The Wolfman is Angry. Danny Elfman Has Left The Building.
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So who cried wolf!? Was it you? Well see the Wolfman here on the left? He looks pretty pissed off. So I guess you’ve all heard. Danny Elfman will no longer write the music for The Wolfman. Correction, he actually did. Rumors says he wrote a full score and because of scheduling conflicts he (un)conveniently had to leave the project.
Now who believes this story? I don’t see any hands. Good, because I don’t believe it either. The story about Danny Elfman leaving is absolutely true though, but I meant the part about scheduling conflicts. What is also true is that Paul Haslinger has taken the job to save Wolfman’s hairy ass (excuse my language).
So let me get this straight. You have a great composer in Danny Elfman, the director loves his work, we are talking gothic grandness here. Danny boy creates a full score, everyone should be happy right? Not so in wolf-land. The real wolves at the top of the food chain has decided differently. Have you all seen The Wolfman trailer? Here you go, take a look (and listen) and I’ll be back with you shortly:
Did you see Danny Elfman’s name in the credits? Oh yeah, he is still there. So now that you have all seen it, I have one question for you. Does it look very gothic or would you say a modern contemporary look? To me it looks like the modern crap that has been thrown at our precious eyes in the last few years. It’s all about being cool, yeah we need a rock grunge soundtrack for this. Elfman’s gothic style is for grandpa (apparently). THAT’S what I think the real reason is, but who listens to me… sob…
Anyway the evil deed is done and maybe one day we will find out what has happened. Hopefully someone will find that rejected score by Danny Elfman and release it to the public. I demand it!
So what do you all think about this rather sad and shocking news? Answer in the comment section below.
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Comments
I agree with you, something fishy’s going on! I’m no composer and know nothing of the scoring process, but if they liked Elfman’s score, wouldn’t they have gotten somebody to re-arrange it for the re-cut version (Deborah Lurie or Steve Bartek for instance), instead of getting Haslinger to compose a brand new score??? But I hope we get to hear Elfman’s unused score one day, although I’m not really counting on it…
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Something fishy indeed. There’s been a lot of problems with The Wolfman from the start pushing it’s premiere back, back and further back. Don’t have big hopes for this one at all.
I heard that Elfman just had scheduling conflicts with Alice in Wonderland which led to him leaving the project; I didn’t hear anything about him being fired. Regardless, I was disappointed to hear that he wouldn’t be scoring the film anymore, but I still hope that Haslinger lives up to the expectations of the fans. His score for Underworld 3 was more orchestra-oriented than his previous efforts, so maybe he’ll be allowed to go that route.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I don’t buy it because I’ve heard that a full score has been recorded. If that’s true, then there must be another reason why Haslinger replaced him. Still, I’ll give Haslinger a chance. I actually thought his Underworld 2 was better than 3, although I can certainly see where a more orchestral approach would be better. The trailer was very much a rocked affair though so I suspect this is the way they are going and why they chose Haslinger in the end.
Lars Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Underworld 2 was Marco Beltrami 
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Oops, by 2 I mean the previous Underworld movie score by Paul Haslinger 
You have to admit that “Wolfman” and “Elfman” does fit together perfectly. Logic 101. I do think that this great composer has been attached to WAY too many films simply because of his name and background. I was actually angry to see his name along with “Terminator”. I thought: “No way! Now that’s too much! Him again? Surely somebody else can fit this film better!”. But when you read that he is attached to “Wolfman”, you suddenly think it makes perfect sense. Therefore, i am TERRIBLY disappointed that he will not be involved anymore. And of course, i’d like to hear what he composed. But then again, the filmmakers surely don’t want to have bad music, do they? Just like Peter Jackson didn’t get rid of Howard Shore for nothing. Or Alan Silvestri couldn’t have been dismissed for “Pirates Of Caribbean” for no apparent reason. Ultimatly, the creators want a good score. So they must know (i hope) what they’re doing. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Danny Elfman has nothing to prove. If he’s out and the music was done, they must be a good reason. Could it be that his ego took too much place and he simply did what he felt without any regards to the filmaker’s opinions? I mean, have you ever watch Danny Elfman work on the special features of “Planet Of The Apes”? He looked like a condescending SOB. But maybe he was having a bad day also…
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
January 18th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Personally I think some hot shot exec thought: “Hey, this gothic crap isn’t what the kids love these days, it has to be a cooler, more hip style, something the kids will enjoy. We need more fast paced rock for our Wolfman. Hey , you still have Haslinger on speed dial?”
I’m happy that Elfman has got Burton in his corner though, Alice is even more perfect for Elfman than Wolfman. Elves and wolves never got along anyway.
[...] If you're new here, you may like to get all my posts in your feed reader using my RSS feed or get all Soundtrack Geek posts by Email. Also check out Soundtrack Fans, a new social network for soundtrack fans. Thanks for visiting!Well ok, so he is he Wolfman and only has one expression, but if you look carefully, he smirks on the inside. In November I reported that Danny Elfman had left the project and Paul Haslinger was brought in to replace him. [...]
what a piece of crap, regurgitated, recycled, and re-used sountrack this movie has…. i just got back from seeing it. brilliant film… BAD BAD BAD soundtrack, danny elfman or not. is danny elfman the guy who does the soundtracks that all sound the same? cause i’ve heard this music in about 20 other movies.
Jorn Tillnes Reply:
February 13th, 2010 at 4:43 am
Hmm really? I heard otherwise. People are telling me how great the Elfman score is in the movie. Every composer sounds like themselves so nothing new there.
Soundtrack Seek
While the notion of Paul Haslinger becoming the replacement isn’t very exciting. I can’t say I’m gonna miss Elfman’s involvement. I’ve found all his recent scores very generic and boring. Especially his dreadful Terminator score.
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Jorn Tillnes Reply:
November 17th, 2009 at 11:02 am
I have nothing against Paul Haslinger. Some of his work is great. I guess I was just looking forward to a gothic score, like Kilar’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s a shame it will be replaced by a contemporary modern score which will not be a good fit for this movie I’m afraid.
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