Soundtracking With Edith Bowman

Our guests on this week's Soundtracking are a couple of ladies eyeing success at the Academy Awards on Sunday evening. Emerald Fennell and Carey Mulligan have combined to great effect on the former's directorial debut, Promising Young Woman, which she also wrote. Nominated for 5 Oscars - including best picture, director and actor - Promising Young Woman tells the story of Cassie, a med school dropout seeking to avenge the death of her best friend, who was a victim of rape.  By turns extremely funny, dark, and provocative, it also has a banging soundtrack and a fine score by Anthony Willis.

We've cheated a bit this week - as one of our guests doesn't really talk about music at all. But given her film Nomadland has just won a sackful of BAFTAs and is nominated for six Oscars too, we thought we'd cut Chloe Zhao a little slack. To be honest, Edith just wanted to share the interview with you, so much does she love the film - which stars Frances McDormand as a woman who becomes 'houseless' and travels America following the death of her husband. We're also joined by Kevin Macdonald to discuss his new movie, The Mauritanian. Starring Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahman and Benedict Cumberbatch, The Mauritanian is based on the 2015 memoir Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who was held for fourteen years without charge in Guantanamo. It's scored by relative newcomer, Tom Hodge, and you'll hear examples of his music throughout the conversation.

We don't just have one guest for you on our latest episode of Soundtracking - or even two. No, it's a 'three-for' this week, as we explore the wonder that is Sound of Metal. Nominated for six Oscars and four BAFTAs, including shouts from both for the extraordinary Riz Ahmed as best actor, Sound of Metal tells the story of a drummer, Ruben, who is going deaf - with all the emotional trauma that entails. And Riz is one of our three guests, alongside director and co-writer, Darius Marder, who's in the hunt for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, among other accolades. We'll hear separately from Darius's brother, Abe, who not only co-wrote the script, but also had the tricky job of articulating Ruben's descent into silence sonically as a composer on the movie. We also have to thank Abe for furnishing us with his yet-to-be-released music from the film, and Matthew at Nonesuch Records, who gave us the all clear to use it. Sound of Metal is available to watch on Amazon Prime from 1

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is composer Emile Mosseri, who has deservedly been Oscar nominated for his score to the quite beautiful Minari. Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, Minari tells the semi-autobiographical story of South Korean immigrants trying to make a new life in rural America during the 1980s. It's available to watch as of today via the Altitude Film website - so you can find out for yourself why it's earned six - yes six - Academy Award nominations.

Our latest episode of Soundtracking sees us joined by an incredibly prolific composer, who currently has a couple of very exciting projects for you to feast your ears on. Henry Jackman's latest work can be heard on Apple TV's Russo brothers film, Cherry, and Falcon And The Winter Soldier, which is streaming weekly on Disney + He's an absolute joy, and even tinkles the ivories throughout the course of the interview.

Did you know that the person who scores Sacha Baron Cohen's film is, in fact, his brother Erran? Well done if you did; if not, that's your new fact for the day right there. Erran is our guest on this latest episode of Soundtracking - with us primarily to talk about Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, which has just picked up a couple of Golden Globes, has been nominated for Oscars and BAFTAs, and is available to watch right now on Amazon Prime.  We also have to thank Erran for servicing us with cues from the film, given that, for reasons unknown, his score is as yet commercially unavailable.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a writer and director returning for a second sitting, who has made five outstanding films for the BBC about London's West Indian community. Steve McQueen's Small Axe anthology is a series of historical dramas spanning from the late 60s to early 80s - from the story of the legendary Mangrove restaurant to Red, White and Blue, which stars John Boyega as Leroy Logan, the man who founded the Black Police Association. As you'd expect, the music is exquisite - not least because of the input of the legend that is Dennis Bovell, who makes a guest appearance on the pod to talk about his classic, Silly Games.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is an actor, model and musician who established himself in the mainstream with his chilling performance as serial killer Paul Spector in critically acclaimed drama, The Fall. Jamie Dornan has since landed a string of leading roles, including the part of Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades series and Nick in Untogether, which was written and directed by former guest on this show, Emma Forrest.  His latest outing sees him appear alongside Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo in the madcap comedy Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar, which, we can assure you, is an absolute hoot. He also stepped in at the very last minute, for which we're eternally grateful!

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is truly born into cinematic royalty. Writer / director Edoardo Ponti is the son of Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti, who produced Dr Zhivago among many, many other films.  Edoardo's latest project is The Life Ahead, which stars his mother as a former prostitute who forms an unlikely bond with a Senegalese street kid. You can watch it on Netflix now, and we highly recommend you take the time. Edoardo brims with enthusiasm, and has a mischievous sense of humour, making this a jolly entertaining listen indeed.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is American playwright and film and theatre director, George C Wolfe. Now it's with a certain sadness we welcome George to the show, as his latest offering Ma Rainey's Black Bottom also happens to be Chadwick's last performance before his passing. But what a performance it is, as he and Viola Davis put on a virtuoso show as the eponymous blues singer and the trumpeter in her band.  It's available to watch on Netflix now - so you can see for yourself why it landed numerous award nominations and received widespread critical acclaim.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer whose name has been mentioned on countless occasions on this podcast, such has been his productivity across the diverse world of screen music Ilan Eshkeri has worked on numerous films, TV shows and video games - the latest of which is the quite simply breathtaking Ghost Of Tsushima for the PS4. He's also scored four documentaries for David Attenborough, including A Perfect Planet, which you can watch on the BBC iPlayer right now.  He's also built up several strong creative partnerships over the years with the likes of Matthew Vaughn, Ralph Fiennes and Mat Whitecross.

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are a husband and wife duo responsible for some of the most memorable original tracks to feature on our screens in recent times. For Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez are the couple who wrote the songs in Frozen and Coco, winning Oscars for standouts Let It Go And Remember Mer respectively.  Now they have contributed theme tunes to episodes of the quite extraordinary WandaVision, which is streaming now on Disney +. Set in the Marvel Comic Universe, WandaVision takes place after the events in Avengers: Endgame, and sees Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprise their roles from the film series.  Beyond that, it's quite hard to explain what's going on, so you'll just have to investigate for yourselves! 

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are a duo who've combined to great effect on the haunting drama and character study, Luxor. As we'll hear, writer / director Zeina Durra contacted Venezuelan composer Nascuy Linares somewhat out of the blue to score her film, which tells the story of an aid worker who heads to Egypt to escape the horrors of the civil war in Syria, and runs into an old flame while she's there. Andrea Riseborough's performance in the lead role is something to behold, as are the locations and cinematography, so do check all of the above out on home entertainment formats as and when you get a second. Originally, Zeina didn't want any incidental music at all, which perhaps informed the ambient, stripped-back aesthetic of Nascuy's score. But he's done a beautiful job from beginning to end - capturing both a mood and a sense of place.

Our latest guests on Soundtracking are a duo Edith's been chasing since we started this podcast, so it's an absolute thrill to finally lure them on. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross burst onto the film-composing scene with their score for David Fincher's The Social Network, for which they won an Oscar in 2010. The trio have since joined forces on The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl. Trent and Atticus's most recent work can be heard on Fincher's Mank and Pete Docter's Soul, which you can watch right now on Netflix and Disney + respectively. The two films couldn't be more different and had wildly contrasting musical requirements - which is testimony to the range of their talents. 

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer who's been nominated for a BAFTA on no fewer than five occasions for his sterling output for television. Murray Gold is perhaps best-known for his work on Doctor Who, which saw him continue a long-time partnership with top screenwriter, Russell T Davies. The pair first joined forces on Queer as Folk, and have since collaborated on numerous critically celebrated shows such as Years And Years and A Very English Scandal. Their latest project is It's A Sin, which premiers on Channel 4 here in the UK on January 22nd. A tale of extreme highs and ghastly lows, it recounts the story of five 18-year-olds who move to London in the early 80s and have their lives turned upside down by the AIDS crisis. The legend that is Frank Oz also gets a more than honorary mention!

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a first time film composer who's smashed his debut score right out of the park. Adam Janota Bzowski has a background in both music and sound design, and has expertly married the two arts with his work on Rose Glass's Saint Maud. Garnering widespread critical acclaim, Saint Maud defies categorization, but broadly tells the story of a hospice nurse who becomes obsessed with a former patient in her care, believing she must save her soul. It's available on home entertainment formats from 1st February, and we suggest you pop a note in your diary for that - as it really is that good. Adam's score compliments the unsettling atmosphere of the narrative, script and visuals perfectly - and is an incredibly accomplished first foray into the business.

Merry New Year, everybody! To see it in, it's another double-header for you. First up, a true legend of recent cinema. Pete Docter is the Chief Creative Officer at Pixar. As well as winning Oscars as the director of Inside Out and Up, he was one of the main reasons we have Toy Story and has played some sort of hand in pretty much every movie to have come out of the studio. His latest project is the hugely ambitious Soul, which he both wrote and directed. Streaming now on Disney +, the story follows a music teacher voiced by Jamie Foxx, who seeks to reunite his soul and his body after they are accidentally separated, just before his big break as a jazz musician. Then we have Tessa Thompson talking about Sylvie's Love, another film to have jazz at its very core. Set in 50s Harlem, it's a classic romance between Tess's character, with ambitions of her own, and a saxophonist that beautifully evokes the spirit of the age. It's available to watch now on Amazon Prime.

We have one of Edith's dear old friends on this festive episode of Soundtracking - the one and only Andy Burrows As well as teaming up with Edith's fella Tom in their Smith & Burrows guise, Andy drummed with Razorlight, is Ricky Gervais's go-to guy, and scored Snowman & The Snowdog with Ilan Eshkeri. He and Edith discuss all of this and more. Hope you enjoy, merry Christmas everybody!

We're very excited about our latest episode of Soundtracking, which sees a welcome return to the podcast for the Boss, Bruce Springsteen, and his longtime collaborator Thom Zimny. The pair joined Edith during lockdown to discuss Bruce's new album, Letter To You, and Thom's gorgeous accompanying film of the same name. Letter To You saw Bruce reunite with the E-Street Band for the first time since 2014, and was recorded over 5 days at his home studio under Thom's watchful eye. Like Western Stars before it, it interweaves music, archive and the meditations of its protagonist to genuinely profound effect. We highly recommend checking it out on Apple TV now.

Our latest guest on Soundtracking is a composer we've been wanting to get on for absolutely ages.  Michael Price has worked on a huge range of projects for film and television, including Dracula, Horrid Henry, Hot Fuzz, Band Of Brothers and, of course, Sherlock - for which he won an Emmy with David Arnold. He's also music edited some incredible movies, from Lord Of The Rings to Love Actually and Children Of Men His most recent film score is for Eternal Beauty. Eternal Beauty saw him team up with recent guest on this show Craig Roberts, after they first collaborated on Just Jim. We don't talk about music in as much detail, but don't worry, we'll get him back in 2021 and get granular. Michael doesn't know that yet, but still ...