Film Score Double Shot: Elfman for T4, No Morricone for Basterds

Posted by Dr. Cole Abaius (cole.abaius@filmschoolrejects.com) on January 9, 2009

 Danny Elfman as Satan.

This is either one of those situations where I give you the good news first followed by the bad news, or I just load you down with a double shot of bad news. So, here goes:

Your wife’s cheating on you.

Just kidding. I’m sure you’re just imagining things. She’s probably totally faithful. The real bad news is that composing legend Ennio Morricone won’t be scoring Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds. According to The Playlist, a personal favorite of mine, Morricone is passing on the project because there won’t be enough time to do an adequate job – but mostly because he’ll be focusing on scoring for Giuseppe Tornatore’s new film, Baaria: La Porta del Vento. Apparently, Morricone doesn’t want to ruin his 41-year long streak of scoring for Tornatore’s films.

In other news, an established talent things QT’s pace is too quick. Someone had to say it.

In other other news, MTV Movies Blog is reporting that Danny Elfman will be bringing his talent to scoring Terminator: Salvation. The composer is unsure as to whether he’ll use the original Terminator Theme as of yet, but it seems like a no-brainer to include a subconscious tie to the other films in the minds of the audience.

This is either good news or bad news depending on your position on Elfman. While I’m not as sour on his work as others might be, I’m not sure he’s the right fit for Salvation. Original Terminator composer Brad Fiedel would have been great to have. Or Hans Zimmer. Or (if we’re dreamcasting) Jerry Smith (R.I.P.)would have knocked something like this out of the park.

What do you think? Is Danny Elfman a good match for Terminator: Salvation? Did anyone actually see Forbidden Zone? Did you just watch it because that cute, blonde girl is topless for most of it? Me neither. I watched it for Herve Villechaize.


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  • I have no problem with Danny Elfman, but why can't Brad Fiedel just do it? There's a video on youtube that shows a scene of Terminator 3 with Fidel's music and I felt it gave the scene more energy.
    On another note, the theme has got to stay. I found it kinda strange that they only included it in the credits of T3, but there was definitely a lot wrong with that movie.
  • Mike Hunt
    I was a huge fan of Elfman's early work, his Batman scores, Edward Scissorhands, compilations in Music for a Darkened Theater, were all fantastic, and The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack really showcased his musical talent as a composer, lyricist, and singer. But the stuff he's been doing as of lately... his Spider-Man scores, Red Dragon, Planet of the Apes, even his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory just don't have the same touch of experimentation he used to do. It's like he's fallen into a habit of knowing what about his music made him popular, and now he just does parodies of himself. He's just not the same composer I once knew and loved. Maybe he'll go back to his roots for Salvation.
  • Then maybe this is a good project for him. It doesn't seem to fit his style - which might be what he needs to shake him up a bit to return to form. Of course the other option is that it'll just sound like a bad fit.

    I suppose we'll have to see. Or, er, hear.
  • Much rather had Fiedel do it but you never know; Elfman could just as easily enhance the movie as he could hinder it.
  • Forbidden Fan
    I only watched the movie for the "ABC" song... Of course the "perkiness" of the rest of the film made it much more watchable.
  • Regardless of music, every time I see "Basterds" I get upset. Does changing the title from "Bastards" to "Basterds" mean its less of a theft, err, remake? If I could quote Urban Dictionary on the definition of 'basterd' :

    When someone is too stupid to spell [bastard], basterd is often the result.
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