Big Sur is at the end of the continent. It attracts really crazy people. |
John Barry was the first film composer I was aware of. As a teenager I owned several of his Bond soundtracks. |
Los Angeles is an industry town, and it has great facilities and personnel. The disadvantage is that everyone there seems to talk about the same subject matter. |
The flow of Guiness into the studio was inspirational as well as nutritive. |
I prefer a life in which we don't take ourselves too seriously. |
Even if I went off to some other career, I hope I would still be doing Coen films. |
All my music is very simple in that melody is usually clearly stated. |
I would like to do a science fiction film some day. Star Wars seems really to have destroyed the genre, which at one time offered great musical opportunities. |
John Barry was my hero when I was about 13. His scores to the James Bond movies were the scores of my life back then. |
I'm one of those people who is actually inspired by a deadline. I might not sleep for many days on end, it may not be good for my health, but it definitely helps. |
Conducting, I tried it once off the cuff, and quickly realized there were subtle aspects that I was missing. There is a lot more to it that I was able to grasp simply by watching conductors. |
I write music to please myself. Hopefully the director's enjoying it too. |
Most films I work on, the people making the film are constantly second-guessing the executives of the studio, the producer, and the audience. It is very hard to accomplish anything in that situation. |
I just love the sheer mess of New York. |
I think being a little nuts is helpful. |
There is not much irony when people are being happy on screen. |
In mainstream romantic comedies, I'm usually tearing my hair out. It's just a devastatingly difficult genre for me. |
I almost never try to make the audience comfortable. I wouldn't want that if I were in the audience. |
I don't personally see my work as being dark. What interests me is a balance between light and dark. |
Death is always around the corner, but often our society gives it inordinate help. |