Film Composer Quotes

People don't realize enough how important and influentical John Carpenter has been in electronic music. He did his soundtracks by himself, using mostly electronic and analog synthesizers. He's a cult figure with DJs these days for good reasons.

Way back before 1980, prior to 'Disco Dancer' breaking into the collective consciousness of filmgoers, I had come to Chennai to compose for a film called 'Suraksha.'

I don't think a guy that really has no understanding about people, or has no interest in understanding people would make a good film composer.

One of the most interesting things, at least for me, are the soundtracks for 'The Social Network' and 'Drive.' Basically, it's what I did in 'American Gigolo.' I could have done the music for those movies blindfolded. And one of them won an Oscar, and the other is this massive soundtrack.

A. R. Rahman is truly India's Mozart. His music is celebrated worldwide.

You know, my career hasn't exactly been the sort of thing that usually happens to film composers, but I sure am glad it happened to me.

I've always been a film lover - that's why I've always wanted to write music for films.

Compared with other Indian film composers, I only write about six movies a year. Others write up to 60.

I don't enter into particulars with [Ennio Morricone]. I give him the feeling and the suggestions of the characters.

John Ottman's music has emerged...as a brilliant new sound in the spectrum of Motion Pictures.

My father's Alfred Newman - born in 1900, child prodigy at the piano, ended up in pit orchestras in the teens. I think he's one of the youngest conductors to conduct Broadway and worked with George Gershwin and Jerome Kern and Cole Porter - went out with Irvin Berlin in 1930 to Hollywood and never left.

John Barry was the first film composer I was aware of. As a teenager I owned several of his Bond soundtracks.

My biggest dream from the beginning - besides Evanescence - is scoring film and writing music for film.

I'd love to do film and soundtracks, and you couldn't do much better than James Bond.

It all depends on the directors. Working closely with a director is the main job of a film composer. Interpreting what he perceives as a color, an emotion or mood is very abstract. A director tells you something he wants and then you have to run back...

I never watch the dailies. What I usually do is have a look at the rough or final cut, and I just get something from the story. Sometimes I start composing even before the director has shot anything. The dailies don't help me at all.

It is such an honor to be one of the youngest composers to compose for an Amitabh Bachchan film.

I want to write a score for a film. It can be a proper film, maybe for a film kind of like... I saw that movie 'Drive', or a bit of a 'Blade Runner' vibe. A little bit sci-fi, but I don't know. I've just always wanted to write a score for a film.

In film, I was surprised when I first saw the movie 'Drive.' I said, 'Oh, God. It sounds great - I love it. Wow, this could be the soundtrack from 'American Gigolo' or 'Cat People.' But I'm surprised that the director would agree with a composer to write that kind of sound.

Yes, I've been lucky to work with some of the biggest stars in the film industry, but I've worked hard and fans have loved my music.

I would love to do more superhero work; as a young film composer, that is one of the things you dream of.

I compose music for films, and by the grace of God, I've got a few awards. That's it.

I listen to Morricone, the famed Italian film composer, while I'm working.

I guess professionally it began when Hal Hartley used some music of mine in his film The Unbelievable Truth.

I've been fortunate. I get to write films. I get to write music in films. I get to play arenas wearing a wig.