Considering composer Clint Mansell has worked with Darren Aronofsky on all of the director's films to date, it's not a big shock that they will be working together once again. But still, it's nice to get some confirmation, and indeed, during a masterclass at the Marrakech Film Festival (you can read all the highlights right here) Aronofsky confirmed that Mansell will be back for his Bible epic "Noah." But perhaps most revealing is Aronofsky's description of their working relationship.
"That’s another bad marriage," he said, making a comparison to the equally strong-willed back-and-forths he has with cinematographer Matthew Libatique. "We’re about to start [on ‘Noah’] and I’m actually getting texts right now and I know it’s from [Mansell], complaining about something. But he’s a genius too and he cares, he puts his heart and soul and his love into everything. And he’s unique – different from everyone else out there working. He’s able to boil down the thematic of a film into a melody, into two or three notes. He captures the whole essence of a film in two or three notes."
Essentially, whether it's Mansell or Libatique, the director is working with two people whose talents he respects tremendously, and he's more than aware of the unique contributions they bring to his pictures. And Aronofsky is candid that, in the case of Mansell, sometimes it has been a piece of a score that has helped elevate his work.
"It’s amazing what music can do, I can’t tell you how many times music has saved my ass," Aronofsky shared. "There’s a famous story that Spielberg says the music in 'Jaws' created the entire suspense of the film — without it, it just didn’t work. And I think that’s true, music can do so much for a movie. But then there’s ‘The Wrestler’ which has maybe three minutes of score, outside of some heavy metal, in the whole film. As soon as we put music on it, it became very cheesy, so I think every film has its own balance."
Filming on "Noah" recently wrapped and Aronofsky is heading into post-production with the picture due in theaters on March 28, 2014. —reporting by Jessica Kiang.