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 Posted:   May 31, 2023 - 12:01 PM   
 By:   neumation   (Member)

https://neumation-music.com/blogs/news/a-composer-in-conversation-steve-bartek

While preparing our BEETLEJUICE score book, we sat down for an extended chat with Steve Bartek to pick his brain on all things orchestration, filmmaking, Danny Elfman, Oingo Boingo, etc. Steve doesn't do interviews very often, so it was really great to hear his thoughts. He's had an awesome career and is an all around really great guy.

 
 
 Posted:   May 31, 2023 - 12:28 PM   
 By:   c8   (Member)

Wow. Bartek doesn’t hold back here. Absolutely fascinating.

He sure didn’t hesitate to tell stories of what really happened between DePalma and Silvestri on Mission: Impossible or Elfman and Raimi in Spider Man 2. And honestly it sounds like DePalma completely forgot about Silvestri on MI (!) and Raimi went on vacation during the sessions for Spider Man 2 (!!) and neither director comes off looking amazing. Of course Elfman and Raimi have since mended fences.

The people who do come off looking amazing are Elfman (this should put to bed any notion people have he doesn’t write his own stuff) and, especially, Shirley Walker (utterly and rightfully lavished with praise). I never knew about Elfman and Bartek’s history with Niehouse and how he was more a mentor figure to Bartek. Such cool stories.

This is one of the most illuminating interview this side of Horner’s On The Score interview. Amazing work and very well done.

 
 
 Posted:   May 31, 2023 - 1:30 PM   
 By:   LRobHubbard   (Member)

Great work! The only previous Bartek interview I can recall was one in the B/W zine days of FSM and nowhere nearly as in depth.

Only quibble is that it needs better proofreading - "Schenectady" is 'Synechdote (N.Y.)' and Susan 'Tyrell' instead of "Turrell", to start. Nitpicky, yes; but important.

 
 
 Posted:   May 31, 2023 - 1:33 PM   
 By:   neumation   (Member)

Great work! The only previous Bartek interview I can recall was one in the B/W zine days of FSM and nowhere nearly as in depth.

Only quibble is that it needs better proofreading - "Schenectady" is 'Synechdote (N.Y.)' and Susan 'Tyrell' instead of "Turrell", to start. Nitpicky, yes; but important.


Thanks for catching this. I will make the edits that slipped past me and Steve.

 
 Posted:   Sep 12, 2024 - 5:36 PM   
 By:   TM   (Member)

Just came across this, what a fantastic interview and kudos for staying out of the way and letting the stories really get fleshed out!

 
 Posted:   Sep 12, 2024 - 6:03 PM   
 By:   Advise & Consent   (Member)

Wow. Great post. Outstanding and in-depth.

The part where that massive prick Lionel Newman got fired was pure Ambrosia. Had to read it a second time.

 
 
 Posted:   Sep 13, 2024 - 12:18 AM   
 By:   Thor   (Member)

Bartek never got the solo career that his potential signalled, which is why I've always been fascinated by him (and not only as an Elfman completist).

I started reading the interview, and will continue later (long piece!). Good work, and always great with these insights, but it appears to be a raw transcript of the interview, with all the asides and oral fill words etc.? Do you plan on editing it for the BEETLEJUICE book? Might be useful for easier reading.

I think it will also weed out misunderstandings. For example, when it says "The basic score is mostly Danny", it might be useful to change "the basic score" to FORBIDDEN ZONE, because the film's title isn't mentioned and you get the impression he's talking about PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE from the sentence before. Also, it's Jon BriOn, not Jon Brian.

Would have been cool to know more about Steve's own film scores (I believe NOVOCAINE is the only one mentioned), but that wasn't perhaps the goal of this interview.

 
 
 Posted:   Sep 13, 2024 - 7:59 AM   
 By:   ian642002   (Member)

A lovely, really entertaining piece, all the better for that rambling 'where was I?' quality about it, which made me warm to the man. Oh, and its not 'Shirely', by the way.

 
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