Latest news with #GustavoSantaolalla
Cosmopolitan
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
The Last of Us composer narrowly avoided a 'terrible' mistake
The Last of Us composer, Gustavo Santaolalla, has shared that the show could have made a "terrible mistake" - but it was narrowly avoided. For those yet to see the HBO drama series, it follows smuggler Joel and teenager Ellie as they travel across a post-apocalyptic world in search of a cure to an infection that caused the collapse of society. It's based on the popular video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog. Avid gamers who have both played the game and watched the series will also know that the show remained loyal to the original source material. This was done through the game's director Neil Druckmann working closely with writers Craig Mazin and Halley Gross. Not to mention also using Santaolalla, who composed the music for the game and its TV adaptation. In a new interview with Screen Rant, Santaolalla revealed that it was important for them to keep the main themes of the game, as well as transition the original "sonic fabric" into the show. He said: "I think it was a great help to bridge this transition from one thing to the other. I think it would have been a terrible mistake to change that. The fact that we kept [the music] was a very good decision." The composer then delved into the difference between writing for video games and television. He explained that he separates his work into two categories: art and craft. While the art "involves the creation of the themes, melodies, harmony" (aka the sonic fabric), the craft deals with making it all fit together. Santaolalla also added that even though there is a lot of new music in the series, it doesn't feel like a leap away from the game. "We have lots of new music too, but that music, in a way, is siblings with what I created before," he concluded.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Deadline Launches Streaming Site For Sound & Screen Television
Deadline on Monday launched the streaming site for 2025's Sound & Screen Television, its annual TV music showcase that took place May 7 at UCLA's Royce Hall. The event featured the composers from 11 buzzy awards-season series discussing their music and then playing it with the help of a 60-piece orchestra. This year's participants ran the gamut with shows based on video games, graphic novels, comics and iconic novels, as well as genres ranging from thrillers and mysteries to sci-fi, comedies and dramas. The list of composer panelists is equally diverse, with Oscar winners including Gustavo Santaolalla and Volker Bertelmann and Emmy winners like Bear McCreary and Siddhartha Khosla the mix. More from Deadline Deadline's Contenders Television Streaming Site Launches Deadline Launches Contenders Television: Documentary, Unscripted & Variety Streaming Site Emmy Winner Siddhartha Khosla On The Creation Of The 'Paradise' Theme: "A Lot Of The Loops Are Sounds Taken From My Voice" - Sound & Screen TV The complete lineup featured music from Apple TV+'s Severance and Shrinking, HBO | Max's The Last of Us and The Penguin, Hulu's Paradise, Netflix's Squid Game, Peacock's The Day of the Jackal, Prime Video's The Boys and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Riot Games and Netflix's Arcane, and Sony Pictures Television and Peacock's Long Bright River. Sound & Screen Television is the latest Deadline event to turn the spotlight on the TV awards season, following the two-day Contenders Television and the virtual Contenders Television: Documentary, Unscripted & Variety. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
BreakingNews.ie
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Levelling up: The emergence of video game movies, music and TV shows
For decades, video game fans were wary of movie or TV adaptations because of the poor track record of studios translating games to the screen. The 90s saw some atrocious adaptations of video game's hottest properties with Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter and even a terrible Super Mario Bros movie. Advertisement The 2000s were not any better with the likes of Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia and Silent Hill all being panned critically and only performed modestly at the box office. At times, it felt like there would never be a faithful adaptation, but thankfully, that has all changed in recent years. With video games as a medium maturing, studios started to realise what medium suited each game. Instead of making a two or three-hour movie based on the groundbreaking The Last of Us (which is around 15 hours), HBO decided to make a TV series to fully flesh out the dark and brutal world of the source material. Amazon Studios decided to create a brand new story in the world of Fallout rather than rehash the story from one of the games. It was a great decision, as it introduced the world of Fallout to new viewers and with a new set of characters to get invested in. Advertisement It also meant they did not have to try and translate gameplay moments onto the small screen and instead come up with their own set pieces for TV. Box office receipts With both shows being nominated and winning multiple Emmys, it highlighted how far video game series had come. When it comes to the big screen, we are seeing more family-friendly movies based on video games having great success. The recent Sonic trilogy has grossed a total of $1 billion (€88 million) and The Super Mario Bros movie alone grossed €1.36 billion (€1.2 billion) at the box office. It once again shows how, when you match a video game franchise with the right format, you can have a massive hit. Advertisement With the likes of a God of War show and a Legend of Zelda movie in the works, there are plenty of games still waiting to be adapted. It is not just movies and TV shows, as music from video games has become increasingly popular, with some of the best composers scoring video games. It is not just movies and TV shows, as music from video games has become increasingly popular, with some of the best composers scoring video games. Bear McCreary, Gustavo Santaolalla, Nobuo Uematsu, and Christopher Tin have all created iconic soundtracks for the biggest games out there. It is just another way to relive the experience of playing your favourite games without having to play. This was certainly the case on Saturday, April 19th, at the 3Arena when PlayStation kicked off their global tour which showcased the music from their biggest franchises, like Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, Horizon and The Last of Us. Advertisement A visual feast A group of 15 multi-instrumentalists put on a brilliant show that mixed epic anthems with more intimate numbers. Accompanying it was an incredible visual feast for the eyes that was a pleasure to experience in person. Several transparent screens came down from the roof and had impressive visuals displayed on them to complement the story being told through the music. The mix of footage from the games and custom-made videos for the concert was spellbinding. It was truly an audio-visual experience as everything blended together so seamlessly. The only drawback of the show was at times, the orchestra played some of the lesser-known songs from these games and could have added main themes from some of the smaller games in the PlayStation library instead. Advertisement The PlayStation concert had some of the best live visuals I've ever seen! The orchestra were incredible as well and got a deserved standing ovation at the end. What a show. #PlayStationTheConcert — Kenneth Fox (@kennyboyfox92) April 19, 2025 Video game concerts in general are becoming more popular with the likes of Sonic Symphony, Final Fantasy's New World and Video Games Live gathering fans from far and wide. Sadly, many of these tours do not grace our shores and are centred around North America. Thankfully, the likes of the PlayStation Concert, coming here hopefully, means more concerts will be headed our way. Entertainment The Last of Us thrills viewers with an episode for... Read More It is clear video games are a hot property at the moment, and studios realise it is better to give the adaptation the care it deserves as opposed to a cheap cash-in. It is clear video games are a hot property at the moment, and studios realise it is better to give the adaptation the care it deserves as opposed to a cheap cash-in. In truth, that is the real story of video games being translated to movies and TV. Executives saw the money they could make from these successful franchises without thinking about how to make a faithful version of it. As they slowly started to learn this lesson, we have thankfully seen brilliant adaptations that not only expand on the game's original stories but have garnered millions of new fans who are more likely to play the next game and watch the next show.
Time Out
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
‘The Last of Us' season 2 soundtrack: the full tracklist for the post-apocalyptic series
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal are back in action, taking down fungal zombies and going through an emotional rollercoaster in The Last of Us season 2. Based on the acclaimed Naughty Dog game The Last of Us Part II, the series raises the stakes after a five-year jump. Ellie (Ramsey) is growing up amidst a new society of survivors while her father-figure Joel (Pascal) confronts the actions of his violent past. To make matters worse, the zombies are smarter, and the humans are more divided this time. The soundtrack complements the rustic dystopia of the series, accompanied by some Easter Eggs that will delight fans of the source material. As was the case with the games and the first season, Argentine maestro Gustavo Santaolalla returns to score the series along with co-composer David Fleming. Eagle-eyed viewers will also be able to spot Santaolalla strumming a guitar in episode 1's New Year's Eve dance. Going by its source material, this season is bound to be more musical as Ellie picks up the guitar to escape from her existential dread. With Joel also tinkering with the six-stringer in episode 1, there are hints of more acoustic melancholia to follow. How The Last of Us season 2 soundtrack has Easter Eggs for the game fans So far, the soundtrack features needle drops by Seattle grunge legends Nirvana and folk-country outfit Crooked Still (who perform in the episode 1 party as Brittany and the Jug Boys). In fact, the Crooked Still tracks also featured in the gameplay trailer of The Last of Us Part II, and later in the actual game. But the emotional high point of The Last of Us season 2 soundtrack was a cover of Shawn James's Through the Valley (also the title of the second episode). In the game, Ellie can be seen hearing the song before she actually plays it in the later parts of the game. Ellie's voice actor Ashley Johnson delivers a haunting spin on the folk number with a cover that also makes its way in episode 2. Yes, it's the very song that plays over 'that shocking character death'. What's on The Last of Us season 2 soundtrack? Episode 1 The Last of Us Main Theme – Gustavo Santaolalla Love Buzz – Nirvana Little Sadie – Crooked Still Ecstasy – Crooked Still Longing – Gustavo Santaolalla Episode 2 Episode 3 Where can I watch The Last of Us season 2? The seven-episode season airs weekly on HBO and Max for US audiences, and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK. Viewers can gear up for new episodes at 9pm ET/PT on Sundays in the US and 2am on Mondays in the UK.
