They came to my trailer and said, James wrote the score for you.
It blew me away.
James is an amazing human being.
Credit: Sam Emerson
Shortly after that I flew back to L.A.
There was a lot to deal with.
But it wasThe Magnificent Seventhat marked his last significant work.
It seemed wrong to just let them disappear, Franglen said of the suite of songs.
He was given the job after playing the music Horner wrote for Fuqua.
The other thing was deliver a film score that was right for the film.
In all of this, James would have insisted that the score had to be right for the film.
Making it work, however, was easier said than done.
In addition to Horners legacy, Franglen had to deal with the original films iconic score by Elmer Bernstein.
I remember saying to him, If you dont do it, imagine who will?'
But the challenge was part of the charm.
Its almost unheard of to do a cowboy film.
That was a part of why this was so special to him.
If you listen to it, its got the essence of dangerous cowboy music.
It has a bit of an attitude about it, Franglen said.
It fit the characters, Franglen explained, who are a bunch of neer-do-wells with hearts of gold.
These guys are mad, bad, and dangerous to know.
They cant be nice.
The attitude in the score is meant to reflect that.
We wanted to have a slightly gritty attitude to it, he said.
Gradually, youll see the themes evolve.
They become more heroic.
Theyve got something to fight for in the town.
The music has to evolve with them.
Listen below, and check out the full score when its released on Friday.
The Magnificent Sevenis out on Sept. 23.
