Thomas Newman will score SKYFALL

Heh, I liked QOS more than the others as well. CR? Can't listen to it.

Anyways... Hello, Newman.

Sharky wrote:

I will defend Arnold's QOS to my deathbed.

God almighty! :face:

I think QoS was Arnolds best contribution to the series but whether you were an Arnold fan or not I think some variety is overdue so this should be a welcome change of pace, although I have to admit Newman isn't a composer that has ever really engaged me.

Not sure if this is Mendes decision, or Arnold's because he is too busy on the Olympics.

Surprised no one has mentioned the link between Barry and Newman, with Redford's Horse Whisperer.....I wrote an article on this here - http://www.filmnav.co.uk/2012/01/09/thomas-newman-to-score-skyfall/

jet set willy wrote:

Not sure if this is Mendes decision, or Arnold's because he is too busy on the Olympics.

I think it might be a little bit of both. With Arnold busy, Mendes took advantage of the situation and brought in his go-to-guy for scoring SKYFALL as the substitute. Arnold has always said that he only worked one film at a time when it came to a Bond film, like Barry he was never on a contract for EON otherwise he would have to pull out of the Olympics.

Officially confirmed:

http://www.007.com/newman-on-board-for-skyfall/



FUCK YEAH BITCHES!

Quote :

Newman takes over musical duties from David Arnold who is currently Music Director of the London Olympic and Paralympic closing ceremonies. David will continue to be involved with the 50th anniversary of Bond and recently produced the John Barry Memorial Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Said Arnold of the news: “I’m a huge fan of Thomas Newman so I am as excited as anyone to see where Sam Mendes and his team take James Bond on his 50th anniversary.”

So he's still on the 50th anniversary project too, not just the Olympics.

If you listen really carefully, you can just hear people over at MI6 - Pistols and Graves in particular - gloating about how they were the ones who got Arnold replaced.

Glad to see it confirmed.

Newman isn't one of my favorite composers, but it's nice to have a change of pace.

I don't think I'll be intentionally listening to any of Newman's scores prior to seeing Skyfall (unless of course I come across film he scored), as I want to go into Skyfall without any preconceptions of its music. Arnold was a very predictable composer. Quantum was a step in the right direction though, so sure I'm he'll be back in a film or two.

jet set willy wrote:

Not sure if this is Mendes decision, or Arnold's because he is too busy on the Olympics.

According to Arnold, it was Mendes' decision:

Quote :

I didn't turn it down to do the Olympics....it's Sams choice and I think the right choice for him.

If nothing else, this shows that SKYFALL will have an unprecedented level of director input and control.

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

If nothing else, this shows that SKYFALL will have an unprecedented level of director input and control.

Well, it's become clearer that Broccoli can be hypnotised by these:



So we've got the most-nominated without-winning cinematographer, and the most-nominated without-winning composer in the business.

With an Oscar-winning director, Oscar-winning production designer, two-time nominee editor, Oscar-winning villain, two time nominee Fiennes, five time nominee Finney, winner Dench...

If the film is well-received at all, Sony will go batshit with FYC ads next year. Even if EON claim that's not their intent.

Your cynicism is galling.

Why do you assume that Barbara Broccoli wants an Oscar simply because EON have shown a desire to make the best possible film? Everyone said the same thing during production of CASINO ROYALE, and while it didn't win any of the little golden statues that are handed out on a completely arbitrary basis, EON did manage to produce one of the best films in the franchise.

Several people, including Craig, Mendes and Wilson, have all said that they think the best way to celebrate fifty years of James Bond films is to make the best film that they can possibly make, and Craig has said that he thinks Sam Mendes will not settle for anything less than the single best film in the franchise's history. So I'm not really sure what Babs' supposed desire for an Oscar has to do with any of that. Some films are Oscar bait, but they tend to be genre-specific. When franchises like Bond try it, it becomes really obvious what they are doing, and audiences tend not to respond very well to it. Case-in-point being SPIDERMAN 3, which stank of Oscar bait with the whole internal-battle-between-good-and-evil subplot (even if it was directly taken from the source material).

Could it be that EON just want to make the best possible film that they can, and figure the best way to do that is to attract the most talented cast and crew members that they can? Or would you prefer that EON deliberately made SKYFALL into a second-rate Bond film just to prove that Babs isn't distracted by shiny golden statuettes?

Don't they always try and make the best film they can make?

Prisoner Monkeys wrote:

jet set willy wrote:

Not sure if this is Mendes decision, or Arnold's because he is too busy on the Olympics.

According to Arnold, it was Mendes' decision:

Quote :

I didn't turn it down to do the Olympics....it's Sams choice and I think the right choice for him.

If nothing else, this shows that SKYFALL will have an unprecedented level of director input and control.

Agreed. I am actually not too bothered that Arnold is not doing this one. It will be a change to see someone else take over the reigns for a movie. I felt sometimes Arnold's music was too techno in places, maybe he can learn a few pointers from Newman, who knows.

Shawshank is a great film, and superb score, particularly the end theme when Freeman finally gets to the beach. Newman usually does sweeping slow scores, so it is going to be interesting to see how he adapts to action music. Then again, Barry was more famous for his majesticall sweeping too, yet had no problem when it came to action scores.

Sounds like Mendes is getting artistic control over the movie anyway, which can't be a bad thing. The less fiddling from Babs and Mickey, the better....... :bball:

I thought the only thing Spider-Man 3 stank of was shit.

lachesis wrote:

Don't they always try and make the best film they can make?

Yes, they do. But it would appear that they have raised the bar considerably higher for SKYFALL. For some reason, people assume that this means Babs wants an Oscar and will do anything to get one.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

I thought the only thing Spider-Man 3 stank of was shit.

That's what I meant when I said that audiences don't respond to it. Films that are Oscar bait usually deal with war, the Holocaust, underpriveliged kids and so on and so forth. But sometimes films outside those established genres try it, and I suspect SPIDERMAN 3 was attempting to do it. They had the whole tortured hero schtick and the internal battle between good and evil, an increasingly fragile situation for the hero to deal with and a conventient retcon to give the hero and villain an emotional character-development arc. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were trying to make a Serious Film, filled with the stuff the Academy loves.

Bond isn't now "Oscar bait," but it does seem that Babs and MGW have tried to significantly up the prestige level of the Bond franchise.

It's more of vague saying than anything else. I don't think any of here really think Bond's gonna get a motherload of Oscars, if any. It stands a chance at the Baftas though, which is something. IIRC, Craig got nominated for "best actor" with CR.

Harmsway wrote:

Bond isn't now "Oscar bait," but it does seem that Babs and MGW have tried to significantly up the prestige level of the Bond franchise.

And I fail to see how that is a bad thing. Bond has been a part of cinema for fifty years. It is the longest-running film franchise in history. I see no reason why it shouldn't continue to aim higher and higher.

I know we hear the same old stories about how this director and that actor were weaned on Bond films from their youth every time a new film is announced, but the one thing I've noticed about SKYFALL is the shared enthusiasm from the cast and crew. They're not just happy to be working on a Bond film, they're happy to be working with one another and I can't see how that is a bad thing.

Calling Bond films "Oscar bait" is ludicrous. If similar tentpoles like "Casino Royale" or "The Dark Knight" can't get Best Picture nominations, Bond sure as hell ain't. Unless "Skyfall" is trying to do something like "District 9," which I really hope to god never happens, throwing the phrase "Oscar bait" around is hyperbolic.

If you want real Oscar bait, watch "The Help."

If AVATAR can get a Best Picture nomination, any film can.

Jack Wade wrote:

Unless "Skyfall" is trying to do something like "District 9,"

I don't think it is. I think people are just looking to criticise Barbara Broccoli by assuming the worst in her simply because they are unhappy with some of the decisions she has made in the past. Whether or not she actually made those decisions is likewise open to debate, as is the suggestion that those decisions are automatically bad decisions simply because Babs was the one who made them.

Makeshift Python wrote:

If AVATAR can get a Best Picture nomination, any film can.

"Avatar" is a different beast. "Avatar" was nominated for how it "changed" filmmaking. I highly doubt any Bond film will be doing that any time soon.

Funny how in retrospect that it's so called change isn't really working out too well.