Mastodon Impacted by 'Jonah Hex' Delays
According to a new story from New York Magazine, among the many participants impacted by the repeatedly delayed (and troubled) production of comic adaptation Jonah Hex is acclaimed mystic metal band Mastodon, who were snagged last fall to compose original music for the film's soundtrack. The magazine talked to frontman Brent Hinds, who recounted some of the difficulties the band has been experiencing over the course of their involvement, and we've got details from that discussion below the fold...
In the article, Hinds says the band is getting more than a little frustrated at Warner Brothers' frequent rescheduling issues, which actually forced them to go back to square one with the film's score. Director Jimmy Hayward originally approached the band about working together with composer John Powell last fall, but thanks to a series of delays and reshoots, Powell had to move on to two other scoring assignments (including the Tom Cruise flick Knight and Day), so Marco Beltrami (who previously worked with Marilyn Manson on Resident Evil) was brought aboard to replace him.
“All of a sudden, there’s this new guy, who went in a different direction,” Hinds continued, explaining how Beltrami wanted a more subtle approach that didn't allow much room for the intense and eccentric Mastodon style. But by this point, the band was back on the road for another tour. The situation forced Hinds to guess at how the music would fit with the altered concept and come up with new material in a very short time frame. “I had no time to preconceive what I wanted the movie to sound like,” he lamented.
It seems like the whole experience may have soured Mastodon on the whole big-studio scoring process: “It was some of the best shit I’ve ever written in my life,” Hinds says of his original score contributions (before the last-minute changes). “Now I’m just trying to finish with as much patience as possible.” He was also asked what he thought of the film so far, and admitted that what he's seen at this stage “doesn’t seem to be finished to me... But what do I know? I’m just the dude to whom they’re like, 'Hey, play some crazy fuckin’ music!'”
