Christophe Beck is the composer for 2010’s documentary film, “Waiting for ‘Superman'”.  Besides that 2010 has not been a slow year, he also composed “Burlesque”, “Due Date”, “Death at a Funeral”, “Date Night”, “Hot Tub Time Machine” and “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Christophe about his “Waiting for ‘Superman'” and his many other projects.

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Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about your inspiration for your score of “Waiting for ‘Superman'”?
Christophe Beck: First thing, I take the direction that I get from the filmmakers. It is pretty rare that I come on a project and I am told “We have no idea what we want. We trust you completely, just do you thing”. Even though that sounds like a composers dream, it is not the reality of the film business. It is really collaborative. When I first started on “Waiting for ‘Superman'” it was already a film in pretty good shape…editing wise. There was already a temp score that they had been working on and off for the entire they they were cutting the film. I believe that there were about a year and half in it at that point. The director explained to me what he liked about the temp and what he doesn’t like. That really gives me a really good direction for where to go next.

MG: Do you have a favorite track on the on the project?
CB: Actually I do, yeah. My favorite track is the piece that plays after the kids find out whether or not they are getting into the schools. It is a bittersweet moment. It is a very simple piano and strings piece for that. It is my favorite. It is interesting because that was actually rewritten. I had something in there that was a little bit fancier. It even screened at Sundance with it included. A few months later there was an opportunity to go back and replace a few songs. I had a discussing with the director at that point and he wasn’t 100% satisfied with that piece either. I opted to rewrite it and it ended up being my favorite cue in the film.

MG: Congrats on winning the Hollywood Music in Media Award, how do you feel your chances are for Academy Awards nomination?
CB: Very slim. I think it has been something like 1947, that a documentary score was nominated for an Oscar. So history is against me. Plus the kind of scores that gets nominated for Oscars are normally for mainstream films. Music in documentaries doesn’t play as overt of a role and is a little more in the background, but don’t get me wrong they are still important.

MG: Did you find it difficult coming on the project after it has started?
CB: I would have loved to have been hired earlier for “Waiting for ‘Superman'”. I do not remember why I was hired later for that film. We only had four weeks to do the score. I was very open to that challenge but of course it is always better to have more time. Ideally I would have several months to work on a score like that. I would have liked to been brought on just as they would have started to cut the film. That way I would have been able to create a possible library of music that they could have used as their temp score. That kind of a situation would have been great. To be honest, when I was first brought on the film, I was really excited just to be involved. I loved the film from the first time I saw it.

MG: You work in 2010 is so diverse ranging from “Burlesque to “Hot Tub Time Machine, do you feel each genre differs?
CB: Essentially writing music for a film is the same regardless of genre. That also goes for documentary versus narrative. Within the narrative film you have the fantasy film, like “Percy Jackson” or comedies “The Hangover”. I actually do a lot of comedies. I find that the job is same really. It is storytelling through music and collaboration with another storyteller. The style of music might change. The instruments might change. The function of the music might change scene to scene, which happens a lot with comedies. Music is there to let the audience though that it is ok to laugh. But at its core it is still the same process.

MG: Of all your projects what has been your favorite?
CB: That is a really though question to answer. Usually my answer is what I just finished [laughs], which in this case is a film called “Crazy, Stupid, Love”.

MG: What can you tell us about “Crazy, Stupid, Love”?
CB: Well it is coming out this summer. I really enjoyed working on it and I am really proud of it. It is a small score with a lot of quirky instrumentation. For me it was different because of working with live musicians from the start. We did a number session with a small number of musicians. Normally I would do all that at the end, after working on the demos. In this case, we worked with them through the writing process. So a lot of the writing I did was with the musicians at those sessions. It was a bit of a change for me, but you can hear the results in the score.

Click here to purchase Christophe’s scores

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Aaron Zigman is the composer of two films this year that cannot be any different, “The Company Men” and “For Colored Girls”.  Both of the scores really play a major part in the films.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Aaron about his latest films and what is upcoming.

Michael Gencarelli: Do you have a specific type of music that influences your sound?
Aaron Zigman: I am driven by my original influences which are classical and jazz. However I spent a lot of years working on records in pop culture so actually it’s kind of a fusion of those three areas.

MG: Tell us about how you became involved with “The Company Men”?
AZ: John Wells was I guess interested in me so I went down and viewed the movie. I really fell in love with it and after a little work he got me on the gig.

MG: [SPOILER ALERT for “The Company Men”] Do you have a favorite track on that project?
AZ: For “Company Men” I really enjoyed the scene where Chris Cooper’s character dies. Originally that scene was somewhat longer but the final version was cut down. I also enjoyed the boardroom meeting scene.

MG: What is the first thing you do when you start working on a film?
AZ: I look for things like what does the movie say to me and how does it make me feel. I usually will read the scripts and research different areas. For instance when I scored “The Notebook”, I actually traveled to where the film was going to be shot and saw all these really great landscapes. I had about 30 percent of that score written before the film was even done. “The Company Men” had a really short schedule, so I had to move somewhat quicker. I felt that movie told me to stay more back and out of the way. For “Colored Girls”, I wrote some music prior to the start of filming and some during the production process. I wrote that score entirely from scratch. I had asked that no temporary score be put to that film as I really wanted to come up with original music for that film.

MG: How did you get involved with working with Tyler Perry on his films?
AZ: He had contacted me after really enjoying the score to “The Notebook.” He was working originally on a period piece which still has yet to be made and he wanted me to score that. I attended a table reading for “Why Did I Get Married” and fell in love with the script. Tyler then asked f I would be interested in doing that film first before starting the one he had originally contacted me about.

MG: What has been your most challenging score to date?
AZ: I think there have been a few actually. “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” was a challenge because I worked on that with another composer who was in London while I was in the U.S. I had to take some of his themes and some of my themes and combine them. I had to write about 70 minutes of music in three weeks for that film.

MG: Tell us about your upcoming projects?
AZ: I just finished a comedy with Anna Farris called “What’s Your Number.” I am working with Tyler again on his next film called “Madea’s Happy Family” which starts next month. I have a few other films that I am up for right now that I am pretty excited for as well.

Christopher Young is an award-winning film composer, who is known for his work on horror movies such as “Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddie’s Revenge”, “Hellraiser” and his latest and my favorite “Drag Me to Hell”. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Christopher about his scores and also his upcoming work.

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Mike Gencarelli: “Drag Me to Hell” was one of my favorite scores of 2009, I feel the score adds so much to the film, did you enjoy working on it?
Christopher Young: Well, of course, it was a great opportunity to return to work again with Sam Raimi. Being able to work with him again was a dream come true. Because, being a horror fan, I mean…”Evil Dead”…my God…this was an earth shattering horror film for those of us who love horror movies. And the moment I saw that movie I said to myself, “I have to work with this guy. So here I am fantasizing about working with him…I tried to contact Sam several times…but he was happy with Joe LaDuca and, of course, Danny Elfman at the time. But it happened that his editor, Bob Morowski, was a tremendous fan of mine and, when it became apparent that Danny wasn’t going to be able to work on “The Gift”…that was the first picture we did together…he said to Sam, “you’ve got to check this guy out. I think he’s the right guy for the movie.” I’m truly convinced that Sam and I would never have met if not for his editor. And I give credit to Bob for making that connection. It’s interesting because when I went to meet Sam for the first time I was a smoker. I was a chain smoker and he was too. We realized we both were smokers and he said, “let’s go have this meeting outside.” Now it’s a few years later and he calls me to do “Drag Me To Hell.” He hoped that after doing the “Spider-man” series that the film would give him a chance to return to his “Evil Dead” roots. So he dragged me on board to be a part of that. And I just really connected with the picture. I think it was a film about the Devil (laughs)…and it struck a distant chord with me. I had worked on other films before that dealt with the Devil so it’s not like it was unfamiliar territory. I think three movies before that, come to think of it. So to get the opportunity to return to that world was fantastic. And he encouraged me to take some twists and turns. As you know, the principal instrument on the score is a violin. It’s the instrument that has been historically attached to the Devil, both in music and literature. So there’s nothing I brought to that table that was unique (laughs). What I did try to do, however, that made it fun was to imagine that the violin was being played by a minimum of ten fingers. Everyone that plays the violin, one hand has to be responsible for initiating the pitch, either with a bow or their fingers. And the other hand is responsible for pressing the strings to obtain the pitch. So I said to Sam let’s take the ten fingers and not worry about what the bow is doing…imagine the player has all of these fingers that can stretch and expand and do things that normal violinists can’t do. And he loved that idea. So a lot of the violins material in the score could never be played by just one person. What it is multiple tracking of one guy playing different tracks on top of each other. Other than that, there’s a choir there. That helps. There’s an organ…a pipe organ. I’ve always wanted to use a church pipe organ on a score and this was a great opportunity to use one.

MG: “Hellraiser” has such notable music, did you think that was going to be the case when you originally worked on it?
CY: No. I don’t think any of us knew. I was really lucky to get on this movie because of the provenance of Clive Barker as an author. Of course, he had directed some short films but this was his first feature. I had just finished working on “A Nightmare On Elm Street 2” and that was great to be a part of for sure. But what made “Hellraiser” unique from a composer’s point of view is that it just wasn’t all about a lunatic on the loose, slashing and cutting up people for no real reason. Well, there is a reason behind Freddy Krueger’s attacks on people in their dreams but, let’s face it, it’s not really a reason most people connect with emotionally. But the wonderful thing about “Hellraiser” was that it was a twisted love story…a very sick, sick love story. And to that end it really gave me the opportunity to look at the whole horror genre, as it relates to music, in a different light. And that’s exactly what Clive encouraged me to do. He said, “I know you can do the scary stuff. I know what you did on “Elm Street 2.” But that’s not what I’m looking for here. I’m looking for a sick romantic haunted score. And so I did the score based on that. And I don’t think anyone…I don’t think even Clive knew…that the film was going to be as big of a hit as it was. I may be wrong. Maybe in his heart he knew. We all knew it should have been. And it became a cult classic. And the thing they learned very quickly…he always thought that Julia should be the focus of the film…he thought that audiences would connect with her. But as you know, Pinhead makes his occasional appearances in the movie and that’s what the audience adored. And that’s WHO everyone adored. So he became the star of the whole subsequent series. Even Clive learned a lesson. They loved Pinhead, you know?

MG: Do you ever have issues with distinguishing between sounds for different films?
CY: Good question. Let’s put it this way…every time I start a horror film or a thriller or a sci fi film I always hope that I’m going to be offering up something new. Any composer who isn’t trying to offer up something they’ve never tried before better get out of it. It’s the worrying that you’re going to repeat yourself that makes you anxiety ridden…that you’re not going to get it right. Even if you’d done so many of these movies. I’ve heard so many times from so many people, “Oh, ANOTHER horror movie? You should be able to knock that score out no problem.” And I tell them, “no no no no…don’t kid yourself.” Writing horror scores is no easy thing. Everyone believes that writing dramatic scores…you really have to get inside yourself…and get in touch with your inner self. But there are complications with writing a dramatic score. But when you’re writing horror scores you’re not writing a lot of melodies all of the time. You’re writing a lot of clusters. And writing a lot of clusters for this kind of music is not an easy thing to do. You can’t be random. So when I sit down to write a new score for horror film number whatever or a thriller or a suspense film. I feel the same anxiety. I have to think “what am I going to have to do on this movie to make it unique. And if I’m encouraged by the director or the producer to do something different then great. I will try to do something different. But it’s often the case that what they are really looking for is another “Hellraiser” or another “Jennifer Eight.” I had one film that I worked on that, when I tried to be different they said to me “wait a minute. What are you doing here?” It was like show and tell…the worse show and tell I ever had. And I told them “this might not be what you’re looking for based on what you’re saying” and they said “No, no , no Chris…we hired you because we want another “Jennifer Eight.” Why didn’t they tell me that in the first place. I proceeded to write something that was another take on “Jennifer Eight.” I mean, there’s a film I’m doing now…not the entire score…but the main titles were “temped” with, guess what…”Hellraiser.” That director just happens to love “Hellraiser.” It’s his favorite score. It’s his favorite movie. And I’ve had to try to work my way around that. I can try to give him that feeling but I wrote that score like twenty five years ago! That’s the big tragedy. Being constantly asked to steal from yourself. Very rarely can you out-do something that really worked well the first time. I can honestly say that anyone that works as a composer, or any other kind of art, doesn’t want to repeat themselves. Especially film composers because, as you know, we’re the most prolific music makers on this planet! (laughs) We have very little time to second guess ourselves. So what happens is that we set off with the best of intentions but if that time starts running out and you have to finish about two and a half minutes of music a day at a minimum, it gets to a point where you can’t be so “stiff” with yourself about wanting to reinvent “you.” What happens is you have to rely on instinct, and usually instinct requires that you connect with tendencies that arise from your previous work on those kinds of movies.

MG: You worked on “The Rum Diary”, what was your inspiration?
CY: Speaking of “Jennifer Eight”…the reason I got on that is because Bruce Robinson, the director, is someone I had met on “Jennifer Eight.” He was the director on “Jennifer Eight” and he was so displeased with his experience on that movie that he swore to God that he would never direct again! He’s a very successful writer and actually started out as an actor…he did a few little things and then got into writing. I believe his first Academy Award nomination was for his screenplay for “The Killing Fields.” “Jennifer Eight” is his second film, his first being “Withnail and I.” Now he writes the screenplay for “The Rum Diary,” based on the Hunter S. Thompson book, and Johnny Depp decides he wants that to be his next movie and happens to love…”Withnail and I” is one of his favorite movies. So he brought Bruce out of directorial retirement to direct and Bruce told him he wanted to bring me back to do this. So we reconnected after not having seen each other for so many years. It was a departure for me. Not in the way of style but it was a departure…it’s sort of 1950’s style jazz. It’s got that “Rat Pack” swing-thing going through it. It’s set in Puerto Rico and a lot of the music is influenced by that.

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If you know anything about Disney and its music, you surely know the name Alan Menken. Alan has created the songs and music from such timeless Disney classics as “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “The Little Mermaid” and the list just goes on. His last work is on Disney’s new hit film “Tangled”. With the awards season around the corner and Alan’s score and songs for “Tangled” is already buzzing up a storm. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Alan about his music and his process for creating such memorable songs.

Click here to purchase Alan’s scores

Mike Gencarelli: Tell us about how you originally got involved with Disney?
Alan Menken: I originally got involved through my late collaborator Howard Ashman. The contact to Disney though really came from a number of directions. One the main directions was David Geffman, who produced our “Little Shop of Horrors” movie and a close associate to Jeffrey Katzenberg. They were looking for talent young composers and work on their animated musicals.

MG: When you are collaborating on a song, which comes first: the music or the lyrics?
AM: What comes first is us giving ourselves a clear assignment. We have a lot of questions we want to have answers for ourselves and the coordination with the directors, before I touch the piano or my collaborator touches the PC.  But generally these days I would say the music comes first. Often we will have a title and I will write a piece of music around that title. I always will write with my collaborator in the room to structure what I am thinking musically. That way it is in total coordination with his imagination and he is able to figure out what he wants to say.  How much we wants to say? What the dramatic impulse will be? How long he wants the sentences to be? So, generally music first but with a strong tense of what will be said in mind as I write the music.

MG: How do you you feel the music in “Tangled” differs from other Disney films?
AM: At least in a couple of places it is more guitar and folk rock orientated than any of the others. That was the intention, when I looked at Rapunzel with her long hair and her urge for freedom. I wanted to think what fresh vocabulary we could give to this that hasn’t been heard before but still compatible to the classic Disney sound. I thought about Joni Mitchell and the song ‘Chelsea Morning’ and I felt folk rock as something that would be a good place to go.

MG: Tell us what was your favorite track on the “Tangled” soundtrack?
AM: Well I love ‘I See The Light’. The song is a great moment in the film and I am very happy with the beauty and simplicity of the song. ‘Mother Knows Best’ is a track I was very pleased with. Honestly, I was happy with the whole thing in general. To bring up the score tracks, ‘Waiting for the Lights’ is one of the best score moments I believe I have ever written.

MG: When do you start to create the music? Is prior to seeing footage or is it when you have a script?
AM: I get to be involved at the very top of the project and the very end of the project…and everything in between. In the very beginning when we are writing songs, there is nothing but an empty room with some sketches around. We have some story ideas and we all sort of start together. It is very important. We are hired not only to write but to also consult as to where songs should go and how they should function. We also need to make sure the score has a life of it own but at the same time be totally compatible with what the characters in the story are doing. Then I get to be at the very end, when I am really there working with the directors and fulfilling their vision of how they want to finish the movie.

MG: How was it working with directors Nathan Greno And Byron Howard on “Tangled”?
AM: Actually they where very hands on. They are younger and they had a strong vision of what they wanted. They actually forced me to go to places I haven’t gone before, as far as the score is more live-action. The underscore that is. They were very concerned about wanting to keep the songs contemporary. They definitely guided me in a different direction and I was very grateful for that.

MG: I personally grew up listening to your music for “Aladdin”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid”, how do you feel that your music has affected so many people?
AM: It is incredible! I look back at it as those where the years of my life when I first started regularly in Hollywood and I enjoyed that time. It was great. As to the affect it had on people, that was obviously something that went far beyond what any of us could have predicted. I feel blessed, I think is the best way to look at it. I feel like I was just doing what I do and I was very fortunate.

MG: Of all the films you have worked on, do you have a favorite?
AM: Not really. No, I don’t. Honestly I can say truthfully every one of them are scores that I am equally proud of. As a movie and as a general experience, the one that did not receive the success it deserves was “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”. That was clearly the most ambitious of our projects.

MG: How does it feel to have won more Academy awards then any other living composer in Oscar history?
AM: Actually, its any living person [laughs]. I was winning at a time when my scores we getting sort of two for one. We were getting recognized for scores and also as individual songs. It was new form that was very dominate. I am very proud of what we did but I think it is a fluke that I have won so many.

MG: Any truth to the rumor of a live action “Beauty and the Beast” film?
AM: There was but it is now shelved. We were actually working on it though. Doug Wright had written a new Umberto and I wrote a new song for Tim Rice. Who knows it may find the light of day.  But at the moment, no.

MG: Are you still planning to adapt “Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Newsies” for the stage?
AM: Yes it is. Those are on the way. Actually we have basically four or five stage musicals in the works at the moment and a number of them are actually adaptations of films.

MG: Do you find that more different to adapt music for the stage than for the screen?
AM: Well stage is definitely more hands on. There is no point where is it “finished” since it is constantly being rewritten and constantly being reinterpreted on stage every time it is being performed. Where as with film you get it right once. You can walk away and let others do what they do and enjoy it. The technique of what we do as writers is very much the same though. We still have to tell the story, speak through the characters and use the same type of dramatic techniques that we use on stage and in film.

MG: What do you feel the future holds for films with music in them like in “Tangled”?
AM: It is hard to say, it really is. I am always pleased and a bit surprised when they come back and say they want to do another. There is always an issue with doing full out musicals. First since there is a whole other layer of expense and work that has to happen in order for a musical to work correctly. Also because the public’s appetite for musicals waxes and wanes, you know it comes and goes. I would say when “Tangled” was supposed to be released, I figured we would be pretty much done with musicals for a while. I think the success of “Tangled” has been a revelation and a surprise and therefore I think there will be at least another one. But I do not know what it will be or when it will be. But luckily, knock on wood, we kept the form alive to fight another day.

Click here to purchase Alan’s scores

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Alexandre Desplat is a French film composer that has had one heck of busy year in 2010.  Not only taking over the final two films in the “Harry Potter” franchise.  Alexandre also composed this fall’s “The King’s Speech”, as well as “Tamara Drewe” and “The Ghost Writer”.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Alexandre about working with “Harry Potter” and his real passion for what he does.

Click here to purchase Alexandre’s scores

Mike Gencarelli: Did you feel any pressure stepping into the established franchise of “Harry Potter”?
Alexandre Desplat: Of course I did. Yes.  I am not a super man.  When you are following one of the masters like John Williams and you are taking over a franchise, you have to be humble and yes a bit worried.  You want to make sure you are going to work harder than ever to make the right score and make it shine, as it should be shining.  So yes, it was a lot of pressure but it was me putting on the pressure.  The producers and the director were very kind and supportive.  It is such a global event it spans across countries and you need to give as much as you can.

MG: When scoring “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”, did you refer back to the six prior scores to get any inspiration?
AD: No.  I tend to avoid these kind of things.  On “New Moon”, I didn’t listen to the score for “Twilight”.  I try to keep myself as fresh as I can.  I knew the earlier scores from having seen the “Harry Potter” films.  I knew themes and and the energy that John Williams had conveyed.  From that, I knew where I wanted to go with the film.

MG: How long did it take to complete your score for “Part 1” and when do you start work on “Part 2”?
AD: The first one took me all together three months both writing and recording. I am starting “Part 2” next month.

MG: What is your favorite track on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”?
AD: I think ‘Oblivate’, which is the first track.  I think it would be one of my favorites, yes.

MG: Besides “Harry Potter”, you also scored the film “The King’s Speech”, what was your inspiration while working on it?
AD: That is a movie that I really cherish.  It is so moving, subtle, delicate and strong.  It is a movie about friendship, which is really rare.  You see a lot of love stories and romantic comedies.  But a story about a friendship between two men is not so common.  The director, Tom Hooper did a great job there.  In the film, the king has this speech impediment, he suffers and can’t express himself.  Therefore the music has to go beyond and bring out emotions and express what he can’t express.  You have to replace the world with music and try to have the audience feel how difficult it is for him to express himself.

MG: Do you think you will be competing with yourself come award season?
AD: I am happy that I have at least three good scores or have done at least three good movies this year.  I would be satisfied if only one get recognized for the music [laughs].  It is great that two or three of them have been noticed already.  I think “The King’s Speech” is really a great one because it is not a franchise.  It is a different object.  It is not a big production but still it looks fantastic.  Everyone on this film really tried to bring even more emotion and depth.  I would think that “The King’s Speech” might be the one to get the most notice.  It is a new object compared to just new “Harry Potter” film.

MG: Do you enjoy working on original films more than franchises?
AD: It is just a different kind of energy.  On a more indie film like “The King’s Speech”, you have to think differently.  The way you play specifically because your work with the orchestra is not a huge epic.  It is like racing on a sailboat or going a cruise ship.  The franchise is a huge cruise ship and it is a long journey.  The other one is a fast race with a little boat and you still have to be very competent.  You can’t really compare but you just bring a different energy to the game.

MG: “Fantastic Mr. Fox” was one of my favorite scores of 2009, tell us about working on that film?
AD: Again, it is not a huge epic film.  Wes Anderson likes to try things that have not been tried before.  He was actually in Paris at the time and was only a block away from my studio.  We would meet every morning, scratch our heads and try and figure out what we could use.  I think the idea was to have this minimal orchestra.  I thought lets try and use little instruments and stay away from a huge orchestra.  We used a lot of the mandolin and all these other miniature instruments.  We wanted it to feel really gentle, intimate, cozy, sweet and fun.  We have a brass section but it is a very small brass section.  Our string section is only one of each.  That is it.  We created something very different.  Not all projects allow you to play that way.  We really enjoyed playing together on this project.  Obviously it shows that people, like yourself, can feel that the score was special and different. We tried to challenge ourselves to make something really different.

MG: What has been your most challenging project to work on?
AD: Well definitely “Harry Potter” was one.  “The Golden Compass” was one.  They were the two big epic scores that I have done recently.  “The Ghost Writer” was a very tough one also because Roman Polanski was not present at the time.  Roman Polanski’s filmography is so outstanding.  His music in his films are so special, strong and so smart.  One of my favorite scores of all time is “Chinatown” from Jerry Goldsmith.  It was challenging.  When I started working with Roman on this film, I knew it was a dangerous path.  I knew I had to be bloody good [laughs].  He has great ears and knows exactly what he wants done.  He was one of the greatest directors I have worked with.  He had us push ourselves over our limits and helped us find something special and different.  He pushes you but also wants you to surprise him and bring something he hasn’t thought about.  It was a great experience for me.

MG: What other projects are you working on?
AD: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” is the next projects that is signed for me that I can talk about.  The other ones I have are still in the air.

Click here to purchase Alexandre’s scores

Gerard McMahon aka G Tom Mac is the musician who sang the song “Cry Little Sister” from the 80’s classic film “The Lost Boys”. Since then Gerard has been had a bunch of albums and even scored some films. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Gerard to chat with him about his music and whats to come in the future.

Click here to purchase G Tom Mac’s music

Mike Gencarelli: You have been attending the convention circuit recently, how has it been getting out there and meeting your fans?
Gerard McMahon: I had been offered in past years to attend these conventions to sign autographs and perform. So in 2008, I thought “Why not”! I found it to be a brilliant experience and a way to have a closer relationship with my fans.  You tend to see the fans on going throughout the weekend during each convention. So yes it’s been great! I’ll do more in the future.

MG: It has almost been 25 years since “Cry Little Sister” was released, do you ever get tired of performing it?
GM: It’s always a new experience it seems anytime I perform “Cry Little Sister” live. It’s one of my songs that has a habit of feeling fresh to me still. There is nothing more inspiring then an audience singing the chorus along with me.

MG: How do you feel about the song being remade for “The Lost Boys 2”, which was recorded by Aiden?
GM: Well it’s always a gratifying feeling when another artist covers your song. However I didn’t like the “Lost Boys: The Tribe” film and I thought Aiden did a fair job with doing the cover. The whole thing just seemed cheap to me, from the movie to the song cover, just not the level of quality I set standards at. But thanks Aiden for putting more money in my bank!

MG: With all the various versions covered by various band, do you have a favorite?
GM: There are some cool versions out there, bits from Seasons After, the singers voice was cool. But I love how Eminem sampled it in “You’re Never Over” on his “Recovery” album, it’s nominated for a Grammy this year you know.

MG: Have you ever considered remaking the song yourself?
GM: I actually have made a few newer versions myself of “Cry Little Sister”. I did a version for the bonus DVD video of “Lost Boys: The Tribe”. Warner’s asked me if I would consider it, I did what I called a Cave Club version. It’s on my “Thou Shalt Not Fall” album. Another version is on my G Tom Mac album in 2000. There was also a dance version I agreed to do with Lost Brothers DJ in England that version was # 1 for 6 weeks in the UK.

MG: Besides “The Lost Boys”, what is your second favorite project to work on?
GM: Hmm, that is a good question. I love coming up with songs for the variety of TV shows that I’m fortunate to write for. It’s hard to say what’s my second favorite, I am writing a musical presently & that’s challenging. I have to say as long as it’s interesting & challenging I’m in!

MG: With your musical knowledge, have you ever considered scoring a movie?
GM: I have scored a few films, which people say I should do a lot more often. This year I scored the independent film “Emerging Past”.

MG: What else are you currently working on?
GM: I have a company with a partner who was the former President of Warner Pictures music, that we just started a year ago, designed to produce music driven film projects. We have two films going into production this year and a TV series in development. I’ll be doing a tour this summer around the globe in support of my new album releasing in June.

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Steve “Lips” Kudlow is the lead singer and guitar player for the band Anvil. Anvil started it’s career in the late 1970’s and recently was thrust back into the spotlight due to the award winning documentary “Anvil! The Story of Anvil.”  Movie Mikes had a chance to talk with “Lips” about the movie, the new Anvil record and the bands involvement in the FX original series “Sons of Anarchy.”

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Adam Lawton: When you were filming “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” was there any point in time where you and the rest of the band decided not to shoot something?
Lips: For the most part we didn’t mind. There were some points where I wasn’t happy about being filmed. Considering how much the cameras were around there was really only one time that I freaked out about the cameras. The funny part was that even after I freaked out about not being filmed the guy with the camera was able to shoot the conversation anyways from around the corner (laughs).   In hind sight that scene added a lot to the plot.

AL: When you were approached about the movie was the original plan to do a large scale release of the film or keep it more indie and smaller?
Lips: When I heard there was going to be a movie and who was making it I expected everything that it ended up being. My expectations were a lot higher than even the filmmaker (laughs).

AL: You had know Sacha Gervasi, the writer/producer of the film, previously correct?
Lips: Yeah. We had actually met him when he was a kid. He was on the road with us for a while and we became friend but we lost touch with him for some time. One day he calls me and says he has been working for Steven Spielberg as a screenwriter and he wants to make a movie about the band. My perspective was that one of Steve Spielberg’s guys wants to make a movie about Anvil! I was convinced that we were going to be stars (laughs).  I was really the only one seeing that vision at the time and even Sacha was saying we have a lot of work to do to get to that point.

AL: How did you and the band get involved with “Sons of Anarchy”?
Lips: We got to do a cameo appearance on an episode from season 2 as gun runners (laughs),  Kurt Sutter, the producer and writer of the show, lives across the street from Sacha and is a fan of the band. He asked if we would be interested in being a part of the show. I was at Sasha’s one day while he was out and I hear this familiar voice calling his name. I turn around and it’s Kurt Sutter’s wife Katie Segal who is also on the show. I was like what the fuck is going on! She had just stopped over to say “Hi”. It was so crazy(laughs).

AL: Can you tell us about the new album?
Lips: The album should be out in March 2011. It will have about eleven or twelve songs on it. We recorded sixteen songs but we are only going to put a certain amount on there. We have an instrumental on there that is incredible! I think it’s something that has never been done before. It’s a cross between big band swing and heavy metal. I can’t believe we created something this cool! It’s something that people have never heard before.

AL: Any chance we will see a sequel to the Anvil movie?
Lips: Probably. But it’s not going to be for a year or two.

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John Doe might typically be the name given to a person who is unknown.  But that’s definitely not the case for this John Doe (born: John Duchac). John started his career with the seminal LA punk band “X” , and has appeared in over 50 films as well as several television series. Doe has also contributed music to several movie soundtracks. Moviemikes.com correspondent Adam Lawton recently had the chance to speak with John about his career.

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Adam Lawton: What made you want to go from playing music and get into acting?
John Doe: There was a woman named Maggie Abbott who worked in an agency who represented my band “X”.  She had helped other musicians such as David Bowie and a few others get into movies. So she asked about doing the same for me. I also was friends with Allison Anders, who I worked with on Border Radio, and it has kind of kept going from there. Acting is a whole different element of expression, and you have to be prepared for it. For me, it’s actually quite a bit harder for me than playing music.

AL: Do you prefer acting now over playing music?
JD: Music is what I done more for the last couple of years, so I haven’t done too much acting. I have been touring and recording a lot. For someone over 50 there aren’t a lot of roles out there. You can play a cop or  someone’s dad. The roles are really limited. I am also not a big fan of auditioning, it’s kind of a drag.

AL: What has been your most recent on screen role?
JD: I did an independent movie called “Hated”, which I don’t know if that’s going to be the final name of it about a band from NY set around 2000. I got to play an evil manager, but I am not sure when the film is actually coming out.

AL: One of your first roles was in Oliver Stone’s “Salvador”, can you tell us about that experience?
JD: I didn’t really understand why I got the job. I thought to myself that wow this is amazing, and I knew I was very lucky at the time. Oliver Stone hadn’t really distinguished himself yet, and I think he may have been a little over his head. He just had so much going on with the rest of the cast, which included James Woods and Jim Belushi, and combine that with the film being shot in Mexico (laughs). Oliver was very kind and generous to everyone.

AL: Do you have any other upcoming projects?
JD: Right now I am in the middle of a west coast tour with my band “X” which wraps up just before the new year. I also will be starting to record a new solo album right around the same time that the “X” tour is ending and should be released hopefully in July of 2011. I also am putting the finishing touches on a live album I did with Jill Sobule. The cool thing about that album is all the money that was collected from ticket sales was used to make the album, so it was a fan financed record.

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Dave Brockie is a name you may not recognize but if you mention the name Oderus Urungus it may get you to instantly throw up your devil horns! Dave is the is lead singer of the heavy metal group GWAR.  Adam Lawton caught up with the man behind the mask to talk about all things GWAR including the groups new album “Bloody Pit of Horror”.

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Adam Lawton: I know you have a back ground in painting and drawing but you’re also into Special FX as well correct?
Dave Brockie: I have always puttered about with it, and just basically keeping my costume looking goo.  Sometimes I will bust out a GWAR effect. I have been working with the shop guys since the very beginning of GWAR. I am the rarest of GWAR breeds as I am the musician/artist in the group. It’s actually something we need all of the members to be at least to a certain extent.

AL: What kind of sparked the idea of GWAR?
DB: I had a band called Death Piggy at the time.  There was a group of guys, which included Hunter Jackson, who were doing props and costumes for a movie they wanted to make. His group and my band were in the same abandoned milk bottling factory, and we kind of collided. The band started wearing the costumes and Death Piggy turned into GWAR and we used GWAR as an opener for Death Piggy. Eventually GWAR swallowed up Death Piggy, and it was game on from there.

AL: You are the only original member on the group right now correct?
DB: Well actually there is one other guy, Scott Crawl, who is one of our artists that has been with us since before the first album, but he did come in a little later than me so I would have to say that yes I am the only one left from the beginning.

AL: When the band was first starting out and a member left was it hard for you to find replacements that shared the same ideas and wanted to wear the costumes?
DB: No, not at all, people couldn’t wait. We never had a hard time finding people who wanted to work with us.  The hard part we found was find good people! It is really hard to tell if someone is going to fit until we get them out on the road and start doing the shows. Usually what will happen is when we find someone we really like we try to stick with them. We are very loyal to our employees.

AL: This year marks the 25th anniversary of GWAR correct?
DB: Actually we have been declaring the anniversary for about 2 years now. So technically we are in the 26th year of GWAR. After this year we are going to shut up about all anniversaries until will hit 50!

AL: Did you think GWAR would ever last this long?
DB: Hell no! We started as a joke, then we had a record which we thought would be it but instead it just blew up. It wasn’t until I think we got to the 20 year anniversary that I thought this thing could easily go on forever.

AL: What else is going on right now?
DB: We have the new GWAR album out called “Bloody Pit of Horror” which has been getting a really good reception from the fans. We are currently working on expanding GWAR TV.  We are also in the planning stages of Crack-Athon 2011, we are leaving to tour Europe at the end of the month as well as Australia and New Zealand.  This will wrap up pretty much two years of frantic activity. I also will be continuing with my appearances on the Fox channel show “Red Eye”.

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Corey Allen Jackson is a versatile composer whose work to date spans from animation to thriller/horror genre to video games. He has also composed music for numerous projects film and television. He recently completed work on the remake of the 1978 horror classic, “I Spit on Your Grave”. MovieMikes had a chance to ask Corey a few questions about some of his projects.

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Mike Gencarelli: Where did you find inspiration for “I Spit on Your Grave” remake score? Did you look back to the original?
Corey Allen Jackson: The original “I Spit on Your Grave” did not have a score so I was relieved because I know the purists would be listening closely if that where the case. I knew I wanted to set a mood, that didn’t get in the way, but was influenced at times by Bartok, Pendereski. I watched the movie several times and was asked to score the opening sequence to get my take on the film. My visceral reaction to the film is what I put down in score and molded to the filmmakers intentions. I thought it should be dark and lonely not too terrifying until the brutality started. I tried to go balls out when Jennifer starts her revenge. It was a lot of fun to do.

MG: How did you get involved working with Bill Plympton?
CAJ: I sent Bill a demo about 7 or 8 years ago. I did not hear anything back for a while and so I kind of forgot that I had sent it. About a year later, I was on vacation when I get this call on my cell and it’s Bill Plympton. He said that there was a track on my demo that he wanted to use on his film “Hair High”. I said great and we’ve worked together ever since. I just received word this morning that out latest collaboration for the short film “The Cow that Wanted to Be a Hamburger”; is up for an Oscar. I believe that another collaboration “Idiots and Angels” has made the short-list for the animated feature category.

MG: Tell us about working on Alexia Anatasio’s documentary about Bill Plympton called “Adventures in Plymptoons”?
CAJ: Alexia contacted me sometime last year and asked to interview me for the doc she was making about Bill. I arrived at the studio where they were filming the interviews and the background was green screen. She explained that Bill would be animating our interviews. I have been anxiously waiting to see her doc ever since.

MG: In the film “Complacent”, you not only did the score but also produced; tell us how that happened and what it was like?
CAJ: I cannot remember how the conversation started, but I think I was playing gin rummy with my dad and the conversation turned to us making a film “Someday”. He had recently sold his business of almost 25 years and was looking for something to do. Sometime later at a holiday party at director Steven Monroe’s we started talking about it. He had a pile of scripts he wrote and wanted to direct. In another life I had business experience but this was really unlike anything I’ve ever done before. It was very stressful, but at the same time rewarding. It is a miracle that it ever got made. Afterwards I started to look around at pictures coming out, especially the independents, and thought to myself, “These people really have to love what they do to keep them going from start to finish.” There is nothing glorifying about it. No one get’s rich from it. It’s a “roll-up-your sleeves” job. I have a newly found respect for these people.

MG: Tell us about your role of synth programmer on “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore”?
CAJ: I would basically take the cues from the composer and would perform mock-ups, arrangements and production on the cues.

MG: Do you find the process very different working on movies to video games?
CAJ: It really depends on film and the game, but on the games I’ve worked on I had the opportunity to open up a bit more and flex the composer muscle a bit. In films you HAVE to be subservient to the story, dialog, everything. During game play you do have direction but it’s a bit less restrictive. Both are great to do and equally have their own advantages and disadvantages. I love writing to picture, but a game now and then is fun.

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David Chackler has worked on so many great films over the years.  Some of his most notable are “Child’s Play” and “Fright Night”.  Due to working on those films David had become longtime friend with writer/director Tom Holland.  They recently created a production company, Dead Rabbit Films together.  Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with David about the films he has worked on and his process for working on the music.

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Mike Gencarelli: You’ve worked on so many great films i.e. “Child’s Play” and “Fright Night”, Tell us about your process for working on the music?
David Chackler: Whenever I was brought in to do the music, I first thing I  start with is the script.  My inspiration starts with the content.  We work with the director and go through the music cues.  We work with them and Where they would like it to be and where I feel that they should be.  This helps tones the overall tone.  It also helps us pick a composer and helps us pick the source music as well.  Everything starts with a piece of content from a scene.

MG: How much freedom did you have to work on the music on each project?
DC: Every project is totally different.  Most of the young directors working on their first or second picture, they have been dreaming of this picture their whole life.  They have a very specific idea of what music they would like and where they would like it.  The first question and main issue for me is, what is the studio’s budget?  There is always the little dance that goes on between what they want and what they can afford.  At point I have to bridge the gap by giving them something that they would like and that also fits in the budget.  If it is veteran director, they would usually let us come in with two or three cues for each area.  They will sit with the composer and give you much more freedom.

MG: How did you get involved with the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series?
DC: In the early days, I was a musical consultant for New Line Cinema. I did a lot of their earlier pictures.  I was lucky enough to work on on the “Nightmare” films.  It definitely introduce me into the horror world.  When we did these films we tried to do everything fresh, come up a new sound and not look back at the other music from the series.

MG: What is your favorite type of music in general?
DC: I came out of the music business.  I can be listening to Bob Dylan anytime of the day or night.  I love rock, Queen is one of my favorite band.  Now I listen more to classic rock.

MG: Of all the films you’ve worked on, what has been your favorite to date?
DC: I gotta go with “Fright Night”.  It was a classic film and the music is as well.  The soundtrack really stands out.  It just one of those things, it is timeless. People still to today always ask me about the music.

MG: Tell us about reuniting with Tom Holland to create Dead Rabbit Films?
DC: We have been friends for many years.  We decided about a year ago to start this. It was a great opporunity in the independent industry.  Tom is one of the best writers I have ever known and due to that we have no shortage of content.  We decided to create a series called “Twisted Tales” which will be kind of like “Twilight Zone” meets “Amazing Stories”.  It will appeal to a more older demog not the usual 12-24 years old.  It is a little more like “MST3k”.  We thought it would be a great thing for us to do and so far it has been fantastic.  We have finished three tales already and are planning on closing our distribution deal any day now.

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Jon Hopkins is a musican/composer who is known for his melodic electronica and dance music. Jon has released numerous albums and has worked an a few film scores the most recent being Gareth Edwards’ “Monsters”. Movie Mikes was lucky to chat with Jon to discuss his fantastic score for Monsters” and his process for creating music.

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Mike Gencarelli: Where did you find your inspiration for the score to “Monsters”
Jon Hopkins: I think it is all in the visuals. There is such strong cinematography in the film. I am really inspired by brilliant photography. Gareth was known for his work in visual effects but I had no idea he was such an incredible camera man as well. I just saw some of the shots and they were like works of art. It just suggested to me the sound right away. The color scheme was a factor as well. The general feel of the film for me is captured by the way it looks and how the colors work, so that is where it comes from.

MG: Did you have any difficulty scoring the film?
JH: It was the first one I have done on my own. I have worked on a couple on with a team of composers. I was learning a lot. My studio wasn’t really equipped at that point to score a film. The computer I had was struggling a lot trying to have the picture playing same time while working. It was a great learning process. I learned a lot things not to do very quickly. I was able to work out the details of how to begin such a large project. We just got over all the barriers we faced. The biggest challenge was making something that sounded sort of orchestral without having an orchestra. I did that by recording one string player, Davide Ross and then just layered it up and built it to what sounds like an orchestra.

MG: Do you have a favorite scene that you enjoy scoring the most?
JH: There is a scene where Whitney (Able)’s character wakes up by the water just after the first encounter. It has the most beautiful dawn and she stands up and looks at the sky. For me that was such an amazing moment to score. I put my favorite piece of music into that point of the film.

MG: How did you original start working with Gareth Edwards?
JH: It was actually through Vertigo films, who is releasing “Monsters”. I worked with them on this film called “The Escapist”. I helped them with the end track for that film with was the track I worked with Coldplay.  They saw I worked with Brian Eno on the score for “The Lovely Bones” and knew I could do scoring. They gave me a chance and they introduced my work to Gareth. He was completely behind me working on it.

MG: Did he did you any direction or did you have creative control?
JH: Luckily, he was behind all of my ideas. There are twenty two or twenty three pieces of music in the film. I think maybe with two of them I got the tone wrong and he would come in and we would work on it. He would come in and direct a few points and guide based on high or low points in a scene. It was more moving around to fit his vision than any major changes. Generally, it was great and we really hit it off.

MG: “Monsters” wasn’t your first feature, you also worked on “The Lovely Bones”, tell us about that process?
JH: Yeah that was awesome. It was my first feature film working experience. I collaborated a few times with Brian Eno for probably the last seven or eight years now. He was talking about how he was approached by Peter Jackson to do it. He loved the book and Peter Jackon’s work but wasn’t sure if he wanted to take on such a big project. We worked with another composer Leo Abrahams, who was an old friend of mine. The process was the three of us in Brian’s studio and we really didn’t have much from the film to work with. We were working off our knowledge of the book and off some big stills that Peter would send us. It was a lot of improvisation at first.  We technically split it three ways. There was also a lot of involvement on the studios end since what we sent it to what finally come out, there was a lot of additional added. The score for me, you can hear that it sounds full of too many ideas for one score.

MG: Do you find it any different working on a film score than on a regular album?
JH: It is very different. Having written over twenty pieces of music for “Monsters”, I was done within three and half weeks. For an album it takes more like four months to do ten pieces. There is a lot of pressure when you are writing a score. It is not suppose to take 100% of your attention. When you make an album it has to hold your attention fully for an hour. In the film, you are helping drive the story. There is a moment in “Monsters”, where Gareth has no sound and it is just an incredible scenery shot. Those pieces need to be able to get the viewers attention.

MG: Tell us how you got to work on Coldplay’s album “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends”?
JH: Thanks to Brian Eno again, he was asked to produce the band and a few months into it he has the idea to invite other musician to work with them. They wanted to break things up and add some fresh ideas. Davide Rossi, the guy I used for the strings on “Monsters” was Coldplay’s string arranger, that is where I met him. I was in there just jamming for a few days. It just sort of evolved into co-writing and additional producing of a few of the tracks.

MG: Do you have a favorite film soundtrack?
My favorite soundtrack is “Lost in Translation”. The music is just my favorite collection of pieces. That film is not really one genre either, it is not a comedy, drama or love story. It is its own thing. Those are the kind of movies I am really interested in.

MG: Do you have plans to do any more film scores?
JH: My plans is I always just wait and see what appears. I never aimed specifically at doing scores. This film came a long, I saw it and I thought I really want to do this. My plan is wait for the right ones to come along. I do not have a huge range of styles that I want to write, so there will only be a few films that fit that. I love indie films. What I really love about “Monsters” is it doesn’t really fit into a genre, it is kind of a sci-fi road trip film and it is different in that way. I love that fact that it is not definable, it is not a horror film or action film.

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Check out a the theme for “Monsters” by Jon Hopkins here:

Jon Hopkins – Monsters Theme by Jon Hopkins

Nathan Barr is the amazing composer behind much of the recent horror films in the last few years. He has worked a lot with Eli Roth on “Cabin Fever”, “Hostel” and most recently “The Last Exorcism”. Nathan has also composed most of the scores to Broken Lizard’s films, most recently “The Slamming Salmon”. Besides movies, Nathan is also currently prepping for season four of “True Blood”, he has composed and performed all three past seasons. Movie Mikes had a chance to chat with Nathan about his process for creating music and doing what he loves.

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Mike Gencarelli: Where do you get inspiration when creating the “True Blood” score?
Nathan Barr: “True Blood” is one of those shows where Alan Ball (the creator) has everyone on the show do what they do best, which is their own thing. He is not looking for anything besides you bringing your own unique style and sound to the show. It is a wonderful place to start with a project when they are not asking you to imitate someone else. It was more about inspiration from all of the character and the stories. If I had to say what inspired me, I would have to have say Appalachian, Americana and probably Civil War music. That is only possible because of characters like Bill, who is from the Civil War. I drew inspiration from that due to the time period.

MG: Tell us about your craft for composing the “True Blood” score, you do not always the usual soundboards and mixers?
NB: In addition to being a composer, I am also a musician. I wouldn’t consider myself a strong performer. I certainly love the process of laying down tracks as a musician. The way I play the cello or the way I play the guitar are part of what makes me have a specific sound. In addition to the way that I compose for “True Blood”, I also get to play the instruments as another layer to bring out my uniqueness. Because I was forced from an early age to play cello and fell in love with guitar. I grew up with a foot in rock-n-roll and a foot in classical. Having familiarity and experiences in both of those genres is part of what allows me to compose and perform the music for “True Blood”. It is really just about watching a scene, picking up an instrument and starting to improvise what is up on the screen.

MG: How did you get involved with Broken Lizard to compose their music?
NB: It was just one of those fairly uninteresting industry stories. My agent submitted me as part of a group. The guys liked that I worked with Eli Roth and they were fans of “Cabin Fever”. They were about to do “Club Dread” which is a horror spoof. With the score to “Cabin Fever”, it certainly spoofs many horror films as well and has a great sense of humor about it. I think that they were looking to do the same thing with “Club Dread”. So from that were interested in working with me and we have stayed in touch, and have worked together many times.

MG: Do you find that composing music for a comedy is different than creating horror?
NB: General speaking the process for scoring a film, whether a comedy, horror or even documentary. It is pretty much the same. The job of a composer is to take your impressions of characters , the story and figure out how to musically support what is going on on-screen. If you are doing a horror film there are different tools or tricks you can lean on to create tension or a scary moment.

MG: Do you find that you have a lot of freedom with the scores or do you follow a path?
NB: It depends on the particular filmmaker or producer that you are working with.  A composers worst nightmare is to come in on a project where the director or producers are wildly in love with the temp music an editor has used. It is then an uphill struggle to get them to let go of what they have had in their heads for so long during the editing process. Fortunately I haven’t dealt with that too much. In my opinion, the really strong filmmakers are always willing and open to let you explore musically what you feel like you need as a composer, instead of imposing you. I think also good filmmakers are able to admit where their music knowledge ends and let you take them on the journey and trusting you with that.

MG: What was the hardest project you have worked on?
NB: In some ways, some of the projects with Broken Lizard have been the most difficult. Often times it is not doing something completely new and unique. It is about leaning on some music or traditions from music that they are spoofing, for example “Club Dread”. For that it wasn’t about making some incredible unique score. It was really about spoofing all of the horror movies that has come before it. I think those situations are very hard for a composer if you goal is to get your own unique sound out there. It took me a while to learn to look for those projects where you are going to be able to explore your own sound. Something like “True Blood” is a perfect venue for that.

MG: How did you start working with Eli Roth being you have scored all his projects?
NB: I hate to say it but it is kind of another semi-boring industry story. There was a producer I worked with on an earlier film, she was going to be producing “Cabin Fever” with Eli. She set up the meeting for us to meet. When Eli and I got together, he we walked into my studio and one of the first things he did was look at my DVD collection.  Every horror film that was beloved to him was on that shelf. We kind of both knew right away that based on his reaction to my DVDs, we were going to get a long really well. The friendship and work relationship developed from there.

MG: Tell us about working on the “The Last Exorcism”
NB: Eli brought me on to that project. I took a look at the film and right away I knew it was really good. One of Daniel (Stamm)’s great successes was creating an amazing atmosphere at which the story was evolved. I thought it was a really good scary movie. The main challenge though for all of us was they were making a faux documentary and so we wanted to tread as lightly as possible throughout the film. The minute the audience realized there was a score that was going to remove them from the fact that this is not a real documentary. The challenge was knowing where we can bring the score into the film and then how heavy handed we could be. I think we ended up finding a good balance there so it doesn’t distract the audience.

MG: What is your next project that you will be working on?
NB: I am in the middle of working on a project now called “The Ledge”. It is a drama with Liv Tyler, Terrance Howard and Patrick Wilson and directed by a wonderful director Matthew Chapman. I go back on “True Blood” season four in February.

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Helen Reddy is an known for her music and film career. In the 70’s, she placed fifteen singles in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Three of those fifteen songs reached #1, including her signature hit “I Am Woman.” Helen also appeared in various TV shows and films such as “Airport 1975” and Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon”. Movie Mike had a brief opportunity to ask Helen a few questions about her amazing career.

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Mike Gencarelli: What was it like crossing over from music to film in “Airport 1975” which nominated you a Golden Globe?
Helen Reddy: As I had performed in theater since I was five years old and TV since I was fifteen, I wasn’t exactly ‘crossing over’ from music.

MG: “Pete’s Dragon” was your first leading role, How did it feel to star in a Disney film?
HR: It was a great thrill to star in a big Hollywood musical film. Pete’s Dragon continues to entertain children and I love that my grandchild has seen it and her children probably will too.

MG: Did you find it difficult to be working with your co-star as an invisible dragon?
HR: I only had one actual scene with the dragon and during rehearsals I worked with a latex model of his head so that I would be familiar with the dimensions during filming.

MG: What was it Your song ‘Candle in the Water’ was nominated for an Oscar, How did that feel?
HR: I was very happy for the songwriters of the film that “Candle on the Water” received a nomination.

MG: What was the best part of writing your autobiography?
HR: The best part of writing my memoir was finishing it. As someone once said, “Writers don’t like writing – they like having written.”

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Thomas Ian Nicholas started his career with “Rookie of the Year” and Disney’s “A Kid in King Arthur’s Court”.  Shortly after he joined the cast of “American Pie” as Kevin Myers and co-stared in all three films.  Thomas recently released a new CD with his band, The Thomas Nicholas Band, on June 1st and they are currently on tour.  Movie Mikes had a chance to talk with Thomas about his movie career so far as well as his band’s current tour.

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Mike Gencarelli: My sisters and my favorite film growing up was “Rookie of the Year”, tell us about working on that film?
Thomas Ian Nicholas: That was my first feature film that got released in theaters so I was stoked. I believe there is still video of me somewhere when I got the news and I was jumping up and down for joy. It was a great time. We got to spend three months in Chicago. We shot on Wrigley’s Field. Just this year when we were playing shows in Chicago with my band, I went back and threw out the first pitch and sang the 7-inning stretch. So that was cool to return back there.

Mike Gencarelli: You worked on “A Kid in King Arthur’s Court”, with then little known Kate Winslet and Daniel Craig, How was it working on that film?
Thomas Ian Nicholas: It was cool. Kate had done “Heavenly Creatures” but that was pretty much the only film under her belt. She was 18 at the time. I was 14. She was cool. I am very excited for her success that she has achieved in her career. It is well-deserved. Daniel Craig was cool too. I spent a lot of time with both of them. When Daniel did James Bond, I was so stoked for him. I love seeing my friends succeed.

Mike Gencarelli: Tell how it was playing Kevin Myers for the “American Pie” Trilogy?
Thomas Ian Nicholas: At the time I was just happy to have a job. I never knew it would turn into a franchise film trilogy and DVD sequels to boot. It was good time and a great group of people. Working with the Weitz Brothers was amazing. I look back and I can’t believe it was over ten years ago. It is kind of crazy. I am grateful for the doors that it has opened for me, both in the acting and the music side. It has been an amazing blessing.

MG: You must have some crazy stories from the set of “American Pie” films?
TN: Probably in the last twelve years, I have told every crazy story. If you would have told me twelve years ago that I would be interviewing with you, I would have saved one crazy story for you. So let’s set a date for a future project I will make sure that I save you one [laughs].

MG: There is word there might be another installment, any chance you will return?
TN: I’ve heard the same things you heard. I was on my twitter page and someone posted an article that was linked to the LA Times. The article said that they hired writers to write the sequel. My reaction was basically “Oh really…Ok cool!”. So I have been following the press the same as everyone else. I think it would be fun if we all got back together. I look forward to it hopefully coming together.

MG: What has been your favorite film that you have worked on to date?
TN: That is a tough one to choose. There are two performances that are my favorite. One is recent and one is from ten years ago. I would like to include both of them. The most recent which is currently in theaters, called “Please Give” with Amanda Peet, Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt. I really believe that Nicole Holofcener directed one of the most honest performances out of my career to date. Hopefully I will continue with that kind of work going forward. The other project was “Rules of Attraction” by Roger Avery. That was the first time I felt that I really stepped outside of myself and became a character that was completely different. My own mother didn’t even recognize me for the first half of the scene I was in. She was like “Wait a second, is that you?”. That is a pretty cool complement.

MG: Tell us about your band and your new album?
TN: My band is called The Thomas Nicholas Band or better known as TNB. We just released our latest album, called ‘Heroes Are Human’ on June 1st 2010. We have been touring across half the country. We started on June 20th and went up through the Northwest into Chicago and down through the Southwest, which is where we are right now. We are playing 19 shows over 21 days, it is just a small little tour to celebrate and promote the release of the album.

MG: Do you have any upcoming films in the works?
TN: There are a few things. I play Abbie Hoffman in “The Chicago 8”, which I just recently finished. It will hopefully be out later this year or beginning of next year. It focuses on the famous trial of 1969. I also just finished filming a movie called “InSight” which stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Christopher Lloyd. It is a thriller and I play the main murder suspect.

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Click here to visit Thomas’ website and purchase The Thomas Nicholas Band’s CDs