theMan-Bat
Ever dance with the Devil?
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David Newman interviews:
For The Spirit, Newman found himself "playing the subtext more than anything. There are all kinds of adult, fairly philosophical conundrums in the movie," says Newman. "It's a much more intellectual score than I've done in quite a long time. I treated this movie more like a noir, sci-fi film, but in a very minimalist way. I tried to stay away as much as possible from the action part of the movie. There is a strong element of noir in the movie and I did use the genre to a degree. I tried to play music where you might not necessarily have it, and NOT play music in scenes where you’d expect to hear it."
To characterize the Spirit (Gabriel Macht), Newman made an unusual musical choice: the harmonica, played by acclaimed musician Tommy Morgan (who has played on everything from the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" to Dances With Wolves). Newman explained, "The Spirit’s theme is played on a harmonica. Its sound embodies his essence to me, especially when you’re hearing it from a great harmonica player like Tommy Morgan. You find that the instrument can be so many different things, yet you always know it’s a harmonica. It has an individual, lonely quality that, at least for me, was at the heart of the Spirit’s character. The Octopus’ (Samuel L. Jackson) music mostly uses wooden percussion, while Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson) has a kind of retro, quirky, jazzy “devil may care” theme. Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega) has a whole build, a la Maurice Ravel's “Boléro."
Newman explained, "It’s Sand Saref (Eva Mendes) who has the most elaborate of all the themes, because it’s based on her relationship with Denny Colt when they were in their teens, well before he became the Spirit. Saref’s music ultimately becomes the love theme of the movie. It’s very romantic, almost old fashioned, especially when they finally kiss. Frank Miller and I talked about that scene quite a bit. He really wanted me to “go for it” – to make their music as romantic as possible. In the end, the Spirit is like a modern day Don Juan, without the psychological ambivalence towards women. He truly loves every woman he meets. It’s part of his makeup. He has a certain naiveté in this respect." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_(film)#cite_note-23
There is an eerie, wordless soprano for Lorelei (Jaime King) that is performed by Newman's 19-year-old daughter Diana, a vocal major at USC.
http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=3169
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997546.html?categoryid=16&cs=1
For The Spirit, Newman found himself "playing the subtext more than anything. There are all kinds of adult, fairly philosophical conundrums in the movie," says Newman. "It's a much more intellectual score than I've done in quite a long time. I treated this movie more like a noir, sci-fi film, but in a very minimalist way. I tried to stay away as much as possible from the action part of the movie. There is a strong element of noir in the movie and I did use the genre to a degree. I tried to play music where you might not necessarily have it, and NOT play music in scenes where you’d expect to hear it."
To characterize the Spirit (Gabriel Macht), Newman made an unusual musical choice: the harmonica, played by acclaimed musician Tommy Morgan (who has played on everything from the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" to Dances With Wolves). Newman explained, "The Spirit’s theme is played on a harmonica. Its sound embodies his essence to me, especially when you’re hearing it from a great harmonica player like Tommy Morgan. You find that the instrument can be so many different things, yet you always know it’s a harmonica. It has an individual, lonely quality that, at least for me, was at the heart of the Spirit’s character. The Octopus’ (Samuel L. Jackson) music mostly uses wooden percussion, while Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson) has a kind of retro, quirky, jazzy “devil may care” theme. Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega) has a whole build, a la Maurice Ravel's “Boléro."
Newman explained, "It’s Sand Saref (Eva Mendes) who has the most elaborate of all the themes, because it’s based on her relationship with Denny Colt when they were in their teens, well before he became the Spirit. Saref’s music ultimately becomes the love theme of the movie. It’s very romantic, almost old fashioned, especially when they finally kiss. Frank Miller and I talked about that scene quite a bit. He really wanted me to “go for it” – to make their music as romantic as possible. In the end, the Spirit is like a modern day Don Juan, without the psychological ambivalence towards women. He truly loves every woman he meets. It’s part of his makeup. He has a certain naiveté in this respect." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_(film)#cite_note-23
There is an eerie, wordless soprano for Lorelei (Jaime King) that is performed by Newman's 19-year-old daughter Diana, a vocal major at USC.
http://www.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=3169
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997546.html?categoryid=16&cs=1
Last edited:
i dug it
