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Is David Arnold unemployable/blacklisted

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  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,333
    Thank you @bondjames for taking the time to post those. I've gotten around to listening to them all. I did enjoy most all of them but aside from the first Zero Dark Thirty and the Mr. Brooks example you posted, the rest don't really suit themselves to the Bond sound in my opinion. The second Zero Dark Thirty track sounded too much like a Hans Zimmer piece. The Ghost Writer track sounded a bit too goofy for my tastes. The Game of Thrones tracks, while easy on the ears were too "Epic" sounding for a Bond film.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2017 Posts: 23,883
    I hear you @Murdock, and agree.

    Keep in mind though that The Ghost Writer track is for a Polanski film, so I can imagine Desplat went in a certain direction to complement his director's tastes (his films tend to have quirky scores). Having seen Zero Dark Thirty, I can tell you when that 2nd track kicked in at the theatre all I could think of was 'Bond'. Some folks even say the same thing on the youtube comments section for the track. Desplat blends the drums with the orchestra very well.

    Djawadi's sound for GoT is more sweeping epic style, because that's the nature of the show. I posted the Mr. Brooks sample to show you his 'range'. He can switch it up if called to do so.

    They're both quite versatile.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,333
    Yes, hopefully the next direct and composer will be more caring of the Bond sound.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    I just want to say that Brosnan is beyond excellent in The Ghost Writer. Listening to that tune from the film earlier reminded me of how good he is in it.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,539
    I have to say I love the sound from ZDT: it sounds very influenced by Barry, especially the second track you posted.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 8,539
    The second track from ZDT reminds me of elements from AVTAK
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited April 2017 Posts: 23,883
    It has a bit of that soaring sound from "Air Bond" from TLD to it also (including the drums in combination with the orchestra in a repetitive building motif). It's a darn fine track.

    The Ghost Writer track in contrast has a bit of Elfman in the 0.50 to 1.30 mark in combination with Barryesque orchestra and drums.

    One more from Desplat. Love this guy:
  • BondAficionadoBondAficionado Former IMDBer
    Posts: 1,884
    independent.ie/entertainment/music/score-values-from-bond-to-the-olympics-35681658.html

    Arnold provided the soundtrack for five 007 movies in all - from 1999's The World is Not Enough to 2008's Quantum of Solace. His scores straddled the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig eras.

    "I had such great fun on them," he says, his enthusiasm still palpable. "I had been such a huge Bond fan growing up" - he saw You Only Live Twice as a boy shortly after it came out in 1967, and was blown away - "so it felt like a dream come true to be working on them, to be part of a franchise that has meant an awful lot to generations of people."

    He landed the gig after impressing veteran Bond composer John Barry with an album in his honour. Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project was a labour of love that featured such contemporary names as David McAlmont, Pulp and Shara Nelson tackling iconic songs from the Bond films. "I was doing something new with them, but paying homage to a composer I'd such respect for."

    Dear EON, bring back David Arnold for Bond 25. That's all.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    The usual sloppiness. Where is TND?
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    David Arnold is married with three teenage kids, maybe he just is satisfied with doing the scores for Sherlock which certainly pays him nicely.
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    Can it be that he does other tv gigs too? Not everything is credited in a way that it´s easily recognised.
    Also, Arnold was a successful pop producer before he started scoring Bond films, and I believe he never stopped as a pop producer.

    I won´t even try to compare him to Barry. His music for Bond manages to remind me of certain Barry sounds, but basically the two couldn´t be more different from one another. But I listened to Arnold´s DAD soundtrack again the other day, and he reminded me shockingly how much fun a Bond soundtrack can be. Barry seems sophisticated where Arnold just tries to play around, yet I can´t think of any other composer at the moment whose music expresses so much fun suited for a Bond film. Desplat for instance is a genius, but certainly not for action-driven thrillers. Giacchino has great tracks, but constantly starts to bore me throughout, he´s not that good in building a whole score up throughout. Brian Tyler and Henry Jackman are the only two composers I could imagine I would enjoy in a Bond film.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    Posts: 23,883
    @boldfinger I must disagree on Desplat for action. He will kill a Bond score.

    I agree with you that Arnold is no Barry. Not by a long shot. Purely surface driven similarities there. One is a melodic genius who knows how to compose action scores with full orchestra without any hint of being overblown. The other rarely can.

    I agree fully on Henry Jackman being perfect for the job, as he has proven with Kingsman and Winter Soldier.
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    @bondjames, I´d be happy if you could direct me towards samples of Desplat´s scores that indicate that he is suited for Bond, especially in the fun action section.

    The funny thing about David Arnold is, as much as he is a hack with the orchestra, he still manages to convey an immense amount of energy, and I don´t mean just noise, he pretty well nailed both Brosnan´s and Craig´s attitude in his respective scores.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited May 2017 Posts: 23,883
    I'm afraid I don't have an example @boldfinger. What I'm going by is what I've seen him do for Zero Dark Thirty as an example, as well as The Ghost Writer & The Ides of March (sample above).

    I'm not going necessarily by what I've seen him replicate, but more by potential. What I think he can do.

    He's a master melody maker and I've always found his faster paced scores listenable (even 'tappable'). That's something Barry excelled with. Arnold can't craft those faster paced melodies as well imho, without the orchestra becoming a bit overwhelming and overbearing. Neither can Newman (as evidenced by the horrid scoring for the car chase sequence in SP).

    I don't think Desplat will ever get Bond, because I believe he's a bit of a perfectionist and needs time to finesse his score. My understanding of the Bond process is that the composer is always stuck with limited time at the end of the filming process to scramble to deliver a meaty score.
  • boldfingerboldfinger
    Posts: 5,767
    @bondjames, Zero Dark Thirty and The Ghost Writer are fantastic thriller scores, but I have yet to hear anything from Desplat that would suit James Bond action. I mean, I would go for a tight thriller Bond with hardly any action, but that is not really realistic. Desplat scored the action-filled Largo Winch, and I found his music for that film rather boring. His Godzilla score rocks, but I don´t hear anything in it that would imply the potential to score Bond. I wish I would though, because Desplat is a genius.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited May 2017 Posts: 23,883
    Precisely @boldfinger. He is a genius. That's why I think he could deliver if given the opportunity. I've always felt that experience is overrated. There are a lot of experienced people without real talent.

    I'm sure that the draw of scoring a Bond film will bring out the creative flourishes from someone with Desplat's capabilities.

    As an example, Martin hadn't done anything like Bond prior to doing it and neither had Hamlish to my knowledge. Both were quite memorable imho.

    I must give the Largo Winch score a listen sometime.
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