John Debney is probably one of the busiest composers workingtoday. To date, he has composed music for over 40 films andtelevision shows since 1987, including 7 coming out in 1999 alone!Some of his biggest scores include Cutthroat Island, LiarLiar, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and his extensivework on "SeaQuest DSV". Earlier this year, Debney worked on MyFavorite Martian, and Lost and Found. I had an opportunityto chat with John about his work on Inspector Gadget,Dick, and his upcoming works.
You recently completed work on Inspector Gadget. Were youa fan of the original cartoon, and did you find it to be a funproject to work on? Also, you adapted the show's famous theme intothe score - was that something you enjoyed doing? Or did would yourather have come up with your own theme instead?
I enjoyed twisting the original theme this way and that. It's sorecognizable and loved that there was no question that I was going touse it often. My theme for the evil Scolex is a very broad GrandWaltz. I also composed the John Brown theme, which is stated quiteoften when Gadget is being very heroic. This was a very fun score towrite.
Your score to Dick was both jazzy and sneaky at the sametime - were you inspired by some of the sleuthy comedies of the 60'sand 70's? Did you feel that you had to work around the numerous popsongs in the film?
I love the music from the 60's and 70's spy movies. Man fromUncle, Pink Panther, Peter Gunn, etc. So the scorefor Dick was a labor of love. Andy Flemming, the director, wasa joy to work with. I felt that the songs and score complimented eachother very well - they were quite different from each other andtherefore worked on many different levels.
You composed the score to My Favorite Martian, whileDanny Elfman provided the theme. How was it working on a movie thathad a television theme to deal with in addition to a theme by anothercomposer?
Not a problem really. Danny had composed a theme for Uncle Martinand I wrote the rest. I also extrapolated and twisted Danny's themeto fit the film. It was another very fun collaboration with directorDonald Petrie, who is very crazy and enthusiastic. The original themewas only stated in a few key spots in the film - and I love theoriginal so it was a joy to do.
For the fans, many of your scores are a bit hard to find, someof your better scores, Hocus Pocus, Little Giants,The Relic, and others only appear as promotional items. Dothink this is a set back?
No, it's the reality of soundtracks these days. These scores wouldhave all cost a lot of money to put out because of re-use fees. It'snot a good situation, but that's the fact. I just seem to get filmswith big bombastic scores a lot, and therefore they are veryexpensive. This is the reason I'm forced to do the promos. I do wishthat they were more readily available. Also, many timessong-soundtracks will kill score-soundtracks because the studiosdon't want to have competing soundtracks out there. I should clarifythat most Music Supervisors don't want competing soundtracks outthere. Case in point: Dick.
Cutthroat Island harks back to the days of theKoldgold-ian swashbucklers, and really was a break out score for you,even if the movie tanked. What were your influences on that?
Korngold, Steiner, Rozsa, Tiompkin, Williams, Herrmann, etc., etc.It is probably my favorite score to date and my most heartbreakingbecause it's largely been ignored.
You received an Emmy for your work on "The Cape". How was yourexperience working on the series given the recent 30th anniversary ofthe moon landing and the sudden rekindled interest in the spaceprogram with such miniseries as "From The Earth to the Moon", etc.?
It was fun to write some very patriotic music. Louis Febre wrotethe series and did a beautiful job.
You are currently working on The Adventures of Elmo inGrouchland. What sort of score are you providing for thischildren's film? Do you find that with such a variety in types ofprojects it keeps you up to form for writing in different styles?
I finished Elmo last year and had a blast doing it. Thestyle is very Carl Stalling-esque. The movie is hilarious for kidsand adults and I hope it does very well. I do enjoy writing in manystyles, it's the only way to really grow as an artist and not getstale.
What is your favorite style of music to compose in?
I don't know yet. I do enjoy writing beautiful music.
Later this year, you will be scoring the millennium thrillerEnd of Days. What sort of approach will you be taking to thisfilm? Will you work with a large chorus again as you did withCutthroat Island?
I'm writing it now and it is an awesome film. Directed by PeterHyams, this might be my biggest score yet. It will have lots of choirand sampled little girls.
If you could have any type of project at all, what would your"Dream Project" be?
Working with Steven Spielberg, Gale Anne Hurd, George Lucas, orany filmmaker that has vision and enthusiasm.
Do you have any future projects you can tell us about beyondthose we mentioned here?
I'm just looking forward to a vacation in the fall. I havewonderful agents who keep me very, very busy. I'm so very fortunate!
John Debney's work can be heard in Inspector Gadget andDick, both in theaters now.
Images (C) 1999 Walt Disney Pictures and Columbia-TriStar Pictures
