Some time ago, we spoke to Mark Snow about IWTB, about his experience on the show, and got a tiny insight into what this talented composer is. Eight months later, you might wonder, “Is there really something new we need to know about Mr. Snow?”

Well, there is.

Ever since last year, Mark has been working hard. You can enjoy his most recent compositions on the acclaimed Alain Renais movie “Wild Grass”. The production by the 87-yr-old director has been praised by the originality and creativity exposed in the film, and Mark’s creations were included in the mix of reviews by different sources like Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily.


Is Mark Snow a Fan?

This conversation with Snow, I have to admit, I thought it was going to be short, but we tapped into some favorite topics for him, like the experience of working with Resnais.

“He started working in the 1930’s and sort of a signature of his style has been kind of a surreal dreamlike quality where people walk away from the movies and wonder what it was about but be absolutely fascinated with the experience, with the journey of the movies, and even today at this recent movie he did, I had a wonderful time, it has an unexpected quality to it, although it is not Sci-fi or weird images, is just very good story, very creative and very different,”

His work on the previous Resnais movie, “Private Fears in Public Places” according to Snow sounds almost French. To me, while you can totally tell that is a Mark Snow composition, it’s different from “The X-Files” without being apart. Some of it reminds me of the themes from “Release” or “Paper Hearts” but so much melodic on its own.

“In this recent movie (Wild Grass) there are many different musical styles, in fact the end credit music is a combination, in just one piece, of 3 very distinct styles. It starts off with a somewhat traditional waltz, with normal orchestration, and then it goes to a complete atonal crazy, you know…rambling crazy piece, and then it ends with a very moving, almost anthem, almost a funeral anthem, but in a major key. Not sad, but definitely a kind of melancholy theme, and then the score has some jazz with live players, and there were pieces with just percussion, with some melodic pieces, so it was quite a combination of styles.”

The Experience with this last film for Alain Resnais, who is an “X-Files” fan himself, was pretty overwhelming as it turns out, especially at the Cannes festival. “When they announced his name when he first walked into the building, the audience gave him a 15 minute standing ovation,” a great honor for any director at the Festival, “just that alone puts an extra 20 years more on his life, it made him feel young, and not that he isn’t already, because he is a pretty remarkable man, I mean, he is the exact definition of an artist, he’s totally into stating his work first and foremost.” Snow admires the capacity of Resnais to still have a young spirit at his age, enjoying the life of a teenaged film student, with the knowledge his real age has brought.

“I remember, ironically, when I got back to America, that he told me to please call Kim Manners, and tell him, this is interesting, that he thought that Kim was the best director of the ‘X-Files’ Series.” Although Manners was not familiar with the work of Resnais, he appreciated the admiration of the man. “To others you mention Alain’s name and they go ‘Oh, he’s world famous!’ When he called me, at the beginning, I did not recognize the name but I recognized the name of some of his films, like Hiroshima Mon Amour, it’s like classic cult cinema for France, but he’s been so incredible influential to the modern directors as well.”

After working in his last two films, Snow looks forward to working with Resnais again. “He said ‘I hope you would be available for my next movie’, and I said ‘Of course!’, and I thought, ‘How many more movies can this man do?’” Mark admits somewhat amazed. “Its very remarkable, I think that for the first movie I did for him and then this one it was so many different kinds of music styles, and in these movies, I like that I had the French sensibility that brought a little broader sense, and the thought of the combination of me and him,” He says laughing. “He’s a very creative and interesting choice, he was very flattering to me and I think that a lot of directors in America, sometimes, make a choice of a composer that it’s very unexpected, and I can think of one, like Francis Ford Coppola did with his movie Dracula. He used Wojciech Kilar, and he thought he would be great. There are directors that don’t keep going back to the same person, like Spielberg and John Williams do, but who try different composers all the time, and you know composers like myself we don’t like to hear that because we have this director and we would like to be his composer for life, you know?” He laughs again, “But you know compared to working in America and in American TV, etc, this was really a fantastic experience.”

Besides these last two films, Mark’s composing work continues on the show “Ghost Whisperer” that just got renewed for a new season and has participated in small short films and kids movies like “The Kings of Appletown” with the “Sprouse twins.”


Snow on Composers, Conductors and Orchestras

“Do you have a favorite composer yourself?” I ask.

“I really love the music of James Newton Howard, he’s one of my favorites,” He says. “He gets a sound from the instruments; his combinations of electronics and live orchestra is fantastic, he’s very sensitive, he can sort of do anything, like the score from Michael Clayton, and that was a complete electronic score, no live instruments whatsoever, it was so smart and tasteful.”  

“I’m a little bit happy and surprised that it got nominated for an Academy Award, because electronics usually doesn’t get nominated, but from that to The Dark Knight, that he did with Hans Zimmer and Duplicity, and Defiance, and how each of those scores are quite different, so I would have to say at the moment he is definitely my favorite, but I like a lot of them.” He continues, “I saw a repeat of E.T. the Extraterrestrial by John Williams, and just when Spielberg takes out all the sound and just blasts the music, and it was fantastic! When the spaceship opens up and E.T. goes home… it was amazing, you know? There’s no body that can even come close to that kind of music, that style, it’s just almost, it’s unbelievable how good it is… but you know there’s room for the rest of us…” He says, bursting into laughter.

“Do you dream of working with a specific orchestra?” I wonder.

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“Well, actually this summer, by the end of July, I’m taking part in this film music festival that’s in Tenerife, which is called the Fimucité festival” To be celebrated in Spain from July 20th -26th, this yearly International Music Film Festival presents the works of famous film composers. “Each year they have maybe 4 or 5 composers from around the world to come and play some of their music, and this summer I’ll be there.”

Mark will share selected songs from both “X-Files” movies and the series, the theme from “Millennium,” and parts of the soundtrack to “Crazy in Alabama”, a movie starring Antonio Banderas, conducting a full sized orchestra.

“You know, the thing is that I’ve worked so long and hard for this TV world that I’m trying to think of other things to be involved in because I really love spending time in front of the orchestra and to conduct,” He continues, “I just got back from New York City, where I’ve been teaching at NYU; just the idea of getting out of the composing room where you spend so many hours working alone, its great to be with people, it gets lonely in there…” he comments as he laughs. And the truth is that I agree; nothing makes something richer than the inspired interaction when creating art. “It feeds your soul…so when I went to Paris, with Alain Resnais it was such an amazing experience, meeting him, and the editors, and the film people, and the producers there, you know, that was such a gift!”

Just a few months ago, La La Land Records released the special 2-Disc Soundtrack edition of Millennium and he admits to being very satisfied about the selection. “It’s really interesting how the whole thing started, because the director David Nutter and Chris Carter found this song by some band that featured the solo violin, and they said: ‘well, we really like this idea or this sound, and the approach’, so that’s what inspired me to do it, so much of that music is so much of what I personally love, its got so much of that heavy, dark quality to it, almost folk music in a way, its very natural to me. Sometimes I think of it like thick and heavy like syrup flopping around, but with the show it was really, really spooky, stuff, you know?”

“The X-Files” Soundtrack release has been marked for November 2009. According to him, and the moment of this interview the final list was still to be signed off by him and it would be a pack of 4-Discs, “That’s a whole lot of music” He says and I agree, but 9 years of wonderful themes can’t go unnoticed, in my opinion.

I couldn’t help but mention the ongoing campaign that the X-phile community is supporting right now: the “XF3 Army: Believe in the Future” Campaign. When hearing all the details that we have deployed so far, Mark was delighted about it, amused by the fact that many vidders have chosen “Home Again” and “Surgery”, two of his favorite compositions, to give ambiance to the creations. He was also amazed that XFN and the fan community in general, works so hard for a third “X-Files” movie.

In a message to XFN and all Philes reading, Mark states:  “I want to thank you for the loyalty and the dedication you put into this fandom, the time you take to support us and the projects that we participate, it’s just great!”


What’s next for Mr. Snow?

After working with Alain Resnais, he admits that the whole experience of the European film industry is very appealing to him, and has actually been contacted by an agent to be represented in the continent for possible projects overseas with European productions.
He might be looking, in his own words, for that second wind, to start a whole new career in not so very commercial things, perhaps like Alain Resnais, get those 20 years off his back.

While writing this article I listened to the soundtracks to “Private Fears in Public Places”, “Millennium”, “The X-Files: I Want To Believe” and “Fight The Future”; in my mind, sound creates locations, or places, that sometimes seem almost physical. When I listen to Mark Snow, I enjoy that the place is a familiar one, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re safe, but that you know you’re in for a ride.

Thanks to Mr. Mark Snow for sharing with us once again and to Amanda Course for setting this up for us.

Before you go don’t forget to check out Mark Snow’s XFN’s Quick 6:
 

• Favorite Food: Sushi
• Favorite Word: Purple
• Dream career or occupation: Restaurant owner, where people can come in and say “Hi! How are you?” and be around people all the time.
• I wish I had invented: Tylenol
• Guilty pleasure or addiction: expensive wine
• Favorite X-Files quote: “I love you, Scully” From the episode “Triangle”

Avi Quijada
Editor-In-Chief
XFilesNews.com