No Time To Die: Production Diary

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  • Posts: 820
    Univex wrote: »
    Arnold stated there was still no news from the film front; i read it as he hadn’t received any offers yet. Is it normal, at this stage, for a composer to not know he’ll be attached to a production? Or is it still soon for that?

    Or perhaps he's just not at liberty to say? ;)
  • Posts: 6,665
    AgentM72 wrote: »
    Univex wrote: »
    Arnold stated there was still no news from the film front; i read it as he hadn’t received any offers yet. Is it normal, at this stage, for a composer to not know he’ll be attached to a production? Or is it still soon for that?

    Or perhaps he's just not at liberty to say? ;)

    And he’d make the mistake of tweeting that without thinking it could be read as a double entendre related to Bond25? Nah, I think he’s telling the truth and was naive with that tweet. Innocent as hell, i say. Unfortunately.
  • Posts: 5,767
    Univex wrote: »
    Arnold stated there was still no news from the film front; i read it as he hadn’t received any offers yet. Is it normal, at this stage, for a composer to not know he’ll be attached to a production? Or is it still soon for that?
    I´d say with the amount of General News we get I would think About it at all ;-).

  • AgentM72 wrote: »
    I feel like I'm in such a minority camp, being an unabashed worshipper of the work David Arnold's brought to Bond and yet also a fan of Tom Newman's work on the Mendes films.

    I have a distinct memory of reacting to Skyfall's score—a Newman score, no question—by being surprised just how Arnold-ish it was in spots. Tom really didn't bring any ego to that project, as far as my ear's concerned. He very much identified the sound of Bond (both contemporarily with Arnold, and classically with Barry) and played very respectably in that combined arena with his own contribution.

    To be honest, I love the Skyfall score. As such an Arnold/Barry fan, I can't quite believe I think this, but it's one of my top 007 soundtracks.

    The driving and classicaly distinctive Bond-ness of "The Bloody Shot."
    The ambient, Fleming-inspired ambiguity of "Enjoying Death."
    The relentlessly building tension of "Jellyfish."
    The playful, classy warmth of "Close Shave."
    The showstopping title song reprisal that opens "Komodo Dragon", a truly great Bond-arrival moment.
    The tension-filled definitively Bond vibe of "Someone Usually Dies."
    The perfection of the emotional rise, fall and relief in "Tennyson/Enquiry".
    The classic Bond theme rendition in "Breadcrumbs".
    The orchestral powerhouse "She's Mine" - as good as any Arnold finale track and embracing everything that an epic 007 score track should be.
    The death and rebirth in "Mother", both an ending and a beginning captured perfectly in the character's realization.
    And then that actual track, "Skyfall" -- more a sound than a song -- but one that so perfectly captures the emotion of the moment, a painful and suspect nostalgia that Bond warily reenters for the purpose of moving himself forward.

    SPECTRE just let me down because of the direct lift-repeats. It has some beautiful work too, but pretty clear that either Mendes fell in love with a temp score (and wouldn't let Newman change it) or Newman himself just didn't have the same fire.
    Agreed! Great picks there! I’m a big fan of the Skyfall OST and I actually find it more memorable than either CR or QOS. And I’m saying this as a pretty big David Arnold fan. I disagree that CR and QoS (both of which I do enjoy) were Arnold’s best as I actually think TND and TWINE are more memorable. I definitely disagree that CR and QOS were in a totally different league and miles ahead of the Brosnan era. For starters the Bond theme was sorely missed in CR and QoS and that’s pretty critical for me. You just can’t top “White Knight” from TND or the Thames boat chase track from TWINE with anything from CR or QOS. The closest we can come to this kind of greatness in CR is “Aston Montenegro” and “City of Lovers”, both very beautiful and quite Barry-esque tracks. But neither are action tracks which is where TND and TWINE excelled.

  • Agreed! Great picks there! I’m a big fan of the Skyfall OST and I actually find it more memorable than either CR or QOS. And I’m saying this as a pretty big David Arnold fan. I disagree that CR and QoS (both of which I do enjoy) were Arnold’s best as I actually think TND and TWINE are more memorable. I definitely disagree that CR and QOS were in a totally different league and miles ahead of the Brosnan era. For starters the Bond theme was sorely missed in CR and QoS and that’s pretty critical for me. You just can’t top “White Knight” from TND or the Thames boat chase track from TWINE with anything from CR or QOS. The closest we can come to this kind of greatness in CR is “Aston Montenegro” and “City of Lovers”, both very beautiful and quite Barry-esque tracks. But neither are action tracks which is where TND and TWINE excelled.
    I agree with you especially on TWINE; I find the score very memorable especially tracks like the one in the Thames Boat Chase (very thrilling), the one when Elektra and Bond go skiing (beautiful), the Caviar Factory track, the cue when Bond is chasing Elektra, the Submarine theme. I'm surprised this score isn't more popular since to me this is one of the few actually strong points of this film. Even the pipeline scene has a good tune for an otherwise forgettable and unexciting sequence.

  • Posts: 1,680
    For the money the spent on spectre none of it made it to the soundtrack.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 7,888
    Not being dependent on the Bond theme for CR and QoS encouraged Arnold to stretch and gave both of films, fresh exceptional scores that still had the Bond DNA . I think he did consistently strong work and would not mind seeing him return.

    I believe he would come back with a vengeance would ideally build on what he did for the two Craig films while infusing it wit a touch more of the traditional sound.

    One way or another we Bond 25 need a score that has SWAGGER
  • Agreed! Great picks there! I’m a big fan of the Skyfall OST and I actually find it more memorable than either CR or QOS. And I’m saying this as a pretty big David Arnold fan. I disagree that CR and QoS (both of which I do enjoy) were Arnold’s best as I actually think TND and TWINE are more memorable. I definitely disagree that CR and QOS were in a totally different league and miles ahead of the Brosnan era. For starters the Bond theme was sorely missed in CR and QoS and that’s pretty critical for me. You just can’t top “White Knight” from TND or the Thames boat chase track from TWINE with anything from CR or QOS. The closest we can come to this kind of greatness in CR is “Aston Montenegro” and “City of Lovers”, both very beautiful and quite Barry-esque tracks. But neither are action tracks which is where TND and TWINE excelled.
    I agree with you especially on TWINE; I find the score very memorable especially tracks like the one in the Thames Boat Chase (very thrilling), the one when Elektra and Bond go skiing (beautiful), the Caviar Factory track, the cue when Bond is chasing Elektra, the Submarine theme. I'm surprised this score isn't more popular since to me this is one of the few actually strong points of this film. Even the pipeline scene has a good tune for an otherwise forgettable and unexciting sequence.
    Oh yes the skiing scene has gorgeous music for sure, which then transitions into an exceptional action cue when the parahawks show up and give chase! Pipeline track is superb indeed as well. I love Elektra’s theme too!

  • Yes yes, this is all well and good. But can we please talk about scores and composers for a while?
  • Posts: 820
    Happily!

    Throwing another name into the mix for Bond 25. John Powell.

    I've always been a massive fan. His Bourne soundtracks are a powerhouse in their own right, and I hear plenty of inspiration in Craig-era Bond music taken from them.

    More recently, I find myself still listening to his score for Solo a lot. Just amazing work there, where he has to bring something new and invigorating to a long-existing franchise property.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I may be one of the few, but I heartily despise the Bourne soundtracks and they're one of the reasons I hate modern-day soundtracks. Just a bunch of cello strings violently being swept around and clashing against one another without a consistent melody in their musical containment (whatever the hell that is). I like some of John Powell's other efforts and he's a great composer when he wants to be. But, his Bourne tracks put me off big time. Hans Zimmer ripoffs. Nothing more.
  • edited November 2018 Posts: 820
    Interesting! I'll give you that they move the needle further toward complimentary sound than what we'd normally associate with conventional spy music. But I do still hear a great deal of melody and technical proficiency in them, not to mention some wonderfully evocative emotional flavors.

    The theme Powell introduces in The Bourne Supremacy for the character's connection to Marie, for example, is a favorite of mine. Probably best executed in its first appearance and never quite topped, actually, when he's running on the beach near the film's opening:



    It's reprised in a lot of neat ways in key moments, too. It shows up at the end when he's apologizing to daughter of his first target—far more melancholic, though. Simultaneously crippling and cathartic.



    Anyways. Big fan, and lots of belief here that he'd be a wonderful choice for Bond.

  • DCisaredDCisared Liverpool
    Posts: 1,329
    AgentM72 wrote: »
    Interesting! I'll give you that they move the needle further toward complimentary sound than what we'd normally associate with conventional spy music. But I do still hear a great deal of melody and technical proficiency in them, not to mention some wonderfully evocative emotional flavors.

    The theme Powell introduces in The Bourne Supremacy for the character's connection to Marie, for example, is a favorite of mine. Probably best executed in its first appearance and never quite topped, actually, when he's running on the beach near the film's opening:



    It's reprised in a lot of neat ways in key moments, too. It shows up at the end when he's apologizing to daughter of his first target—far more melancholic, though. Simultaneously crippling and cathartic.



    Anyways. Big fan, and lots of belief here that he'd be a wonderful choice for Bond.

    Love them tracks. ‘To the roof’ is class too.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited November 2018 Posts: 23,883
    I dont mean to derail this thread further, but I am also a huge fan of the Bourne scores. I remember my feeling viewing the first film in the theatre all those years back. The score was moody, thematic, atmospheric and melodic to my ears at least, and accentuated the activity onscreen. I distinctly recall hoping that Bond scores, which I wasn't too happy with at the time, would improve. Thankfully they did, with CR, QoS and SF (yes, I'm a fan of this one too).

    I'm not sure if Powell is suitable for Bond necessarily, but that doesn't take away from my appreciation for his efforts with the 'other' JB series.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    DCisared wrote: »
    AgentM72 wrote: »
    Interesting! I'll give you that they move the needle further toward complimentary sound than what we'd normally associate with conventional spy music. But I do still hear a great deal of melody and technical proficiency in them, not to mention some wonderfully evocative emotional flavors.

    The theme Powell introduces in The Bourne Supremacy for the character's connection to Marie, for example, is a favorite of mine. Probably best executed in its first appearance and never quite topped, actually, when he's running on the beach near the film's opening:



    It's reprised in a lot of neat ways in key moments, too. It shows up at the end when he's apologizing to daughter of his first target—far more melancholic, though. Simultaneously crippling and cathartic.



    Anyways. Big fan, and lots of belief here that he'd be a wonderful choice for Bond.

    Love them tracks. ‘To the roof’ is class too.

    To The Roof is a great cue. Great modern day spy music. I wasn't too keen on his stuff for the last Bourne film though. One or two decent tracks but it seemed like he was on autopilot for the most part. Fitting I suppose, considering the quality of the film.
  • BOURNE SUPREMACY was easily Powell’s best effort. It’s also my favorite of the Bourne films. His score for ULTIMATUM didn’t register with me. Repetitive and ultimately forgettable. The film too. Overrated to the extreme.
  • DCisaredDCisared Liverpool
    Posts: 1,329
    BOURNE SUPREMACY was easily Powell’s best effort. It’s also my favorite of the Bourne films. His score for ULTIMATUM didn’t register with me. Repetitive and ultimately forgettable. The film too. Overrated to the extreme.

    Agree.

    Just waiting for a Mod to tell us to get back on topic so I can say “ get some rest mod, you look tired”

  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    edited November 2018 Posts: 10,586
    DCisared wrote: »
    BOURNE SUPREMACY was easily Powell’s best effort. It’s also my favorite of the Bourne films. His score for ULTIMATUM didn’t register with me. Repetitive and ultimately forgettable. The film too. Overrated to the extreme.

    Agree.

    Just waiting for a Mod to tell us to get back on topic so I can say “ get some rest mod, you look tired”
    Cheeky.

    Back on topic.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    BOURNE SUPREMACY was easily Powell’s best effort. It’s also my favorite of the Bourne films. His score for ULTIMATUM didn’t register with me. Repetitive and ultimately forgettable. The film too. Overrated to the extreme.

    Love Ultimatum as a film and don't find it overrated at all, but yes the score pretty much coasted on the themes from Supremacy.
  • DCisaredDCisared Liverpool
    Posts: 1,329
    jake24 wrote: »
    DCisared wrote: »
    BOURNE SUPREMACY was easily Powell’s best effort. It’s also my favorite of the Bourne films. His score for ULTIMATUM didn’t register with me. Repetitive and ultimately forgettable. The film too. Overrated to the extreme.

    Agree.

    Just waiting for a Mod to tell us to get back on topic so I can say “ get some rest mod, you look tired”
    Cheeky.

    Back on topic.

    Ha ha
  • Posts: 820
    I probably would have agreed that the Bourne connection would have prevented Powell from taking on Bond prior to Solo coming out. My stance has changed a bit as a result of it.

    John's always been a phenomenal composer, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what I thought he'd bring to an existing franchise with established and (fairly) strict musical rules. He put any of that doubt to bed, definitively, with Star Wars. It's an absolutely wonderful score and marvelously does the simultaneous job of honoring Williams' sandbox while injecting new ideas.

    If, for argument's sake, Bond 25 is to be a leaner, meaner, driving thriller of a piece that echoes back to Casino Royale—say recent rumors are accurate, and it's a sort of "modern FRWL" for example—I could see Powell creating a Bond score with an unmistakably familiar feel, reverential to Barry's work and the Bond theme, but fundamentally built on an energy and rhythmic drive that adds a bit more of the power and drive back in which (perhaps) felt like it was missing at times in the SPECTRE score. (And I say that as someone who's a fan of the SPECTRE score).
  • Blofeld0064Blofeld0064 Milford, Michigan
    Posts: 243
    Fukunaga just dropped out of B25!!! JK!!
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Because of JK? Simmons?
  • Blofeld0064Blofeld0064 Milford, Michigan
    Posts: 243
    JK means just kidding lol!!
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I know. Just playing along. =))
  • Posts: 1,548
    I just want some filming to take place! The score will follow in good time.
  • Fukunaga just dropped out of B25!!! JK!!
    Jesus Christ don't scare me like that.
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    AgentM72 wrote: »
    I probably would have agreed that the Bourne connection would have prevented Powell from taking on Bond prior to Solo coming out. My stance has changed a bit as a result of it.

    John's always been a phenomenal composer, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what I thought he'd bring to an existing franchise with established and (fairly) strict musical rules. He put any of that doubt to bed, definitively, with Star Wars. It's an absolutely wonderful score and marvelously does the simultaneous job of honoring Williams' sandbox while injecting new ideas.

    If, for argument's sake, Bond 25 is to be a leaner, meaner, driving thriller of a piece that echoes back to Casino Royale—say recent rumors are accurate, and it's a sort of "modern FRWL" for example—I could see Powell creating a Bond score with an unmistakably familiar feel, reverential to Barry's work and the Bond theme, but fundamentally built on an energy and rhythmic drive that adds a bit more of the power and drive back in which (perhaps) felt like it was missing at times in the SPECTRE score. (And I say that as someone who's a fan of the SPECTRE score).

    Agreed.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,447
    bondjames wrote: »
    I dont mean to derail this thread further, but I am also a huge fan of the Bourne scores.

    @bondjames
    They are good scores indeed. I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes them very much. Heavy on electronics, but not a bad "direction" to take the Bond music in.
  • BMW_with_missilesBMW_with_missiles All the usual refinements.
    Posts: 3,000
    Because of JK? Simmons?

    You know, I actually wouldn’t mind them working JK Simmons into a Bond movie at some point. The Portal fan in me would appreciate him playing a mad CEO of some scientific company.
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