The Hunger Games Theoretical Movie Soundtrack
Now let me make one thing clear before you read any further: This impetus for this article is a combination of how the story of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins pulled me in with its narrative, combined with reading about the casting for the upcoming movie version. Ultimately, this article is a notion of pure and utter speculation, told from the opinion and point of view of a film soundtrack aficionado. That said...
The thing which struck me immediately while reading The Hunger Games was how perfect a canvas it could be for a select group of musicians to create a soundtrack for. Without giving too much away to those who haven't read the book, it's the combination of the dystopian vision of a future, former-North America, renamed the country of Panem, where groups of teenagers are thrown into an annual gladiatorial games/compulsory Reality TV program called The Hunger Games, and the varying cultures and locales of Panem's outlying Districts which make this such an exciting film scoring opportunity.
Almost immediately upon beginning the book, the artist which initially sprang to mind for the soundtrack was Tangerine Dream. The brainchild of Edgar Froese, Tangerine Dream has created some incredible film soundtracks, from Thief to Legend and Wavelength. But one needs only to seek out their music for the practically-unseen film Miracle Mile to hear why the legendary pioneers of electronic music are suited to bring the sounds of Panem and its subjugated Districts to audible life. The opening track "Teetering Scales" was playing in my mind in several places while reading the book, especially during sequences in the arena.
Tangerine Dream's nearly four-and-a-half decades of music ranges from the ambient to the orchestral, making them an ideal choice for the soundtrack. Its the tone of their music for Miracle Mile's story of a chance encounter between a man and a woman, set against the back drop of an incoming nuclear attack on Los Angeles that reminded me of the stark realities of life in Panem, as does in similar fashion the music of the next artist to come to mind for The Hunger Games.
Upon further reading and reflection, the idea of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composing the music for The Hunger Games began to invade my my mind. Fresh off their Academy Award winning soundtrack for The Social Network and a leak just this weekend of some of their highly anticipated work on the forthcoming The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, it seems as if The Hunger Games could even fit into their production schedule. It is also not a stretch to draw comparisons of The Hunger Games to the nature and story line of Reznor's Nine Inch Nails concept album, Year Zero. Released in 2007, Year Zero starts out based on real world events, but then mutates and expands them into a near-future dystopian world, racked by nuclear war and other horrific events. Released a year after this album, The Hunger Games leaves much of its post-America back story untold (or to the imagination of the reader) but having knowledge of both works now makes it hard not to fantasize at the creative possibilities. Reznor's inimitable style and ability to unleash not only cacophonous mechanical aggression, but also gentle, humanistic sounds via his music, seems the perfect fit for The Hunger Games soundtrack.
Listen before it gets pulled down, to Trent Reznor and Karen O reinterpret Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo!
Running even further into flights of fantasy soundtrack creation, Daft Punk would also be on my shortlist to score The Hunger Games. Much like Tangerine Dream, who are electronic artists by trade but no strangers nor less capable of wielding analog instruments, Daft Punk stepped into the soundtrack scene just last year with their incredible music for Tron Legacy, which featured its own unique set of gladiator games. The thought of letting Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter compose simple, string-based themes for the districts, shifting to electronica in the techno-futurist Capitol and then letting them run wild with sequences in the Arena, makes this Daft Punk fan salivate like a... (wait, almost gave away a Games plot point with that intended analogy!)
Seriously, Hunger Games fans, can you not just imagine something like this blasting from the silver screen when the 74th Games begin?
There is very little mention or description of music in The Hunger Games, apart from the ritualistic playing of the Capitol anthem during the games, so truly there is a blank page for the movie's soundtrack, just waiting to be written in by talented composers. No matter if it is any of these vastly capable artists, or someone in a more traditional vein of soundtrack composition, such as Bear McCreary, it will be very interesting to see who ultimately gets chosen to score this movie. Whoever ends up vying for the chance to score The Hunger Games, may the odds be ever in your favor!
So no traditional film composers could fit the bill here? I think there are a host of them that could do more than an adequate job - much better than going with the current trend of Reznor, Ross, DP, or Chemical Brothers.
ReplyDeleteA fair question. If it was in a more traditional direction, I think it would be interesting to go with someone from the game music world, such as Jesper Kyd, Inon Zur or as mentioned above, Bear McCreary. The casting is leaning heavily on un-to-barely-knowns and it could be a smart vehicle for someone like Kyd or Zur to bring their style to the big screen.
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