On the heels of receiving a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Dramatic Score for his work for NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, Tracksounds is able to speak with composer, Harry Gregson-Williams about his epic score, working with director Andrew Adamson, and even the influence (or lack thereof) of Howard Shore’s work for THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
CC: You said you read the book again. How big of a role did that play in regards to you developing themes and melodies for the film or the musical palette of the score?
HGW: Not too much actually, because although the movie is a pretty faithful adaptation of the book, it is quite different in many ways. It wasn’t until I saw the first cut of the movie, where I could see the look of it, the look of the characters. I found that what I felt emotionally, when compared to the book, was quite different and it was then at that point that I could really “get under the skin” of the project. That said, it was great to have re-read the book and to have gotten into that headspace. Now the script also provided a lot of good information because, of course there were scenes in the script that weren’t even in the book.
CC: Now, I’ll ask a question that I’m sure many film music fan’s have thought about. Inevitably, people are going to compare what Howard Shore did for THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and what Harry Gregson-Williams has done for NARNIA.
HGW: What was that like, by the way?
CC: The score for THE LORD OF THE RINGS?
HGW: Yes. Nothing really stuck out to me. I doubt really recall any of the different themes or different textures. I think he used a lot of brass or something? Since I don’t own any of the soundtracks to those movies, they certainly weren’t my starting point or my finishing point. I certainly respect Howard Shore and he certainly did a good job, but it was never on my mind. I never thought I want to do this or that like him. I’m just not familiar enough with what he did actually.