At its basic musical core, the James Bond movies hold one simple melody at the heart of the franchise. “The James Bond Theme” is such a notable song that many people can imitate or reference the DNA that drives any proper 007 score. At the same time, being tapped to score a whole Bond adventure like Skyfall can be daunting, leaving even someone like legendary composer like Thomas Newman with a case of “2 AM sweats” in process.
I can’t blame him, as approaching any sort of duties involving the fate of this legacy of espionage action would strike fear in the hearts of even the hardest talent. That was all the better reason for me to ask Newman about his experience scoring not one, but two 007 films for collaborator Sam Mendes.
