My Big Score

It's a very special episode of My Big Score as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of John Williams' magnificent score for Jurassic Park. Join guest Sarah Rhea Werner (Girl in Space, Write Now) as we discuss the surprising relationship of this score to hymnals, the importance of when not to score, how much you can understand this film by only listening without watching, and much more. PLUS! Stay to...

Welcome back! In today's episode, writer, composer, and lyricist Laura Stratford (Arden S2, The Bone Harp) joins us to discuss Nicholas Britell's stunning score for Barry Jenkins' 2018 film If Beale Street Could Talk. We cover how Laura's work as a composer has changed how she listens to and appreciates music, the film's impressive unification of diegetic and nondiegetic music, how to musically en...

Hello punk rock prom queens! Wil Williams (VALENCE) joins us to talk about the 2001 masterpiece Josie and the Pussycats and its incredible songs. Join us, won't you, as we discuss the late Adam Schlesinger, the greatness of Alan Cumming, and for the first time get into how lyrics and music relate to each other.   My Big Score was created, hosted, and edited by Christopher Dole. All piano music per...

Emma Sherr-Ziarko (Wolf 359, Pairing) joins us to talk about Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard's iconic and wildly influential score for Gladiator. We discuss Emma's history as a dancer/choreographer, two very peculiar controversies the score found itself enmeshed in, the central tension between Earth (Zimmer) and Elyisum (Gerrard) and much, much more. Join us, won't you?   My Big Score was created, ho...

Welcome to 2023! In 1997, Andrew Niccol made his directorial debut with Gattaca, a sci-fi dystopia about genetic engineering. Michael Nyman's gorgeous, didactic score portrays the tension between the mathematical precision of the world the characters inhabit, and the aspirations which drive them ever upward. And for Gabriel Urbina (Wolf 359, Unseen), it was the score that first made him realize wh...

Happy holidays, listeners! The crew of My Big Score has gotten together to discuss their favorite film and TV scores of 2022, including: Nope by Michael Abels Triangle of Sadness by Mikkel Maltha & Leslie Ming The Menu by Colin Stetson Crimes of the Future by Howard Shore Women Talking by Hildur Guðnadóttir Babylon by Justin Hurwitz Avatar: The Way of Water by Simon Franglen Andor by Nicholas Brit...

In 2001, Steven Spielberg and John Williams released their 18th collaboration: the dazzling, misunderstood sci-fi masterpiece AI Artificial Intelligence. Kev Koeser (Talking Trek to You) joins us to discuss how Spielberg and Williams deconstruct themselves in their most haunting work to date. Narrative voice in score, the star personas of Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law, and a particularly startlin...

Adventure! Derring-do! Romance! Swords! All these things and more were promised by 1998's The Mask of Zorro, and all these were delivered in spades by both the film and James Horner's magnificent, immensely physical score. Join Briggon Snow (The Bright Sessions) and host Christopher Dole as they discuss Horner's extraordinary run in the mid 90s to early 2000s, reveal a surprising connection betwee...

In 1961, Akira Kurosawa reinvented the samurai film with Yojimbo... and Masaru Sato composed one of the most unforgettable scores in history, combining action, theatricality and satire into a bold new sound. Join creator Julian Mundy (StarTripper!!) as we discuss Sato's surprising inspiration for the score, Kurosawa's mastery of sound design, the jagged off-kilter nature of the film, and much, muc...

In 1978, John Carpenter revolutionized the horror film with Halloween . Not only did he create the first unforgettable slasher movie villain in Michael Myers, he also composed a dazzling, terrifying synth theme that, in the words of one exec who had seen the film without it beforehand, saved the movie. Joining us to discuss our first composer-director is Julia Schifini ( Spirits ), who discusses h...

Christopher Young had a long and distinguished career in horror before he came to the 2012 film Sinister , but this time around, he tried out something different. Rather than go with his typical orchestral sound, he instead created a score out of audio sampling and sound effects. For Raul Vega ( Rose Drive ), the effect was immensely disturbing and thrilling. We discuss how Hollywood pigeonholes y...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses disturbing aspects of the film, including assault, violence against women, and grisly images.   Kicking off a month of horror movies, Eli Barraza ( The Far Meridian ) joins us to talk about the surreal sci-fi horror film Under the Skin . Mica Levi's daring, ground-breaking score puts us in the mindset of Scarlett Johansson's nameless alien predator as she go...

In the 1950s, young, basically-blacklisted composer Elmer Bernstein got a remarkable offer from aging master director Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille was determined to retell the story of Moses on a scale unheard-of in Hollywood and with his former composer Victor Young sick and dying, Bernstein was up for the job. DeMille asked him if he could do for film music what Puccini did for opera. Bernstein sai...

CONTENT WARNING: This episode features discussion of child abuse.   Film changed forever in the summer of 1993. Jurassic Park showed the way of the future. The Last Action Hero was the final gasp of the 80s action film. And Tom Cruise starred in the first of what would be a wave of major 90s films, breaking in the John Grisham legal thriller with The Firm . And for this film, composer Dave Grusin...

In our first episode, Chris sits down with writer Sarah Shachat (Wolf 359, Unseen) to discuss Howard Shore's monumental score for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Symphonic movie-making, which piece Sarah used as her pump-up music during college, which beacon of Gondor is the best, an extended discussion of Shelob's lair, and much more mark our discussion of one of the most st...

Meet our host, Christopher Dole, a guy who once ran down a mile of highway to make it to a screening of Fantasia on time. Chris walks us through one of his favorite scores of all time, The Brothers Bloom by Nathan Johnson, with particular emphasis on the final track, "The Perfect Con". Through repetition and subtle shifts in one particular theme, "The Perfect Con" delivers a stunning emotional cat...

A podcast where some of your favorite creators talk about the film scores that matter to them. Coming August 15th to your podcatcher of choice.