He’s scored movies by John Hughes, John Landis and Kevin Smith.
He’s the man behind the music from Police Squad!
It was just about taking advantage of an opportunity that presented itself.
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It seemed interesting and different and got me thinking about scoring.
Its said many times that you rescued the film.
Whats the story there?
Is that because you didnt enjoy the comedy work, or was it a thirsting for tackling different genres?
After a while it gets very repetitive and one would like to do something different.
The timing and tone of comedy must be a real challenge to match?
Dying is easy, comedy is hard.
If the comedy is rote, truly lowbrow and poorly constructed its bloody agony.
Whats worse, youre not even allowed to tell them.
You have to keep smiling and pretending that you dont smell anything.
Does the music you do have to veer between the overt and the subtle?
You are right on the money.
Its the dealing with egomaniacs, poorly made movies and unethical behaviour that is the really difficult demand.
The movie business is 10% movie and 90% business.
Am I making myself clear?
Moving to your own work specifically, the theme tune toPolice Squad/Naked Gunis synonymous with the series.
What was your thinking when you came up with it?
Because your music is utterly integral to making some of the scenes work.
And then theres your tremendous work on the John Hughes projects.
What do you remember about working on them?
What kind of brief were you given?
My job on John Hughes movies was to play Beat The Temp.
He was very involved in making the temp dub and fancied himself a music maven.
I also got to write music in the holes where he couldnt find anything to play.
Sometimes when I couldnt stand what he put in I would try and beat it.
Numerous times I was successful.
That does sound like quite a stressful process!
You also worked several times with John Landis.
What do you remember about those collaborations?
If he loves it youll hear about it too.
I actually had a very satisfying experience doingThe Blues BrothersandInto The Night.
John is very enthusiastic, and when its positive its very nice and infectious.
It was his idea to use B.B.
King inInto The Night.
And it must have been terrific working with BB King: did it live up to expectations?
Hes incredible, a force of nature, a tremendously gifted natural musician and a very nice man.
Hes one of the few musicians who can play one single note and be recognised.
He could sing the Manhattan phone book and you would think it was a great song!
Youve worked with some amazing names in the wider music business.
Do you have any more special memories of any particular collaborations?
Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles scared me to death because they were so talented.
Toni Tennille is a wonderful talent and she and the Captain are fantastic human beings.
King was a thrill to work with.
Hes another force of nature.
It would take too long to tell all these stories!
John Landis moved on to tackleInnocent Blood, which you also scored.
Given the number of comedy scores youd done, were you happy to tackle something different?
Well, yes and no.
Its extremely difficult to change gears and somehow make the music or anything else organic.
The audience cant take it either.
The composer tries to figure out a way to play all these things correctly.
In addition, for some reason the orchestra couldnt play in tune that day.
That must have been a problem.
Is it one you encounter often?
Are you put in front of a fresh orchestra, or can you work with people youre familiar with?
Sometimes you dont get such a good orchestra.
Sometimes its raining outside, the air is soggy and full of moisture and nothing sounds good.
Moving more recently, how was working with Kevin Smith?
He seems to be a very big fan of your work?
Working with Kevin was very nice.
Do you find that most directors dont have that level of respect or understanding for the scoring process?
Most directors dont know their ass from a hole in the ground about music.
How frustrating is that for a composer?
If thats what they want, letem have it!
What can you do about people who prefer reconstituted orange juice to fresh squeezed?
I usually come in when there is a rough assembly.
Do the directors girlfriend and friend from college then try and have input on your work?
Because I think thatd drive me nuts if I was in your shoes!
Yes, you would go nuts.
I remember writing a cue, recording it and then racing into the control room to hear the reaction.
I was just in time to hear the director ask his eleven member posse of yes-men O.K.
Whats wrong with it?
How many of them do you think had the bollocks to say, Nothing?
It was history until I soaped her up and she decided that it was brilliant.
10% music, 90% bullshit.
What are your five favourite movie scores?
And what about your own work?
Which of your own scores are you happiest with?
To tell you the truth, I dont really know.
Is that right, and how are you spending your days?
Pretty soon Im going to start playing live and start looking for more creative writing projects.
Ira Newborn, thank you very much.
Sadly, much of Iras work is out of print in the UK.
