Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1487730
EM: Thomas Newman's delicate and beautiful soundtrack really connects us to the sadness and the deep longing within each character. Even the moments when the cues start and end seem absolutely spot on. How early on did you receive the music cues while you were working? SH: Truthfully, on most features I never hear the score until closer to the final mix. I've worked with some amazing composers through the years, but Tommy Newman is one of my absolute favorites. The first project I worked on with him was Janet Jackson's 20-minute short video Rhythm Nation. Then I worked with him on Flesh and Bone which, oh my lord, talk about a beautiful score … just stunning. It was a really good movie and sort of dark as well. It has similar themes with a father/ son relationship. And I also worked with him on Meet Joe Black. Having worked with Tom a few times before, I felt confident to shape and mold our sounds to the temp tracks that the film editor and the director had chosen for the film. Then we adjusted as soon as the final mix began. We balanced all our pre-dubs against the temp music cues and when the final score came in, we began the process of refinement to arrive at the final mix … very satisfying! EM: There's a scene where Mike Sullivan kills Mr. Rooney in the rain outside his car at night. We don't hear a single gunshot until Sullivan gets right up in front of Mr. Rooney— everything up until that point is driven by the score. How early on did this idea come about? SH: It took a lot to find our way for that scene. We've heard those gunshots throughout the film, and there were different perspectives in the cut of that scene ... distant perspectives, closer shots, and we experimented a lot with how much we wanted to hear the gun versus the music. Boldly, we first tried playing the scene without the music while all of Rooney's bodyguards get shot but knowing how great the music cue was, we quickly realized that wasn't the way to go. But that's how adventurous Sam was. He was open to checking it out and then said, "Okay, now we know what that's like. Sounds good but no." Next, we put the music back in and were trying to find the right balance between the guns, the music, and the rain. After several passes through the scene, he continually asked us to lower the rain more, lower the guns more. Finally, I suggested, "Sam, we've already heard these guns throughout the film and this is an emotionally poetic scene. Why don't we just lose all the effects and let the score play on its own?" He paused and said, "Okay, that's pretty bold." It was just obvious once we did that. It was the elegant way to go. Then the challenge was getting back into the rain for the final gunshot that kills Rooney. That was a balancing act trying to reintroduce these sounds without it feeling like a fader move. EM: If I remember it correctly, he shoots him and then we go back to only music as he looks up around at the other apartments. Everyone was looking out their windows at him as he walked away. So you had to artfully get out of it again? SH: Yeah, Scott Millan and Bob Beemer did an amazing job with the mix. I love the dynamics in the film. The stark contrast from quiet and subdued to those earth- shattering gunshots. I think that's why they're my favorite sounding guns that we've created. Eric Norris was my lead sound effects editor and we collaborated creating the sound of those guns. A lot of times in action films, the gunshots end up not being as pronounced, because there are other loud sounds around them. But the dynamics of being so quiet in this film and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, this devastating gunblast rings out. I just love this movie for the subtleties within, from quiet to loud. EM: One thing that always struck me about this film is how harmonious all the departments seem to be working together on this film. It's this singular, incredibly cohesive work of art. What contributed to this? SH: I have to say it's Sam's vision. I mean, there're a lot of talented people contributing at all levels. Jill Bilcock's editing, Conrad Hall's cinematography, everything put together with Tommy Newman's score was stunningly beautiful. But a great director like Sam knows the contributions of the different department heads, and leads everyone together, so that it becomes a really homogeneous piece of art. This film has a life of its own. Like you said, it feels cohesive, like it was just out of the bottle. You don't realize all the knitting that's been done with all the different elements. I mean filmmaking is the art of suspension of disbelief. Sam's the master at it, so I have to give it to him. EM: During the opening and the closing of the film, the son is staring out at the waves rolling in on a lake. At the end of the film, we actually hear those waves and backgrounds from inside the lake house with Michael Sr. looking out the window, even though we're inside. These sounds seem to hypnotize Sullivan into a trance and he ultimately dies because of this. Sounds influence his fate. What was your approach to building the waves and the water in the film? Michael Sr. aims through the rain in Road to Perdition. Photo courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures.