Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Happy New Year one and all, and welcome to the very first episode of Edith's film music podcast Soundtracking of 2020. Here's to the next decade of cinema and song!To celebrate, we've got not one but two guests for you, with two very different coming-of-age tales about young friendship and rebellion. Both, however, have tremendous warmth at their very core.First up is writer, director and actor Taika Waititi, who's new film Jojo Rabbit tells the story of a boy obsessed by Nazism who discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic. Oh yes, and whose imaginary friend is Adolf Hitler ...Then we speak to Brian Welsh about his wonderful celebration of 90s dance culture Beats, which stars Christian Ortega and Lorn McDonald as two pals gearing up for their first outdoor rave. As you'd expect, the soundtrack is an absolute banger.

Our guest on the very last episode of Soundtracking of the decade is Greta Gerwig, returning to the show to discuss her second outing as a writer/director, Little Women.It's the eighth film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic 1868 novel and boasts a staggering cast - including Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Timothee Chalamet and Meryl Streep. The score, meanwhile, is provided by Alexandre Desplat - and we will of course sprinkle plenty of his music throughout the conversation.

We have a treat for you on our latest episode of Soundtracking, what with it being Christmas and all, with not one guest but three! First up is the delightful Bryce Dessner of The National, who has scored the Netflix film The Two Popes, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce as the eponymous pontiffs, Benedict and Francis. As usual, you'll hear plenty of Bryce's music during the course of the conversation. Then there's something for all you Avengers fans with a very entertaining turn from Infinity War and Endgame writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Now, if we're honest, we don't talk about music at length - but they're such good fun we wanted to share the interview with you anyway.

Our guest on this week's Soundtracking is a writer/director we've long admired, from his Oscar nominated The Squid And The Whale to Frances Ha and Mistress America.  Now Noah Baumbach brings us Marriage Story, a hugely acclaimed tale of a couple (played by Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson) going through a horrible divorce. Available to watch now on Netflix, Marriage Story is scored by none other than Randy Newman - and there's of course plenty of his music to enjoy in this episode.

We're very excited about our latest episode of Soundtracking, which sees Edith joined by a supremely gifted actor, Edward Norton. Well, we say actor, but he's a little bit more than that, having written, produced and directed his latest project, the neo-noir Motherless Brooklyn. Based on a novel by Jonathan Lethem, Motherless Brooklyn tells the story of Lionel Essrog, a private investigator with Tourette's syndrome trying to solve the murder of his mentor. The film serves up a sonic feast - from our Daniel Pemberton's wonky jazz-infused score to an original song by Thom Yorke featuring Flea and a considerable contribution from virtuoso horn player, Wynton Marsalis. We should say it also contains spoilers - but for Chinatown rather than Edward's own film!

One of our favourite films of the year has undoubtedly been Joker. We've already spoken to composer Hildur Guðnadóttir about her score for the movie, and now it's an utter delight to welcome director Todd Phillips back to Soundtracking for a second sitting. There was much to discuss, from Hildur's stunning contributions to the influence of Charlie Chaplin and the thorny issue of why he used a Gary Glitter cue. We also have tracks from Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante.

Our guest on this week's soundtracking is something of a protofeminist in Hollywood terms, in that he makes it his mission to put strong, charismatic women at the very centre of his narratives.Paul Feig made his name with Bridesmaids in 2011 - a much loved comedy starring Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne and Mellisa McCarthy that has more than stood the test of time. 8 years later he's back with another female-led offering, Last Christmas, which was written by (and features) Emma Thompson and sees Emilia Clarke take the lead.Scored by Paul's regular collaborator Theodore Shapiro, Last Christmas is held together musically by a string of George Michael classics, both of whose work you'll hear plenty of ...

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is something of a demigod when it comes to the realms of music and film.Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video director and filmmaker who has snapped anyone who's anyone in the music industry, including Bob Dylan, Bjork, Bruce Springsteen and Miles Davies. Indeed, it was he who took those iconic pictures of Joy Division in the subway tunnel, beginning a relationship which ultimately led to him bringing us the Ian Curtis biopic, Control. Anton has also had a long-standing relationship with U2 and Depeche Mode, and it is Depeche Mode's final concert of their Global Spirit tour that is the subject of his latest project - the documentary, Spirits In The Forest, which places a specific focus on six of the band's fans.Depeche Mode: SPIRITS in the Forest is in cinemas for one night only worldwide on 21 November. Find your closest screening at spiritsintheforest.com

It's a welcome return for David Michod to our latest episode of Soundtracking, in which the Australian director talks us through the music for his latest film, The King.The King is available on Netflix now, and is loosely based on on William Shakespeare's plays relating to Henry V. In putting the movie together, David turned to a couple of friends of this show: co-writer and actor Joel Edgerton and composer Nicholas Britell. It's an intentionally otherworldly score, and, as ever, you'll hear plenty of it throughout the course of the conversation.

Our guest on this latest episode of Soundtracking is an actor who made his name portraying one of the most iconic frontmen ever to have graced a stage.Sam Riley's performance as Ian Curtis of Joy Division in Control was, quite simply, stunning - and perhaps informed by his own experiences of playing in his own band, 10,000 Things. As you'll discover, Sam is not only a great lover of music, but also absolutely cracking company.He can currently be seen appearing in Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil alongside Angelina Jolie.