# Giacchino to score Rogue One!



## prodigalson (Sep 16, 2016)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...erman&utm_term=hollywoodreporter_breakingnews

Interesting. I was looking forward to something a bit darker and nuanced from Desplat, kinda along the lines of what he did with HP but for some reason Giacchino feels like a more appropriate successor to Williams?


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## Karma (Sep 16, 2016)

I believe Giacchino will definitely do his own thing with it. I am a big fan of Desplat and his work, but I agree - MG would be more appropriate in my opinion. Looking forward to see how he approaches it - I can't imagine how hard it will be to follow up from Williams!


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## Zhao Shen (Sep 16, 2016)

Hm... I think the most exciting thing about _Rogue One _for me was the idea that it was a grittier Star Wars story and that it'd have a non-Williams-esque score. I really hope Giacchino doesn't try to imitate Williams because I don't think that would achieve good results.

Then again, I'll be perfectly happy to eat my words if he's able to blow us away...


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## sp_comp (Sep 16, 2016)

I was surprisingly disappointed by this news. I love Giacchino but I thought Desplat would have been the perfect fit. I was not crazy about Giacchino's previous Williams imitation with Jurassic World. However, if he scores it like he did John Carter, I think that would be fantastic. JC has great thematic writing. Very old school.
Trying to imitate Williams would be end up being lackluster I think


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## prodigalson (Sep 16, 2016)

well, one thing I think we can be sure of is that he wouldn't attempt to imitate John Williams. Giacchino will always be Giacchino. Does one think he attempted that with Jurassic World? Ill have to listen to the score.


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## Whatisvalis (Sep 16, 2016)

I think the grittier SW idea is out the window with the amount of reshoots it seems have happened. Giacchino is a safe bet, loved his Star Trek theme - shame we won't hear Desplat's take because it would have been brilliant.


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## Greg (Sep 16, 2016)

Major bummer. I was hoping for a much different aesthetic in this film. And maybe some synthesizers O_O


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## givemenoughrope (Sep 16, 2016)

I thought Vangelis was scoring this one..


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## prodigalson (Sep 16, 2016)

Whatisvalis said:


> I think the grittier SW idea is out the window with the amount of reshoots it seems have happened.



yeah, the fact that they specifically mentioned "tonal issues" in the press release suggests that Disney wasn't on board...


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## tack (Sep 16, 2016)

Aw, disappointed. This is a step backwards in my opinion. I too was looking forward to hearing Desplat's take. Giacchino's stuff largely doesn't do it for me.


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## ryanstrong (Sep 16, 2016)

http://vi-control.net/community/threads/giacchino-to-replace-desplat-on-star-wars.55921/

Annnnnddd this is why Off Topic should be in the Latest Posts.


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## David Story (Sep 16, 2016)

The studio and composer appear confident. A brand of confidence that leads to disappointment. Oh well.


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## jononotbono (Sep 16, 2016)

Can't wait to see what happens! It's not even been released yet so I have no idea what it's going to be like. What an amazing challenge for him to follow in such footsteps and must be so much pressure!


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## Felipe Opazo (Sep 16, 2016)

Great news, even if i like Desplat scores, i think Giacchino's style is a better fit for Star Wars. Now, if you ask me, i would've chosen Mike Verta to score the film, i still can't believe Mike is not scoring big budget Action/Adventure flicks like this one!


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## mverta (Sep 16, 2016)

Thanks  But I don't pursue films; haven't for a long time. The reason is that while I don't 100% agree with Hans that modern films "reject" long-form, developed thematic material, the truth is that just about everybody else in the process, and the process itself does. I grew up inspired by and listening to scores with structure very similar to operas, or ballets; these were the vintage Williams and Goldsmith types, and just about every score that preceded them - musical stories, self-supporting and cohesive. You could listen to them end-to-end and hear the characters develop, know where the plot was taking you, and trace the drama through the acts until a literal harmonic conclusion. Today, I thrill when my 5-year-old listens to a good score, and tells me what would be happening, moment-to-moment on the screen. It reminds me how powerful and effective it is to write that way. And I just don't enjoy writing without that quality. It's also damn near impossible to do without a locked picture; the ebb and flow and weaving of material is key to the sound. I still write this way, I still teach it, and of course I still listen to it, but I haven't heard it in film for a long, long time. Even Williams doesn't have the locked structure to write to anymore, and it shows. 

I have heard on the QT that Williams may offer a little bit of, shall we say "direction" for this one. Personally, I was looking forward to Desplat's score in hopes he did his own thing with it. I think that would be best, in the long run. But, it's just a brand now; a property. A ledger line on a balance sheet analyzed by a corporation.


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## brett (Sep 16, 2016)

@mverta - you are right about films not locking anymore. Films are the poorer for it too.


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## prodigalson (Sep 16, 2016)

ryanstrong said:


> http://vi-control.net/community/threads/giacchino-to-replace-desplat-on-star-wars.55921/
> 
> Annnnnddd this is why Off Topic should be in the Latest Posts.



sincerest apologies, Ryan. Didn't intend to retread old territory.

I'll accept my punishment for this most heinous of crimes.


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## Whatisvalis (Sep 17, 2016)

I think Mike is correct in suggesting this is just a brand now (probably following Marvel template). With Gareth Edwards' and Desplat it looked like they were willing to take creative risks, but I doubt that anymore. I'll go see Rouge One when it's released, but if it's a soulless rehash it will be the only spinoff I entertain.


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## scottbuckley (Sep 17, 2016)

Giacchino has really got some chops, and he would have been my pick. I'm really starting to get hyped for this movie now... :D


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## Kralc (Sep 17, 2016)

Whatisvalis said:


> I think Mike is correct in suggesting this is just a brand now



This is a lollipop. A goddamn Jar Jar Lollipop. You put the tongue in your mouth.

It's been a brand for a _long_ time.


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## Whatisvalis (Sep 17, 2016)

I was referring to the Spinoffs, which for a second were looking a little different in scope film making wise.


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## Felipe Opazo (Sep 17, 2016)

Mike, i know how you feel and i totally agree, i wish film scores were as narrative as they were a couple decades ago (and before). Regarding Williams, i think he still does get a locked picture when he is working with Spielberg, but i get why this wouldn't be the case in the new Star Wars trilogy. 
Until the late eighties, action-adventure movies didn't spend THAT much time in post, since there weren't that a many shots entirely made in post-production like nowadays. Most effects were done in camera, then the film was edited, color timed and music and sound added, that was it. Since the movie release dates are set in stone, and VFX shots take a lot of time, more often than not composers have to start writing music to inexistent VFX shots, cuts than change every couple days, etc. It totally sucks, i remember hearing about Howard Shore struggling with this when writing his great Lord Of The Ring scores, he actually wrote narrative/old school music for a film that was totally made under this "new way", therefore, it's not rare that when it was time to score the Hobbit, he didn't travel to New Zeland, he didn't orchestrate or conduct the music (that was Conrad Pope).
Regarding the Star Wars franchise, even if it a brand now, the original music was so good that i don't mind if they keep writing "in the style of John Williams" for some time, the problem with Marvel films is that the "template" wasn't good in the beginning! 
Lastly i just wanna say that even if we don't like this "new way of scoring films", not having a locked picture, etc, during the 30s and 40's, people like Max Steiner or Korngold were writing some gargantuan scores in super short times, the best example would be the score for "Gone With The Wind". 
In the end, i still think that if you ask me, i'd rather have 3 weeks to score a locked edit than having 2 months to work on a constantly changing cut. What do you guys think? 



mverta said:


> Thanks  But I don't pursue films; haven't for a long time. The reason is that while I don't 100% agree with Hans that modern films "reject" long-form, developed thematic material, the truth is that just about everybody else in the process, and the process itself does. I grew up inspired by and listening to scores with structure very similar to operas, or ballets; these were the vintage Williams and Goldsmith types, and just about every score that preceded them - musical stories, self-supporting and cohesive. You could listen to them end-to-end and hear the characters develop, know where the plot was taking you, and trace the drama through the acts until a literal harmonic conclusion. Today, I thrill when my 5-year-old listens to a good score, and tells me what would be happening, moment-to-moment on the screen. It reminds me how powerful and effective it is to write that way. And I just don't enjoy writing without that quality. It's also damn near impossible to do without a locked picture; the ebb and flow and weaving of material is key to the sound. I still write this way, I still teach it, and of course I still listen to it, but I haven't heard it in film for a long, long time. Even Williams doesn't have the locked structure to write to anymore, and it shows.
> 
> I have heard on the QT that Williams may offer a little bit of, shall we say "direction" for this one. Personally, I was looking forward to Desplat's score in hopes he did his own thing with it. I think that would be best, in the long run. But, it's just a brand now; a property. A ledger line on a balance sheet analyzed by a corporation.


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## dcoscina (Sep 17, 2016)

scottbuckley said:


> Giacchino has really got some chops, and he would have been my pick. I'm really starting to get hyped for this movie now... :D


I don't share this sentiment. I think he comes up with some good ideas but fails to connect and develop them the way say Don Davis would.


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## NoamL (Sep 17, 2016)

Can someone point me in the direction of big, kinetic, polyphonic action writing by Desplat?

Do not get me wrong - Desplat is one of my favorite composers. But when I think of his scoring I think of his tuneful and unforgettable _The Imitation Game_ or I think of the _very_ "big-note" scoring approach in _Deathly Hallows_ -



To my mind a Star Wars score should be defined by two things

it should be a hell of a workout for the orchestra
it should have serious thematic development
On that basis, my shortlist would have Don Davis, Michael Giacchino, John Powell towards the top.

But - if Disney's having second thoughts about how Star Warsy their Star Wars spinoff feels - why didn't they just call up Gordy Haab?

Check out the sheer incredible talent on this guy! In many ways the score to _Battlefront_ is the spiritual successor to the prequels scoring style (while _TFA _went in a new and different direction).


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## Farkle (Sep 17, 2016)

NoamL said:


> Can someone point me in the direction of big, kinetic, polyphonic action writing by Desplat?
> 
> Do not get me wrong - Desplat is one of my favorite composers. But when I think of his scoring I think of his tuneful and unforgettable _The Imitation Game_ or I think of the _very_ "big-note" scoring approach in _Deathly Hallows_ -
> 
> ...




Or Joel McNeely... he scored the game Shadows of the Empire, and he's totally in Disney's world, having scored the Tinkerbell films with agile, Hollywood-style silver age music.


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## scottbuckley (Sep 17, 2016)

NoamL said:


> But - if Disney's having second thoughts about how Star Warsy their Star Wars spinoff feels - why didn't they just call up Gordy Haab?
> 
> Check out the sheer incredible talent on this guy! In many ways the score to _Battlefront_ is the spiritual successor to the prequels scoring style (while _TFA _went in a new and different direction).



Yes! I originally found myself wondering whether the new music was some previously unreleased material from the films... Haab did a great job at matching the style.


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## Aenae (Sep 17, 2016)

NoamL said:


> Can someone point me in the direction of big, kinetic, polyphonic action writing by Desplat?
> 
> Do not get me wrong - Desplat is one of my favorite composers. But when I think of his scoring I think of his tuneful and unforgettable _The Imitation Game_ or I think of the _very_ "big-note" scoring approach in _Deathly Hallows_ -
> 
> ...



Don't forget that Desplat had to deal with various Zimmer temp tracks on Harry Potter and "obey" the "rules" and work out something his own based on the temp tracks he had.

These come to mind when I think of more "busy" Desplat music:




Haab is a good pasticheour of Williams Star Wars scores, but that's a boring and safe choice since there isn't much to the music beyond it being good pastiche of the real thing. Also he has yet to write a theme/stand-out piece that isn't just busy Star Wars underscore pastiche. To just settle for "good" pastiche but not much beyond that is to aim pretty low.


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