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Stories   >   Daniel Pemberton on capturing the Golden Age sweep of Being the Ricardos / The Spool

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Daniel Pemberton on capturing the Golden Age sweep of Being the Ricardos / The Spool

Posted: January 14, 2022 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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Welcome to Right on Cue, the podcast where we interview film, TV, and video game composers about the origins and nuances of their latest works.

The Spool's Clint Worthington writes…..When one thinks of most modern film scoring, we’re in an interesting realm of experimentation and innovation — one less defined by the traditional symphonic orchestras of John Williams and James Horner and more by the electronic and textured influences of Hans Zimmer and his coterie. Normally, Oscar-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton (Best Original Song, The Trial of the Chicago 7) operates in the latter realm, thinking outside the box on scores ranging from Ridley Scott’s The Counselor to Into the Spider-Verse and beyond.

But for Being the Ricardos, his fourth collaboration with acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (third with Sorkin as director), Pemberton goes back to basics for a much more classical score than we’re used to hearing from him. Following a particularly tumultuous week in the life and career of Lucille Ball (played by Nicole Kidman), Being the Ricardos sees the I Love Lucy star navigating a series of controversies, from a particularly stubborn comedy bit on her hit sitcom to the tensions between her and husband/co-star Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) to media rumors that she’s a registered member of the Communist Party.

Daniel Pemberton is an Ivor Novello winning and multi-BAFTA nominated composer well known for embracing a wide range of musical mediums – from electronic to orchestral – throughout his work. After more than a decade establishing himself as one of the most inventive and experimental voices in British television – scoring countless Emmy and BAFTA award winning dramas and documentaries such as Complicit, Peep Show, Upstairs Downstairs, Desperate Romantics, Space Dive, Occupation and Hiroshima – Pemberton moved into the world of film with the period supernatural thriller The Awakening (2011). His hybrid choral, orchestral and electronic score caught the ear of Ridley Scott who, heavily impressed with the standout work and what he called the composer's ‘10,000 hours in the garage' hired the composer to score his feature The Counselor (2013). He collaborated again with Scott on the director's first foray into television – The Vatican (2014). This work, alongside scores to other features such as Blood (2012), In Fear(2013) and Cuban Fury (2014), led him to be named ‘Discovery Of The Year' at the prestigious World Soundtrack Awards 2014.

Already this year has seen the release of Pemberton's acclaimed soundtrack to Guy Ritchie's The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015). Featuring a kaleidoscope of unusual instruments – including cimbaloms, harpsichords, bass flutes and exotic percussion – the bold 1960's influenced music caught the attention of cinema goers and critics alike and has established him as one of the most versatile and exciting voices working in film today. Now collaborating with yet another legendary director – Academy Award winner Danny Boyle – Pemberton continues to approach the world of scoring from a new angle, creating another unique and unexpectedly inventive soundtrack with his latest work – Steve Jobs (2015). 

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