“Tchaikovsky was one of the great melody writers of all time.” — James Newton Howard Quote

Tchaikovsky was one of the great melody writers of all time.

One day I was watching some pundits screaming at each other on a news show. It suddenly reminded me of this painting on my wall, of balloons with goofy faces rising - pundits screaming at each other and arguing off into the ether.

I loved working with Chris Nolan. I love working with Lawrence Kasdan. Dan Gilroy. Francis Lawrence I love.

Music can help uncover that tone that's in the fabric of the movie. Sometimes it's very plain to see, sometimes it's not.

I started studying piano at the age of four.

I really liked the Sex Pistols when they came out and I thought they had a lot of melody.

But when you get to a song, not only do you have to do a vocal melody, you have to write words and not be redundant and make some semblance of a story.

I like music that not only has a pop melody to it but is also deeply about something.

Basically, country is my kind of music - the simple melody, the simple lyrics.

I'll generally always get melody first and then I'll go in and try and think of a title and lyrics generally come last.