From Captain Marvel, you moved over to DC, working on Krypton and now Stargirl. So, this DC/Marvel rivalry. Is it a little overblown on the part of fans.
I personally never felt that conflict in my world. You know, I’m just a huge DC fan. As I said, Superman was like big for me, but so was Marvel. Over the years, they’ve both become a huge part of my life, and I’m very blessed that I get to be in both Universes.
Now on to Stargirl. Is there a difference in how you approach episodic television. You mentioned needing constant change and challenges in life.
The beauty of television and especially with Stargirl, we have different characters that are introduced and different themes for each one. So it never stays static. One positive is we have a story to tell in 13 episodes rather than two hours. So musically, you can expand the arc of most of your characters and the story you want to tell through music. You also become a team, and like a well-oiled machine, once we figured out the overall sound, the engine runs smoothly.
I love working in TV, mainly because we have a great team. Stargirl is honestly one of the best experiences of my life. Everyone loved what they were doing. Geoff Johns is genuinely one of the best human beings I’ve ever met. Knowing you have someone like that at the helm, everybody else is going to be pretty happy in their roles.
“For the finale, we had a 60-piece orchestra at the Warner Brothers lot.”
So, you worked with Geoff Johns early on in development.
Yeah, throughout the entire process. We first met and talked about the songs and vibe for all the main characters, especially Courtney [Whitmore], the character who becomes Stargirl. I told him that it would be great to have an orchestra for every episode, and he made that happen and trusted what I was envisioning for the score. It’s not common to use an orchestra for television.
Yeah, especially for a brand new show in its first season.
It was fantastic. For the finale, we had a 60-piece orchestra at the Warner Brothers lot.
What were you telling them that convinced them to do this upgrade to the soundtrack?
When Geoff and I talked about the approach to the score, we thought of Back To The Future. For example, there’s a certain kind of composing that is so much better with live musicians. To be honest, everything is better with live musicians. But there are specific genres you can get away with doing it in a box.
With an orchestra, everything feels exposed. Geoff knew my music from Captain Marvel. He also knew my passion for Stargirl. It was a bit of faith on his part, and he could have made course corrections after I completed the first episode. They were liking what they were hearing and made it happen for the entire season. Just incredible.
Also fortunate, you got it all done before Hollywood went on lockdown.
Yes, yes. We were very fortunate. My God, yes!
