Thomas Lenz' excellent German-based film website screen/read has just posted an interview I did with them late last year. The English version is up and running, the German version is supposed to appear later today. Thomas, in addition to being quite the film expert, is a very articulate film score buff, so I had a great time chatting with him. I think it shows in the final result. Enjoy!
Doug Adams: The Music of THE LORD OF THE RINGS fFlms | Interview (english version)
It is not very likely that a book on a classic musical score for a motion picture meets the interest of a broader audience. So one might think. But as true as that assumption has been in the past, it got proven wrong by „The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films“, a stunning examination of Howard Shore’s brilliant scores for the Tolkien trilogy. Written by Chicago-based film music journalist Doug Adams, the beautifully designed book is the result of intense research and years of work. Adams worked closely with the composer from day one, met the filmmakers, attended various scoring sessions and compiled tons of material. In our interview he talks in detail about how the book evolved, describes fan reactions, live performances and discusses the current state of film music in general.
screen/read: First of all, thank you for taking the time. I think this is the first interview you’re doing for a German publication, is that right?
Doug Adams: Yeah, it may be.
screen/read: Generally though you’ve been doing quite a lot of interviews, presentations and book-signings recently as the interest in your book is surprisingly huge and so much bigger than one would have expected considering the topic. Until now, books on film music actually appealed to anything but a broader audience but in your case things are of a profound difference. Did you expect such a wide span of interest?
Doug Adams: It’s been really intriguing. I went out assuming that we'd have somewhat of a niche market consisting of a very small group of collectors with a very specific interest. And so it’s a wonderful surprise and really gratifying to see that people from a lot of different backgrounds and age groups care for this book. We have people that are interested in it from the music aspect, people that are interested from the Tolkien aspect and people that are generally interested in filmmaking. I think that’s very exciting. And then it’s certainly great for the art form that all of these people are not looking at film music as a very small specific interest but as a part of a bigger picture. You know, it certainly is part of filmmaking, but it’s also part of the modern music world, and in its connection to Tolkien, the way that Howard Shore composed this, there’s a literary connection as well. So it’s great to see that it spans so many art forms and so many interests.
screen/read: You started out as a film music journalist originally, writing for Film Score Monthly and thus had been into the art form for many years before you got on this project. Let’s talk a little bit about how you got there. Where are you coming from and what were your first encounters with film music in general? [FULL ARTICLE]
