Intro/Movie impressions--Future Composer poll

[caliburncy]

--- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., "oz_widgeon" <littlered32773 at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-Movie at y..., "foilgirl_82" <foilgirl_82 at y...> wrote:
> > I was looking forward to the movie so much because I thought it
> > would add something that the books didn't. A different
> > interpretation, maybe? I wasn't expecting a (nearly) carbon copy 
> > of the first book and that was a disappointment. 
> 
> I think it funny that you say this, as most of the gripes have been 
> about the movie not following the book closely enough.  You should 
> read some of the gripes on the hpgalleries boards!  I don't think
> I've seen one complaint about it following to book too closely.
> Very intersting!

Actually, if you check some of the earlier messages to the list, 
there are several members here who hold a similar view as 
foilgirl_82, that the movie was trying too hard to stay close to the 
book, and thereby did not make as effective a film in its own right.  
Basically, it all comes down to what you expect an adaptation to do.  
If you'll forgive the shameless self-plug, I wrote about the 
alternate opinions of adaptations in Message #622.  For background in 
understanding that post, you may want to read my views on the HP film 
in particular, which can be found in other earlier messages (search 
for "caliburn").  But, yes, foilgirl_82 is not alone.  She can join 
the club of people who "liked the movie, but thought it worked better 
as a good visualization of a book than as a film judged on its own 
merits".  Sorry, we never came up with a snazzier club nickname.

***

Re: The poll about who you would like to see compose the HP movies 
starting with GOF

I voted for Hans Zimmer in this, but did so quite reluctantly, 
because as I previously stated, I do not really think it makes any 
sense whatsoever to have Zimmer do a follow up to Williams.  In a 
sense, I voted for Zimmer just because it would be neat to see what 
would happen under that circumstance (since, as I said, he's 
surprised me in the past), not because I'm totally convinced it's the 
wisest course of action.  If Williams left, and I really was in 
charge of the replacement decision, I'm not sure I'd pick Zimmer, 
just because his style and Williams style are not that similar at 
all, and I'd hate to tell Zimmer "you have to write this score a 
little more like John Williams".  So there are times when I feel like 
cancelling that vote altogether, since I don't really entirely agree 
with it, but none of the other options seem obviously better.

See if I was Producer David Heyman, then I would probably just keep 
John Williams for as long as he was willing to stay.  Not because I 
have any great love for Williams (my view on him is "middle of the 
road"--I think he is overrated by his diehard fans and underrated by 
his detractors), but because I believe in consistency, except where 
consistency is blindly followed in such a way that it detracts from 
the final product.  So I would make some attempt to keep the music 
within the films relatively similar, without being redundant (perhaps 
more similar in general style and texture than theme or vice versa, 
but not both).  And I think sticking with one composer makes that 
quite possible.

But in the event that Williams backed out, I think I would go with a 
lesser known that had some potential.  For example, I might write to 
a man named Lennie Moore and tell him that he was under consideration 
to replace Williams as the composer for HP, but we wanted to see what 
he'd do with the score if given the opportunity, so please send us a 
demo tape.  Based on that HP demo tape, I would determine whether or 
not to take him on.  Who's Lennie Moore?  You've never heard of him?  
No, of course, you haven't.  In fact, he's not even a film composer.  
He composed the music for a computer game called Outcast (performed 
by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Chorus) which is extremely film 
score-esque (in both style and application) and his style bears some 
definite similarity to Williams except that Moore hits some much 
darker textures, which, it seems to me, is exactly what future HP 
movies will need.  And since Moore hasn't really come into his own, 
he will theoretically be more willing to innovate in some instances, 
but also more willing to stick to the ideas that Williams initiated 
where necessary.  Because his style is already a bit similar to 
Williams, I would encourage him to innovate, innovate, innovate 
because the consistency with Williams will then just come naturally, 
and hence, less formulaic.

Or, if Lennie Moore's HP demo tape was not very promising, I might 
take someone better known, but ask them to branch out a bit.  Perhaps 
Michael Kamen, who can be just as melodic as Williams, and might be 
able to follow up in turn, reinterpreting the material already put 
forth by Williams and expanding upon it heavily to darken it, but 
also using orchestrations that are not so typically Williams.  Or 
it'd be interesting to find out what Don Davis did with the Jurassic 
Park 3 soundtrack in having to follow up to Williams.  I haven't 
heard it, so I can't say if it's incredibly "blah" and repetitious or 
if it might be an indicator that he's a possibility as well.  He 
definitely has the training, if nothing else.

Most likely the best choice is someone I'm forgetting . . . Hmm . . .

But I just get the feeling that replacing Williams with another big 
name like Elfman, Horner, Goldsmith, Zimmer, etc. would suddenly give 
us a strikingly different musical palette for future HP movies that 
just wouldn't make for a very consistent painting overall.

-Luke