Corigliano speaks out on ‘Darkness’ rejection
EXCLUSIVE. Last week, MovieScore Magazine published the news about Howard Shore replacing John Corigliano as the original score composer on the upcoming Mel Gibson thriller, Edge of Darkness. Today, we have a lot more information for you – from Corigliano himself! One of the most respected and acclaimed composers of contemporary concert music in the world, Corigliano had written three feature film scores prior to Edge of Darkness, with The Red Violin earning him the Oscar ten years ago. The rejection of his Edge of Darkness score was met with great disappointment among fans of his music and in the film music community, and the reasons behind the switch of composers has been somewhat unclear.
MovieScore Magazine can now present to you a revealing interview with John Corigliano himself on his music for Edge of Darkness, and the events that ultimately led to the rejection of the score. Why was it replaced? What did it sound like? Will he ever score another film? We asked.
How did you first get the assignment to score Edge of Darkness? Did you actively seek new opportunities to work on a film, or did the filmmakers come to you? If they came to you, what in your music and repertoire attracted them?
JC: “The director, Martin Campbell, wanted me to score the film because he wanted to picture the lead actor, Mel Gibson, in a more introspective and intimate way than he is usually portrayed. Stuart Baird, film editor, had worked with me on both Revolution and Altered States, and thought I would be the right choice and suggested me to Martin.”
Did you feel that you had the ability to channel your own style and voice in the music or did you have to adapt very much to the film?
JC: “I always try to answer the problems of the scoring in as much of my personal language as is possible. Sometimes it is not possible, and if the film is too alien to my voice, I reject the film.”
Can you tell us a little about what your music for the film sound like?
JC: “The work was highly motivic and thematic. Since I felt the entire film was about the bond between father and daughter, her theme became the first material generated. It was simple, warm and memorable, and from it, I derived a four note motive for her father, which threaded its way through the film, changing from sorrow to anger to release. This all led to the last scene.”
You recorded in London, co-incidentally with Michael Kamen’s old session orchestra of choice, the London Metropolitan Orchestra. Have you recorded with them before, and was the link to Kamen, who scored the 1980s TV series, intentional?
JC: “I have never recorded with the LMO, and must say they are an extraordinary orchestra. Teese Gohl was the music producer for me, and he set all of this up.”
How important for you was it to work with Leonard Slatkin on this? Has he conducted any film scores before? What did you want him to bring to the table?
JC: “Leonard comes from a Hollywood family background, his father was concertmaster of the Warner orchestra, his mother first cellist. He loves films, and loved this score – and asked to do it. I was more than happy to have him do it.”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that you’ve now had two good and two bad experiences in film music. Revolution was a difficult project, but on that your music at least remains in the film. How did you react to the rejection of your music for Edge of Darkness and did the film company, producers or director explain to you the reasons behind it?
JC: “I was in Australia when the news of the rejection of my score reached me, so there was little I could do about it. The original producer, Graham King at GK Productions, was extremely enthusiastic about the music, he was in London when we recorded it, as was Martin and Stuart. The problem is that instead of leasing the film for distribution, Graham sold the film to Warner Brothers. They had a very different idea of what the film should be. With Mel Gibson starring, they wanted it to be more of an action film. So they filmed more violent scenes, and wanted a score to match the macho image they wanted to create for their star. If I had been asked to score a Mel Gibson action film, I would have refused it – not because it isn’t a perfectly valid idea, but because it is wrong for me. On the other hand, this happens all the time. Howard Shore – whose music replaced mine -had exactly the same thing happen to his score for King Kong, which he’d composed, recorded, and had replaced by James Newton Howard’s music. It just hadn’t happened to me before.”
Were you asked to rescore the film yourself?
JC: “I was contracted to be in Australia for three weeks at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The company wanted an immediate fix, and there was no way I could leave Australia to do this. In addition, I think that what they wanted conflicted enough with what I felt I could contribute as composer, so the change was probably for the best.”
What are your views on the film business after this and your other experiences in this field? Will you ever score another film?
JC: “If the right film comes along, I would do another film. I was well paid for this film, and therefore feel that the new company had the right to choose something else. If I had been given a small fee, however, I would feel very differently about things. So if I do another film, it will also have to come with a fee that compensates for the fact that the company may not actually use the music. That’s just reality.”
Mikael Carlsson
“If I had been given a small fee, however, I would feel very differently about things. ”
So this man is after money afterall ! I thought he was an artist…
artist gotta eat too
That’s right, he needs to feed his family. But at least, we have another Shore score. His replacement score for Doubt was great and this could be a payoff because Shore was rejected from other Mel Gibson movie, Ransom, and Horner made the replacement score. Too bad for Corigliano but maybe his score can come out some day.
There’s on big difference with King Kong. Shore’s score was rejected because he had disagrements with Jackson. This time – not the first time – it’s not the artists who wanted a different approach.
Again, studio-mingling will damage an original idea. I hope there’s something left to enjoy on Egde of Darkness, but certainly hope John’s score will see the light of day on cd.
Insisting on not being taken advantage of and not being exploited hardly qualifies as being solely “after money after all.” Even serious classical composers need to have their heads screwed on straight when it comes to making a living and dealing with the worst of the worst in terms of brutal, bottom line-oriented, global capitalism. Note also that he pointed out several times that he would simply refuse an offer to score a movie with which he feels artistically incompatible, with the size of the fee presumably being irrelevant.
As one of said serious classical composers, I can relate to John’s position, although I certainly can’t relate to his exponentially (and richly deserved) greater income and standing in the music world!
DG
“He needs to feed his family?” That’s funny. Corigliano is openly gay, and I don’t think he is short of money at all, as he is teaching at Lehman and Julliard, among other things. Anyway, I find his description of the score very interesting, and I hope it will be released on CD some day.
Does him being openly gay mean he can’t/doesn’t have a family?
Scott> Indeed! And does well off mean you should be paid less?
Where does this perception come from that composers make lots of money?
Although it sounds like Mr. Corigliano is quite well off, writing scores like this take a significant effort, and usually under a lot of pressure. And whoever said that art is only art when one has to suffer for it? People like to get paid for what they do, whether it is writing a score, working at a bank or fixing the plumbing.
A recent survey published in Variety (from the Society of Composers and Lyricists I believe) showed that composers these days are off much worse than they were 20-30 years ago.
Scoring jobs are less well paid, the composers are often expected to handle the entire production themselves (either composing ‘in the box’ or getting a one off fee that includes session organisation and musician’s hire) and have to score a feature in less time.
Anyhoo, a rejected score usually means the film is in trouble, and hasn’t tested well. Seems a real shame, as by the sounds of it his score would have elevated the film to another level; instead the studio seems to have gone for the typical action fare.
Would love to hear it though, Altered States is on of my all-time favourite scores…
I think JC reacted rather well considering how enormously disappointed anyone would feel in his position. And yes the amount of money he was paid probably DOES heal the wounds. To whose idealized careers do these small-minded fools refer when they equate artistry with starvation?!?!
I think Bill Conti said it best…
“You haven’t made it until you have had a score thrown out”
Corigliano joins the ranks of other ‘rejected’ composers like
Randy Newman
Danny Elfman
Bill Conti
Alex North
and many other amazing film composers. I think demand may ultimately bring his score to light as a limited release.
Since Corigliano’s score was recorded, there is a chance that it would be released as a cd, or used, as he has done in the past, adapted as concert works like he did with ALTERED STATES, REVOLUTION, and THE RED VIOLIN. Either way, we will eventually hear this score in one form or another.
Don’t bust on Corigliano for focusing on his fee. Composers make money through BMI or ASCAP residuals when the movie is shown on TV, and this is often taken into account when accepting the gig. Some producers will ask composers to take a smaller fee when budgets are tight, with the idea that they will get their money on the back end.
Because the score wasn’t used, he won’t see any of this. All he’s saying is that he’s satisfied that he was well-paid upfront, so the loss of residuals is not an issue.
“if I do another film, it will also have to come with a fee that compensates for the fact that the company may not actually use the music”
The King Kong case is interesting because Howard Shore also plays the conductor in the theatre towards the end of the film. I guess he’s now conducting James Newtown Howard’s music…
Feel free to comment!
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