The erogenous zone is always shifting, and it is the business of fashion to pursue it, without ever catching it up.
That's what I love about film scoring. Every situation is new. Every show is a new adventure.
I love artists making cool music, regardless of the style. So, if a country artist making really cool music came along and asked me to work with them, I just might say yes, even though I'm not super-knowledgeable about country, like I am about hip-hop. I might do that because the idea is so interesting.
One important thing, just being a film composer in general, is to have a great respect for the art that you're working on - a great respect for the film and a great respect for the filmmakers.
For me, when I watch something without music, I'm instantly thinking, "Okay, what am I going to do here? How am I going to convey this?" I take notes and really think about that.
I try to talk as little as possible, unless I see something that I might disagree with.
I have to put myself back in the audience's shoes and figure out what they would know and not know. But, there are also times when I do know what's coming up and I maybe need to hint at it, though not in a big way. It's a little bit of both. It's an interesting tightrope to walk.
Honestly, it's really hard improvising and it's really stressful and humiliating at times. You're taking really big swings that potentially are eating up a lot of people's time and resources at set in your attempt to discover something funny.
Someone asked me if I would like to write a man on death row, be a pen pal, and I was like, sure. I volunteered. I had been in a place in my life - a relationship had ended; my parents were getting elderly - I was kind of adrift. The name that was given to me, just randomly, was Todd Willingham. And he wrote me a letter, and in this letter, he thanked me for writing him and [said that] if I would like to visit, he would put me on his visitor list. . . . I was just really struck by the letter from Todd. It was very polite; it was very kind.
The number one killer of children in Rwanda is malaria. Since the United States of America stood up and working with Rwandans, we have been able to cut those deaths by two-thirds.
I know a lot about women and their suffering, but I still know almost nothing about men.