Composer

NATHAN JOHNSON

MODERATED BY JON BURLINGAME (Variety)

Saturday, December 10, 3:00PM PT

Please be mindful of the SCL’s Code of Conduct.

Benoit Blanc returns to peel back the layers in a new Rian Johnson whodunit. This fresh adventure finds the intrepid detective at a lavish private estate on a Greek island, but how and why he comes to be there is only the first of many puzzles. Blanc soon meets a distinctly disparate group of friends gathering at the invitation of billionaire Miles Bron for their yearly reunion. Among those on the guest list are Miles’ former business partner Andi Brand, current Connecticut governor Claire Debella, cutting-edge scientist Lionel Toussaint, fashion designer and former model Birdie Jay and her conscientious assistant Peg, and influencer Duke Cody and his sidekick girlfriend Whiskey. As in all the best murder mysteries, each character harbors their own secrets, lies and motivations. When someone turns up dead, everyone is a suspect. Returning to the franchise he began, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Rian Johnson writes and directs Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and assembles another all-star cast that includes a returning Daniel Craig alongside Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista.

PG-13 | 139mins

Nathan Johnson is a composer and director whose innovative film scores and hybrid media performances have consistently blurred the lines between stage, screen, music, and narrative. Best known for his unconventional work in film music (Knives Out, Nightmare Alley, Looper, Brick), Nathan favors modified, organic instrumentation combined with unique approaches to recording and performing. Beginning with his critically acclaimed work on director (and cousin) Rian Johnson’s neo-noir film Brick, Nathan has made a practice of combining unorthodox audio sources such as filing cabinets, cheese graters, and tuned wine glasses with traditional instrumentation. A similar approach has underpinned all of Nathan’s work, from the industrial field recordings of Looper to the eerily lush, off-kilter orchestra of Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley.

When Rian began writing the smash hit Knives Out, he asked Nathan to create a unique sonic palette for the world inhabited by Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc. And so, inspired by murder mysteries of a bygone era, Nathan turned to slippery woodwinds, dissonant pianos, and eventually, the jagged string quartet that would go on to become the film’s audio signature while simultaneously redefining the sound of the modern murder mystery. With Glass Onion, the Johnson cousins are back for Blanc’s next adventure, and while Nathan’s score nods to the manor mystery of Knives Out, the sonic palette is both expanded and inverted with a new quartet joining brass and harpsichord to flesh out the romantic themes of an entirely new mystery.

When he is not creating music, Nathan often directs short films and music videos, many of which employ a painstakingly hand-crafted approach rooted in a bold DIY aesthetic. He has given talks at universities around the world and has presented his work at the Hammer Museum, Adobe MAX, TED, and Apple. Johnson is the recipient of numerous film and music awards, and his work has been featured extensively by NPR, Wired, the AV Club, and Rolling Stone. He lives in Los Angeles with the help of his friends.

*** SCREENING + Q&A INFORMATION ***

Check-in begins 2:30PM.

If you RSVP but are unable to attend, please cancel your reservation by 10:00AM Saturday, December 10.

Free for current SCL members (click here to check your membership status) plus one guest who will stay for both the screening and Q&A. Please remember to RSVP for two (2) if you plan on bringing a guest.

In the event of a waitlist, please remember to sign up twice (2) if you plan on bringing a guest.

Guests of SCL members may NOT attend without the member invitee, or if the member RSVPs, but cannot attend and cancels.

Please allow extra time for traffic and check-in.

This invitation is non-transferable.

Seating is first come, first serve. Late arrivals may not be allowed into the theater. 

Per California state health guidelines, masks are recommended to be worn indoors at all times.

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