You never write a theme for a movie thinking, 'This will live forever.'
I'm a gigantic musical film fan.
When I was young, I wanted, most of all, to be a writer of films and film music. But Middlesbrough in 1968 wasn't the place to be if you wanted to do movie scores.
Film music, over the years, has taken from everybody.
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.
I was always a Pink Floyd fan, and I was always into movie soundtracks.
My favourite composers are Vishal Shekhar, AR Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan-Loy.
Our music over the years has been very cinematic. It's surprising we never really got into film soundtracks.
The first record I bought was the 'Edward Scissorhands' soundtrack. I remember being really obsessed with the movie, and all the campiness sort of went over my head because I was so little - it's the same with 'Hairspray.' But I would listen to that soundtrack a lot.
I always wanted to be a film composer. So very early on I started collecting soundtracks and paying attention to how movie music works. Actually I'd like to have the opportunity to conduct for the rest of my life.
They're all my children... every score I've done.
John Barry was the first film composer I was aware of. As a teenager I owned several of his Bond soundtracks.
The only outlet in mainstream culture for classical and more experimental music to be heard is through movie soundtracks, and they're such a wonderful display of emotion. I think the guy that did that best is Stanley Kubrick, working with Wendy Carlos who is an electronic composer.
I want people to know about all the kinds of music that I write. Some believe I just write film scores, which is not true.
When I watch films, I skip songs. I don't like them.
I like anything that is melodic, and I'm a very big fan of movie soundtracks, so my favorite artists/producers would be Steve Jablonsky, Hans Zimmer, K-391, Ahrix, KSHMR, and many, many more.
My experience and growth in the film music world and the time I've spent studying legendary film composers have given me depth of insight into how music can inspire a range of emotions.
Album sales have collapsed, with few artists making money from albums; touring is more lucrative. But I'm 53 now and won't be able to tour forever, so a logical step is to get into writing film scores. Trouble is, you need to be somewhere which has a big film industry - another reason why I'm thinking about living in California.
My major influence is Satyajit Ray; his film 'Shatranj ke Khilari' was set in Awadh and it gave us memorable characters. Ray's musical scores and soundtracks were an intrinsic part of his films. And music to me is important, too.
I am not against songs in films. We come from an oral tradition of storytelling. I have grown up listening to epics in oral rendition and oral rendition always had music.
John Williams is, without question, talented. He writes very good scores and very good melodies and all that.
FM stations still play songs from 'Birugaali,' 'Patre Loves Padma,' 'Sanchari' and 'Dheemaku' and people love them. But since the films failed, hardly anybody remembers that I scored the music for these films.
Music has been of central importance to Disney movies for as long as I can remember. To contribute to that legacy, is a great honor.
I've had those people very interested in my writing. Since I think of myself as a composer, I feel really good. I've had lots of guys call me up. I've gotten two or three commissions to write things. I've written lots of movie scores.
I've featured in some soundtracks in the past, and I would love to do more. I love great soundtracks to movies. Quentin Tarantino always picks amazing soundtracks, so I would like to do something for him or write a song for him.
