WHY THE COMPOSER IN THIS VIDEO IS NEVER GOING TO HAVE A CAREER. Just watched and am convinced this composer is never going to have a career in film. He easily wasted almost seven minutes interviewing for a scoring gig and messed up every single opportunity to make a favorable impression. This composer, Chatsworth Osborn Thurston just came out of a screening of the director’s new movie and his only comments about it are, ““I would very much like to compose the score to this film” and “I thought your script was brilliant and completely original.” THAT’S IT! Nothing about why he specifically liked the film or how he connected to it. Not a single thought about how he envisions the score or what he has to offer the filmmaker. His only comments are bland and generic. He just saw the entire motion picture and he had NOTHING meaningful to say to the man (bear?) who just made it! Instead of coming off as someone creative who has something artistic to offer to the equation, Chatsworth dives right into a conversation about the schedule. Is this guy a composer who has something unique to bring to the film or just a boring tool working out logistics? Oh, I forgot, he did make one reference to the film he just screened… he criticizes a shot in the climatic battle. Of course this idiotic move blows up in his face when he finds out the actor in the shot is the director’s nephew! When Chatsworth hears there are hundreds of other composers who would like to work on the film he doesn’t respond with, “Of course they would. What a rich canvas for any musician. I can’t stop thinking about the scene where…” Instead Chatsworth states that there were other composers at the screening room. Who cares? He is the one standing out on the lawn with the director. And he is the one wasting everyone’s time bringing up the obvious that they are considering other composers, too. Again, Chatsworth does nothing to distinguish himself from any other composer up for the film, or for that matter, from any other composer on planet Earth. Chatsworth brings up that the entire temp was TITANIC but then explains why that was a bad idea. Dumb move. Why not point out why Horner’s score is so powerful and the ways it worked in Jim Cameron’s film and how using similar, strong and direct melodic lines set within haunting, melancholy arrangements he can bring a similar tragic, timeless quality to this director’s science fiction film? The director gave him a perfect opportunity to discuss his insights about film music and connecting with the director by discussing the temp, but this lame-o squandered it by focusing on why the choice of temp was a bad idea. The director then drops the greatest clue of how to get the job when he explains, “My wife will decide, she used to be a Spice Girl.” All this nit-wit composer says is “Brilliant.” How about, “I would love to meet your wife and share with her my ideas I have for the score. It is amazing she was one of the Spice Girls. Which one? I thought they were all great for different reasons. I really liked how they managed to mix Girl Empowerment with driving, catchy hooks. You are very lucky to have someone so savvy helping you with the process of choosing a composer. As a matter of fact, she might be interested in hearing a piece I composed using a sample of “Wannabe” against an orchestral setting similar to the score to TITANIC. (An ambitious composer would then go home and write something like this overnight, get it recorded and present it to the composers wife, who is making the decision on this film AND is one of the freaking Spice Girls!) Without offering a single clue as to what Chatsworth has to offer musically or dramatically to this film, he leads the conversation into a deadly talk about the running time of the movie and the minutes of score and size of orchestra and number of sessions. Is he someone trying to get the job as the composer or as the accountant? The director tantalizes by suggesting he might bring in YoYo Ma. Instead of getting excited about collaborating with one of the world’s greatest instrumentalists and pivoting to how he has successfully worked with featured musicians on other scores, this clueless jerk corrects the director by telling him YoYo doesn’t play a particular instrument. Let the director discover that on his own. Or let him find out he plays the cello and remember how excited Chatsworth was about working with him. But Chatsworth never acts like an artist. He never acts like a dramatist. He never acts like anyone offering any solutions to the film. He never acts like anyone who really wants the job. Instead he asks about the package and whether the director will come to Eagle Rock to hear his mock-ups. Leave the package conversation until AFTER the guy has indicated some interest in your ideas. Even better, when the finances of the score come up, simply say, “Oh, I am sure we can work that out. Im very experienced at working out how to record under all sorts of budget conditions. Let’s talk more the scene where…” When the director says he wants Chatsworth to come to Aspen to playback cues, the dumbbell misses an opportunity to say, “Aspen? Perfect. I can set up my rig there. That way when you are done skiing for the day I will have music waiting for you to hear at your convenience.” Chatsworth fumbles another ball when he finds out the song budget is $7.2 million and they have commitments from Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and 50 Cent. He fumbles it further when he finds out they paid the lead actor $20 million dollars. The composer just discovered this director has money and this movie isn’t just some little weed that will garner no intention. Even though the composer’s credits are no better than “The Housewives of San Luis Obispo and a Snuggys commercial, he does nothing to try to attach himself to a filmmaker with deep pockets and the ability to land top talent (and to attract a Spice Girl to marry him!) The director drops more clues of what he is looking for when he says they want something more quirky and edgy and with a hip-hop flavor than what they heard on Chatsworth’s demo. Instead of offering to send him more music, or to write something in that style on spec, he just ignores this gapping opportunity and instead turns it into a further interrogation of the filmmaker with more budget and logistical questions. Without offering a single musical idea for the score, this dunderhead starts asking about writing the Title Song. Again, when he finds out the music supervisor is the daughter of the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, he says nothing of value, such as “Wow, that’s amazing. I think her and I would really hit it off. I know Toad the Wet Sprocket are currently touring with Counting Crows and both bands were inspirations for a quirky, edgy indie film I scored that also had a heavy emphasis on hip hop. But instead of saying anything that remotely seems like Chatsworth has any interest or knowledge about anything the director brings up, this chowderhead harps on inquiring about music publishing and airfares. The director tosses Chatsworth a softball when he lets him know he has composed some themes for the film. Does Chatsworth leap on this and say, “Wow, I would love to here them. This could be an interesting collaboration.” No, he just stands there blinking like an idiot and correcting the director about how many notes are in a scale. When the director mentions there is money to fly him to Bratislava, the moron composer misses a chance to say, “Or we could do this via remote and I could put the money we save into getting a bigger orchestra for you. Or perhaps we could use it to turn your thematic ideas into a song.” The director then dangles a carrot of a three-picture deal and a video game option. Since Chatsworth the Loser is focusing on the finances of it, he misses the chance to say, “Working with you on three more films would be wonderful. I have always been looking for my directing soul mate and I see so much potential in what we could do together.” Chatsworth drags the conversation to a gloomy end by ranting about how many pages he has to write and how many minutes a day. The director is going to leave this meeting and have no clue whatsoever in why he should remotely consider entrusting his film to this guy. As a matter of fact, within 30 seconds he isn’t even going to remember having this meeting. This soon-to-be-ex-composer ends the interview by saying, “I’ll wait to hear from you.” How about, “I’m already thinking of some ideas for this score. Even during this conversation I started composing some themes in my head. As soon as I get to my studio I am going to put them down and share them with you. Can we get together tomorrow with you and your wife and the music supervisor so I can play you what I’ve come up with? Of course he doesn’t end the meeting that way. Instead his final words are to himself about the director… “What a wanker.” While the director is extremely ill-informed and has highly unrealistic ideas about the score… he is the one who has managed to make a movie and is going to be offering a scoring opportunity to someone. Who knows what the financial realities might be after the director started having an actual interest in working with him. But Chatsworth will never find out. The way this tool is handling this, it’s like bringing up a pre-nup before even ordering the appetizers on a first date. Instead of turning any of the challenges the director offers into something positive, Chatsworth Osborn Thurston wasted an entire opportunity to potentially advance his career and create a new score in the process. What a wanker, indeed. https://youtube/watch?v=3oLamUpdyhs&feature=youtu.be
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:45:35 +0000
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