Composer

DANNY ELFMAN

Writer & Director

NOAH BAUMBACH

MODERATED BY JON BURLINGAME (Variety)

Thursday, December 1, 7:00PM PT

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

At once hilarious and horrifying, lyrical and absurd, ordinary and apocalyptic, White Noise dramatizes a contemporary American family’s attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts of everyday life while grappling with the universal mysteries of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world.

R | 136min

Danny Elfman, a four-time Oscar nominee, has established himself for over 30 years as one of the most versatile and accomplished film composers in the industry. He has collaborated with directors such as Tim Burton, Gus Van Sant, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Ang Lee, Rob Minkoff, Guillermo del Toro, Brian De Palma, James Ponsoldt, and David O’ Russell. Beginning with his first score on Tim Burton’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Elfman has scored over 100 films, including Milk (Oscar nominated), Good Will Hunting (Oscar nominated), Big Fish (Oscar nominated), Men in Black (Oscar nominated), Edward Scissorhands, Batman, To Die For, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice in Wonderland, The Grinch, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spiderman, A Simple Plan, Midnight Run, Sommersby, Dolores Claiborne, and the Errol Morris documentaries The Unknown Known and Standard Operating Procedure. In addition to his film work, Elfman wrote the iconic theme music for the television series The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives. Elfman recently scored the Marvel feature Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Noah Baumbach’s forthcoming film White Noise, and Tim Burton’s upcoming series Wednesday.

A native of Los Angeles, Elfman grew up loving film music. He traveled the world as a young man, absorbing its musical diversity. He helped found the band Oingo Boingo, and came to the attention of a young Tim Burton, who asked him to write the score for Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. 37 years later, the two have forged one of the most fruitful composer-director collaborations in film history. Throughout his career, Elfman has been honored with four Oscar nominations, two Emmy Awards, a GRAMMY Award, the 2002 Richard Kirk Award, the 2015 Disney Legend Award, and the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award in 2017. He also has an incredible seven Saturn Awards in the “Best Music” category, most recently winning in 2022 for his scoring work on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Elfman has expanded his writing to composing orchestral concert works which include: “Serenada Schizophrana”, a symphony commissioned by the American Composer’s Orchestra which premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2005, “Rabbit and Rogue” for the American Ballet Theater choreographed by Twyla Tharp, performed at The Metropolitan Opera house in 2008, and “Iris” for Cirque du Soleil directed by French choreographer Philippe Decouflé. In 2013, Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton live orchestral concert, premiered at Royal Albert Hall, and has since toured around the world and won two Emmys. In 2017 Elfman premiered his first violin concerto “Eleven Eleven” which was co-commissioned by Stanford Live and performed at Bing Concert Hall in March 2018. “Eleven” was recorded by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and released on Sony Classical records which also contains his first piano quartet commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic. In March 2022, two of Elfman’s compositions had European world premieres: “Percussion Concerto #1”, performed by Colin Currie with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and “Cello Concerto #1”, performed by Gautier Capuçon with the Vienna Symphony.

In 2021, Elfman performed a concert of Nightmare Before Christmas featuring Billie Eilish. That same year he released his wildly ambitious double album Big Mess, and followed it with the release of Bigger. Messier., a genre-defying collection of remixed and reimagined versions of songs from the record that features guest appearances by the likes of Trent Reznor, Iggy Pop, and more. The Big Mess project culminated this year with his critically acclaimed career-spanning 2022 Coachella concert, an internet-shattering pair of performances which he presented expanded, full-length versions of at back-to-back sold-out shows at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA in October. “I need to push myself into new territory with fresh challenges as much as I can and whenever I can. I am told I have a recognizable style, but my greatest pleasure is when I can surprise the audience with my music.” – Elfman

Noah Baumbach is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. His films include the upcoming White Noise, Marriage Story (which received 6 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and a win for Laura Dern for Best Supporting Actress), The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), While We’re Young, Mistress America, Frances Ha, Greenberg, Margot At The Wedding, The Squid And The Whale (for which Baumbach received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay), Kicking And Screaming, and the documentary De Palma. 

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

Check-in begins 6:30PM.

If you RSVP but are unable to attend, please cancel your reservation by 10:00AM Wednesday, November 30.

Free for current SCL members (click here to check your membership status) plus two guests 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.

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

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