An Interview with John Ottman
Tyler Cruz
Jul 04 2006
With almost 40 film scores to his name since 1993, composer John Ottman’s adaptive creativity spans a variety of genres. From tense psychological crime dramas such as The Usual Suspects (1995), Apt Pupil (1998) and Cellular (2004) to intriguing and gentle comedies such as Bubble Boy (2001), black comedy/satire Pumpkin (2002), to comic/horror flicks such as Lake Placid (1999) and Eight Legged Freaks (2002), to epic superhero dramas such as X-Men 2 (2003), Fantastic Four (2005) and most recently Superman Returns (2006) it seems there is nothing to which this talented composer cannot lend the particular enhancement of tension and drama of a superb film score. Even more intriguing is his dual function as composer and film editor on the films of long-time friend and collaborator Bryan Singer, a function he compares to composing with its ebbs and flows. John Ottman has also directed twice and produced once.
Tyler: First off, I'd like to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to participate in this Movie-Vault.com interview.
You composed the score for the upcoming summer film Superman Returns. Have you kept John Williams' original theme from Superman, perhaps adding a modern twist?
John Ottman: That idea was tossed around momentarily, but we really wanted to preserve and verify the greatness of the 1978 world of Superman by not altering the opening theme in any way.
Tyler: Rumor has it that Superman Returns is 158 minutes (2 hours and 38 minutes) long. Do you find composing for longer films easier or more difficult, or does it depend on the movie itself?
John Ottman:
The more music, the more difficult, unless it’s the kind of score that just sustains a chord or something like that. But when there’s a lot of notes to write and arrange, and a lot of music, it’s harder to keep going and stay fresh. I also have less time on Bryan Singer films to write the score because of my editorial job. Being that there was two 2 hours of original score to write was a double whammy – like scoring two films. It was tough. I kept looking at that calendar hoping I was going to get over the hump, but it just seemed an insurmountable task. Somehow I got through though.
Tyler: Superman Returns marks your third film based on a comic (with X2 and Fantastic Four being your first two). Does having composed scores for similiar genres help you in any way?
John Ottman:
Sure I think the more chops I get writing aggressive and sweeping music for the orchestra, I learn more and refine my work. The fear is coming up with new material that’s heroic and suspenseful without repeating myself. But the super-hero worlds of each film have been unique enough that I’ve been inspired in different stylistic ways.
Tyler: A man of many talents, you not only score films but edit and direct as well. How does having a background in film scoring influence your directing, and vice versa?
John Ottman:
Well I’m not sure it’s conscious. But any good composer (and good editor or director for that matter) is a good story-teller. So I think when constructing a film as an editor or director, my musical story-telling instinct only helps. It’s the same in reverse too. I think because of my film-making background, I approach film scoring a little differently perhaps. I understand the mind-set of the director – his fears/concerns/his language – because I’ve been there. I have great empathy for directors! And by speaking a film-maker’s lingo I can serve a pragmatic side too of not only telling a musical story, but offering pragmatic musical solutions to some of the film’s problem areas.
Tyler: How about the relationship between editing films and composing for films? What lessons have you learned from having experience in both?
John Ottman: Well it’s all about ebb and flow, peaks and valleys. Good symphonies evolve and tell a good story, and so do good films. I think the best film editors are closet composers themselves. They may not know how to write music, but you can just tell when a good editor makes a film there’s almost an internal metronome you can sense in the picture.
Tyler: You've directed two films before, the film short Lion's Den and Urban Legends: Final Cut. How do you find directing and do you plan on directing any more films?
John Ottman:
I loved directing. My favorite part is working with the actors. The one bad part about editing and composing is that you’re cut off from a lot of people. Directing also felt natural to me because of my editing background I guess. I would love to do it again should a great script come my way. As proud I am of some sequences in Urban Legends, let’s face it: At the end of the day, it’s a silly teen horror film. If I spent all that effort on a film again, it would have to be a story I fell in love with. I would like to keep scoring films for awhile and get comfortable enough to take that scary leap away from my “day job” again, and direct and score my own films. But even if that doesn’t happen for awhile or at all, I love scoring movies. It’s the most magical part of the film-making process.
Tyler: You are a long-time friend and colleague of Bryan Singer. Could you please share with us why you two work on so many projects together and perhaps touch on any upcoming films you two are planning on working together on.
John Ottman:
Well it makes sense to work with people whom you have built a trust and have a good track record with. We have gotten to the point where we can refer to a scene or experience we had on another one of our films and save a lot of explanation. We immediately know what each other means – and that short-hand is invaluable. We also created each others’ sensibilities early on and usually see eye-to-eye on things which makes the process more productive.
Tyler: You are known to edit only Singer's films and nobody elses. Could you elaborate on this?
John Ottman: Easy answer. I love scoring films and lose a lot of work going off to edit for a year. So I only do it for Bryan. I began as Bryan’s editor and moved into scoring. So when he does a film, he demands that I do both tasks. And I say yes everytime because I’m a sadomasochist I guess. It started off early in our careers as blackmail both ways: “You’re not going to score the film unless you edit it.” Or from me, “I’m not going to edit it unless I score it.” It’s tough because I miss countless scoring assignments and contacts when I’m off editing. But I do get a hand in making a film, which satisfies the film-maker in me. But really I wouldn’t mind if he took more time between projects! Everytime I seem to get on a roll composing-wise, I get sequestered back to editing for a year.
Tyler: Who are some of your favourite film composers?
John Ottman:
The expected ones: Goldsmith and Williams. There are so many others too – Barry, Morricone, Horner, etc. Classical composers I love are Dvorak, Debussy, Beethoven, Holst, Prokofiev – I know – all the typical choices! But they all have written miraculous work.
Tyler: What are some of your favourite film soundtracks?
John Ottman:
That’s such a tough one because there are so many! But generally for me, my favorites are Goldsmith’s from the 60s to the early 80s. Chinatown, Patton, The Wild Rovers, Great Train Robbery, Alien, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Poltergeist to name just a few. Some of his most brilliant work is lesser known – like a television mini-series he did in the 70s called Masada. Simply astounding. Same for Williams, like his great score to Jane Eyre. Of course then there are timeless gems like Bernstein’s To Kill a Mockingbird – where if Bernstein had died the day after recording it, he would still go down in history as a great based on that score alone.
Tyler: Since film scoring is pretty much the last process of post production, how much time do you usually have to score a film?
John Ottman:
Just barely enough every time! It really varies from project to project depending on how early you’re brought on, how much music there is to write, etc. It can vary from a couple weeks for an emergency re-scoring gig, to 12 weeks for a larger film. I wrote Pumpkin in a week and a half, The Usual Suspects in three weeks, Apt Pupil in about the same amount of time. X2 I only had four weeks for about 85 minutes of score. I had about 10 weeks writing time for Superman, but that was also two hours of score to write. You don’t see much of the outside world as a film composer – but I do try to schedule break time around the TV show, “Lost!”
Tyler: John, thank you again for taking the time to do this interview for Movie-Vault.com - we'll be sure to keep in touch through your wonderful use of the language of music.
© By Tyler Cruz for Movie-Vault.com.
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