It's been the best part of eight years since Joe Cornish released his directorial debut Attack The Block. And in our humble opinion, his follow up The Kid Who Would Be King has been well worth the wait. That's not to say Joe hasn't been busy, co-writing the Adventures Of Tintin with Edgar Wright, Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson, and Ant Man with Edgar and Paul Rudd, among others. But it's great to have him back at the helm. Based on an idea Joe originally had as a twelve year old, The Kid Wh...
Feb 18, 2019•1 hr
We have another polymath for you in the latest episode of Soundtracking - this time in the shape of Australian actor, writer and director Joel Edgerton. Joel's latest project is Boy Erased - in which he admirably deploys all three of these skills. Based on a memoir by Garrard Conley, the film stars Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Troye Sivan, and tells the story of the son of devout Baptist parents who is forced to take part in a gay conversion therapy program. Boy Erased is score...
Feb 11, 2019•50 min
Ever since meeting him prior to the release of Moonlight, Edith has been longing to get Barry Jenkins onto Soundtracking. So it's an absolute pleasure to welcome him along ahead of the UK opening of his latest movie - the magnificent If Beale Street Could Talk. Based on the novel by James Baldwin, it tells the story of a young African-American woman who seeks to clear the name of her imprisoned lover before the birth of their child. If Beale Street Could Talk has recieved three Oscar nominations...
Feb 04, 2019•53 min
When the opportunity to interview the Canadian writer, director and animator Dean Deblois presented itself, we just had to say yes, even though our schedule is choc-a-block. For alongside Chris Sanders, Dean is the man behind the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy - a series of films that have brought Edith and her two boys an immense amount of joy. They're also responsible for Lilo And Stich, another big hit in the Bowman household. The final installment of the trilogy is called Hidden World. Sco...
Feb 01, 2019•38 min
18 years after he brought us the lo-fi superhero thriller Unbreakable - and a mere 3 since the surprise sequel Split - M Night Shyamalan finally completes his so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy with Glass. All the key players from the pervious films return, led by Bruce Willis's blue collar vigilante and Samuel L Jackson and James McEvoy's super-villains. Much of the action takes place in the mental institution where the trio are incarcerated and probed by Sarah Paulson's sceptical psychiatrist. Gla...
Jan 28, 2019•52 min
You may not be familiar with her name, but you will certainly know her films. For Elizabeth Karlsen has produced a whole host of cinematic gems - including The Crying Game, Little Voice, Made In Dagenham, Great Expectations and Carol. And having spoken to her husband Stephen Woolley on this show previously, it's a pleasure to welcome her to Soundtracking, Edith's weekly podcast about screen music. Indeed, such has their lasting influence been that they are to receive The Outstanding British Cont...
Jan 21, 2019•1 hr 8 min
Two episodes of Soundtracking in 2019 - two five-star films. Following Yorgos Lanthimos's appearance to discuss his subversive period drama The Favourite, Jon S Baird joins us for our latest show to talk us through the music in his much-vaunted Laurel & Hardy biopic, Stan & Ollie. Starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly, Stan & Ollie tells the story of their theatre tour of the British Isles many years after the peak of their fame. By turns funny and moving, it brims with charm, inno...
Jan 14, 2019•59 min
Our latest episode of Soundtracking couldn't be better timed, what with Olivia Coleman having just landed a Golden Globe for her performance as Queen Anne in The Favourite. If you haven't heard it already, her acceptance speech is particularly amusing - and will most likely be one of several she has to deliver during this awards season. Telling the story of two ambitious women (played by Rachel Weisz & Emma Stone) competing for Anne's affection, The Favourite is directed by our old friend Yo...
Jan 07, 2019•40 min
Happy New Year, one and all, and welcome to this bonus episode of Soundtracking, as we kick off 2019 by celebrating the nominees for the EE Rising Star Award at February's British Academy Film Awards. Now in its 14th year, the EE Rising Star Award is the only category at the ceremony voted for by the public. Previous winners include Tom Holland, James McAvoy, Eva Green, Tom Hardy, Kristen Stewart, John Boyega and last year’s winner, Daniel Kaluuya So how are the nominees chosen? Well, a panel of...
Jan 04, 2019•1 hr 22 min
Robert Zemeckis is an absolute legend. From Back To The Future to Polar Express and Forrest Gump, he makes the kind of movies you can watch over and over again. So it's a great honour to welcome him to Soundtracking for our very last show of 2018. Robert's collaborator-in-chief is composer Alan Silvestri, who has scored every one of his films since Romancing The Stone, which came out in 1984. And yes, we will be playing the theme from that, as well as a couple of classic tunes from Forrest Gump ...
Dec 31, 2018•44 min
54 years after she first lit up the lives of the Banks family - not to mention cinema-goers the world over - everyone's favourite nanny is back. Mary Poppins Returns sees Emily Blunt in the title role, reunited with the household in the wake of a tragedy three decades after events of the original. It's directed by Rob Marshall, and we're delighted to say that Rob is our guest on this festive edition of Soundtracking - the weekly podcast about film and television music. Remaining true to the spir...
Dec 24, 2018•48 min
Epic is a word oft-applied to cinema, but rarely can it have been more appropriately used than to describe the work of Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens. For along with writing partner Fran Walsh, it is they that brought us both the Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies, not to mention King Kong. Their latest project is the equally ambitious Mortal Engines, which they wrote and produced. Based on the novel of the same name by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines is based on the mind-boggling premise th...
Dec 17, 2018•40 min
In recent weeks, we've been asking for suggestions for your favourite example of guitar-playing in film with a view to winning a Fender from their new Player Series range. As you might imagine, we've been inundated - receiving shouts for everything from Morricone to The Blues Brothers and Wayne's World. For this bonus episode, we invited composer Daniel Pemberton and music supervisor Kle Savidge to judge the winning entries. Hopefully, you'll appreciate the magnificent trio of cues & scores ...
Dec 12, 2018•25 min
It's with a slightly heavy heart that we welcome you to our latest episode, given that the film we're discussing is almost certainly the great Robert Redford's last. That film is The Old Man And The Gun, and the writer / director behind it is David Lowery. David first appeared on the show in August 2017, where we covered A Ghost Story, Pete's Dragon and Ain't Them Bodies Saints among many other things. So here the focus is very much on his latest project. Based on a true story, it stars Robert a...
Dec 10, 2018•40 min
If you want a masterclass in how to score an action movie, you've come to the right place. Because in this episode, director Christopher McQuarrie and composer Lorne Balfe talk us through their stellar work on the genuinely brilliant Mission Impossible: Fallout. As you'll hear, Chris and Lorne are, quite simply, tremendous company. We cover a lot of ground too - from the intricacies of scoring a chase sequence to reworking one of the most famous themes ever. Indeed, one of the obvious challenges...
Dec 03, 2018•1 hr 23 min
Over 100 episodes have passed since writer / director David Mackenzie first joined us on Soundtracking. On that occasion, we talked about his critically acclaimed thriller, Hell Or High Water, and much of his back catalogue. He returns to discuss Outlaw King, a passion project about Robert The Bruce which is available to watch now on Netflix. As well as a score by Tony Doogan (on which David is credited), Outlaw King features plenty of traditional Celtic and ecclesiastical music - which was sour...
Nov 26, 2018•42 min
Our latest episode of Soundtracking comes off the back of a very special day Edith spent at Abbey Road Studios in London as the score for JK Rowling's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Gindelwald was being recorded. She was there as the guest of director David Yates and producer David Heyman, both of whom join us this week to discuss what she heard and saw - and how James Newton Howard's stunning compositions compliment the action on screen. It's their second appearance each, having been on by the...
Nov 19, 2018•35 min
Our latest episode of Soundtracking in association with the White Company marks the first appearance for a man Edith has long admired. Steve McQueen is a British writer, director and producer. who had critical big-screen success with Hunger and Shame before scooping an Academy Award for 12 Years A Slave. His latest project is the ensemble heist thriller Widows. Based on the 1983 ITV series of the same name, The plot follows a group of women who attempt a heist in order to pay back a crime boss a...
Nov 12, 2018•41 min
Our latest episode of Soundtracking in association with The White Company sees a return for a third time of two of our faves. Writer / director Ben Wheatley's made his debut on our very first show, while composer Clint Mansell walked us through his back catalogue in our 52nd outing - including his magnificent work on Ben's adaptation of the JG Ballard novel, High Rise. Ben then returned to talk about the jazz-funk score for Free Fire, with Clint joining Duncan Jones in Los Angeles to discuss Dun...
Nov 05, 2018•46 min
It's another Soundtracking Live this week - this time recorded a month or so back at Festival No 6 in the weird and wonderful village of Portmerion, north Wales. Our guest that day was a novelist, playwright and occasional director of shorts, who well and truly thrust himself into the pop cultural consciousness with Trainspotting, and Danny Boyle's subsequent film adaptation of the same name. We are, of course, talking about Irvine Welsh. Irvine was on fine form - discussing everything from his ...
Oct 29, 2018•57 min
Our latest episode of Soundtracking sees a return for the supremely entertaining writer, director and producer Sacha Gervasi, who joined us a couple of months back to discuss his career to date. We held some of that interview back to coincide with the realease of his latest movie, My Dinner with Hervé. Starring Peter Dinklage and Jamie Dornan, My Dinner With Hervé recounts the later days of actor Hervé Villechaize, best known for his roles in smash TV show Fantasy Island and The Man With The Gol...
Oct 22, 2018•40 min
Since last joining us on Soundtracking, it’s fair to say Damien Chazelle has done alright for himself - becoming the youngest ever winner in the Best Director category at the Oscars for La La Land. His latest offering is First Man. Starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy, the narrative explores the years leading up to and including the 1969 Apollo 11 Mission to the moon, with the focus very much on the emotional challenges faced by Neil Armstrong and his family. It's another giant leap for Damien, ...
Oct 15, 2018•38 min
As if it weren't enough writing, producing, directing and starring in a movie, you'd surely have the right to feel pretty smug if said movie got rave reviews across the board too. Well, that's exactly what's happened with Bradley Cooper and A Star Is Born - though he was anything but smug when he joined Edith to discuss his achievements in our latest episode of Soundtracking. If anything, one gets the impression he's genuinely stunned and humbled by how well his work has been received. A remake ...
Oct 08, 2018•35 min
We very much like welcoming musicians to Soundtracking, so we were incredibly excited to learn about a documentary on the life of superstar Sri Lankan / British rapper M.I.A. - not least because Edith has been a huge fan since her days at BBC Radio 1. Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. was directed by her longtime friend Steve Loveridge, and follows 22 years in her life - including her rise to fame and her perspective on the controversies sparked over her music, public appearances and political activism. It ha...
Oct 01, 2018•46 min
The latest episode of Soundtracking finds us out and about once more, this time at the British Film Institute on London's South Bank. And it's a truly stellar cast. Director Lenny Abrahamson, composer Stephen Rennicks, editor Nathan Nugent and producer Gail Egan joined Edith in front of an audience to discuss the music of their latest film, The Little Stranger. Based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Waters, the plot follows a doctor who visits an old house his mother used to work at, only ...
Sep 24, 2018•1 hr 26 min
Our latest edition of Soundtracking features British writer / director Bart Layton. Bart won widespread critical acclaim for his debut The Imposter, a documentary about the case of the French conman Frédéric Bourdin, who impersonated a Texas boy who disappeared at the age of 13 in 1994. His new film is also inspired by an extraordinary true story about a group of ordinary everyday guys who plan to steal the most expensive book in America. Unlike The Imposter, though, it's predominantly a work of...
Sep 14, 2018•52 min
Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer who cut his teeth as a founder member of Tindersticks, with whom he wrote orchestral arrangements, recorded numerous albums and toured worldwide. Dickon Hinchliffe then turned his hand to scoring films when French director Claire Denis asked the band to write the music for her film Nénette et Boni. Dickon hasn't looked back since, providing the sonic backdrop to films as diverse as Winter's Bone, Project Nim and Leave No Trace. His latest project i...
Sep 11, 2018•48 min
Our latest guest may be German, but he's clearly something of an Anglophile, having made a Bond film, the Peter Pan inspired Finding Neverland, and now a new take on the British cultural institution that is Winnie The Pooh. Perhaps most importantly, Marc Forster is a total audiophile too! Marc's Christopher Robin is a delightful live-action addition to the Disney franchise, with Ewan McGregor in the leading role and Jim Cummings, Toby Jones and Sophie Okonedo among those providing the animal voi...
Aug 31, 2018•55 min
Providing a sequel for one of the highest grossing and most loved live-action musicals of all-time is a terrifying challenge by any reckoning, so we think you might be surprised how humble and down to earth the man that was charged with doing so is. Ol Parker wrote and directed Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and has done a fine job too. As well as managing an all-star cast including Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Cher, he also had the not insignificant problem of melding all those iconic songs wi...
Aug 26, 2018•56 min
Our latest guest is another of those 'annoying' multi-talented sorts, who's written, directed and produced a whole host of movies to widespread acclaim. Sacha Gervasi's first film was The Big Tease, which he co-wrote with Craig Ferguson. He went on to pen The Terminal, made into a film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks. That's some feat. He also directed the brilliant rockumentary Anvil, which tells the deeply personal story of a heavy metal band who've been plugging away for 3...
Aug 17, 2018•59 min
