Jessica Weiss Takes Cinderella to the Ball on Prime Video
CineConcerts was very fortunate to speak with Jessica Weiss about the score for Amazon Prime’s new jukebox musical Cinderella! We discussed the composition process, how it differs in a musical, and the new feminist take on a fairy tale classic.
Composer Jessica Weiss
CineConcerts (CC): Tell us about your musical background and how you got started on Cinderella (2021)?
Jessica Weiss (JW): I come from a theater music background. I’m from New York City originally and I studied piano as a youngster. I played in bands, did a lot of songwriting, and was influenced by classical music, due to 15 years of ballet and theater.
I'm a bit of a hodgepodge in that way, but I became interested in music production and I worked for a film composer in New York City for several years before moving to London. In London, I worked in a post-production house, and I was writing music, but also doing some technical work as well.
And then I moved to Los Angeles in 2012. I was offered a position at Remote Control Productions to work with Hans Zimmer and Bob Badami. It was incredible. I worked at Remote Control for several years and I was working there in a music editorial capacity, and also writing and scoring indie films and short films on the side and kind of exploring that avenue.
Eventually, I went off on my own and I was lucky enough to meet Mychael Danna, who is the co-composer of this movie that's coming out. I've worked with Mychael for several years now and he was initially approached by Sony to score this film and he asked me if I would be interested in writing additional music for the film, which I was incredibly interested in. At the time, he was also working on several other projects and was extremely busy. So, he then asked me what my interest level was in co-composing the film with him. I of course said, “Yes, please, let me do it!”
It felt like a very suitable, fitting project for us to collaborate on, given the subject matter, and my background in scoring and songwriting. That’s how it all came to fruition.
CC: How did you divvy up the work of scoring?
JW: We met with the director, Kay Cannon, who is fabulous, and we spent a lot of time chatting with her about what the tone and the palette should be for the score. And then we went off on our own and we were experimenting and playing with different ideas, whether that be thematic material or the palette. Once we felt we landed on a healthy palette, we started working on themes and throwing ideas back and forth.
We found that a hybrid score was working well, that folk meets orchestral worked best in the telling of the story. We kept throwing ideas back and forth—it was kind of like being in a band. I would write a theme and try something on the acoustic guitar and I would send it to Mychael.
He’d sprinkle in some piano on it, he’d send it back, we’d figure out if it was working to picture or not.
So, it was kind of a fun game we were playing. It was exciting, exploring in that way with him. We found that Cinderella’s character, in this telling of the story, is very grounded and earthy and funny so we felt that organic instrumentation, using guitars, and dulcimers, and harpsichords, and harp really suited her. We spent a lot of time just figuring out what her sound was as well.
CC: How did it feel to be working on a totally brand-new take on a classic story that’s been around for so long?
JW: It felt really important, especially as a woman and I think Kay, the director, really felt strongly about creating this story for young girls and finding a way to tell the story and in a more progressive way. The idea really, at the end of the day, is that this film is about a woman who has as a dream and she pursues it. And yes, there’s still the old story line in the sense that she falls in love with the prince, but she wants the prince in this telling, she doesn't need him.
So, I really thought it was a beautiful way to tell the story and I also think it's important, for young girls to wrap their head around the idea that this is also a fairy tale. Fairy tales look like this.
CC: How do you approach the score differently in a film that’s a musical, with the actors singing these big numbers, versus a “regular” film?
JW: We spent all this time also interpellating the songs into the score as well. We thought that would be a really nice addition so that they spoke to each other and especially because the score is very traditional orchestral and the songs are very contemporary and pop. We thought, “how do we make sure that these gel together?”
It felt important to interpellate some of the songs into the score.
At the end of the day, it's all about supporting and telling the story in the most genuine way. So, we just spent a lot of time thinking about what the purpose of the score in this film was. And we found that it really elevated Ella and the romance between her and the prince. It just felt like a very necessary piece of this puzzle to support the story.
CC: You mentioned writing themes, did you write themes for specific characters or was it more for specific emotions within the film?
JW: We wrote for specific characters. Cinderella has her theme, the Fab G (the Fairy Godmother) has his theme, and the prince and Ella have their theme as well. That was all connected throughout the film and worked nicely in tandem with the songs. We spent a lot of time figuring those out.
CC: Did you incorporate any elements from the pop songs into the themes?
JW: We did! In a couple moments there are little winks and nods too—there's a new song called “Dream Girl” that Idina Menzel (the Stepmother) sings towards the end of the film, so we used a little bit of that melody in her theme. We do it sparingly and as tastefully as we can.
Film Still from Cinderella
CC: The stepmother was a character that I really liked in this interpretation. Her portrayal is not of this evil villain. She's a person with what is actually good intentions, being cruel, but not out of meanness.
JW: I’m glad that resonated with you, it did for me as well.
I think one of the hardest cues to write was for her. She opens up later on in the film and she—no spoilers—gives insight to her background. Without saying too much, it was one of the most important cues in the film to write. That’s when I personally felt the weight and pressure essentially of what the score really needed to do. It really needed to support that moment and that scene is really what the entire film is about—pursuing your dream.
It’s a great way of using the stepmother character instead of the traditional way we all know as the mean, bitchy step-mom.
CC: My personal favorite cue is the big transformation sequence for Fab G. Can you talk a little bit about scoring that particular moment?
JW: That particular scene, that's when we knew that this score had to be orchestral, that it had to be big, lush and over-the-top. He enters this movie the only way that Billy Porter could possibly enter any movie. It’s amazing.
There was a piece of temp score that was working pretty well and we knew that it needed to feel bombastic, huge, and exciting. And so, we were working on this cue and the note really was, “Go ahead, go bigger, be bold.” So, by the time we landed on the final version of the cue, it was a really exciting moment. Everyone was laughing and clapping and we knew we had nailed it because it should feel as big and as fabulous as Billy Porter is in this movie
CC: Do you have a specific cue in the film that’s your favorite?
JW: That one's up there for sure. It was one of the most fun to write.
And I also love Ella’s theme as well. When she's in the field and she’s ecstatic because there's interest in her dressmaking and it feels like a really beautiful blend of the orchestral and also the folky elements. Her theme really shines in that scene, so that’s another place in the film that I feel passionate about.
CC: I believe the longest sequence of uninterrupted score is Ella’s decision to leave the ball, her flight, and the transformation of the carriage back into a pumpkin. It’s always a big moment in any Cinderella movie—how did you tackle that sequence?
JW: It’s called “Palace Escape.” We spent a lot of time trying to figure that one out as well and making sure that we playing with the tension of the moment and the frenetic elements of that moment. And then, as you mentioned, the shift to when the carriage becomes a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight and her disappointment. We go through that emotional arc.
We initially felt the tension aspect when she's at the ball and she decides to leave,
That there should be some kind of rhythmic engine going to keep that propulsion, to keep the momentum of that moment. And then it kind of builds and builds and escalates, and the shoe drops. She’s running, she’s trying to get on the carriage. It just continues to evolve and get bigger and bigger. And then eventually as we see the carriage pulling away, the music swells and then it comes back down.
We’re left with the bones of what that scene is. And then it starts over again, right? Because then the footmen are turning back into mice. That was also fun because we thought, “how can we continue using the foundation of what we built in the earlier scene but expands on that idea?”
We recorded a drummer, a friend of mine, Frederik Bokkenheuser, who is a great drummer and we thought putting the drum kit under it would really give it even more excitement. It propels in that way. And then finally, when everything comes crashing down, we get that breath and the depressing resolution, which is it's over.
In describing the whole scene to you, I realize what a roller coaster it is musically as well. It was really exciting to write. And at first those kind of action scenes can be overwhelming because you want to think about interesting ways to communicate that. So, we really spent a lot of time thinking about, “what can we do? How can we play with the orchestra so this is fun?”
It's a lot of experimenting, but I think we came up with something very functional.
CC: There’s an association of strong rhythm with an accelerated heartbeat so it infuses the emotion of the scene into the viewer—which is exactly what the score is supposed to do, right? So, as you watch you feel like you’re there, running alongside the carriage.
JW: Thank you for saying that!
And also, to your point about the rhythm, we also thought about the ticking of the clock, and used that as inspiration for this kind of—the lower strings are doing this col legno, so they’re keeping time like that and it was supposed to emulate what the clock was doing. That was also really fun to explore.
CC: You mentioned there’s moment later in the film with Idina Menzel's character that you felt was kind of difficult to score. Were there any moments where the score kind of just came to you? An easy moment to score?
JW: Well, interestingly enough, even though that scene was difficult to score I think that cue out of all of the cues came the most naturally. I think the relatability of what she’s saying [in that scene], rang true and I think would ring true for any composer or artist. The drive, the passion, the want, and the need to do something artistic and whatever obstacles get in your way. Without giving too much away, that’s the conversation she’s having with Cinderella.
So, even though it was difficult in the sense that Mychael and I probably spent a lot of time really thinking through what we wanted to say and how we wanted to say it. Once the fingers hit the piano, it came really naturally because I was so moved by the scene. Genuinely, I just thought it was so unexpected in this film.
CC: That’s really interesting! We love talking to composers about the different ways they approach scoring a scene or a particular project.
JW: There’s so many different ways to approach writing a cue, but for me it's always a balance between the intellectual approach and also the organic, natural, from the heart approach. I think it's always a bit of a hybrid of the two, thinking deeply about what's being said, what the story needs at this moment. And then also, just thinking about how it resonates for you as a person and how you would authentically score that moment. It's an exercise.
Film Still from Cinderella
CC: Are there any cues or moments in the film that we didn't mention that you'd like people to watch out for when watching the film?
JW: You got the goodies, for sure, but I also I love the moment between Cinderella and the Prince when they come together. You hear their love theme, it's fully orchestral, fully formed. That’s a really sweet moment towards the end when they’re in the field and they run into each other. It’s their big romantic moment—I love that you hear their theme fully orchestrated. It’s lush and romantic.
CC: When will the soundtrack be released and will the score be on there as well?
JW: The soundtrack will be released on September 3rd, along with the film. We have a score suite on the soundtrack being released by Epic Records, which we’re really excited about. And Sony Classical is also putting out a separate original soundtrack of the score.
CC How did you approach editing the score into a suite? Was that really difficult to try to bring it all into one track?
JW: I find it pretty challenging and luckily Mychael is just a master of all things music, so he helped guide that along. The instinct may be to do it in a linear fashion, in the sense, should it just be all cues played in the order as within the film itself.
Once we explored that approach we thought, “You know what, let’s find a more interesting way to reveal what the score is and give it peaks and valleys.” And so, we experimented a lot, we played around with different ideas, but we wanted to keep it moving, keep it energized.
We found that taking Fab G’s cue and opening the score suite with that would be really fun and then have a simpler romantic piano cue come in. We tailored it so it would feel like it's a musical adventure of the score.
CC: This particular take on Cinderella has a very feminist perspective all the way through. What's it like being one of the few women in a field that’s really dominated by men?
JW: It’s challenging, that’s for sure, but I have to say I feel very lucky to be working in this field. As difficult as being a woman in the industry may be at times, the support amongst composers is really incredible to witness and makes it worthwhile. I think the fight is really about getting the industry on board and moving our way up the ladder, essentially educating the powers-that-be that women are more than qualified to do the job that men have been doing forever.
But that having been said, I've been very fortunate to be mentored by a lot of incredible, talented men in this industry. And so, I think we just need our voices to be heard and the more that the men in our business can continue to vouch and support and shepherd us to the front, the better.
It is challenging and often times I find that I am put up for projects that are very female fronted or have a female director, which I mean, I'd happily do for the rest of time. I love working with women, but we want to make sure that that's not all there is for women—that if we're adamant about pushing diversity and inclusion, then female composers should be able to work with male directors. I’ve worked with a lot of men and it's an amazing experience. I think there's value to it, just being two different sexes. It adds a different understanding of certain narratives or stories.
It's a slow-moving train, but we’re moving. There's a lot of incredible female composers—of course Hildur [Guðnadóttir] helped the movement and Tamar-kali, who is in incredible. There are so many wonderful female composers out there who all have very distinct unique voices that need to be heard.
Within the circle of composers, I feel the support. It's just about the higher ups. And I think they're genuinely trying to open the doors, but it takes time.
CC: What other upcoming projects do you have?
JW: So, I just finished a documentary called Still Working 9 to 5, which is about the making of the original movie 9 to 5, and is executive-produced by Dolly Parton. It’s the story of making that film and how important it was and how it was the first time on screen we'd ever witnessed a narrative, where women were plotting to kill their bosses due to the treatment they were getting in the workplace.
It explores how important that film was and also goes into the women's movement and where we are today. It's a really beautifully done documentary and it's also a lot of fun and Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda are in it. It’s been a blast to work on.
I’m also about to start a film called 1Up, the director is Kyle Newman, it’s about female gamers which I didn’t know a lot about. I didn’t know a lot about gaming in general, but as I’ve educated myself, it’s really fascinating. Women in sports—gaming is a sport, so it’s going to be a fun one to score, it’s going to be electronic, very synthy.
Something that’s also important to me and is a big part of who I am is, I’m producing a record for a singer-songwriter named Lily Kershaw. She's a fantastic artist and that's really important to me as part of what I do outside of film composition.