Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

It's three for the price of one on the latest episode of Soundtracking.First up is actress, producer and now director, Olivia Wilde, who makes her debut behind the camera with Booksmart. A coming-of-age comedy/drama starring Kaitlyn Dever and Beanind Feldstein, it boasts a killer soundtrack and a super-cool score by Dan The Automater.As if that weren't enough, we then welcome director Dexter Fletcher and composer Giles Martin, who join forces to fabulous effect on the Elton John musical biopic, Rocketman. Starring Taron Egerton in the lead role and Jamie Bell as Elton's longtime collaborater, Bernie Taupin, the film features all the classics, reworked for the purposes of the narrative by Giles.But we begin with Olivia - who we can assure you knows and loves her music. As we mentioned, she's used a number of great needle-drops in Booksmart, including tracks by LCD Soundsystem, Lizzo and Anderson Paak. Dan the Automator, meanwhile, compliments her choices with his score, which more than passes as a standalone work of beats, breaks and dreamy electronica ...

It's a welcome return for Guy Ritchie to Soundtracking, Edith's weekly film music podcast. And it's also a welcome return for Aladdin, making his first big screen appearance since 1992 in Guy's live action remake of DIsney's animated classic. In this visually stunning reboot, Will Smith is charged with filling Robin Williams's considerable boots as Genie, with Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott playing Aladdin and Jasmin respectively.As with the animation, this latest incarnation is scored by Alan Menken, who won an Oscar and Golden Globe for the original. And in addition to a new number called Speechless, it features plenty of familiar tunes, including the classics Arabian Nights, One Jump Ahead and Friend Like Me.

We are truly in the company of cinematic royalty on the latest episode of Soundracking, as Keanu Reeves joins John Wick director Chad Stahelski to discuss chapter 3 of the hugely enjoyable franchise. Theirs was very much a partnership forged during the filming of The Matrix trilogy - on which Chad worked as both a stuntman and stunt co-ordinator. When Keanu received the script for Wick, he invited Chad on board, who in turn enlisted the services of composers Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard. They provided the scores for all three movies, and as ever you'll hear plenty of their work sprinkled throughout the conversation - as well as a couple of classic needle drops from The Matrix.

We have a treat for you on our latest episode of Soundtracking, not just in the shape of our guest but also the quite magnificent score that accompanies his new film. For director Dome Karukoski wisely enlisted the services of the incomparable Thomas Newman for Tolkein, a biopic on the life of The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings author. Starring Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Colm Meaney, and Derek Jacobi, Tolkein charts the writer's formative years, as his creativity, friendships and love affair with Edith Bratt are put to the test by the outbreak of World War I. As ever, you'll hear plenty of Thomas's music throughout the conversation, as well as examples of Hildur Guðnadóttir & Lasse Enersen's work on one of Dome's previous movies, Tom Of Finland.

After 22 films featuring a legion of heroes and villains, it is the end (of sorts) for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of an epic undertaking on the part of Marvel Studios, and delivers thrills, laughs, spectacular set pieces and one or two tears. We've done our best to avoid spoilers, but if you haven't seen Endgame or indeed Infinity War, you might want to wait before diving in to this latest episode of Soundtracking.As with Infinity War, Endgame directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, with the score provided by Alan Silvestri. And in the fine tradition of the Marvel movies, we've got a rather large bonus at the end of our conversation in the shape of our first interview with the Russo brothers, to save you searching for it on the internet. It really is worth revisiting.

What links Gandhi, Dangerous Liaisons, Groundhog Day, My Name Is Joe, The Fisher King and You've Got Mail?The answer is composer George Fenton, who scored all of these films as well as a hundred-odd more! He also provided the music for several big budget BBC wildlife documentaries, including as The Trials Of Life and Blue Planet and Planet Earth.So we are indeed in esteemed company on our latest episode of Soundtracking, the original podcast about screen music.We caught up with George at his wonderful home on the release of Red Joan, a British spy drama starring Sophie Cookson and Judi Dench. As usual, you'll hear George's work from this and other movies throughout the conversation, as well his experiences of collaborating with Stephen Frears, Terry Gilliam, Ken Loach, Nora Ephron and Sir Richard Attenborough. 

Our guest on this week's Soundtracking is not necessarily a name you'll be familiar with. But as a movie fan, you'll certainly know the music he has had a key hand in. For in his 20 years at Air Studios, Jake Jackson has produced and engineered an extraordinary number of magnificent scores. As well as being Nick Cave and Warren Ellis's go-to guy, he has also worked on Gladiator, Pete's Dragon and Under the Skin among many other well-known films. Indeed, his work has featured on at least 20 episodes of this podcast, which is why we were so keen to get him on.

It's three for the price of one in our latest episode of Soundtracking, as director Tom Harper, writer Nicole Taylor and actress Jessie Buckley join me to discuss their new film, Wild Rose.Set in Glasgow, Wild Rose tells the story of Rose-Lyne Harlan, a troubled working class mother of two who dreams of becoming a country star in Nashville. With strong support from Julie Walters and Sophie Okonedo, it's a moving, bittersweet affair, that never goes in quite the direction you're expecting. It also features plenty of music - some of which you'll recognise and some of which is totally original.Indeed, with the help of their music guru Jack Arnold, Nicole and Jessie wrote several of the songs that appear in the movie. 

Our latest episode of Soundtracking is another live event, recorded at the British Film Institute in London with writer, director & actor Andy Serkis and musician Nitin Sawhney.The pair have collaborated on several occasions, most recently on Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle, Andy's performance capture reimagining of The Jungle Book. It's available to watch now via Netflix, and if you haven't seen it already we highly recommend it. Nitin also provided the score for Breathe - Andy's directorial debut.As alway's, you'll hear plenty of music from both films during the conversation and plenty more besides.

You wait months for a guest to talk with authority about scary movies, then two come along at once. Following Jordan Peele's fine turn in our previous episode, we're delighted to welcome Eli Roth to the show this time round. Eli is a writer, director, actor and producer who came to prominence with films such as Cabin Fever and Hostel. While much of his work is not for the faint hearted, his latest project, The House With A Clock In Its Walls, follows the great Spielberg tradition of frightening family fun.  Eli is also an encyclopaedia when it comes to score - to the point at which we couldn't source half of the music he refers to. But no matter: as you'll hear, he delivers quite the lesson nonetheless ...