Denver Post (31/Oct/1993) - Rejected scores damage careers

Details

• article: Rejected scores damage careers
• newspaper: Denver Post (31/Oct/1993)
• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Bernard Herrmann, North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), Torn Curtain (1966), Vertigo (1958)

Article

Rejected scores damage careers

Alex North's lost score for "2001" may be the most notorious example of rejected film music, but it's not the only one.

Bernard Herrmann scored "Psycho," "Vertigo" and "North By Northwest" for Alfred Hitchcock, but when his music for Hitchcock's "Torn Curtain" was rejected, his career was seriously damaged.

Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein and John Barry are among other composers whose scores have been rejected, or who have withdrawn from projects after disagreement with directors.

"In recent years, it's happening more and more often," said Robert Townson of Varese Sarabande Records, which specializes in film and TV scores.

"It's a comment on directors and producers not knowing what composer to turn to for the score their film needs.

"They have a vision of the music they want, but they're not musicians.

"I remember a comment from Jerry Goldsmith about scoring 'Logan's Run.' After a recording session, the director came up to him and complained 'You're turning it into a love story,' and Jerry said, 'But that's what it is."' — Jeff Bradley