Latest news with #Chilean-Canadian
The Independent
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Woody Harrelson shares real reason he turned down White Lotus season 3 role
Woody Harrelson has shared the real reason he turned down a role in The White Lotus after claims of a salary dispute. The actor was offered a role in the third season of the hit HBO show, which will reveal the answer to its overarching mystery when the finale airs this weekend: which character will die? It was recently reported that the Cheers and True Detective star was asked to play Rick, the character played by Walton Goggins, but turned down the role as he wanted more money. The show, created by Mike White, has a fixed salary in place, meaning all cast members, including Parker Posey, Michelle Monaghan, Jason Isaacs, Carrie Coon and Aimee Lou Wood, receive the same amount. However, Harrelson has debunked the narrative that he declined the opportunity due to money, stating that he actually had signed up to play the role of Frank, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. In casting that was kept secret ahead of time, Frank, the friend of Rick's who shows up midway through the season, ended up being played by Sam Rockwell. 'I was set to do The White Lotus and very excited,' Harrelson said in a statement to The Daily Beast. 'Unfortunately, their production schedule shifted, and conflicted with a pre-planned family vacation, forcing me to make an extremely hard decision.' Harrelson noted that 'things must be meant to be' as he 'couldn't have done as fantastic a job as Sam' who he said was 'killing it' in the role. Rockwell has been receiving huge acclaim for his supporting turn in the series. Also starring in the show is his wife Leslie Bibb, although the pair are yet to share any scenes. Earlier this week, it was revealed that the show's composer had left the series due to friction with writer and director White. Chilean-Canadian musician Cristóbal Tapia de Veer composed the much-loved scores for the first and second seasons of the black comedy which earned him two Primetime Emmy awards. However, following a lukewarm response to the theme for season three – which was a notable departure from the tune of the first two seasons – de Veer has announced that he won't be returning for season four. The 51-year-old revealed that he had made a longer version of the song, which contained nods to the previous scores that could have been used in the opening credits. When the production team approved of this idea, he revealed that White 'wasn;'t happy' with the idea, and rejected it outright. Tapia de Veer has since uploaded the full version to YouTube.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Emmy-winning composer likens working with 'White Lotus' creator Mike White to 'toxic relationship'
Cristobal Tapia de Veer says he's checking out of 'The White Lotus' for good. After three seasons, the Chilean-Canadian composer whose trademark sounds helped define the hit HBO series, says he won't return. He blames a growing rift with the show's creator and director Mike White. The three-time Emmy winner says he's "relieved" to have closure after butting heads over the musical score during post-production on the Thailand-set third season. The composer also says backlash from some viewers unhappy with his theme song for the latest season was overblown. The season finale of "The White Lotus" airs Sunday on Crave. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2025. David Friend, The Canadian Press
The Independent
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
White Lotus composer quits show amid ‘hysterical' tensions with production team
The composer of The White Lotus theme song is leaving the hit HBO show citing long-standing friction with writer and director Mike White. Chilean-Canadian musician Cristóbal Tapia de Veer composed the much-loved scores for the first and second seasons of the black comedy which earned him two Primetime Emmy awards. However, following a lukewarm response to the theme for season three - which was a notable departure from the tune of the first two seasons - de Veer has announced that he won't be returning for season four. Speaking to the New York Times the musician said: 'When [the season three theme] came out, I had TMZ calling me, even people from England and from France, because they wanted some kind of statement about the theme. People are furious about the change of the theme, and I thought that was interesting.' The 51-year-old revealed that he had made a longer version of the song, which contained nods to the previous scores, that could have been used in the opening credits. When the production team approved of this idea he revealed that: 'Mike [White] cut that – he wasn't happy about that.' He eventually chose to release the full version of the song, called 'Enlightenment', on YouTube. Tapia de Veer also claimed that conversations with the show's producers could be 'hysterical' and that they repeatedly asked for music that was more experimental than what he wanted to produce. 'I feel like this was, you know, a rock 'n' roll band story,' he said. 'I was like, OK, this is like a rock band I've been in before where the guitar player doesn't understand the singer at all.' Tapia de Veer claimed that his conflicts with White dated back to the first season when there were tensions over the music despite its award's success. 'Maybe I was being unprofessional, and for sure Mike feels that I was always unprofessional to him because I didn't give him what he wanted. But what I gave him did this, you know — did those Emmys, people going crazy,' he said in the interview. Ultimately Tapia de Veer said it was 'worth all the tension and almost forcing the music into the show, in a way, because I didn't have that many allies in there'. The Independent has contacted Mike White's representatives for comment. It comes after season three star Jason Isaacs that friendships were both 'made' and 'lost' on the set of the show. Isaacs described the experience of filming the latest instalment as 'a cross between summer camp and Lord of the Flies but in a gilded cage'. The series was filmed in Thailand over the course of seven months, with the cast and crew staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Koh Samui, which doubles up as the hotel on screen. In an interview with Vulture, Isaacs said that despite the stunning backdrop, filming the show 'wasn't a holiday'.
