Trent Reznor’s Upward Spiral

by

In my humble opinion, the journey of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross has been nothing short of extraordinary. From their roots in music with Nine Inch Nails to venturing into the world of film scoring, they have consistently pushed boundaries and redefined what is possible in both realms.

In simpler terms, Trent Reznor notes that music has a profound impact on emotions. When composing a song, there’s always the possibility that it resonates with someone or doesn’t. Performing live allows witnessing reactions, but in film, the ability to manipulate emotions through sequences, scenes, and entire experiences is incredibly powerful and awe-inspiring for him.

About fifteen years ago, Trent Reznor, known as the brains behind industrial music trailblazers Nine Inch Nails and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, along with his frequent creative collaborator Atticus Ross, crafted their initial film score for David Fincher’s “The Social Network.” This marked their first Academy Award win. Since then, they have contributed scores to nearly 20 films and television projects. In 2020, they received another Oscar for “Soul” and an Emmy in the same year for their work on HBO’s “Watchmen.

Transitioning into a mainstay within Hollywood’s entertainment scene came as an unforeseen encore for Reznor, who once earned infamy in his youth for creating groundbreaking, often intense music and disturbingly graphic music videos, and causing controversies such as moving into the house where the Manson Family carried out the Tate-LaBianca murders. Renowned for his relentless artistic integrity, Reznor held a high-ranking position during the debut of Apple Music but eventually departed, stating that the job conflicted with his inner artist. However, this move towards filmmaking, which he initially found frightening, turned out to be a means to preserve his creative energy.

For about the past decade, Reznor has found himself becoming increasingly detached from mainstream music. As he grows older, certain aspects of it seem less relevant to him. He finds the music industry unappealing and feels that the way people now consume music is not as inspiring as it once was, often being marginalized in various ways. However, composing scores for films has given him a sense of purpose and stimulation.

The electronic-style music composed and produced by Reznor and Ross for Luca Guadagnino’s film “Challengers” – a love triangle featuring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O’Connor, set within the professional tennis circuit – has already secured them a Grammy nomination. Their previous collaboration with the director on the 2022 movie “Bones and All” fostered a friendship that led everyone to anticipate their partnership would be long-lasting.

Guadagnino found the experience of making ‘Bones and All’ incredibly beautiful,” he shares, “and his discussions with Trent and Atticus were truly inspiring. As a result, there was no need for any other motivation except the desire to carry on our collaboration.” (The duo also contributed music for Guadagnino’s ‘Queer’ this season.)

When the director presented the project to the musicians, he had an unusual yet clear vision for it. “He suggested, ‘I’m thinking of something bold and in-your-face – techno, if you will. I want the music to play a significant role in the movie, almost like a character itself,'” Reznor recounted. “Initially, we might not have naturally gravitated towards that starting point, but once presented with this challenge, we embarked on a creative journey and began crafting some pieces.

A love story with a gloomy undertone against the backdrop of sports might not initially appear to jive with tunes meant for dancing clubs. However, you’d assume composing such pieces would be simpler for Reznor and Ross compared to their other, more acoustic or abstract compositions. Yet, while they worked in a portable studio within their hotel rooms during a Nine Inch Nails tour, they encountered technical hurdles due to the genre’s unique sound and structure.

Ross mentions that Luca expressed his desire for people to dance along with the movie. However, composing music for such a scenario doesn’t allow the usual benefits like having a seven-beat bar or changing tempo. For this kind of music to be effective, it can’t be soft, so an intriguing aspect is featuring a bedroom scene where the music is as loud as the dialogue.

They wondered how Director Guadagnino might react upon seeing the tangible effect their prominent score was having on the movie. According to Reznor, it had a substantial influence on the very essence of the film. However, the director responded favorably, as he remembers.

In his own words, Guadagnino shares, “I visited their studio in Los Angeles, and they performed the initial scene for me. It was simply extraordinary! They surpassed all my wildest imaginations. They added layers to it that I had anticipated, but the power of it when I heard it for the first time took my breath away.

Should the music played by the Challengers offer an unexpected contrast to the tender moments, it significantly amplifies the intensity and suspense when the narrative shifts to the tennis court. The pulsating rhythm clashes with the rapid exchange of strokes during matches, intensifying the action and the emotional depth without resorting to typical sports-movie melodrama.

ESPN tennis commentator and ex-pro player Patrick McEnroe comments on how incorporating some fun into the tennis sequences was challenging due to the difficulty of making it appear authentic with actors in movies. He explains that watching a silent tennis match is part of his job, but for a major film production, they aim to enhance the action. The music wasn’t conventional sports-style tunes and he believes this contributed positively to the overall feel of the tennis scenes. Given their objective, they did an exceptional job,” says Patrick McEnroe.

Ross emphasizes that the purpose of the score was to highlight personal interactions over athletic competition. He expresses slight disappointment when people label it as a tennis movie with dance music. “I don’t believe Luca was making a film about tennis,” he states. “Instead, tennis served as a setting for an intricate exploration of relationships among three characters and a study on their interactions. The music plays a crucial role in telling this story; it functions as a container for the sophisticated themes that run throughout the movie.

According to Reznor, “Challengers” demonstrated to him that music like this could be integrated into a movie in such a manner – one that is not only intelligent and capable of telling a compelling story, but also enjoyable, mainstream-leaning, yet challenging and subversive. This aligns with many things that resonate with me.

It came as a surprise to both Reznor and Ross when they realized how many years they’ve spent working in the film industry. In fact, Ross, who hails from Britain, teamed up with Reznor in their side project Tapeworm way back in 2002. However, it was in 2004 that he started collaborating with his brother Leopold on scoring projects for television.

For Reznor, it represented a unique shift in direction when the pair embarked on the project called “The Social Network“.

Working alongside Fincher during our “intensive workshop”, Reznor and he began to sense an innovative yet familiar style taking shape. As Reznor puts it, “We were still us,” meaning they could continue their usual methods, only adjusting the perspective – with the script, director’s vision, scene, and setting serving as lyrics, they could apply their arrangement skills and emotional responses from Nine Inch Nails to a new context. However, it took some time for them to grasp this concept, spending several months filled with early-morning anxieties about whether they had bitten off more than they could chew.

Ever since then, the duo has collaborated with various entities ranging from Pixar to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, receiving requests from directors such as Sam Mendes and Ken Burns. As Ross explains, “We’ve been fortunate enough to work with directors where it truly feels like a joint effort. It’s not just about providing the music; we are part of the team, and our role is to serve this grand vision.

After dedicating themselves intensely to film work for a while now (with seven soundtracks released since the last Nine Inch Nails album), they are excited to return to creating music under their own label.

According to Reznor, the inspiration we’ve gathered is being channeled into a current Nine Inch Nails project. Essentially, he’s expressing that they are eager and prepared to resume control over their work again.

This tale was initially published in a special December edition of The Hollywood Reporter’s magazine. You can subscribe to our magazine here to read it.

Read More

2024-12-03 23:25