Score: The Podcast

Kenny and Robert begin the show discussing recent scores they've been checking out including Jordan Peele's take on Candyman by composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe and HBO's popular series The White Lotus by composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer. Subscribe to MORE SCORE on Patreon for year-round interviews, film music talk and even cool merch: http://Patreon.com/MoreScore Then, 9x Oscar-nominated composer and friend of the show James Newton Howard (News of the World, Jungle Cruise, Raya and the Last Dragon, Fantastic Beasts series, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, King Kong, The Hunger Games series, The Sixth Sense, Signs) joins the show sharing why he dropped out of USC after three months on a music scholarship, revealing a question he once asked that immediately got him fired from an early film scoring gig, discussing how he connected with Metallica to collaborate for Jungle Cruise and why that may not be the last time they work together, and defining the most important skill a film composer should master. This episode is presented by Spitfire Audio Follow us on Twitter @ScoreThePodcast or send Kenny and Robert your questions for the mailbox at ScoreTheMailbox@epicleff.com Hosts: Robert Kraft & Kenny Holmes Executive Producer: Matt Schrader Coordinator: Carol Kuswanto © 2021 Epicleff Media

Robert (an award-winning songwriter!) and Matt (not one) take a trip down memory lane and tell some stories behind iconic songs on the past few decades in this music video review! PLAYLIST: Beat It, Michael Jackson (1982) I Want A New Drug, Huey Lewis & The News (1983) Aaliyah, Journey to the Past, Aaliyah (1997) Higher Love, Steve Winwood (1986) Walk This Way, Aerosmith/Run DMC (1986 cover of 1976 song) I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Whitney Houston (1987) Lady Marmalade, Lil Kim, Mya, Pink, Christina Aguilera (2002) Gettin' Jiggy Wit It (1998) Shape of My Heart, Backstreet Boys (2000) All The Small Things, Blink-182 (2000) Seven Nation Army, The White Stripes (2003) Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Green Day (2004)

In another loaded double-guest episode, Kenny and Robert begin the show chatting with World Soundtrack Awards Film Composer of the Year nominee Nainita Desai (The Reason I Jump, For Sama, American Murder: The Family Next Door) about her early years working as an engineer and mixer, overcoming "imposter syndrome," the art of writing music for documentary and keeping the authenticity of true stories and why she was caught by surprise when she learned she was nominated by the WSA. Subscribe to MORE SCORE on Patreon for year-round interviews, film music talk and even cool merch: http://Patreon.com/MoreScore Later, award-winning composer and record producer Dan Romer (Luca, Beasts of the Souther Wild, Beasts of No Nation, Wendy, Superman and Lois) joins the show to sharing what he learned about scoring Italian influenced music, revealing what motivated him to create unique sound palettes for his scores, and details what happened with No Time To Die and why being replaced on that film only made him stronger. This episode is presented by Spitfire Audio Follow us on Twitter @ScoreThePodcast or send Kenny and Robert your questions for the mailbox at ScoreTheMailbox@epicleff.com Hosts: Robert Kraft & Kenny Holmes Executive Producer: Matt Schrader Coordinator: Carol Kuswanto © 2021 Epicleff Media

Jeff Cardoni has scored some of the biggest television shows of the past decade like CSI: Miami, Silicon Valley, The Kominsky Method and the upcoming series Heels on Starz! We also talk to him about the moment that could have ended his career in a Denny's parking lot, and writing purposely bad pop songs for the movie "Just Friends." Also, why he almost performed his Cornholio impression for Mike Judge!

Robert and Kenny begin the show discussing the nominees for the 2021 World Soundtrack Awards, including many former guests and friends of the show. Kenny also shares why Blake Neely had an exciting and unexpected surprise while watching the Tokyo Olympics over the weekend.    Subscribe to MORE SCORE on Patreon for year-round interviews, film music talk and even cool merch: http://Patreon.com/MoreScore  Later, Emmy-nominated composer Rupert Gregson-Williams (Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Hacksaw Ridge, Veep, Catch 22, The Crown, Behind Her Eyes and more) joins the show sharing his early stories of growing up with his brother and fellow A-list composer Harry and why they only recently collaborated on a project after many years of success as solo composers, detailing why a particular cue on The Crown was his most challenging job to date, and revealing why Adam Sandler prefers to skip spotting sessions on his films. This episode is presented by Spitfire Audio Follow us on Twitter @ScoreThePodcast or send Kenny and Robert your questions for the mailbox at ScoreTheMailbox@epicleff.com Hosts: Robert Kraft & Kenny Holmes Executive Producer: Matt Schrader Coordinator: Carol Kuswanto © 2021 Epicleff Media

It's not often that we get to talk to a composer in depth about his path from a 10-year-old starting piano lessons to working in film and video games. Austin Wintory has been scoring films for 15 years from the time he left college, and has now written music for video games in prestige franchises including Assassin's Creed, Command and Conquer, John Wick, Counter Strike, League of Legends, and many more. We go the distance with Austin about how he took charge of his high school orchestra program, didn't get into his dream school USC but found a way to get there anyway, and began to leverage his early student film projects into video games and films!

Robert and Kenny begin the show discussing the trailer release and score cues of Dune with original score by Hans Zimmer. Kenny asks Robert to explain why the music used in trailers most often doesn't reflect the score/sound of the film. Subscribe to MORE SCORE on Patreon for year-round interviews, film music talk and even cool merch: http://Patreon.com/MoreScore Later, Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning composer Carter Burwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Morning Show, Space Force, Fargo, Carol, Twilight series, No Country For Old Men, True Grit, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Tragedy of Macbeth and so many more) joins the show sharing that his initial leap into film was as an animator, how he connected with the Coen Brothers and why their bond has only gotten stronger after more than a dozen films together, explaining why he never left the east coast, and detailing his first earthquake encounter in 1994 while scoring Airheads, which happened to be one of the most catastrophic earthquakes in history. This episode is presented by Spitfire Audio Follow us on Twitter @ScoreThePodcast or send Kenny and Robert your questions for the mailbox at ScoreTheMailbox@epicleff.com Hosts: Robert Kraft & Kenny Holmes Executive Producer: Matt Schrader Coordinator: Carol Kuswanto © 2021 Epicleff Media

Back in 2007, two composers pooled some money to record a bunch of musicians so they could use the samples. They were really good! Harry Gregson-Williams loved it. Now it's Spitfire Audio, the most innovative sample library company in the world. This is the story of those two composers, Paul Thomson and Christian Henson!  (Note: This is not a paid advertisement for Spitfire Audio. We actually wanted to interview them earlier on Score: The Podcast, but didn't want it to look like a conflict of interest since they support that show! Enjoy the cool story of how these composers fell into entrepreneurship.)

In our third double-guest episode in a row, Kenny and Robert begin the show chatting with rockstar songwriter, musician and composer, Isabella Summers (Little Fires Everywhere, Panic, Physical) aka “The Machine” from Florence + The Machine. Isa reveals that she always wanted to work in film and even scored and directed her own horror films as a kid, explains how she jumped head first into film scoring and continues to learn as she goes and breaks down the differences between scoring with a partner and writing solo. Subscribe to MORE SCORE on Patreon for year-round interviews, film music talk and even cool merch: http://Patreon.com/MoreScore Later, Oscar-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal (Frida, Batman Forever, Heat, Interview with the Vampire, Alien 3, Pet Sematary, Demolition Man and so many more) joins the show to discuss growing up in Brooklyn and absorbing multiple styles of music, his working relationship with late director Joel Schumacher, how Jim Carrey’s Riddler influenced his themes for Batman Forever, why he compares a tight deadline to a car crash, and shares his secret for overcoming writer’s block. This episode is presented by Spitfire Audio Follow us on Twitter @ScoreThePodcast or send Kenny and Robert your questions for the mailbox at ScoreTheMailbox@epicleff.com Hosts: Robert Kraft & Kenny Holmes Executive Producer: Matt Schrader Coordinator: Carol Kuswanto © 2021 Epicleff Media

Robert Kraft examines the life and career of one of the unsung heroes of every film score — the contractor! Peter Rotter is considered one of the pre-eminent orchestral contractors working today, and his job is to book musicians on a mass scale to record the composer's work. In this chat, Robert and Peter discuss what to look for in players, recording in different cities, and bouncing back after Covid.