Soundtracking With Edith Bowman

We can't quite believe the run of guests we've had on Soundtracking, what with Andrew Garfield, Dave Grohl and Jonny Greenwood among those who've joined us in recent weeks. But when it comes to marrying music and film, Paul Thomas Anderson is right up there with Scorsese and Tarantino as a master of the art. His latest movie, Licorice Pizza, is not only a delight to behold, but also chock full of needle drops. He talks all things music, including his relationship with the aforementioned Mr Greenwood.

Legend alert! Our latest guest on Soundtracking is not only the lead guitarist, keyboardist and instrumentalist of one of the greatest bands on planet Earth, but has also transitioned with huge success into the realms of movie scoring. Jonny Greenwood has formed a formidable partnership with Paul Thomas Anderson since providing the music for There Will Be Blood, and has also worked with Lynne Ramsay, Pablo Larrain and Jane Campion - who are esteemed company indeed. He's also one of the most understated and humble people you could ever wish to meet. We'll get into his collaborations with all these great filmmakers during the course of the conversation, and sprinkle plenty of his music throughout.

We continue our bumper run of guests on Soundtracking with a man who's up for an Oscar this month in the Best Actor category. Andrew Garfield delivers a knockout performance as Jonathan Larson in Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical biopic Tick Tick Boom, as you can see for yourself on Netflix. It's always a joy chatting to him, though if you haven't seen the latest Spiderman film, we should say this interview contains a major spoiler. Amazingly, Andrew has never been required to sing for a project before, not that you'd know it. 

Rock 'n' roll royalty joins Edith for the latest episode of Soundtracking, as Dave Grohl discusses his comedy horror Studio 666 among many other things. Featuring all six members of The Foo Fighters as themselves, Studio 666 is a pretty bonkers yarn about the band recording an album in an old mansion possessed by evil spirits. As you might imagine, carnage ensues!

We're starting a bumper run of Soundtracking episodes in the coming weeks, with two shows a week for the foreseeable future, including conversations with PTA, Dave Grohl & Jonny Greenwood. Eesh! Today, it's the turn of writer, director, producer and all round legend, Adam McKay. He is FANTASTIC company, and we have an absolute ball discussing the music in his latest film, Don't Look Up, which is scored by our dear friend, Nicholas Britell. Enjoy!

It's another double-header for you, with two returning guests to Soundtracking. First up, it's Bryce Dessner from the National, who composed the score and music for Cyrano with his brother, Aaron. Then it's the man who directed this latest interpretation of the classic tale, Joe Wright, who is always a joy to speak to.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is an actress, singer and dancer who dazzled us all in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of West Side Story. Ariana DeBose's performance as Anita has already seen her win a Golden Globe - and she's also been nominated for an Oscar and Bafta among many other accolades. It was an absolute delight to catch up with her - Ariana really is a thoroughly sparky and likeable character.

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are actor and now writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal and composer Dickon Hinchliffe, who join us to discuss their collaboration on The Lost Daughter. Available on Netflix, The Lost Daughter stars Olivia Coleman, Dakota Johnson and Jessie Buckly, and is - among many other things - a genuinely powerful meditation on the trials and tribulations of motherhood. We absolutely love it - and can guarantee music lovers will LOVE this conversation.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a friend of the show, returning to discuss his sequel to a massive family favourite in households across the globe - not least Edith's. Garth Jennings found a winning formula with his joyous animation, Sing, and has thankfully managed to recreate it with Sing 2. In addition to an all-star cast reprising their roles from the first film, Garth also managed to persuade none other than Bono to play a reclusive rock star and allow him to rework some classic U2 songs. He shares a couple of lovely anecdotes about that too ...

We have a proper legend for you on our latest episode of Soundtracking in the shape of the great Sir Kenneth Branagh, who also happens to be one of the loveliest people you could ever wish to interview. Edith caught up with him a few months back to discuss Belfast, a coming-of-age comedy drama and beautiful ode to his hometown, which he both wrote and directed. It really is a very special movie, and we highly recommend getting to your local cinema to see it if you feel safe doing so. Apart from anything else, you'll get to hear loads of classic Van Morrison tunes - with Van also having scored the film.

Our latest guest is a composer who's perhaps best known for his work with the Coen Brothers, though he's collaborated with plenty of other great filmmakers too. Carter Burwell was something of a punk rocker before landing the gig to score Joel and Ethan's first feature, Blood Simple. He's since provided the music for virtually all of their films - including the latest, The Tragedy Of Macbeth.

Our latest episode sees the welcome return of Nicholas Britell - with us on this occasion to discuss his score for Adam McKay's Don't Look Up.  Heading up the extraordinary cast are Leonardo Di Caprio and Jennifer Lawrence as astronomers attempting to warn mankind about an approaching comet that will destroy civilization.  It's fair to say the film has strongly divided opinions, but Edithfor one really enjoyed it - and Nicholas's score is great too.

Our first guests of 2022 are two brothers who've formed a formidable creative partnership since being given the opportunity to shine. Will and Arthur Sharpe have taken on directorial and compositional duties on several joint-projects, with The Electrical Life of Louis Wain their latest collaboration. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy, the biopic tells the story of the eccentric artist of the title, who had a particular - and many would say peculiar - affiliation with cats ... While Will co-wrote and directed the film, Arthur provided the music, and as always you'll hear plenty of it throughout the conversation.

Edith's latest guest on Soundtracking is without doubt one of the most exciting fresh talents at work in the industry today. Julia Ducournau burst into the popular consciousness with Raw, and follows it up with the equally scintillating Titane, which won the Palme d'Or  We don't want to tell you too much about it, as it defies a fleeting summary. Suffice to say it absolutely blew us away, and we highly advise you to go and see it at your local cinema if you feel safe doing so. The film is scored by Jim Williams, who's worked extensively with our old friend Ben Wheatley, and you'll hear plenty of his music throughout the conversation.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a screenwriter who's proved extremely adept at adaptations of books, including The Men Who Stare At Goats, The Snowman, The Goldfinch and - the main reason we have him with us on this episode - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the film of which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Peter Straughan was a delight to spend a little time with as we explored the ways music informs the writing of a script. 

Our latest guest on Soundtracking needs no introduction, other than to say we are absolutely over-the-moon to welcome Steven Spielberg to the podcast to discuss his jaw-dropping adaptation of West Side Story. We'd have loved to have got a few more minutes with him, if we're honest, but anyone who follows us on social media will know there's potentially some exciting news on that front ... And Edith did manage to tease out a few of his favourite scores, how he met John Williams, and the process behind the score for Jaws among many other things.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is an Italian filmmaker Edith absolutely adores, who's brought us 20th century classics The Consequences Of Love and The Great Beauty among his many offerings. His latest movie is also his most personal, the semi-autobiographical The Hand Of God, which you can watch on Netflix from December 15th and is in selected cinemas now. He's an absolute hoot - enjoy.

Edith's latest guest on Soundtracking is another giant of film music composition, who she was lucky enough to catch up with at Abbey Road Studios as he was recording his work on the latest Fantastic Beasts movie. James Newton Howard has scored well over 100 films across all genres, including The Fugitive, Pretty Woman, The Sixth Sense, Prince Of Tides, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, My Best Friend's Wedding and a couple of Nolan's Batmans for good measure. We could listen to him - and his music - all day.

Who doesn't watch their own films? Well, our latest guest for one - a hugely versatile actor and musician most presently to be seen as Paolo in Ridley Scott's House Of Gucci. Jared Leto first gained recognition in My So Called Life, went on to form 30 Seconds To Mars with his brother, Shannon, and has also landed numerous notable cinematic roles, including The Joker in Suicide Squad and Niander Wallace in Blade Runner 2049. He absolutely loves scores too - and you'll find out which ones in particular during the conversation.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a very dear friend of Edith's who we're delighted to say has done an absolutely superb job with his feature film debut. The friend in question is writer / director Reggie Yates, and the film is Pirates. Starring Elliot Edusah, Jordan Peters and Reda Elazouar, Pirates tells the story of 3 young friends trying to get into a club night on New Year's Eve in 1999. It's worth watching for the garage music alone, though there's plenty more to enjoy besides.