Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Composer confirmed for film 7

That's probably the most surprising thing I've ever read on this board.

 

Hehe it is kind of... interesting.

 

I think it would be an amazing statement by Williams to return for Deathly Hallows, just saying to the fans: "No, I haven't forgotten about Harry Potter and I haven't given up on big budget fantasy films just yet. I think I have a few more epic scores left before I really retire." I can see how John Williams would be a huge benefit to the final scenes of Deathly Hallows. (We KNOW he will write something amazing for the battle of Hogwarts and the final duels)

As for the split into two films, it's good from the perspective that the story will be able to be told in full, and less will have to be eliminated, however from a scoring perspective I think it might make it less likely for Williams to do two films in one go. (And let's face it, there has to be one composer for the pair - they are two parts to one movie.) And what would they call the films? All I can think of is some hilariously confusing names.

I just hope that John Williams won't hang up the baton for a little while yet, and that we can hear a magic blockbuster score once more from him.

 

A film doesn't have to be a blockbuster to have magic. Besides, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is on its way.

 

I wonder when we will get an announcement as to who is scoring the last two Potter films? I supposed some time in 2010...

 

Well it's official that they're gunning for John Williams. They just need to make sure he's available for both the spring of 2010 (which he is) and the spring of 2011 (which is iffy). If they can't get him for both, they'll find someone else. The 2011 part is tricky because Spielberg has numerous projects lined up after TinTin that might conflict with Potter.

 

Really? I did not know it was official that they wanted Williams. That's good to know.

 

I really hope they do get him back. His third score for the series was his best one yet, and though I really like Doyle's Goblet of Fire score, both of Hooper's have blown goats. I'll actually pick up the Williams ones.

 

I think he'll be able to do it, even with Spielberg doing Lincoln and a whole bunch of other stuff. I doubt John Williams would miss out on doing the last Potter film, especially when you watch him doing those documentaries on the first few films, he really enjoyed doing them.

 

From what I hear, there is no way Williams is coming back for HP7, and if they were to approach him, at least one thing prevents him from wanting to do it anyway. Williams almost exclusively works with people he knows and has worked with before. In his essentially retired state, I don't think he's going to give David Yates the time of day. He'll make his fee too high to be worth it to Warner's and they'll just go looking somewhere else.

I think it's time to start exploring other options, who else do you guys think would do a good job with it?

I'd throw Alexandre Desplat or Elliot Goldenthal into the ring as being good possibles.

 

Actually, WB has been negotiating with him to return.

 

According to FSM, Alexandre Desplat has been hired to score Deathly Hallows part 1.

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/daily/article.cfm/articleID/6408/The-2009-Top-Forty-Composer-Countdown-in-2010!-Part-Four/

Scroll down to number 3.


I'm excited.

 

It would be sad news indeed if Warner Bros somehow failed to get John Williams back.

 

So it'a apparently confirmed that Alexandre Desplat is scoring Deathly Hallows Part 1. I've never seen any of the films this guy has scored. Can soemone tell me more about him? Are we in for yet another crap Potter score? Or is there a chance this guy will sack up and write a good score filled with themes both old and new?

 

He's an excellent composer and orchestrator. Brilliant at waltzes, too. We're likely in for a treat. Some of his music leaves me a bit cold, but he's definitely one of the best composers out there right now. He did the score for The Golden Compass if you're interested in his fantasy music. Also Benjamin Button, The Painted Veil, last year's New Moon. The score is in good hands.

 

But see here's my issue. I've been told that about Patrick Doyle and about Nicholas Hooper and both of them wrote either mediocre or outright bad scores. I just don't get why Warner Bros cannot pony up the money or whatever for a big time real composer that everyone's heard of and knows writes good music.

 

Because John Williams does not want to write the music for Harry Potter 7. It's as simple as that.

Also, Desplat IS big time, he's been nominated for 3 Oscars as well as many other awards. The man is a fantastic composer and a self avowed avid fan of John Williams. We'll likely see a return to Williams-esque fantasy scoring in Desplat's score.

 

I said a Big Time Real Composer, you put Williams in there. I did not. I understand that for whatever reason, Williams is not coming back. But he DID say he would like to come back, so I don't see how you can say he did not want to score it.

That said, I understand now that Desplat has three Oscar noms. This is why I am asking about this guy, because I know nothing about him.

 

Well, I won't argue about Doyle's score. I think it's great and I listen to it more often than the Williams scores. Obviously some feel differently. But regardless of your feelings about the score, how is a two-time Oscar-nominated composer not a "real composer"? As far as everyone's heard of, that pretty much limits you to, what, Williams, Horner and Elfman at this point? And you'll find no consensus as far as the "everyone knows writes good music" part -- even Williams has his detractors.

Hooper was out out of his league. He has written some good smaller scores. He wasn't right for Harry Potter, which should have been evident the first time around.

Desplat has been nominated for three Oscars in the last four years. He's written scores for Roman Polanski, Terrence Malick, David Fincher and Jacques Audiard to name a few. He's written a score for an immensely popular franchise film and several other fantasies. He's demonstrated his versatility, producing fine scores in various genres. He's one of the most in-demand composers working right now. It's possible he'll screw this one up, but I seriously doubt it.

 

I can say that because the composer I work for knows his agent.

Either way, if you haven't heard much of Desplat's stuff, I would HIGHLY recommend everything Mastadge put down, as well as the addition of The Queen. He's coming from a great amount of training, and brings a really fresh, non typical Hollywood sound to his scores.

 

Okay I will give you that Desplat is a real composer. I remain concerned that he will choke like Doyle did. I guess we just have to disagree on that score. it has its moments, and it is certainly better than Hooper's trash, but for me it's still like 4/10 when Williams' Potter scores are like 9/10, 8/10 and 10/10. Hooper's scores are 1/10 and 0/10.

 

I thought Williams's scores were good, but not all that great. They're like the scores to the new Batman movies: they work well enough, but I hear very little to make me want to grab the score CD.

Then there was that part where he went all Horner on us by reusing AotC chase music (which wasn't all that exciting to begin with) in the Quidditch match in the second(?) movie...

 

I don't really want to get into a debate about the previous scores. I have come around to having a sort of reserved hope for the music Desplat will be doing for Deathly Hallows. I really hope he does not shy away from using a handful of Williams' themes though. I think it's important and something that the previous scores were missing.

 

I am also disappointed that Williams will not be back, regardless of whatever the reason may be.

Starting with Williams' third score, this is now the fourth Potter composer in five movies. For a franchise that is so wildly financially successful and constantly garners interest from the best in the creative community (actors, directors, etc), it is amazing to me that the franchise never found its one consistent musical voice.

You know, when the prequels came out I couldn't wait to listen to each music CD because I knew they would be memorable and in my rotation for years to come. Same with the Lord of the Rings as that series went on. It upsets me that there is so much to love about these Potter movies but I have no feel going into the seventh film for how well the music will work. Someone somewhere associated with the franchise dropped the (musical) ball.

 

I'm kind of curious why you find that amazing, as it seems to work that way frequently. With the exceptions of Star Wars and James Bond, most franchises seem to jump around. Alien, The Mummy/Scorpion King, Star Trek and so forth all have a at least a handful of different composers working in different modes.

And I also don't see how it's reflective of someone dropping the ball. It's a lot to ask of a composer to spend almost a decade of his or her life on such a large ongoing project. And if composers are going to change, the decision has to be made: will the new composer be asked essentially to pastiche the original music, a la Ken Thorne with the Superman sequels, or will the new composer be trusted to compose music to the best of his or her own abilities? I'd opt for the latter in almost any case, as nice as consistency can be. Imagine if Horner and Rosenman and Eidelman had been directed to stick to Goldsmith's themes and styles. Or if Goldsmith had been directed to stick to the musical stylings of TOS. It just wouldn't have been right.

Besides, why should we expect a consistent musical voice from a franchise that hasn't had a consistent directorial vision?