And yet, at the same time, you have a knack for allowing instruments to breathe and establish their own individuality. Even going back-to-back between PRINCE OF PERSIA and SHREK FOREVER AFTER, there are many instances where the instruments speak for themselves.
I hope so. But it’s funny; I was struggling with scenes in THE TOWN on how I can bring myself into the car chase scenes. There was one that didn’t need a driving music track. But I always look at things at face value and do not feel obliged to visit familiar territory. I try to recount and give something fresh to the scene, while being sure that I am serving the film – one cannot be selfish about one’s own motivations.
And that’s yet another reason why it is always cool to see/hear what you do with a given project. You often tend to take preconceived impressions and give them a twist. When it was announced that you were signed on to do PRINCE OF PERSIA, there was a school of people on the Internet immediately griping that you were going to just revisit KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, and you really didn’t do that.
No, not at all. But I certainly drew from my experiences on KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, for obvious reasons; geographical, instrumentation. But KINGDOM OF HEAVEN was a different tone; we were talking about The Crusades. It was very “holy,” and it was a film that was very much based on fact. I always felt I had to have great respect for that movie, in as much that it was a sort of historical document. It was really beautiful work by Ridley [Scott, director], and I felt very fortunate to be a part of it.
But that kind of music shouldn’t fit on any other movie; it was really quite specific to the circumstances. But yes, geographically, KINGDOM and PRINCE OF PERSIA are peas in a pod, and I sat down and had a really good think about what I learned from the first experience, the instruments I used and whatnot. And that really helped me a lot.
How did it feel to bring closure to the SHREK series? Was it heavy-hearted, or were you happy to be done with it?
I wouldn’t say I’m happy it’s over, but I think I’m with Jeffery Katzenberg on this - four is enough. When Jeffrey called me to do this last film a couple of years ago, he could hear a note of concern in my voice, I’m sure. But he said he really liked the story and was convinced he could make a really good film. So from that moment, I was actually looking forward to it. And when I saw the rough cut of it, I started rubbing my hands together thinking how much fun it would be to compose. That final scene with Shrek and Fiona was really moving.
I really enjoyed that score, too, because you balanced the childhood whimsy with a darker, adult intelligence behind it.
[Laughs] Sounds like you’re talking about me! [Laughs] When I started getting into film music, I moved out to LA and began working at Hans Zimmer’s studio, learning the ropes and really getting an appetite for it. I remember him asking me what my ideal project would be. I didn’t really know at that time, so I said, “any film that would have me.” He laughed and said, “You should think about it, Harry, because when you are offered films, you will probably immediately grab them, whatever the task, because you have to start somewhere. But you should really think about trying to define your voice. Otherwise, you run the risk of being accidentally pigeonholed into a place you would not want to be. ”
And I remember thinking about what he said for a really long time. When I got asked to do THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, I thought, “Well THAT has to be my ideal dream project! It has a little darkness and a little fantasy, but it is driven by kids’ imaginations.” I do have an affinity for that kind of thing.
So, is there really going to be a PUSS IN BOOTS movie, and are you going to be a part of it?
The last I heard was that there is definitely going to be a PUSS IN BOOTS movie, and I am absolutely NOT going to be a part of it. Animation is a heck of an undertaking, and I don’t take that lightly. I am absolutely sure that someone else should score it!
How do you “know” when it is time to pass the torch? I was surprised to see David Arnold’s name attached to the new CHRONICLES OF NARNIA movie instead of yours.
With all due respect to David, I didn’t pass him any torch, nor did he grab the torch from me. The way that these things happen is quite natural, actually, and it is for the good of everybody, really. You could ask yourself then, “How is it that Harry Gregson-Williams got to score the first two CHRONICLES OF NARNIA movies?” And I’ll tell you quite simply: Andrew Adamson.
I knew him, because I had done the first two SHREK movies with him (which he directed), and then he moved on to do his third film, which happened to be THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. And he basically took me with him. So I was very fortunate to do that! And when he did PRINCE CASPIAN, he asked me to do it, too.
Now, he was NOT asked to do the third film. Another director had already established a relationship with a composer, who turned out to be David Arnold. Now, I would be extremely bummed out if Andrew was asked to do the fourth NARNIA movie and ended up asking David to score it.
I read rumblings on the Internet about you being in talks to score the fourth TWILIGHT movie, BREAKING DAWN. Is there any truth to that?
No, not at all. The only bit of truth to that rumor might be in a fifth grade Manhattan Beach Middle School. [Laughs] My daughter is very keen on me to do this. She’s crazy about the TWILIGHT series. But no, there is absolutely no truth to that rumor at all. I haven’t heard anything about it at all. I know nothing about. When it comes to fourths, SHREK is as far as I go!
Check out PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME soundtrack at Amazon and Amazon Digital.
Check out SHREK FOREVER AFTER soundtrack at Amazon and Amazon Digital.
Check out THE TOWN soundtrack at Amazon and Amazon Digital.
Check out UNSTOPPABLE soundtrack at Amazon.
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