Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

Back in 2016, we had the idea of making a podcast dedicated to screen music. We had no clue whether we'd get the guests, whether they'd have anything to say, whether it'd get repetitive - or even whether you'd listen. Roll forward 2 years, and here we are at Soundtracking celebrating our 100th episode. It's a milestone we're incredibly proud to have reached, and to mark the occasion we've compiled a selection of our favourite moments from our first hundred episodes. The diversity of what you'll hear shows what infinite variety there is to the fine art of film and teleivision music - which is exactly why you won't be getting rid of us just yet. Among those featured in this Who's Who of showbusiness are Jon Favreau, Nicolas Winding Refn, Ron Howard, Edgar Wright, Danny Boyle, Sofia Coppola, Justin Hurwitz, Greta Gerwig, Duncan Jones and Clint Mansell. Enjoy!

It's a slightly different edition of Soundtracking this week, as we bring you another of our live events, this time recorded at the Moët Summer House weekend in London in June. Edith's guest was the brilliant playwright and screenwriter Abi Morgan, whose work includes movies Iron Lady and Shame and TV dramas The Hour, River and The Split.  We're bringing this one to you in two parts, because as well as talking about music, we also spoke at length about her craft. And while it doesn't quite fit with our usual brief, we thought we should share what Abi had to say about that too, as she provides great insights into the process of writing for the screen.

It's a very special episode of Soundtracking for Edith this week, as we welcome first-time director Drew Pearce to the show. Edith and Drew have known each other for nearly 20 years, during which time he's co-written Iron Man 3 and provided the story for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation His debut feature as a director is Hotel Artemis, which is set in the near future and tells the story of a nurse who runs a hospital for criminals. Despite being new to the directing game, Drew has assembled a quite incredible cast - headed up by Jodie Foster in her first major acting role for 5 years. Jeff Goldblum, Sofia Boutella and Sterling K Brown are among those providing support. He also managed to persuade composer Cliff Martinez to score the movie, and we get plenty of insights into how the great man operates.

Not for the first time on this show we're joined by Pixar royalty, which is, frankly, a joy. Following Edith's chat about Coco with Lee Unkrich & Darla Anderson back in episode 75, we're delighted to welcome writer, director, animator, voice-actor & double Oscar winner Brad Bird - who has just served up another masterclass in movie-making with Incredibles 2. Like Coco, Incredibles 2 is scored by Michael Giacchino, who also worked with Brad on the first film. We also talk about Iron Giant, find out about his introduction to Disney, and discover some of his favourite scores.

Our guest this week is an Oscar winning Scottish director, equally at home in the realms of fact and fiction. Kevin Macdonald won his academy award for One Day in September, but has also won widespread critical acclaim for films such as Marley, The Last King Of Scotland, How I Live Now and State Of Play. He's collaborated with some tremendous composers along the way, including Jon Hopkins and Alex Heffes - of which more later.  But we begin with his latest project Whitney, a gut-wrenching documentary about the ill-fated singer, featuring candid interviews with those closest to her, as well as plenty of her music.  We also hope it provides aspiring filmmakers with a fascinating insight into his processes.

We know we bang on about it here on Soundracking, but it really is hard to get women on the programme, such is the male dominance of the industry. But every now and again, our efforts succeed, in this case with the suprememly talented writer/ director, Clio Barnard. Clio's latest film is Dark River. Starring Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, and Sean Bean, it tells the story of a woman who returns home after a 15 year absence in order to claim the tenancy of her father's farm. Boasting a new song by PJ Harvey, Dark River is scored by Harry Escott, who has worked with Clio on all three of her features, starting with her debut Arbor. We should say that this episode features a MAJOR SPOILER relating to her second movie, The Selfish Giant.

It's been a year that's seen one or two massive cinematic events, but you can always count on dinosaurs to make a few very loud noises too. Already the 7th highest grossing film of 2018, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the work of Spanish director JA Bayona, who returns to Soundtracking for a second sitting. You can, of course, listen to our previous conversation with Signor Bayona via edithbowman.com.  Scored by Michael Giacchino, Fallen Kingdom is part adventure story, part haunted house thriller, with the two elements posing very different challenges for both director & composer. Then, of course, there was John Williams' classic Jurassic Park theme to consider. For reasons we'll discover, JA and Michael deployed it sparingly, though it does feature in familiar form at the very end of the film ...

You can't describe yourself as a podcast about film music without talking to the occasional composer. And we've be joined by a fair few of the best - from Clint Mansell, Justin Hurwitz and Nicholas Brittell to Geoff Barrow, Ben Salisbury and Philip Selway. Without exception, each has cast the projects they've been involved with in a new light and given us exclusive insights into the subtleties of their craft. So we're delighted to finally bring you Daniel Pemberton, in a piece recorded a few months back in his London studio. Daniel is hot property right now. Having worked with Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie, Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin, he's now provided the score for Ocean's 8, which is out around the globe already but in the UK on Monday 18th June. We'll hear examples of his compositions for all these world-class directors throughout the conversation, as well as some cracking stories.

As if we needed an excuse to invite Ron Howard back to Soundtracking, the fact he's directed the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise is a pretty good one. Solo: A Stars Wars Story speaks for itself, telling the backstory of one of cinema's most lovable rogues. And as with all the movies, music plays an integral part - as central to the experience as the narrative, characterisation and special effects. In this instance, John Powell provided a score which takes things in a new sonic direction. Nevertheless, he had the blessing of John Williams, who also composed a brand new theme for Han ...

We all know Hugh Grant, from his floppy haired romantic performances, dad dancing down the stairs at No 10 Downing Street and most recently high kicking his was in pink prison Lycra in Paddington 2.   There is much more than meets the eye with Hugh, particularly when it comes to music and specifically in projects he’s involved in as a producer. He very clearly appreciates and understands the power of music, both for him as an actor but also in how it should be carefully crafted into a film. Currently starring in the BBC Drama A Very English Scandal as the British Liberal Party leader, Jeremy Thorpe, who in 1979 was accused of the attempted murder of his gay ex-lover. It is directed by the award winning Stephen Frears and written by the fabulous Russell T Davis who brought on board his regular collaborator, composer Murray Gold. In this episode you will hear Murrays work for the show along with some familiar pieces of music from Hughs back catalogue. Not least the memorable work done by Badly Drawn Boy for About A Boy.