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26th June 2000
James McLean email interview
Questions from Jamie, answers from Rolfe...
"How did you end up working in LA? What was the process that led you from Scotland to scoring for Alexander Payne, et al?"
I scored some student films and industrial videos, when a student film called "The Saving of Aunt Esther" caught the attention of an LA company that was making lots of shorts with different directors. They asked me to come over to work with them, and amongst the directors were Alexander Payne and Richard Shepard.
"What musical training do you have? Are you a "street-trained" musician like Danny Elfman and John Ottman or are you Conservatory-trained to hell and back like Jamie Horner or John Williams? Or somewhere in between?"
In between. At 13 I took a music "O" level - I got a C grade. That was the end of my formal music education.
"Given that 95% of British Composers tend to do all or most of their own orchestrations, you are very unique inasmuch as you do not, which makes you part of a very small club indeed, along with Paddy Doyle, Dave Arnold and George Fenton. Why is this? Lack of time? If you could, would you choose to do it all yourself?"
Every element of the music is critical to me, so I do all the voicings and arrangements myself. My orchestrator then checks the scoring, does the transpositions for clarinets, trumpets and the like (they have to be in B flat instead of C, that sort of thing), phones in the occasional recommendation for changing a voicing (e.g. suggesting a flugel horn instead of a trumpet), and then prepares the manuscript for the copyists.
It is great having someone perform this editorial task, cleaning the score up and balancing the orchestra, as it saves me from a lot of the paperwork logistics that get in the way of composing, and since I have worked with Tony for 6 years he has a good sense about what I want from him. When we record the score, if there have been any musical interpretations that I don’t care for, Tony and his team are on hand to make instant changes to the parts.
So no, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
"Okay, let’s say I’m a director and I’m quite keen to get you on board my film as my Composer. What do I have to do to make that happen, besides giving you billions of dollars? Are there certain movies you won’t score, like Jean-Claude Van Damme movies?"
If you have a project that interests me, and the resources to make it all happen, that is all you need. There’s no real rule about what I will or will not do - if I like the script then I shall be interested.
I try to work on things of quality. Sometimes I will rent a film because, when I look at the credits I recognise names that tend to work on great films; I should like to be one of those names that would make me want to see it.
"By the same token, what’s a dream film for you? Would you fancy scoring DIE HARD, FIELD OF DREAMS, FARGO or THE ENGLISH PATIENT, had you been offered them?"
Well you’ve named some excellent films, with terrific scores. But that is the point, that something imaginative and original will elicit some good music from the composer. I’d particularly like something with a broad sweep to it - an epic sensibility. Lawrence of Arabia, or Dances with Wolves.
"Indeed, you’ve managed to get a few movies under your belt and everything seems to be going well. Or so it seems to me…. How do YOU think the career is going at this point in time? After a hit like ELECTION, can you pick and choose what you want to do, or are you still a struggling Composer, albeit one who gets to use orchestras?"
Things are going very well, and Election was a big part of that. The struggle is to keep developing, and to keep Hollywood from pidgeon-holing me as any one thing. With films like Nurse Betty and Town and Country coming out I am hoping the breadth of the work keeps expanding.
"As I say, you’ve done some impressive scores, some of which never saw the light of day on CD, or were insubstantially presented on the format, such as the above. What’s your thoughts on having your music presented outside of your movies?"
I love film scores. I grew up finding film music the most enjoyable, most fun and most engaging music to listen to. Film scores are all about pictures, and when you listen to a great score pictures just seem to fill your head. It’s this that captivates me - the ability to transport the listener. It is something that is important to me, though it’s not always possible to get a very good release on a CD. I hope one day I may be able to re-record some of my favourite unreleased music from films and put it out on CD.
"With regard to the above, how about doing more of your movies abroad to make that happen, with the likes of the Seattle or London Symphony Orchestra or even the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (If they’re good enough to get Goldsmith and Bernstein raving about them…..). If it bothers you (like it does John Debney), it’s quite possible for you to record here without leaving LA! "
I do record in the UK quite often. Sometimes the schedule or the film studio dictates where I must record. I’d love to use the RSNO.
"Last question honest! I’ve asked you how the career is going now, but how do you hope it will have gone, say, ten years from now? Or twenty? What’s your ultimate career hope and aspiration?"
I just want to keep enjoying composing, and have a variety of interesting things to work on. That may sound glib, but interesting and intelligent projects can be rare, and pressure and ambition can get to you, so finding the good projects, and keeping enough perspective to enjoy doing them, well it’s a challenge.
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