Exclusive: Interview With Legendary Film Composer Robert Folk
Film Composer and Hollywood icon Robert Folk sits down for a 1-to-1 with WhatCulture.
WhatCulture! (WC): There Be Dragons was released last year (2011) with a score by Stephen Warbeck. What is the story behind this re-release, 'There Be Dragon: Secrets of Passion'?Robert Folk (RF): The story behind the re-release is that Roland felt that the first version of the film was not complete to his satisfaction. I think a lot of the editorial was not exactly to how he wanted. It was much of a team effort that produced the first film, and the result of this, that included the musical score, was not how he intended. By the way, I really enjoyed the Stephen Warbeck score that he wrote for the original film. But I think Roland felt that one of the biggest factors missing in the first version was a correct sense of pacing throughout the film. In the new version, one of the most important aspects was that he wanted to have this sense of movement from beginning to end, rather this kind of languishing quality that was in the first version of the film. So a lot of that had to do with editorial, and also a tremendous amount of that had to do with the pacing of the music. In the score that I worked on with Roland and James (executive producer), in almost every scene there is a sense of movement; which is sort of unusual from my perspective because often times, if youve got a slow broad dramatic scene that is unfolding in some sort of poetic way, often times you would have the music take on that persona, youd be trying to support that scene the way you see it, the way youd feel it on screen. But here, we made a distinct effort to really keep the pace moving, even in scenes that might at first appear to be a bit broader or bring a slower quality to the film. In terms of why did he do it? What is the new version all about? It has to do with storyline, pacing, with an energy level that he felt was not represented in the first version of the film. WC:Youve mentioned this idea of the new score adding a fresh dimension to the film. Could you say that the score is something of a character within There Be Dragons: Secrets of Passion?RF: I would say its definitely a central character within the film. For me, the way the film was mixed, and of all the films Ive done which is about 65, I would say the music is more prominent. Maybe part of that is Roland and James thinking about certain international audiences. I was asked to write five different themes for the picture, and they are linked specifically to various characters and specific emotions in the film. I would describe it as similar to watching an operatic performance. In that sense I would say the music is a much featured character in the film. WC: So this new score is indicative of a completely new film. What that be fair to say?RF: Oh for sure. 
WC:Have you spoken with Stephen Warbeck since taking over on the film? How does he feel about it all?RF: You know I have not. Im not sure what his feeling is about the new version of the movie. I think for any composer its always disappointing after youve invested your heart and soul into something for several months, to hear that Oh theres a re-cut of the film, theyre going to do it a different way, etc, etc. I think its happened to pretty much every composer where another version of the film is developed and all of a sudden your score is no longer there; its part of what we do I would say. I guess its similar to the way scriptwriters are always being re-written. Maybe it doesnt happen as often as that, but its a similar concept. With filmmaking being a team effort its just part of the process. Its not only about you or your music, or even the way you interpreted that film. WC: What was it like working with Roland Joffe?RF: I found him to be an incredibly dynamic filmmaker. This guy has got so much energy and charisma, and he is so prolific as a writer and a filmmaker I was totally amazed to spend time with him. Roland is in his mid-60s but you feel like youre working with someone who is 35 years old. He is a true human dynamo. When you spend time with him you will agree he is a really impressive guy, with a high level of intellect and a high level of energy. So for me it was a fantastic experience. WC: When you were approaching the score, did you have any references for inspiration?
WC:Are there any projects that youve missed out on that you wish youd been a part of?RF: Tons. There have been quite a few that I wish I had done, but for scheduling reasons or whatever it didnt work out. WC:Are there any projects that youve worked on that you wish you hadnt?RF: Id say there are quite a few, and Im probably not the only composer who feels this way. I would say that most composers and most artists that work within the film industry, often times, if you cant get certain projects that you want in certain times frames, you end up doing lets say a replacement project. Sometimes its for business reason, sometimes its for relationship reason like a certain director or producer that youre very close with needs a favour. To turn those people down when theyve been loyal to you and really advanced your cause in so many ways; theres a real obligation there. I think if you spoke with many composers or directors or artists or filmmakers, I think youll find this would be the number one reason for doing the films that you did where you wished youd done something else. WC:The role of the composer could sometimes be considered a thankless task. There are however a handful of well-known writers such as Hans Zimmer, John Williams and Danny Elfman. Your soundtracks are very well known, and one might even argue iconic, but do you ever feel that sense of celebrity?RF: I would say yes in some respect. But it is more tied to the filmmaking community rather than the mass audience. But there are many tens or hundreds or thousands of film music fans out there worldwide whom I hear from all the time, and I am sure it is true with all the composers who have a certain body of work. Its not a bad world to have that kind of fan base of people that respect and love your work. I have never felt that sense of the composer having a thankless task; Ive never felt that in my career. I think that composers in general write music because they love to write music. When I was at Julliard School, I had earned a doctorate at the school and had done my undergraduate and my masters there as well. I spent 10 years right in the heart of the Lincoln Centre and I loved that world so much and I loved writing music so much so, that I never thought of it as work. You are obviously putting in a lot of hours and a lot of hard work writing scores, but that love never changed, even once I moved to California and starting working on film scores. Love for music is still very much the first motivation. So even if a film is not great, and lets face it, most films are not great - I would say about 10% of films that are made are fantastic movies, maybe only even 5%. Nevertheless, creating a musical score for a movie is still motivated by that artists love of creating and writing, and that adds value to you the creative person regardless of the specific movie that youre working on. 
WC:Lets talk briefly about Police Academy 8. Are there any developments, and how involved will you be? RF: Police AcademyI dont know what theyll call it, it will be Police Academy something, I dont think theyll put a number on it. They are thinking of it as, too coin the overused term, a reboot. That is how they are looking at it, as doing the whole series all over again for a new generation of that target audience. Paul Maslansky is really working hard on this project; he has been the producer on the series since the very first film and is a terrific mind. They have hired a new young director who I have spent quite a bit of time with, and I have helped them out with some test shots that they have done in terms of making sure the musical setting was as strong as it could be. It is a Warner Brothers New Line project, and they are doing a very final tweak on the script right now (Jeremy Garelick recently came on board for rewrites) and I am pretty sure they will probably announce a green light on the project by September; thats my guess. We are trying to conceptualize what the score will be almost 30 years after the first film was made. I know that they want to use all of the original themes because they are so recognizable, but now the question is what sort of clothing are we going to dress those themes in? Will it be the classic presentation in certain scenes, or will it be a more modern landscape supporting those musical elements? Something more indicative of contemporary comedic scoring, which I would describe simply as being more rhythmically motivated than say the score that I wrote in the 80s. WC: What you have seen so far from the test shots, does the film look exciting?RF: It is a lot of fun. I have seen about half a dozen test shots, and they are trying to establish a certain style of visualizing the film and a certain style of casting. Those test shots were hilarious. I would say that the director is extremely young and very edgy; I am convinced that he is going to come up with something that has a lot of raw humour. WC:So are we looking at something in line with the likes of recent re-boot 21 Jump Street?RF: Yeah I think so, and maybe even go further out. It will be a lot of fun. 
WC: Other than There Be Dragons: Secrets of Passion, what is one other film you have seen recently which you really enjoyed?RF: I just saw Snow White and the Huntsman which I thought was a really beautiful film. Not everybody aggress with me on this (laughs) but I thought it was really epic and beautiful. The film has a great score by James Newton Howard, and just some terrific performances. Id say that is my favourite movie from the last month or two. But also, I cannot wait to see The Dark Knight Rises. I am a huge Christopher Nolan fan! I think the guy is like Spielberg, Scorsese and Lucas all wrapped up in a 40 year old. WC:So if you had an opportunity to work with Chris, that would be an exciting prospect?RF: That would be beyond a brilliant experience. But he has been with Hans on all of his important movies, and that is not likely to change. WC:3D or IMAX, what is the future of cinema?RF: I am not a big 3D fan, so I guess that answers the question (laughs). You know, when you go to the really top quality hi-tech IMAX theatres here in Los Angeles, I have to say its thrilling. I saw Snow White at one of these theatres and the picture and sound was just incredible. I cannot even understand why anyone would watch a film at home when you can watch it at that type of setting. Although, like everybody else, I watch a lot of movies at home just for practical reason, but I just think the IMAX experience is incredible. There Be Dragons: Secrets of Passion is currently awaiting an international release date, but it is looking hopeful that it might get a late 2012 distribution. Meanwhile you can listen to Robert Folks score for the film here or download it from iTunes. There Be Dragons the original cut is available at all good retailers.
WC:Have you spoken with Stephen Warbeck since taking over on the film? How does he feel about it all?RF: You know I have not. Im not sure what his feeling is about the new version of the movie. I think for any composer its always disappointing after youve invested your heart and soul into something for several months, to hear that Oh theres a re-cut of the film, theyre going to do it a different way, etc, etc. I think its happened to pretty much every composer where another version of the film is developed and all of a sudden your score is no longer there; its part of what we do I would say. I guess its similar to the way scriptwriters are always being re-written. Maybe it doesnt happen as often as that, but its a similar concept. With filmmaking being a team effort its just part of the process. Its not only about you or your music, or even the way you interpreted that film. WC: What was it like working with Roland Joffe?RF: I found him to be an incredibly dynamic filmmaker. This guy has got so much energy and charisma, and he is so prolific as a writer and a filmmaker I was totally amazed to spend time with him. Roland is in his mid-60s but you feel like youre working with someone who is 35 years old. He is a true human dynamo. When you spend time with him you will agree he is a really impressive guy, with a high level of intellect and a high level of energy. So for me it was a fantastic experience. WC: When you were approaching the score, did you have any references for inspiration?
RF: I really went off of Roland and James in terms of the specific approach that they had in mind. They really are the central mind on our new version of the film. I would say James had so much to do with the reworking of the film, and sort of working to make sure that Rolands vision was intact. With the music being replaced there was a very specific reason, and they came with very strong ideas. So of course, my contribution was to come up with those themes which would do the thing that they were looking for. Neither one of them are musicians so to speak, but they have very strong opinions about the direction the music should take. I would say I was an interpreter on the filmmakers design for this particular score. Many times you work with a director and they have no idea about what they want to do with music, and then as the composer you have much more freedom to create a musical landscape that youre going to work with. But in this case both these filmmakers are extremely knowledgeable about music and film music and had very decided ideas about it. 
WC:You have had quite a varied catalogue of work...
WC:Are there any projects that youve missed out on that you wish youd been a part of?RF: Tons. There have been quite a few that I wish I had done, but for scheduling reasons or whatever it didnt work out. WC:Are there any projects that youve worked on that you wish you hadnt?RF: Id say there are quite a few, and Im probably not the only composer who feels this way. I would say that most composers and most artists that work within the film industry, often times, if you cant get certain projects that you want in certain times frames, you end up doing lets say a replacement project. Sometimes its for business reason, sometimes its for relationship reason like a certain director or producer that youre very close with needs a favour. To turn those people down when theyve been loyal to you and really advanced your cause in so many ways; theres a real obligation there. I think if you spoke with many composers or directors or artists or filmmakers, I think youll find this would be the number one reason for doing the films that you did where you wished youd done something else. WC:The role of the composer could sometimes be considered a thankless task. There are however a handful of well-known writers such as Hans Zimmer, John Williams and Danny Elfman. Your soundtracks are very well known, and one might even argue iconic, but do you ever feel that sense of celebrity?RF: I would say yes in some respect. But it is more tied to the filmmaking community rather than the mass audience. But there are many tens or hundreds or thousands of film music fans out there worldwide whom I hear from all the time, and I am sure it is true with all the composers who have a certain body of work. Its not a bad world to have that kind of fan base of people that respect and love your work. I have never felt that sense of the composer having a thankless task; Ive never felt that in my career. I think that composers in general write music because they love to write music. When I was at Julliard School, I had earned a doctorate at the school and had done my undergraduate and my masters there as well. I spent 10 years right in the heart of the Lincoln Centre and I loved that world so much and I loved writing music so much so, that I never thought of it as work. You are obviously putting in a lot of hours and a lot of hard work writing scores, but that love never changed, even once I moved to California and starting working on film scores. Love for music is still very much the first motivation. So even if a film is not great, and lets face it, most films are not great - I would say about 10% of films that are made are fantastic movies, maybe only even 5%. Nevertheless, creating a musical score for a movie is still motivated by that artists love of creating and writing, and that adds value to you the creative person regardless of the specific movie that youre working on. WC:Lets talk briefly about Police Academy 8. Are there any developments, and how involved will you be? RF: Police AcademyI dont know what theyll call it, it will be Police Academy something, I dont think theyll put a number on it. They are thinking of it as, too coin the overused term, a reboot. That is how they are looking at it, as doing the whole series all over again for a new generation of that target audience. Paul Maslansky is really working hard on this project; he has been the producer on the series since the very first film and is a terrific mind. They have hired a new young director who I have spent quite a bit of time with, and I have helped them out with some test shots that they have done in terms of making sure the musical setting was as strong as it could be. It is a Warner Brothers New Line project, and they are doing a very final tweak on the script right now (Jeremy Garelick recently came on board for rewrites) and I am pretty sure they will probably announce a green light on the project by September; thats my guess. We are trying to conceptualize what the score will be almost 30 years after the first film was made. I know that they want to use all of the original themes because they are so recognizable, but now the question is what sort of clothing are we going to dress those themes in? Will it be the classic presentation in certain scenes, or will it be a more modern landscape supporting those musical elements? Something more indicative of contemporary comedic scoring, which I would describe simply as being more rhythmically motivated than say the score that I wrote in the 80s. WC: What you have seen so far from the test shots, does the film look exciting?RF: It is a lot of fun. I have seen about half a dozen test shots, and they are trying to establish a certain style of visualizing the film and a certain style of casting. Those test shots were hilarious. I would say that the director is extremely young and very edgy; I am convinced that he is going to come up with something that has a lot of raw humour. WC:So are we looking at something in line with the likes of recent re-boot 21 Jump Street?RF: Yeah I think so, and maybe even go further out. It will be a lot of fun. WC: Other than There Be Dragons: Secrets of Passion, what is one other film you have seen recently which you really enjoyed?RF: I just saw Snow White and the Huntsman which I thought was a really beautiful film. Not everybody aggress with me on this (laughs) but I thought it was really epic and beautiful. The film has a great score by James Newton Howard, and just some terrific performances. Id say that is my favourite movie from the last month or two. But also, I cannot wait to see The Dark Knight Rises. I am a huge Christopher Nolan fan! I think the guy is like Spielberg, Scorsese and Lucas all wrapped up in a 40 year old. WC:So if you had an opportunity to work with Chris, that would be an exciting prospect?RF: That would be beyond a brilliant experience. But he has been with Hans on all of his important movies, and that is not likely to change. WC:3D or IMAX, what is the future of cinema?RF: I am not a big 3D fan, so I guess that answers the question (laughs). You know, when you go to the really top quality hi-tech IMAX theatres here in Los Angeles, I have to say its thrilling. I saw Snow White at one of these theatres and the picture and sound was just incredible. I cannot even understand why anyone would watch a film at home when you can watch it at that type of setting. Although, like everybody else, I watch a lot of movies at home just for practical reason, but I just think the IMAX experience is incredible. There Be Dragons: Secrets of Passion is currently awaiting an international release date, but it is looking hopeful that it might get a late 2012 distribution. Meanwhile you can listen to Robert Folks score for the film here or download it from iTunes. There Be Dragons the original cut is available at all good retailers.