a double-whammy on our latest episode of Soundtracking, as we bring you two extremely talented ladies charting very different courses in the world of cinema. First up is Hildur Gudnadottir. Well known to fans of this podcast - on which she has featured by proxy many, many times - Hildur has gained broader and much deserved recognition for her work on Joker - Todd Phillips's origin story about the eponymous super-villain that has proved hugely popular among movie fans and critics alike. If you haven't seen it yet, Joaquin Phoenix's performance is astonishing, as is Hildur's suitably disturbing score. Then we have Dolly Wells, a much-loved British comedy actor who has just made her directorial debut with Good Posture. She and I have more of a chat about her career in television and film than the usual focus on music, but she's an utter delight, so we really wanted to share it anyway.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is John Crowley, the Irish film and theatre director who previously brought us critical successes Intermission, Boy A and Brooklyn. His new offering is The Goldfinch. Based on Donna Tart's novel of the same name, the narrative centres on Theo, a young man who takes a painting from a museum after his mother dies in a terrorist attack. While the cinematography is provided by undisputed master of the art, Roger Deakins, John went for a relative novice in Trevor Gureckis for the score. As ever, you'll hear plenty of Trevor's work throughout the conversation.

Edith's guest on the latest episode of Soundtracking is a composer who has been pushing sonic boundaries for three decades. As well as releasing numerous albums and EPs under various monikers, Matthew Herbert has also scored a diverse range of films, including three for Chilean director Sebastian Lelio. The word is overused, but we reckon he's a true visionary. He now has television credits to his name too, with his latest project Temple currently available on Sky and Now TV.  As always, you'll hear plenty of Matthew's work throughout the conversation.

If you haven’t been addicted to Peaky Blinders since it first aired in 2013, then you need to get yourself off to the BBC iPlayer at once and start catching up. All episodes are currently available for varying degrees of time, and we highly recommend you get involved before it's too late. Directed by Anthony Byrne, the latest season sees Cillian Murphy return as Tommy Shelby, head of the eponymous gang vying for underworld supremacy in inter-war Birmingham.  And we're delighted to say that both Anthony and Cillian are with us on Soundtracking to discuss the show’s extraordinary music - which dares to put contemporary alternative artists against the period backdrop. As such, some of the lyrics are quite fruity!  We should mention Edith spoke to them not only before Season 5 screened, but before Anthony had even finished editing it. We should also mention we had a few problems with Edith's mic during the recording, which we’ve dealt with as best we can. Thankfully, though, the lads sound fine, which

There can be few cinematic genres that benefit more from the power of score than horror.  And it IT and IT: Chapter 2, writer / director Andy Muschietti and his composer Benjamin Wallfisch have nailed it.  Reflecting the shape-shifting abilities of Pennywise The Clown, Benjamin has produced a soundscape which Andy describes as 'bendy' - that switches in an instant from the safe and dreamy to something altogether more dark and twisted. As well as discussing the score at length, Andy also talks us through some of the needle drops he used, including tracks by The Cure and The Cult.

We have the miracle of social media to thank for our latest episode of Soundtracking, after Edith reached out to the one and only Alan Silvestri on Twitter. And, gentleman that he is, he very kindly invited her to meet up with him on a recent visit to London. Alan is responsible for some of Hollywood's most memorable scores and themes, from Back To The Future and Forrest Gump to Castaway and The Avengers. In recent times, his longstanding relationship with Robert Zemeckis is perhaps only matched by that of Steven Spielberg and John Williams. As if that weren't enough, he also wrote most of the music for the classic TV show, Chips ...

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are husband and wife duo Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson, who have joined forces on a number of levels to bring us A Million Little Pieces. An adaptation of James Frey's book of the same name, it's based on the author's experiences in rehab as he attempted to recover from alcohol and drug addiction. Despite the well-documented controversies surrounding the veracity of some of James's account, there's no denying it's power as a study of what it's like to hit rock bottom. Sam and Aaron wrote the script together, before Sam got behind the camera and Aaron in front of it to take the lead role. They also worked as producers on the film.  The score, meanwhile, is provided by Atticus Ross - a frequent collaborator with Trent Reznor.