Soundtrack of our lives

With multiple Oscar wins and awards under his belt, WSA guest of honour Alexandre Desplat has become one of the most celebrated, and prolifi c, modern composers. Dan Jolin reports

Alexandre Desplat

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here can be few Hollywood composers who have worked harder this century than Alexandre Desplat. He has chalked up more than 160 scoring credits since the turn of the millennium, earning 11 Oscar nominations with wins for Th e Grand Budapest Hotel and Th e Shape Of Water. In a single year, he has been known to turn out as many as 10 scores. He is an artist who, it appears, is impossible to spread too thin.

His achievements were apparent to the World Soundtrack Awards from early on, with Desplat given his fi rst of fi ve composer of the year prizes back in 2007 for Stephen Frears’ Th e Queen (a production Desplat joined at the last minute, having been parachuted in to replace its original composer). “I have been very lucky so far with the WSA,” he says, speaking from Spain, where he is working on George Clooney’s latest movie Th e Midnight Sky. “Th ey’ve been very kind to me.”

Th is year, as well as being a guest of honour for the WSA’s 20th anniversary edition, Desplat is nominated as composer of the year once more, for his work on three fi lms: Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, Roman Polanski’s An Offi cer And A Spy (J’Accuse) and CostaGavras’s Adults In Th e Room. Th ree fi lms that almost encapsulate Desplat himself. “You are right,” he says. “I hadn’t thought about it, but they capture who I am — half-French, half-Greek, with parents who gave me the values of America and the desire of becoming a Hollywood composer.” Desplat’s Greek mother and French father met at the University of Cal-

Spain, where he is working on George Clooney’s latest movie Th e Midnight Sky. “Th ey’ve been very kind to me.”

Th is year, as well as being a guest of honour for the WSA’s 20th anniversary edition, Desplat is nominated as composer of the year once more, for his work on three fi lms: Greta Gerwig’s Little , Roman Polan-

An Offi cer And A

J’Accuse) and Costa- ifornia and were married in San Adults In Francisco, before returning to Paris . Th ree where their son was born in 1961. fi lms that almost Desplat grew up on a staple diet encapsulate of US cinema, playing piano from Desplat himself. the age of fi ve, then trumpet, then “You are right,” fl ute. Th e urge to focus his talents he says. “I hadn’t on cinema grew, he says, through

thought about it, but they capture who I am — half-French, half-Greek, with parents who gave me the values of America and the desire of becoming a Hollywood composer.” Desplat’s Greek mother and French father met at the University of Cal-

An Offi cer And A Spy

(Left) Saoirse Ronan in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women Alexandre Desplat during sessions for Little Women

David Giesbrecht “a subconscious number of layers that built during my early years”. He cites as core inspirations listening to Mozart as a boy, watching Herbert von Karajan conducting on TV and seeing soprano Maria Callas perform with an orchestra. He also describes being overawed by the “incredible big scores” for Spartacus, Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence Of Arabia.

“All these layers come together and you realise that’s what excites you,” he says. “Th e sound of the orchestra. Th e movements and the silhouette of the conductor. Th e blasting sound of the brass. Th e soft and tender sound of the strings. Th e distant sound of the fl ute. As well as the fact that when you watch movies, their music is always diff erent. It could be jazz, it could be a full orchestra. I like that versatility.”

‘American directors enjoy working with me because I have one foot in Europe and one in America’

Alexandre Desplat

Different beats

Desplat moves from US movies to European fi lms, from intimate dramas to blockbusters, rarely pulling from the same bag of tricks more than once. “I think if I were giving a masterclass to a bunch of students, it would be fun to play one piece each from Little Women, J’Accuse and Adults In Th e Room and ask them who is the composer,” he laughs. “Th ey’re so diff erent. Th at’s what’s so fantastic about fi lm composing.”

Aft er grabbing the attention of US fi lmmakers with the waltzes of 2003’s Th e Girl With Th e Pearl Earring, Desplat was treated in Hollywood like a hot new talent. However, by this point he had already worked on around 50 fi lms in Europe. “I suppose that’s why American directors enjoy working with me, because they can see I have one foot in Europe and one foot in America,” he says.