Composer explores new ground with movie score

by Justin McElroy
The Herald-Dispatch, Monday, October, 30, 2006

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For many of the parties involved, "We Are Marshall" represents relatively uncharted territory.

The city and university on which the film are based certainly haven't been involved with a production on this scale before, its screenplay writer is a first-timer -- even its director is taking his first swing at directing drama.

In a way, the same could be said of composer Christophe Beck.

Although he's scored comedy (Steve Martin "The Pink Panther," "American Wedding") and action ("The Sentinel," "Elektra"), a drama like "We Are Marshall" was new to him, part of what made the project so appealing.

"Although there's a lot of football in this movie, it's really about grief and healing, and that kind of stuff is very dramatic, and there are a lot of comedies on my resume," Beck said. "I thanked (director) McG a thousand times for hiring me, because it takes a bit of a leap of faith to hire a guy like me for a movie like this when you look at my resume. Needless to say, I was thrilled."

When Beck submitted some sample material for the film, he already had a leg up, as he had worked with director McG on an a track for pop band Sugar Ray. The producers must have liked what they heard, because they hired Beck to score the football film, despite his lack of experience in the genre.

That's not to say he was a neophyte when it came to drama, he had created the music for many episodes of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which served as a training ground for several genres, drama included.

"Even though from the creative perspective, from the music-writing perspective, I felt like I had a lot of experience with drama," Beck said.

Once he got the job, he began to ask McG about what he was looking for in a score. The director said he didn't want fluff, but for the music to be something of substance.

"Melody was very important to him, having a tune that the audience can leave the theater humming is a great goal," Beck said. "It became clear that what was needed was a very tuneful score, with some very strong themes for different characters and different situations."

Beck said he also worked to make sure that his score would seem at home in the film's 1970s setting, meaning he kept modern electronic instruments out, favoring a more classic sound. The piece that has been widely heard in the film's trailer is not part of Beck's score.

The composer was also in the unenviable position of creating a score for a sports film, a genre that has had some of film's most beloved themes, classic pieces like Jerry Goldsmith's score for "Rudy," which Beck described as "fantastic." Despite his affection for several of those works, he said he worked to keep from copying those who had come before.

"I think it's important when you're working on themes for a movie to not let yourself be too influenced by other stuff," Beck said. "You want to give each film that you work on a distinctive character, a distinctive voice."

Beck's work on "We Are Marshall" is done now, leaving him to toil on the music for a new project. He's still waiting for the public's first reaction to the film and his score, but Christophe Beck's mind is already made up about his first dramatic foray.

"It's very difficult for me to have the kind of objectivity that I need to really answer this," Beck said. "But I love this movie."