The composer for this week's new release cyberthriller, Blackhat is claiming that his work on the film has essentially been altered beyond the point of recognition. Composer, Harry Gregson-Williams took his gripes to Facebook on Monday, full of accusations at director Michael Mann in a post that he subsequently deleted . Did Williams' score fall victim to, as he puts it, "slicing and dicing?"
According to Gregson-Williams' deleted post, he found that after months of labor and collaboration for the Blackhat score that the film now contains "almost none" of his compositions - despite the fact that he's still credited on the film. As Gregson-Williams elaborates:
"I attended the premiere of the movie at the end of last week and discovered, to my horror, music that shocked and surprised me...quasi emotional (synth) string pieces that I'd never heard in my life before."
As Deadline points out, Gregson-Williams shares credit on the Blackhat score with two other composers, brothers, Atticus and Leopold Ross. However, Haxan Cloak, the artist who was apparently responsible for the aforementioned synthesizer pieces, took to Twitter yesterday claiming that he collaborated his part with Atticus Ross. Whether that was done conspiratorially at the behest of Michael Mann or was simply the result of a massive miscommunication is unknown at this point. Regardless, Gregson-Williams has his finger pointed directly at the director, writing in the post,
"I therefore reluctantly join the long list of composers who have had their scores either sliced and diced mercilessly or ignored completely by Michael Mann."
Harry Gregson-Williams, whose resume includes a vast array of notable movies including X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Shrek films, The Equalizer, and Gone Baby Gone, ended his rant by conceding that while he respects the fact that it's Michael Mann film and the choices are ultimately his to make, people should not mistaken what's in the film for the 90 minute score that he actually made.
At this time, all parties seem to be remaining mum on the subject. The controversy certainly did manage to hit at a horrendously bad time during Blackhat's release week. Executives and PR people alike are unsurprisingly jittery when stories like this get out, and for good reason. That being said, accreditation can be sacred in these Hollywood circles, but this dilemma probably won't have any immediate negative effects on the film's performance at the box-office. (Rather than, say, if Stephen Collins or Bill Cosby were starring in the film.)
Blackhat focuses on a cybercriminal played by Chris Hemsworth who is recruited to work with American and Chinese agencies to stop an elusive sinister wildcard of a hacker with unidentifiable motives from omitting terrorist acts around the world. Look for the movie in theaters this Friday.
