SOUND BITES:
An EXCLUSIVE Q&A
with director
JON FAVREAU
By Stephen SPAZ Schnee
A great movie will leave a distinct
impression in the viewer’s mind. It
remains etched in their brain like a tattoo that never fades. The visuals, the dialog, and the story become
a part of their lives. They memorize and
recite each line as if they were written by Shakespeare. They laugh at scenes they’ve seen thousands
of times before and cower at others. The movie stays with them long after the
credits have stopped rolling. They
revisit the theater to experience it again.
Eventually, they embrace it many more times in the comfort of their own
homes when it arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Though we all can enjoy the same film in equal measures, it is an
experience that affects each individual in very different ways. The same can be said of music – the emotional
impact cannot be underestimated. This is why movie soundtracks can be so
crucial to the film that is playing up on the screen. Whether it is an
orchestral score - by anyone from Elmer
Bernstein to John Williams - or
a classic Pop song, the images and the melodies combined make a visit to the
theater the ultimate experience.
There are many film directors who
understand that the music played behind the dialog or on top of the action on
screen has to be perfect. For example,
director Steven Spielberg trusts
composer John Williams implicitly and that working relationship has never hit a
bad note (pun intended). But what
happens when a director chooses existing music to enhance the visuals on
screen? Many have done a great job, but it
takes someone who really understands the emotional link between movies and
music to make it a truly successful blending of sight and sound. Quentin
Tarantino immediately comes to mind.
However, film-maker Jon Favreau
is right there with him at the top of the list.
As a director, screenwriter and actor, Favreau has become one of
Hollywood’s favorite renaissance men.
He’s made some astounding films that incorporate great music to go along
with the visuals including Swingers, Made, Elf, Iron Man, Iron Man 2 (which
featured music by AC/DC!) and his
most current film, Chef. Though Chef was an independent film, it has
received unanimous praise across the board from critics and fans alike and is
proof positive that Favreau can create magnificent work without the big budget
provided by a major studio. And again, he has thrown together a diverse soundtrack
that is every bit as enjoyable as the movie itself. With tracks performed by Pete Rodriguez, Liquid Liquid, The Martinis, Perico Hernandez, Gary
Clark Jr., Lyle Workman and many others, the Chef soundtrack stands as a great collection on its own. If you haven’t seen the movie, you can still
enjoy the soundtrack wholeheartedly. But
you’re still going to want to see the movie - it’s a Jon Favreau film. ‘Nuff
said.
Stephen
SPAZ Schnee was able to send off a batch of questions to Jon, who was
gracious enough to answer questions about the soundtrack to Chef and more…
STEPHEN SPAZ SCHNEE:
Your new film, Chef, has been
receiving great reviews and now the soundtrack seems to be garnering similar
praise. How are you feeling about this
project and the reaction you’ve had to it so far?
JON FAVREAU: I’m
very proud of the film. When you choose
to make a film through the independent route, you don’t know if it will ever
find its audience. I’m very grateful
that this one has.
SPAZ: The music
plays a pivotal role in the film. Prior
to filming, had you already decided what songs you wanted to use? Or did they work their way into the movie
after the filming?
JON: I had an
idea for some of the titles but I went through hundreds of titles with Mathieu Schreyer that we winnowed down
to the soundtrack as it now exists.
SPAZ: For Chef, is there a key song that inspired
the others? Did you choose one and then move forward in a certain direction
because of it? Or did they all come together naturally and totally unrelated?
JON: I was
listening to a lot of Cuban music as I wrote it, but all of those cues evolved
over time. The earliest cue that I remember
choosing during the writing process was “Bang Bang” by Joe Cuba.
SPAZ: Music,
food and film are three of the top things that many people find the most
comfort in. Did you bring all three
together for that purpose? Or perhaps a happy (and comforting) accident?
JON: I found
that music and food complimented each other cinematically. Since you can’t taste the food, the music
helped to fill in the sensory experience. Music and food both reflect their specific culture;
they both include ingredients and can be deconstructed and recombined to make a
creative statement.
SPAZ: How
closely did you work with music supervisor Mathieu
Schreyer on the Chef soundtrack? As
a director/writer/actor, did you sometimes defer to Mathieu’s suggestions if
you were on the fence about a certain track?
JON: This was
Mathieu’s first film, but he has great musical tastes from being a DJ. He brought a fresh perspective to the
process. It took some time for him to
get used to the experience that a music supervisor and director go through, but
he worked very hard and offered up a lot of creative and inspired choices that
we together evaluated. We ended up with
a soundtrack that we’re both very proud of and reflects the intersection of
both our tastes.
SPAZ: Often times,
a movie soundtrack just seems to be thrown together for cross-promotion
purposes by the record label and movie studio, but your films have never felt
that way. How important are the song
choices to Jon Favreau?
JON: Music has
always been a big part of the creative process for me. Swingers was the first time I
assembled a soundtrack and it reflected the swing music movement of Los Angeles
in the ‘90s. Each soundtrack has its own
personality. Putting together the soundtrack
is one of my favorite parts of the process of filmmaking. I feel like a DJ.
SPAZ: The flow
of this soundtrack is outstanding. Isn’t
this the same order that the songs appear in the film? That, in itself, is a new concept that most
companies don’t take into consideration when putting soundtracks together.
Don’t you think that it can be an anti-climactic listening experience to hear
the ending theme as the first track on the soundtrack?
JON: Mathieu and
I wanted the album to give you the feeling that you got when you watched the
movie. Featuring the songs in
chronological order seemed like the right thing to do for both of us.
SPAZ: When you are filming a scene for a movie, do
you already have an idea of what song you will be using and you pace the scene
based on that song? Or does that happen
in the editing room?
JON: I usually
have something in mind and will often play music on the set for a sequence that
has a musical aspect to it. More often
than not, we end up swapping out songs for different choices as we explore the music
in the editing process.
SPAZ: Has there
ever been a time that you wanted a particular track for one of your films but
couldn’t license it so you had to replace it with something else that would fit
the scene? (“Oh, we can’t get A Flock Of
Seagulls? Well, OK, I guess we’ll go
with Martha & The Vandellas
then!”)
JON: Other than
the soundtrack for Swingers which I had hoped would feature a lot of Sinatra, which was too expensive, I
have been pretty effective in getting all of my first choices. It often requires moving money around in the
budget and reaching out to people to give permission with persistence, but it usually
can be done.
SPAZ: Before you
entered the world of film-making, how important was music to you
personally? Which artists did you find
inspiring?
JON: My musical
tastes have shifted throughout my life as I discover new things. I always liked music but never enough to
actually learn how to play an instrument.
SPAZ: Do you
remember the moment when you realized that the music was a key component to the
movie you were watching on screen?
JON: Music
usually disappears for me as an audience member and I’m drawn into the
storytelling. I do however enjoy when a soundtrack
stands out to me. But that isn’t often
the case. Filmmakers like Scorsese and Tarantino have a particular knack for creating soundtracks that
stay with you.
SPAZ: Do you
have any favorite film composers?
JON: There are
so many talented composers around today that it’s hard to make a
shortlist.
SPAZ: In regards
to using pre-existing or newly penned ‘songs’ in a film, are there any
particularly powerful ones that you feel ‘worked’ better than others in some of
the films you’ve seen over the years?
JON: There was a
trend in the ‘90s whereby a film would feature a new Pop song in order to
market the film and the soundtrack through a music video. That process doesn’t always land you with the
best soundtrack.
SPAZ: Being a
film-maker and having to deal with the business side of things, has that
changed your view of music? Are you
still able to listen to things and separate business with pleasure and not
think “Oh, this might work well for this scene in this movie…?”
JON: I can
usually separate things but every once in awhile, I’ll be listening to music
and it will spark an idea in the movie.
I remember coming up with the opening sequence for Iron Man 2 while watching
an AC/DC concert.
SPAZ: A great
film has the same power as a great song – it stays with you long after the
first time you experienced it. Does it
feel good to know that your work has connected with so many people?
JON: It’s the
best part of the job.
SPAZ: You do so
much great work in front of and behind the camera. You’ve become somewhat of a
renaissance man. Can we expect a Jon Favreau solo album any time soon?
JON: Unfortunately,
music is not one of my skills.
SPAZ: What’s
next for Jon Favreau?
JON: I’m directing
Jungle
Book for Disney.
SPAZ: What are
you currently spinning on your CD and record players?
JON: The Chef soundtrack.
Thanks
to Jon Favreau
Special
thanks to Karen Gilchrist, Melissa Cohen, Joe Bucklew, and Dave Garbarino
CHEF
(Original Soundtrack)
CD
CHEF
(Original Soundtrack)
LP
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