Joseph Kosinski Taps M83 to Score Oblivion
Posted 07.03.12 by BrentJS
We've got a pretty good idea what director Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) wants his new sci-fi epic, Oblivion, to look like because several pieces of artwork from the upcoming Radical Publishing graphic novel on which the movie is based were released nearly two years ago. We also have a pretty good idea of what headliner Tom Cruise will look like as Jack, a drone (read: clone) assigned to maintain the machines left behind after humanity has all but abandoned the earth, thanks to some recent "spy" pics from the set in Iceland. Now, we also have a pretty good idea what Oblivion will sound like, as well. Kosinski, who hand-picked the French electronic music duo Daft Punk to score Tron: Legacy, has announced that French electronic act M83 will score Oblivion.
The selection of M83 to score Oblivion appears almost pre-ordained. Kosinski revealed to The Playlist that he was listening to M83 frontman Anthony Gonzalez's music when he first started writing the story that became Oblivion.
I was listening to his music back in 2005 when I first wrote this story, so he was part of this from the very beginning in my mind, kind of creatively. And about two years ago, when I started putting together a shortlist of people I'd love to talk to for this project, I sat down with him and we talked about it. And it was very clear he had a passion for film and I knew just from his electronic music that he had the potential to create something epic.
The story has a small cast of characters, it was designed as kind of a character-driven story, but at the same time it takes place in a vast world. So I need a score that is both emotional, but at the same time can feel big and have a lot of space in it. And his music has that. It's emotional, it's triumphant, it just has a spirit and a life to it.
Oblivion will be the first soundtrack that Gonzalez has scored, but he told The Playlist that he is ready for the challenge.
I'm not afraid to do my first soundtrack on a big Hollywood movie, with a big budget and a lot of pressure...I like challenges and it excites me more than frightens me. I can't wait to hear my music played by amazing musicians, and an orchestra and brass and maybe choirs. It's a chance to create something big and I'm ready for it.
I'm always trying to push myself and I try to do it with my studio albums, and now this is a new adventure, so I'm going to push myself even harder, and try to surprise people and move people with my music. My vision is really to have a combination of very electronic moments, very M83, and sometimes merge into something more soundtrack-y, but my kind of soundtracks.
You can check out a sample of M83's music here.
The Oblivion screenplay was written by Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine), from previous drafts by Academy Award–winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) and Karl Gadjusek (Trespass). Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Andrea Riseborough (W.E.), Morgan Freeman (The Dark Knight Rises) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (HBO's Game of Thrones) also star.
To see sample artwork from Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion graphic novel, click here.
Next Showing: Oblivion is slated to open April 26, 2013