James Cameron Talks Movie Music in Clip From 'Score: A Film Music Documentary' (Exclusive)
Music is a vital — if too often unsung — element in a film’s success. Matt Schrader’s upcoming Score: A Film Music Documentary will seek to rectify that, zooming in on what it takes to craft the sounds that drive our big-screen favorites. In our exclusive clip (watch it above), James Cameron discusses his own reluctance to begin the scoring phase of production.
The above video takes us behind-the-scenes of the filmmaking process to watch director Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries) collaborate with composer John Debney during a “spotting session” — i.e., the initial meeting where the film is screened, and the team decides where (and what type of) music should go in the finished cut. As Cameron remarks in a later interview, “The goal of a spotting session is to have a dialogue with the composer that you’ve probably been postponing,” since it requires a director to finally convey what sort of tunes he or she has been hearing in their head while writing, shooting, and editing the feature. And given Cameron’s own track record with successful scores (think, Titanic and its signature hit, “My Heart Will Go On”), he’s certainly someone who knows a thing or two about it.
Featuring interviews with Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Randy Newman, Quincy Jones, Howard Shore, Alexandre Desplat, Trent Reznor, and John Williams, Score: A Film Music Documentary should be a valuable look at an oft-ignored part of movies’ magic when it arrives in theaters on June 16. You can watch our exclusive clip from the film above.
Read more from Yahoo Movies: