How do you put music to child sexual abuse — especially if the accused predators are musical icons?
That’s the challenge composers Chad Hobson and Nathan Matthew David faced as they scored HBO’s “Leaving Neverland” and Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly,” respectively. The documentaries are built around interviews with the alleged victims of Michael Jackson and Kelly (more than a dozen women who contend that Kelly seduced them while still teenagers).
London-based Hobson and Los Angeles-based David took very different approaches, yet in interviews with Variety stressed that they took pains to avoid sensationalizing or overly dramatizing the stories. “Neverland” featured acoustic musicians while “Kelly” was a studio production using synths and samples.
“The scoring approach to ‘Leaving Neverland’ was to imagine a walk through a beautiful and magical forest,” says Hobson. “But as you travel deeper into the forest it becomes darker, more distorted, the limbs of the...
That’s the challenge composers Chad Hobson and Nathan Matthew David faced as they scored HBO’s “Leaving Neverland” and Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly,” respectively. The documentaries are built around interviews with the alleged victims of Michael Jackson and Kelly (more than a dozen women who contend that Kelly seduced them while still teenagers).
London-based Hobson and Los Angeles-based David took very different approaches, yet in interviews with Variety stressed that they took pains to avoid sensationalizing or overly dramatizing the stories. “Neverland” featured acoustic musicians while “Kelly” was a studio production using synths and samples.
“The scoring approach to ‘Leaving Neverland’ was to imagine a walk through a beautiful and magical forest,” says Hobson. “But as you travel deeper into the forest it becomes darker, more distorted, the limbs of the...
- 3/19/2019
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
This chilling documentary chronicles the struggles between Saudi Arabian security forces and terrorist cells of smiling young men with Kalashnikovs
Writer-director Jonathan Hacker’s documentary offers a chilling historical document, chronicling a closed but not entirely concluded chapter in the sprawling history of 21st-century terrorism. Drawing on the skills of several editors, Hacker and co weave together footage shot by both the Saudi Arabian security forces and several interrelated Al-Qaida cells who in the early 2000s pursued a campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations in and around Riyadh.
At times, an explanatory voiceover narration from that omnipresent British baritone of authority, Samuel West, (supplemented by interjections spoken by Tom Hollander representing the “voice of Jihad”) provides terse explanations. But otherwise there’s little to no editorialising to guide viewers’ reactions, unless you’re counting the ordering of the material or Chad Hobson’s delicate, haunting musical score.
Writer-director Jonathan Hacker’s documentary offers a chilling historical document, chronicling a closed but not entirely concluded chapter in the sprawling history of 21st-century terrorism. Drawing on the skills of several editors, Hacker and co weave together footage shot by both the Saudi Arabian security forces and several interrelated Al-Qaida cells who in the early 2000s pursued a campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations in and around Riyadh.
At times, an explanatory voiceover narration from that omnipresent British baritone of authority, Samuel West, (supplemented by interjections spoken by Tom Hollander representing the “voice of Jihad”) provides terse explanations. But otherwise there’s little to no editorialising to guide viewers’ reactions, unless you’re counting the ordering of the material or Chad Hobson’s delicate, haunting musical score.
- 7/11/2018
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
Is this exploitation, or needed documentation of a modern horror that's become all too frequent? It's a Terrorist assault on a restaurant, mall and supermarket complex packed with afternoon shoppers, many of them women and children. The camera coverage includes dozens of surveillance recordings plus cell phone snaps and images taken by a photojournalist who accompanied brave plainclothes police into the killing ground. Meanwhile, dozens of government troops stood by, as the shots rang out from inside. Terror At the Mall DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection / HBO Documentary Films 2014 / Color 1:33 flat full frame / 59 min. Street Date April 28, 2015 available through the WBshop / 19.98 Cinematography Mrinal Desai Film Editor Mark Towns Location Fixer Tom Odula Original Music Chad Hobson Produced and Directed by Dan Reed
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Reality programming has transformed the culture. TV dramas have been supplanted with cheap crime exposés, and professional variety shows have been replaced by interactive amateur talent searches.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Reality programming has transformed the culture. TV dramas have been supplanted with cheap crime exposés, and professional variety shows have been replaced by interactive amateur talent searches.
- 11/21/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
[Press Release] (November 11, 2013– Los Angeles, CA) – Metropolis Movie Music is proud to announce the release of the Dom Hemingway Original Motion Picture Soundtrack with original score by composer Rolfe Kent (Labor Day, Sideways). The album, which will be released on November 11th, also features tracks by Chad Hobson, Citizen Cope, and the film’s Emilia Clarke. “I have worked on at least 6 films with Richard [Shepard, director], and each one takes a completely different approach,” said Kent. “I was blown away by Dom Hemingway the first time I saw it. It has all this vintage machismo energy, yet is so human, so deeply touching. The music had to keep up with these whirlwind performances, and bring out the excitement in a new way.” Dom Hemingway stars Jude Law as a larger-than-life...
- 11/13/2013
- by Pietro Filipponi
- The Daily BLAM!
Jude Law’s turn in “Don Hemingway” certainly got the attention of Playlist writer Kevin Jagernauth when he reviewed the film at Tiff this year. The story of a corrupt man (Law) being released from prison is a “brazenly R-rated and devilish” picture as recounted in our original review. The U.S. release isn’t until April, but the movie is hitting theaters in the U.K. next week, which means a new clip from the film has arrived along with full soundtrack details. Featuring an original score by Rolfe Kent (“Election”), the disc will also include tracks by Citizen Cope, Chad Hobson, and “Games of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke, who plays Dom's estranged daughter Evelyn in the film. Speaking of Daenerys Targaryen, a clip of Clarke’s vocal work in the film has been released and shows off her beautiful set of pipes, as she performs a cover of The Waterboys’ “Fisherman’s Blues,...
- 11/8/2013
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Playlist
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.