“Unbearable Weight of Enormous Talent” by Composer “Nick Cage’s Multi-Genre Escort”

Composer Mark Isham wasn’t the first choice for Nicolas Cage’s semi-meta-action comedy. The unbearable weight of massive talentBut he was right.

Isham sent out his call when the composer’s call was first heard, but when he failed to get the job done, the award-winning musical mind was behind countless films, including the back cover of Cage’s films. bad colonel, Next s Stolen – The project came to mind. It was what he wanted to see, even if he couldn’t work on it in the end.

Then the phone rang.

“A few months later, Zar said he was in trouble and that he was happy to meet me,” recalls Issam.

But I hadn’t seen the movie yet. In fact, all he had at the time was a brief two-line summary. So he asked him to watch what he was going to do. Watching it was a chance for me to see “exactly how it worked and how good it was” before it was released onto the field.

His concept combined Cage’s music processing with various other genres and thematic concepts in other projects, influenced by the heavy spaghetti West. With the help of director and co-writer Tom Gormicken, which Isham said the hollywood reporter It was “very hands-on”, featuring “Nick Cage’s multi-genre party”.

“We played everything: the humour, the passion. We use flamenco guitars; We used spaghetti western; “We used heavy action music,” Isham said.

The composer spoke to the film after its April 22 release in theaters. THR He has influences on the soundtrack and several references to Cage, and has worked with the film’s director and music director. unbearable weightYour musical identity.

How was your working relationship with director Tom Gormicken?

Tommy is very, very cooperative. He worked on music not only for temporary music, but also for sheet music with others. So I had a lot of ideas. He knew a lot about what wasn’t working and had an idea of ​​what it would be like. So my first job was to come up with these ideas, about 15 or 20 minutes of music, and they worked. We come out of there famous, but he’s a very practical guy: a lot of thoughts, a lot of opinions, a lot of things to try. We achieved what made me very happy.

Have you worked closely with others in the music department, such as the music director, to help you set the tone and choose whether to set aside the songwriting or the needle?

Yes, George Draculias and then Julia Michels from Lionsgate’s music department, who was also very practical. George and I talked quite often because he had moments of dropping a big needle. Tommy went on to say, “Maybe we should try the song here or the needle drops here instead of complaining”, so we were going back and forth. Giorgi called me and told me: “Here we have to try a needle drop here. This is what you are looking for. It might be better to score a goal, but you have to know he’s looking for it.” So we talk a lot about it and he’s a great employee. He’s really good at what he does. And Julia just supported all of that. great support system when I arrived late at night.

You’ve done a lot of movies, including several for Nicolas Cage. How was this project different for you?

This is exactly the question I asked myself when I was called and told that I wanted to take this picture. I said, “Okay, all I heard was a two-line summary, and I don’t even know if it works.” (laughs.) So they sent me a picture and luckily, of course, a really good one. When I thought about it, I said that what’s missing is just a traditional party, even under the influence of pre-Nicolas Cage films. I went back to Ennio Morricone and Lalo Schiffer and heard something almost like a spaghetti western, if you will. Because, after all, this is a friendly movie with its roots in Western controversy. But it is also much more. It looks very modern in the chase scenes, with modern drums, as the film demands. But in essence it is very traditional. It has a great John Berry-type eight-stripe theme. I think it allows the viewer to resolve tension in a snap. We spent a lot of time here.

Make up cage-related easter eggs or your previous scores unbearable weight Music?

It’s an honor, a small personal honor, for the Lord. [Hans] Zimmer. There are also some Nick Cage action movies that I filmed, so I have my trifles saved for the scores I did with them. One of Nicolas Cage’s favorite goals to date was the Werner Herzog film bad colonel. And that, of course, is as far from this movie as you can get. Darker than dark. There are a few times when I tried to borrow something. He has a lot of drug trance in this movie and of course there is an acid production scene in this movie. It’s a little stretchy, but I understand. I don’t know if anyone will listen.

The two songs in his score are another reference to Nick Cage in the Russian puppet film referenced to Nicolas Cage. Here are “Nick-Napped” and “You Must Kill Nicolas Cage”. Can you talk about what’s behind these titles in terms of meaning and music?

“Nick-Napped” is a turning point in the film. Tiffany Headish made you laugh. You know he’s at the CIA, but you don’t know how it will affect Cage. So when they kidnap him and sit him in the van, and put him on the ground, that makes this movie a whole different movie. [movie.] This title is a play on words. But in the scene itself we are entering the action genre for the first time. suspension genre. The madness here is different. In fact, life seems to be in danger. Until now, it was just ridiculous. You feel it, Nick, stop crying. you are a star. (Laughter.) But he’s really good at this character, the sad Nick Cage. But then you realize, “My God, he could be in a real situation, and this movie has taken a 180 degree turn.” So the music has to change there. Suddenly bass bass, grooves, rolling tension notes, all part of this scene. Until the end, really.

“You must kill Nicolas Cage” – This line just goes off the screen with such force. The cousin returns to Java [Gutierrez, played by Pedro Pascal] And he says, “You must have killed Nicolas Cage.” You realize that for Java this is a proposition and there can’t be a worse proposition than for him not to hear from anyone for the rest of his life. Someone just told him he had to kill a man he adored and adored and now he’s become one of his best, if not his best friends. This is a line of utter despair and terror. Java was never intended to recover from this. So the line itself only needed to be used as a title. This is a very good line. (laughs.)

This movie has many genres. What was the most challenging genre or aspect of scoring a goal?

What makes music funny isn’t necessarily the music itself. Obviously you have Spike Jones and you have some kind of fun music. But this is a very small genre and is not used that often in comedy films. What makes music fun is the summary. You establish a [Joseph] The Haydn String Quartet is the last place you expect to hear the Haydn String Quartet, and it’s fun. Or you put James Brown’s music on a stage where you never expect to hear it and it makes you stop. So it’s a mixture of that genre in one place, used in a way you would never expect. I think that was the hardest part, for example, in the scene where Tiffany Headish’s character Vivian explains to Nicolas Cage that the film needs to have a hook. I have 15 versions of this signal on my computer. What do you do that connects with what you don’t expect, isn’t it part of this movie that makes ridiculous what he says to Nick, just mixing this song together? It took us at least 15 tries to find something that worked. In this case, it does not apply to notes. This doesn’t apply to E flat or F. It doesn’t really apply to the concept.

In addition to this comedy or action, there are some emotionally dramatic moments for Nick Cage. Are there any musical moments that help you tell that part of the film’s story and how did you handle that in the composition?

There is death which occurs in its most acute form; So he goes there for that personal realization in a very surreal moment. After all, there is a sincere family reunion and it seems. I wore it on all the different outfits it could be. I did a body sound version of Morricone, a kind of Farfisa. We did a 90-piece full orchestra version and a small chamber music orchestra with a solo cello version. She gets a lot of different clothes.

Earlier you mentioned that spaghetti westerns had a significant impact on scores. What did you use to recreate that sound?

It is derived from Ennio Morricone and the Clint Eastwood film series he filmed in Western. Although they are run by Italians and with Italian staff, they are a very American thing. Two bad boys are facing each other in the town square and are heading towards each other. Morricone came up with these wonderful orchestrations that were completely off-putting. That so far no one has been able to send the perfect solution, which is not strange. I didn’t want to leave the pig whole, but I borrowed the tremolo guitar used there. So I reinforced it in different ways. It’s a respect that I think I liked, and then the director said, “Let’s go for more!” (laughs.) So whenever these guys enter a competition like this, when they say to Java, “You have to kill Nicolas Cage”, we can enter this guitar. Return the American West and Clint Eastwood type characters to the American West who need to be killed. The time is now. It’s noon.

Is it your favorite musical reference from the movie?

Not every film gives the composer the chance to write a Pulitzer Prize-winning composition. You often do something so specific to a movie that yes, you’re happy with what you’ve done and proud of it, but maybe it’s not entirely a different genre. Sometimes movies offer that opportunity and I thought I wouldn’t have this movie. Most comedies don’t. But in the scene where Java was standing on the street, Tommy turned to me and said, “Let’s turn off the effects. This is your scene, my friend,” and somehow I walked away. It’s almost a moment for me with this film where I said it’s a really good song and I support it in writing. I’m so glad it’s like a movie because it’s so weird.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.