Saturday Night director Jason Reitman and music composer Jon Batiste said at Deadline Contenders Film: Los Angeles that music is the “villain” of the Columbia Pictures film.
Batiste said during Saturday’s panel that after several conversations with Reitman, “it became very clear” that Saturday Night’s music “was not going to be a traditional score — it was the anti-score.” The composer created the score during the filming process capturing the vibes in the room.
“First decision that we made was that we would throw away the orchestra. It would not be an orchestral score,” Batiste said. “And we started to talk about what the music represents, and it really is the villain in the film. The music is an allegory for the clock, and the clock is the pressure of time.”
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One request that Reitman had for Batiste is to not “make it like it’s resolved” as they “know how it’s going to end,” adding, “We know that this [show is a] great success, it shouldn’t ever feel like there’s a moment of resolution, even by the end.”
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After the score was conceptualized, Batiste noted that he thought of capturing the music “in the room where everything is happening” and “if we get the energy of the space and the pressure of time on the musicians who did an incredible job.”
Reitman added that “the entire cast and crew would stay because they knew they were about to get a free concert” when Batiste created the music live.
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“It was like a second shift,” Batiste said. “We’d be on the set and the film … we’d watch a few clips that the incredible editing team put together and I would just let the moment it had some sort of transmission that would happen. And then I would go immediately to the band and I’m composing, dictating it to them. They’re learning it in five minutes or less, and then we’re recording it with no separation.”
Reitman jumped in to explain how Batiste created magic, saying he was “calling out notes” as everything happened and mouthing everything out, which to the director made no sense.
“And then it all starts to play and your heart starts going. And I’ve just never seen anything like this,” Reitman said.
Batiste said he wasn’t sure everything they recorded on the set would make it to the film, which it did, adding, “To me, that’s the new way. Immerse yourself in the process and capture the energy of this thing while it’s happening. And then, that way, the music is informing the edit.”
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Check back Monday for panel video.
The presenting sponsor for this year’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles is United for Business. Sponsors are Eyeptizer Eyewear, Final Draft + ScreenCraft, and partners are Four Seasons Maui, 11 Ravens and Robina Benson Design House.