The first step to finding music for a new film is “to find who the key music decision makers are — the directs or producers,” according to GTM music supervisor Maureen Crowe, who spoke today (Nov. 14) at the Billboard/The Hollywood Reporter Film and TV Music Conference in Los Angeles.
And with help from people like Crowe, “We have to match the right composer to the project,” Motion Picture Music president Randy Spendlove noted. “We think about somebody like Maureen and put together a game plan for the composer.”
If a film’s star actor is prominent enough, they’ll sometimes weigh-in on which type of artists or composers should be used on the project, said composer George Acogny, who has worked on such films as “City Of Angels” and “Blood Diamond.” “I’ve been involved in movies where the actor has been involved,” he said, citing industry heavyweight Tom Cruise and his role in “Mission Impossible” as a hypothetical example.
After noting that a new “Mission Impossible” is indeed in the works, Spendlove added, “Tom Cruise is the kind of actor who’s a producer and makes the big decision. We’d meet with Tom and the director before we meet with the composers and then decide.”
Later in the discussion, an audience member asked the panel – which also included Gotham Records president Patrick Arn and Creative Control Entertainment president Joel C. High – if it was more beneficial for an up-and-coming composer to live in Los Angeles or New York, as opposed to other cities with a lower profile. Spendlove didn’t hesitate to answer: “You need to be here in Los Angeles. This is where film takes place.” Other panelists promptly agreed.
