Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

In what is surely one of the biggest cinematic events of all time, let alone the year, Avengers: Infinity War hit screens around the globe last week, breaking records galore and garnering widespread critical acclaim to boot. So it's with great excitement that we welcome the directors Anthony and Joe Russo to Soundtracking. Boasting a stellar ensemble cast, Infinity War sees numerous characters fro...

Without wishing to sound sycophantic, it's hard to imagine a more humble talent that Garth Jennings. During this episode, he and Edith discuss many of his extraordinary creative endeavours - though on hearing the conversation you'd be forgiven for thinking he'd had next to nothing to do with any of them at all.  Don't be fooled.  Having founded production company Hammer & Tongs with Dominic Le...

It's been a while since we had any acting talent on the show, so it gives us great pleasure to welcome the wonderful John Simm to Soundtracking. John has appeared in many great productions on stage and screen. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Life on Mars as Sam Tyler and Doctor Who as The Master, with recent appearances in Collateral on the BBC and Trauma on ITV. His films include Wonder...

It's another very special Soundtracking this week as we take you to the Everyman Cinema in Hampstead, where director Alex Garland and his composers Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury came together for a Q&A following an exclusive screening of Annihilation. As you may know, the film hasn't had a cinematic release outside the US. You can, however, watch Annihilation on Netflix, and it's well worth y...

This week's episode has been a long-time coming. We reckon Edith spoke to director Todd Haynes just before Christmas - after his latest film Wonderstruck received a 3 minute standing ovation at last year's Cannes film festival - and we've been desperate to share our chat ever since. Well, the moment has come, as Wonderstruck finally gets an official UK release - though you may already have been lu...

Before Lynne Ramsay, there was composer Lorne Balfe. For Lorne was the very first guest on Soundtracking Live, as part of the British Film Institute's Big Thrill Season back in November. We then went on to speak to Lynne at the Glasgow Film Festival, with Alex Garland, Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury to come soon following a great chat we had after a special screening of Annihilation at the Everyma...

Almost by definition, anyone who listens to this show will have been deeply saddened by the recent death of composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Well, the moment has come for us to pay our little tribute, as we talk to director Garth Davis about Mary Magdalene, the last film Jóhann worked on. In this episode, Garth discusses Mary, his previous film Lion, and of course Jóhann, who teamed up with fellow Icel...

Having brought you Lynne Ramsay in conversation from the Glasgow Film Festival in our previous episode, we're on location once again here on Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs, this time at London's world-famous AIR studios. For that's where Edith caught up with Junkie XL - aka Tom Holkenborg - on the day he recorded the string parts of his score for Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is direct...

Something slightly different on Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs this week, as we bring you an edited version of Soundtracking Live with Lynne Ramsay at the Glasgow Film Festival. Lynne is one of Edith's favourite directors, so it really was an honour to welcome her on stage in front of a very appreciative live audience. Her latest film You Were Never Really Here has garnered 5 star...

We have a treat for you on this week's episode of Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs, as Duncan and Clint join Edith from LA If not a match made in heaven, then it was certainly a match made on Moon. For that was their first collaboration. Such was the success of that film it seemed inevitable the pair would re-unite - and so it is they us to discuss their latest project together - th...

We're not gonna lie, Greta Gerwig is one of Edith's favourite actors, so all objectivity has gone out of the window during this week's episode of Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs. In fairness, everyone seems to agree her directorial debut Lady Bird (which she also wrote) is a triumph. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf and Timothee Chalomet, it charts the turbulent relationship...

As anyone who's paid attention to Edith talking film over the years knows, she's a big fan of how Marvel Studios have transposed their comic book universe to the big screen. So it gives us great pleasure here at Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs to report that the latest addition to the canon, Black Panther, is a rip-roaring success. And it gives us even greater pleasure to welcome w...

Another week, another Oscar winner chats to Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs. These days, the quality and quantity of original programming on streaming services is quite astounding - with A-list talent delivering high-class drama time and time again. One of Netflix's standout series of 2017 was Mindhunter. Overseen by David Fincher, it tells the story of how the FBI's profiling unit...

We have more exponents of world-class animation in our latest episode of Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs, this time from Disney Pixar. Having just spoken to Nick Park, we're delighted to be joined by two key figures from the studios - writer / director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla Anderson. Having previously joined forces for Toy Story 3, Lee and Darla's latest project is the won...

Edith's latest episode of Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs is with a man who's won a fair few in his time: the one and only Nick Park. As well as national treasures Wallace and Gromit, he and Aardman Animations have also brought us Creature Comforts, Shaun The Sheep, Chicken Run and now full-length feature Early Man. Starring Eddie Redmayne, Masie Williams, Tom Hiddlestone and Timot...

Despite being a thoroughly humble and unassuming sort, Joe Wright has led quite the life. From drinking in the pub as a youngster with Kathy Burke to creating live visuals for The Chemical Brothers, he's long held ties to key players in British culture. Not that he's become a director of great repute on anything other than merit - as evidenced by his latest movie, Darkest Hour. Telling the story o...

In a very special bumper edition of Soundtracking, Edith is joined by all five of the nominees for the EE BAFTA Rising Star award. They are, in no particular order, Daniel Kaluuya, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet, Tessa Thompson and Josh O'Connor. As well as getting to know about them as actors and individuals, we'll also be interspersing score and source music from their films in the usual way,...

With his first two films In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, Martin McDonagh made the transition from world famous playwright to high-class filmmaker seem deceptively straightforward. Such a shift is anything but, of course. But he continues the trend with his latest offering - the jet black comedy drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missourti. Hotly tipped for success this coming awards season, i...

We are very excited here at Soundtracking that we have teamed up with EE, the headline sponsor of the EE British Academy Film Awards, to create a series of special podcasts over the next few months. In that time, we will explore the minds and experiences of BAFTA talent and we start the partnership this week with past EE Rising Star Award winner, Will Poulter. For one so young, Will has already bu...

It's hard to think of a more iconic set of musical themes than those so thrillingly imagined by John Williams for Star Wars: A New Hope. 40 years on and that score still sounds as exhilarating as ever. Much then to discuss with Rian Johnson, the man who has written and directed the latest installment of the space opera, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Up until this point, Rian has employed the services...

We don't just speak to directors, composers and producers on this show; actors are welcome too. And in Cillian Murphy, we not only have a man at the top of his game but also a genuine enthusiast for the sonic arts. Cillian has shone in a hugely diverse range of films, from blockbusters Dunkirk and The Dark Knight trilogy to indie flicks Disco Pigs and Breakfast on Pluto. He can currently be seen i...

We've already spoken to one legendary British producer on this show in the shape of Stephen Woolley. Now it's the turn of David Heyman. Like Stephen, David's CV is enviable. As well as producing all the of Harry Potter films and spin-off Fantastic Beasts, he's also the man behind The Light Between Oceans, Testament Of Youth and Gravity among many, many other celebrated movies. And as we'll discove...

For the first time in 66 episodes, disaster struck as Edith's original interview with Val and Jon was corrupted. Thankfully, this delightful wife & husband team agreed to do it all over again 24 hours later and boy are we glad they did - so fantastic was their company on both occasions. Val and Jon cut their teeth making music videos, working with the likes of Jane's Addiction, The Red Hot Chi...

For a small nation, Scotland doesn't half punch hard when it comes to the arts. And like previous guest David Mackenzie, Paul McGuigan is a fine example of a Scottish director doing great things on a global stage. From gritty British crime drama Gangster No 1 to whip-smart Hollywood thriller Lucky Number Slevin, he's proved most versatile - also working on a string of TV hits such as Sherlock. Pau...

Though still a relative newcomer to the cinematic mainstream, Yorgos Lanthimos has already proved himself to be a filmmaker of wild originality and imagination. Following his breakthrough feature Dogtooth, which tells the story of children completely cut off from the outside world by their parents, he brought us The Lobster, a surreal tale about people who are turned into animals if they fail to f...