Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Thin film future

One of the current assumptions in the music industry is that part of the way bands will make money in the future is by providing songs to soundtracks of big movies. Trouble is, Hollywood is getting less keen on having big bands sticking their oar in - partly because they've seen the Prince effect, where the little chap's soundtrack to the first Batman movie made it so of its time, the film now looks hopelessly dated; partly, and more obviously, because big stars mean big bills and the movie getting overshadowed by monstrous egos:

Hans Zimmer, who co-wrote the soundtrack for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, says his vision of Gotham City has no room for the likes of U2, Prince and R Kelly.

"There was never any doubt that we were going to be songless," says the Oscar-winning composer.

"And, trust me, we were flooded with requests from every band in the world. I actually had to say no to some really interesting people."

Still, if Bono really wants to get his chance to sing a theem toon, he could always fund his own movie. There are tax breaks involved, too, so that would allow him to indulge one of his other passions, too.

[Thanks to Michael M]


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can see it now... MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL II : THE BONO RETIREMENT FUND

Still on a slightly related note, I couldn't help but notice that The Smashing Pumpkins' b-side "The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning" (from their single "The End Is The Beginning Is The End" from "That Batman Film That Was So Awful That Watching It Is Now Against The Geneva Convention") as currently heard on the trailer for Watchmen being shown with The Dark Knight has, at least on Last.fm, managed to go from being listened to by 2 blokes trapped on desert island with only one cd jammed in a discman to 10th top Corgan Ego Experience track for the last 7 days. Not sure whether anyone is actually buying the track (if that's even possible now) or if they're downloading it "elsewhere" (or finding it in a dust covered box under their bed like me) but it certainly seems to be interestingly, if perhaps accidentally, effective as advertising for the band. Is trailer music the way to go for bands looking for, as you put it, "money in the future... by providing songs to soundtracks" or just the place where Batman themes go to die?

Catty said...

U2 already did a Batman movie... or do you think they want to do a GOOD Batman movie?

M.C. Glammer said...

Popstars could always try writing a symphony with themes and movements and all the stuff proper soundtrack writers use, rather than just, "That funky beat Adam was messing with last night."

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