Latest news with #LondonSoundtrackFestival
Forbes
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Gordy Haab: 'Soundtrack Festivals Are A Chance For People To Step Into A World Previously Held By The Classical Elite'
Gordy Haab photographed at the LSF Games Day as part of the London Soundtrack Festival on Sunday 23 ... More March 2025 at The Roundhouse, . . Photo by Tina Korhonen / Juile Edwards / London Soundtrack Festival © 2025 Gordy Haab is sitting at a desk in his dimly lit Los Angeles-based studio. Behind him, a picture of an Imperial Star Destroyer from Star Wars looms. It's a symbol of inspiration for him, having grown up with George Lucas's influential space opera. But the image also represents the weight of expectation the 49-year-old composer feels; after all, he's built a career writing music for video games based on film franchises like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, both of which feature iconic soundtracks composed by his musical hero, John Williams. 'So many people love the music from those original films. I have to deliver something with the same level of quality [as those movies when writing for the games] or I'll upset billions of fans' Haab says frankly, adding that stepping into the shoes of Williams - who also worked on films like Jaws and Jurassic Park - is a daunting prospect.'One might think it'd get easier, but it never does. It's still just as overwhelming now as it was on the first project I worked on' he explains. That debut project was 2009's Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, an adventure game that saw Indy flying across the globe to scupper the Nazi's nefarious plans. Riddled with anxiety and concerned the pressure of reinventing a score made famous by his idol would hamper his own creativity, Haab needed to find a mindset to alleviate the pressure. 'John's music inspired me to become a composer in the first place. I just had to remind myself that writing music like that is natural to me because it's what I love' he says. Composer John Williams is one of Haab's musical heroes. It'd be easy to just make a pastiche to John Williams on the franchises he's worked on, Haab ponders, but instead he explains that borrowing elements of his music and adding a unique spin to it has worked best. 'As a fan of those franchises myself, I imagined listening to the scores of these games and if I just heard a John Williams soundalike, I'd be disappointed' he says. Haab's commitment to retaining his own style has worked as he's gone on to write music for myriad games in the 16 years since, from the likes of Halo Wars 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to 2024's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The latter celebrated the world premiere of its live rendition at last Sunday's inaugural London Soundtrack Festival, where it closed the show dedicated to gaming music to rapturous applause. The festival may have been a first for England's capital city, but it's emblematic of a wider trend occurring across the country. Orchestral concerts featuring soundtracks from either films, television shows or video games make up more than 50% of all gigs in the UK since 2018, according to a 2024 report by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Audiences at orchestral concerts are more diverse, according to Haab. Photo by Tina Korhonen / Juile ... More Edwards / London Soundtrack Festival © 2025 Haab isn't surprised by those statistics. 'There's so much artistry and craftsmanship going into music in games' he says. 'Soundtrack festivals are a unique chance for people to step into a world that used to be held explicitly by the classical elite' Haab continues, adding that audiences at orchestral concerts are now more diverse, featuring not just those interested in classical music, but more generalised fans of things like Star Wars and horror movies. The composer believes that the rise is also caused by the deep connection people form with video games. 'People invest so much time into games. Some of these experiences are 50 hours long and that's quite a commitment; it becomes a part of your life. Going to a concert and hearing music from the game brings back all of the fun you had playing it' he says.
The Independent
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
David Cronenberg suggests The Brutalist AI controversy was a ‘Harvey Weinstein kind of' smear campaign
David Cronenberg has suggested that the controversy over the use of AI in The Brutalist was a smear campaign orchestrated by another Oscar nominated film. In January, social media backlash erupted after editor Dávid Jancsó revealed AI tools were used in the epic film's production. Jancsó said that Respeecher voice cloning software had been used to make Hungarian dialogue spoken by Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones sound more authentic. At the time the film's director Brady Corbet spoke out to defend the film and the actors, saying: 'Adrien and Felicity's performances are completely their own.' Brody ultimately won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance, although the film missed out in the Best Picture category. Speaking at the London Soundtrack Festival, per The Hollywood Reporter, Cronenberg said: 'I must confess, there was a scandal [with] The Brutalist. 'There was a discussion about Adrien Brody… but apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent. I think it was a campaign against The Brutalist by some other Oscar nominees. It's very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn't around.' The Canadian director of The Fly and Crash continued: 'We mess with actors' voices all the time.' Referring to his 1993 film M. Butterfly, Cronenberg said: 'In the case of John (Lone), when he was being this character, this singer, I raised the pitch of his voice [to sound more feminine] and when he's revealed as a man, I lowered to his natural voice. This is just a part of moviemaking.' In his statement defending The Brutalist at the time the controversy first emerged, the film's director Corbet said: 'Adrien and Felicity's performances are completely their own. They worked for months with dialect coach Tanera Marshall to perfect their accents. 'Innovative Respeecher technology was used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy. No English language was changed. This was a manual process, done by our sound team and Respeecher in post-production. The aim was to preserve the authenticity of Adrien and Felicity's performances in another language, not to replace or alter them and done with the utmost respect for the craft.' Corbet concluded his statement by saying: ' The Brutalist is a film about human complexity, and every aspect of its creation was driven by human effort, creativity and collaboration. We are incredibly proud of our team and what they've accomplished here.'
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
David Cronenberg says the controversy over AI in ‘The Brutalist' was a ‘campaign against' it
The 2024 Oscar season has been over for more than a month, but director David Cronenberg is still just a little upset about how The Brutalist was treated. The movie, which earned 10 Oscar nominations and won three, was embroiled in a minor controversy in the weeks leading up to its release because it had used artificial intelligence to improve the accent of its lead actor, Adrien Brody, who is playing a Hungarian architect. In a recent talk with composer Howard Shore at the London Soundtrack Festival, Cronenberg talked about that controversy, suggesting that it was an intentional smear campaign against the movie. 'I must confess, there was a scandal [with] The Brutalist,' the Crash director said. 'There was a discussion about Adrien Brody… but apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent. I think it was a campaign against The Brutalist by some other Oscar nominees. It's very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn't around.' 'We mess with actors' voices all the time,' Cronenberg continued, referencing his film M. Butterfly, which was released in 1993. 'In the case of John (Lone), when he was being this character, this singer, I raised the pitch of his voice [to sound more feminine] and when he's revealed as a man, I lowered to his natural voice. This is just a part of moviemaking.' Harvey Weinstein was famous for orchestrating rather harsh campaigns against films that were competing against those he produced. We may not know how the AI stories about The Brutalist began circulating for years to come, but given the movie's success at the Oscars, it seems to have had a limited impact.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
David Cronenberg Thinks ‘The Brutalist's AI Controversy Was A Smear Campaign: 'Just A Part Of Moviemaking'
Following controversy around The Brutalist's usage of AI, David Cronenberg is coming to the Best Picture Oscar nominee's defense. During a conversation with longtime collaborator Howard Shore at the London Soundtrack Festival, the director theorized there was a 'campaign against' the Brady Corbet-helmed film, noting that AI is used 'all the time' in filmmaking. More from Deadline 'The Brutalist' Editor Says Filmmakers Used AI Tools To Enhance Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones' Hungarian Dialogue 'The Brutalist' Director Brady Corbet Says Use Of AI In Post Was For 'Hungarian Language Dialogue Editing Only;' Filmmaker Asserts Adrien Brody & Felicity Jones' 'Performances Are Completely Their Own' Nvidia CEO Chats Up Star Wars-Inspired Droid As Chip Maker Partners With Disney, Google And Lays Out The AI Revolution 'I must confess, there was a scandal [with] The Brutalist,' said Cronenberg, according to multiple outlets. 'There was a discussion about Adrien Brody… but apparently they used artificial intelligence to improve his accent. I think it was a campaign against The Brutalist by some other Oscar nominees. It's very much a Harvey Weinstein kind of thing, though he wasn't around.' Cronenberg explained that directors 'mess with actors' voices all the time,' citing John Lone's performance in his 1993 film M. Butterfly. 'When he was being this character, this singer, I raised the pitch of his voice and when he's revealed as a man, I lowered to his natural voice,' he said. 'This is just a part of moviemaking.' The Brutalist editor Dávid Jancsó previously revealed that AI tools from Ukrainian company Respeecher were used in the film to enhance actors' Hungarian dialogue. As a native Hungarian speaker, he noted that the dialect is 'one of the most difficult languages to learn to pronounce.' 'It is controversial in the industry to talk about AI, but it shouldn't be,' Jancsó told Red Shark News. 'We should be having a very open discussion about what tools AI can provide us with. There's nothing in the film using AI that hasn't been done before. It just makes the process a lot faster. We use AI to create these tiny little details that we didn't have the money or the time to shoot.' Corbet later said in a response shared with Deadline: 'Adrien and Felicity's performances are completely their own. They worked for months with dialect coach Tanera Marshall to perfect their accents. Innovative Respeecher technology was used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy. No English language was changed. This was a manual process, done by our sound team and Respeecher in post-production. The aim was to preserve the authenticity of Adrien and Felicity's performances in another language, not to replace or alter them and done with the utmost respect for the craft.' Best of Deadline How To Watch 'Wicked: Part One': Is The Film Streaming Yet? All The Songs In 'Severance' Season 2: From The Who To Ella Fitzgerald 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
