Soundtracking With Edith Bowman

As with the lunar landing and assassination of JFK, there are a fair few folk who can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when Diego Maradona punched the ball into Peter Shilton's net, sending Argentina on their way to victory in the quarter final of the 1986 World. So it's no surprise, over three decades later, that someone has decided to tell the story of this enigmatic sporting superstar. And that someone is our old friend Asif Kapadia, returning to Soundtracking to discuss his revealing biopic, Diego Maradona. Having previously explored the lives of troubled geniuses Ayrton Senna and Amy Winehouse, Asif has once again cast a forensic eye across a mind-bendingly brilliant yet undoubtedly flawed individual - with the key difference in this instance being that his subject is still alive. The results are utterly captivating. As with both Senna and Amy, Asif turned to Brazilian composer Antonio Pinto for the score. And, as ever, you'll hear plenty of Antonio's work throughout the c

Three inspirational women are the stars of our latest episode of Soundtracking, Edith's weekly screen music podcast, as we bring you another of our live events recorded at London's British Film Institute. Carly Paradis, Amelia Warner and Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch are all making big waves in the world of film composition - which, let's be honest, is (like the rest of the business) rather male dominated. So is was an absolute pleasure to get them on stage together in front of an audience to appreciate and celebrate their work. Though this was recorded quite a few months ago, we've held it back because, on June 12th in London, a new concert event celebrating the work of female composers in film & media will take place at EartH in Hackney, in which all three will feature. More information on that event can be found here. 

It's three for the price of one on the latest episode of Soundtracking. First up is actress, producer and now director, Olivia Wilde, who makes her debut behind the camera with Booksmart.  A coming-of-age comedy/drama starring Kaitlyn Dever and Beanind Feldstein, it boasts a killer soundtrack and a super-cool score by Dan The Automater. As if that weren't enough, we then welcome director Dexter Fletcher and composer Giles Martin, who join forces to fabulous effect on the Elton John musical biopic, Rocketman. Starring Taron Egerton in the lead role and Jamie Bell as Elton's longtime collaborater, Bernie Taupin, the film features all the classics, reworked for the purposes of the narrative by Giles. But we begin with Olivia - who we can assure you knows and loves her music. As we mentioned, she's used a number of great needle-drops in Booksmart, including tracks by LCD Soundsystem, Lizzo and Anderson Paak. Dan the Automator, meanwhile, compliments her choices with his score, which more than passes as a s

It's a welcome return for Guy Ritchie to Soundtracking, Edith's weekly film music podcast. And it's also a welcome return for Aladdin, making his first big screen appearance since 1992 in Guy's live action remake of DIsney's animated classic.  In this visually stunning reboot, Will Smith is charged with filling Robin Williams's considerable boots as Genie, with Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott playing Aladdin and Jasmin respectively. As with the animation, this latest incarnation is scored by Alan Menken, who won an Oscar and Golden Globe for the original. And in addition to a new number called Speechless, it features plenty of familiar tunes, including the classics Arabian Nights, One Jump Ahead and Friend Like Me.

We are truly in the company of cinematic royalty on the latest episode of Soundracking, as Keanu Reeves joins John Wick director Chad Stahelski to discuss chapter 3 of the hugely enjoyable franchise. Theirs was very much a partnership forged during the filming of The Matrix trilogy - on which Chad worked as both a stuntman and stunt co-ordinator. When Keanu received the script for Wick, he invited Chad on board, who in turn enlisted the services of composers Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard. They provided the scores for all three movies, and as ever you'll hear plenty of their work sprinkled throughout the conversation - as well as a couple of classic needle drops from The Matrix.

We have a treat for you on our latest episode of Soundtracking, not just in the shape of our guest but also the quite magnificent score that accompanies his new film. For director Dome Karukoski wisely enlisted the services of the incomparable Thomas Newman for Tolkein, a biopic on the life of The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings author. Starring Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Colm Meaney, and Derek Jacobi, Tolkein charts the writer's formative years, as his creativity, friendships and love affair with Edith Bratt are put to the test by the outbreak of World War I. As ever, you'll hear plenty of Thomas's music throughout the conversation, as well as examples of Hildur Guðnadóttir & Lasse Enersen's work on one of Dome's previous movies, Tom Of Finland.

After 22 films featuring a legion of heroes and villains, it is the end (of sorts) for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of an epic undertaking on the part of Marvel Studios, and delivers thrills, laughs, spectacular set pieces and one or two tears.  We've done our best to avoid spoilers, but if you haven't seen Endgame or indeed Infinity War, you might want to wait before diving in to this latest episode of Soundtracking. As with Infinity War, Endgame directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, with the score provided by Alan Silvestri. And in the fine tradition of the Marvel movies, we've got a rather large bonus at the end of our conversation in the shape of our first interview with the Russo brothers, to save you searching for it on the internet. It really is worth revisiting.

What links Gandhi, Dangerous Liaisons, Groundhog Day, My Name Is Joe, The Fisher King and You've Got Mail? The answer is composer George Fenton, who scored all of these films as well as a hundred-odd more! He also provided the music for several big budget BBC wildlife documentaries, including as The Trials Of Life and Blue Planet and Planet Earth. So we are indeed in esteemed company on our latest episode of Soundtracking, the original podcast about screen music. We caught up with George at his wonderful home on the release of Red Joan, a British spy drama starring Sophie Cookson and Judi Dench. As usual, you'll hear George's work from this and other movies throughout the conversation, as well his experiences of collaborating with Stephen Frears, Terry Gilliam, Ken Loach, Nora Ephron and Sir Richard Attenborough. 

Our guest on this week's Soundtracking is not necessarily a name you'll be familiar with. But as a movie fan, you'll certainly know the music he has had a key hand in. For in his 20 years at Air Studios, Jake Jackson has produced and engineered an extraordinary number of magnificent scores. As well as being Nick Cave and Warren Ellis's go-to guy, he has also worked on Gladiator, Pete's Dragon and Under the Skin among many other well-known films. Indeed, his work has featured on at least 20 episodes of this podcast, which is why we were so keen to get him on.

It's three for the price of one in our latest episode of Soundtracking, as director Tom Harper, writer Nicole Taylor and actress Jessie Buckley join me to discuss their new film, Wild Rose. Set in Glasgow, Wild Rose tells the story of Rose-Lyne Harlan, a troubled working class mother of two who dreams of becoming a country star in Nashville. With strong support from Julie Walters and Sophie Okonedo, it's a moving, bittersweet affair, that never goes in quite the direction you're expecting. It also features plenty of music - some of which you'll recognise and some of which is totally original. Indeed, with the help of their music guru Jack Arnold, Nicole and Jessie wrote several of the songs that appear in the movie. 

Our latest episode of Soundtracking is another live event, recorded at the British Film Institute in London with writer, director & actor Andy Serkis and musician Nitin Sawhney. The pair have collaborated on several occasions, most recently on Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle, Andy's performance capture reimagining of The Jungle Book. It's available to watch now via Netflix, and if you haven't seen it already we highly recommend it. Nitin also provided the score for Breathe - Andy's directorial debut. As alway's, you'll hear plenty of music from both films during the conversation and plenty more besides.

You wait months for a guest to talk with authority about scary movies, then two come along at once. Following Jordan Peele's fine turn in our previous episode, we're delighted to welcome Eli Roth to the show this time round. Eli is a writer, director, actor and producer who came to prominence with films such as Cabin Fever and Hostel. While much of his work is not for the faint hearted, his latest project, The House With A Clock In Its Walls, follows the great Spielberg tradition of frightening family fun.  Eli is also an encyclopaedia when it comes to score - to the point at which we couldn't source half of the music he refers to. But no matter: as you'll hear, he delivers quite the lesson nonetheless ...

We haven't featured as much horror as we'd like on Soundtracking, so it really is a great thrill for us to welcome the man of the moment in that particular field, Jordan Peele. Having forged a hugely successful career as a comedian and actor, Jordan won an Oscar and numerous other accolades for his debut feature, Get Out, which blended traditional genre tropes with social observation to create something altogether fresh. Now he follows it up with the equally brilliant Us, in which a family is confronted by a group of doppelgängers. Both films were scored by Michael Abels, who had never previously worked on a movie until Jordan came along. We'll hear plenty of Michael's work, as well as some of the truly brilliant needle drops that are used across the Get Out and Us.

Two extremely talented gentlemen join us for our latest episode of Soundtracking, better known for their work in fields other than cinema.  But in Benjamin, writer / director Simon Amstell and composer James Righton of Klaxons fame have collaborated on a film that is tender, moving and also very funny. Starring Colin Morgan and Phénix Brossard, Benjamin tells the story of a filmmaker who is forced to confront life's big questions as he embarks on a relationship with a charismatic young musician.   As ever, you'll hear plenty of James' score, as well as an insight into Simon's CD soundtrack collection ...

There is a fine tradition of female singers who have made the successful transition to cinema - from Barbara Streisand and Queen Latifah to Diana Ross and Lady Gaga. And we can certainly include R&B goddess Mary J Blige on that list. Having sold over 80 million records, Mary has a string of impressive acting credits to her name too. She played Malcom X's widow Dr Betty Shabazz in Betty and Coretta, and was nominated for an Oscar for performance as matriarch Florence Jackson in the deeply moving period drama, Mudbound. Mary is equally at home at the less-serious end of the entertainment spectrum, as demonstrated by her turns in Rock Of Ages and The Umbrella Academy, which is available now on Netflix.  We should say that we had some terrible static interference on the recording of this interview, which we genuinely think may have been caused by Mary's earrings! We've tried to clean it up as best we can, but do forgive us as and when the quality occasionally dips below our usual high standards … Head

Genius though he is, Martin Scorsese would be the first to admit the enormous debt of gratitude he owes to one Thelma Schoonmaker. For Thelma is the woman who has edited over 20 of his movies, from Raging Bull and Casino to Gangs Of New York and The Departed. So it's truly an honour to welcome her to Soundtracking, the weekly screen music podcast. As you'd hope, she has some great stories to share with us. Thelma was married to the late Michael Powell, one half of the legendary partnership Powell and Pressburger. Their work influenced Martin hugely - and indeed it was he who introduced Thelma to her would-be husband. You'll hear plenty of music from their films, as well as some of the more memorable cues to feature in Martin's back catalogue. There are a few notable clips to enjoy, too ...

If the release of If Beale Street Could Talk gave us a much needed excuse to get Barry Jenkins onto our screen music podcast, Soundtracking, then it also provided the perfect opportunity to invite his composer Nicholas Britell back for a second time. Nicholas's turn in episode 46 was a delight, illuminating the nuances of his Oscar-nominated score for Moonlight in ways that were quite beyond anything we'd imagined. His work on Beale Street is equally layered, encapsulating with its mournful strings and wistful horns the old adage that the course of true love never runs smooth. It is, from start to finish, gut-wrenchingly beautiful, and has quite rightly seen him nominated by the Academy again. At the time of recording, we don't know if he landed the gong, but he'd certainly make a worthy winner. We also discuss his work on Adam McKay's Vice too - a film with a mere 8 Oscar nominations - and Battle Of The Sexes, which was directed by former guests on this show, Valerie Farris and Jonathan Dayton.

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 Who Would Be King tells the story of a young boy who finds King Arthur's legendary sword Excalibur, and must then use it to stop the mythical enchantress Morgana from destroying the world. The film is scored by Electric Wave Bureau, a collective comprising Damon Albarn, his wife Suzi Winstanley, Michael Smith and Nelson De Freitas, and you'll hear plenty of their work sprinkled throughout the conversation. There's also music  by John Williams, Led Zeppelin, Prefab Sprout and, er, Bucks Fizz ...

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 scored by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, who also collaborated with Joel on his directorial debut, The Gift. At Joel's behest, it's a nuanced affair, hinting at the darker themes of the movie without ever over-stating them. They also make great use of choral voices. We should mention that Joel and Edith discuss a key plot detail during the course of the interview, so if you're planning to see the film, you might want to hold fire before listening to this ...

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 including Best Adapted Screenplay for Barry and Best Original Score for his composer and former guest on this show, Nicholas Britell. At Barry's request, Nick's score leans heavily on jazz tropes. We also discuss his excellent taste in needle-drops, from Nina Simone to Al Green and Barbara Lewis.