This sounds like a very promising project for Desplat.
"Based on the autobiography by Antony Penrose, and written by Liz Hannah, Marion Hume and John Collee, the film tells the story of photographer Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller (Kate Winslet), a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. ... With powerful action sequences and memorable re-creations such as the filming of Hitler’s apartment, where Lee took the iconic image of herself in his bathtub, the movie has potential for varying prospects, with awards and financial prospects."
The film is looking for distribution after premiering at TIFF over the weekend.
"As she begrudgingly retells her misadventures across Europe, stumbling into one history-defining instance after another with her camera, the interviewer turns visibly moved. Alexandre Desplat’s score does its part in helping build an atmosphere both poignant and propulsive (particularly on the battlefield) to hold as much of who Lee was as possible."
Bonus points that the movie is under two hours. Great joy and rapture!
Is there at least a promo album that was given to film music critics and such?
Promo albums are usually done for awards voters. However, this film has two strikes against it:
- it was not released by a major studio. I can't find an FYC website at all for either Vertical or Roadside Attractions, the two distributors that released it together in the US.
- the film industry has moved away from discs over the last couple of years to all-digital FYC content. I don't know if they even press FYC CDs anymore, I haven't seen friends who are Academy members getting them in the last few years.
the film industry has moved away from discs over the last couple of years to all-digital FYC content. I don't know if they even press FYC CDs anymore, I haven't seen friends who are Academy members getting them in the last few years.
Strangely, pretty much the only FYC Oscar CDs I've seen in the last few years have come from that company that otherwise has stopped dealing with physical media, Netflix. (though I have yet to see any from this year's big Netflix scores, like Desplat's The Piano Lesson)
Desplat is pretty hit and miss for me in the last years. You never know what you get… plain boring stuff or interesting and inspired music.
Unfortunately it's been more of the plain boring stuff in the last 4 or 5 years, 'The boys in the Boat' being the exception. High time for another 'Rise of the Guardians"-type score. Or maybe 'Frankenstein' by Del Toro will recharge him.
I guess I'm alone in the thinking the past 5 years of Desplat has given me some fantastic work like The Outfit, Little Women, Asteroid City, J'accuse, and Adults in the Room. Rise of the Guardians as an expected standard barrier? Perhaps we just have different tastes.
Fair enough, I stand (partly) corrected and I will add 'The Lost King' and 'Eiffel' as scores that I really like but there is also a lot of really boring stuff.
