[SPOILER ALERT]

MRH: That’s what I really liked about the film is that it really drew from different genres and styles. One filmmaker that always comes to mind is British filmmaker Peter Watkins whose historical, political, and social documentaries involved an off-screen camera crew interviewing an historical figure, regardless of the time period or setting. Watkins added flashbacks as well as superficially mundane moments of character interactions like family dinners, and the drama came from these moments, often without little or any score.

I gather it must have been just as tough for you because Blomkamp interlaced so many genres and film techniques in the film.

CS: Absolutely. For instance, one of the trickiest themes is when Wikus escapes the operating table.

When he’s running, I had originally scored that the way I would naturally score something – with breaks, and when he slows down I would slow the music down.

It just wasn’t working for Neill at all… I managed to sneak in a few little breaks, like when he makes the phone call, but other than that, Neill just wanted a hard driving style, [that continues] when it cuts to interviews with Wikus’ friends.

It’s definitely tricky… There haven’t been many films that had gone from documentary style to completely dramatic and cinematic… Once I got to exactly what he wanted, it was A) a huge relief, and B) it was just great, because I knew exactly what we’re going for, and I could look at scenes differently.

[END OF SPOILER ALERT]

MRH: And will there be a soundtrack album?

CS: Yes. You can pre-order it now on Amazom.com, and you can pre-order it on iTunes as well.

MRH: And lastly, one of the filmmakers you’ve worked with almost regularly for the last couple of years is Carl Bessai, and I guess you’re scoring his latest film, Cole (2009)?

CS: Yeah.

MRH: What aspects of Bessai’s films do you find interesting, because he deals with wholly different kinds of subjects compared to District 9 and some of your TV work?

CS: His films are character studies and stories about people, and less about the environment around them… Cole is just about a guy in a small town who wants to get out of there and wants to be a writer, but for various reasons he has a hard time leaving, and is given a hard time for trying to leave – a little bit by his friends, but mostly from his family.

There’s not a whole lot of score in that film – I think there’s only about eight minutes. There’s a few emotional moments that I was asked to score, but I tried to keep that stuff as dry as possible, and add more help towards transitions. A big key moment at the end is a four-and-a-half or five minute large cue where the story really comes to a head.

It’s going to be at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and will be playing on a Tuesday in early September… [Carl is] a truly passionate Canadian filmmaker; he’s really about Canadian stories and maintaining the craft. I have tonnes of respect for Carl.