Last week I spent an evening in the company of the exceptionally talented Oscar winning composer, Dario Marianelli. An evening full of film clips, humble beginnings and very funny anecdotes, it marked the last in BAFTA’s season of ‘Conversations with Screen Composers’ at the Royal Albert Hall.
Dario very kindly answered some questions for The Hollywood News before the event, including the origins of his celebrated relationship with director Joe Wright, wanting to be like Clint Mansell when he grows up and if he’d ever score a superhero film…
THN: How did your initial collaboration with Joe Wright come about, and what is it specifically about the director that inspires your continued working relationship?
Dario Marianelli: We were introduced by producer Paul Webster, who knew me from my work on THE WARRIOR a few years earlier. We met and immediately found that we shared some common ground, a similar interest in using music to help the storytelling in a proactive way.
THN: Your work is synonymous with beautiful, sprawling, usually historical epics. Have you ever been tempted to score a bigger, brassier action film in the same vein as a superhero outing?
DM: Both THE BROTHERS GRIMM and V FOR VENDETTA were rather ‘big and brassy’! I seem to attract a certain type of director, rather than a certain type of film. I am happy with the collaborations I have had with very quirky and intelligent directors, and who knows, maybe one day one of them will do a superhero film and will ask me. I won’t turn it down!
THN: Jack Liebeck’s talent was showcased to haunting effect in Cary Fukunaga’s JANE EYRE (and of course ANNA KARENINA). Which other musicians are you keen to work with?
DM: I have a small number of people that I always try to get on my sessions: Caroline Dale on Cello, Matthew Hunt on Clarinet, Richard Watkins on Horn, Hugh Webb on harp, Rolf Wilson leading the band. Ben Wallfisch has been over many years a brilliant help in the last days of scoring and in studio conducting, but I am doing more of it myself now he’s become rather busy with film scoring himself. The other musical talents I like to have with me during the recording sessions are those of my music editor, James Bellamy, my engineers (mostly Nick Wollage) and the very good ears of Maggie Rodford, my manager.
THN: Your iconic work on ATONEMENT gained you an Academy Award. Do you have a completely different mindset when approaching a film like this and V FOR VENDETTA in comparison to, say, SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN?
DM: I only have one mind, but fortunately it is able to write different music, depending on the project. I always try to find a specific (meaning not-generic) connection between story and music. As stories differ, so does the music, I guess it’s that simple. It all starts with ideas, that need somehow to illuminate some side of the story that is not totally obvious, for me.
THN: Yourself and Clint Mansell are two of the most in demand, exciting composers around. Would you ever consider steering into a far more digital, computerised score, a la Mansell?
DM: When I heard the score he wrote for PI I was literally blown away by it. Clint has wonderful, concise and clear musical ideas, and I totally want to write like him when I grow up (even if I have the impression that he is steadily becoming more ‘orchestral’ and less electronic). I do like electronics and experiments, and I am sure if the right project comes my way I shall like to explore more of that side of things.
Dario Marianelli’s work will next be heard in the upcoming HIPPIE HIPPIE SHAKE, A LONG WAY DOWN and THE BOXTROLLS. You should also check out more on BAFTA Guru, that inspires minds in TV, films and games with all manner of famous individuals.
