My Soundtrack Stories

Starting with his very first introductions to music and playing in a punk band with his brothers, Baz discusses the importance of music in his life, how Elton John helped him make Moulin Rouge!, how he was told the soundtrack to Romeo + Juliet would flop (it was a global hit) and why he describes Elvis' story as a 'tragic American opera'.

The Oscar-nominated Australian director and writer made a huge impact with his first feature film in 1992, Strictly Ballroom. He followed that up with an effortlessly stylish adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. He then pioneered the jukebox musical with the lavish Moulin Rouge! - the final part of his 'red curtain' trilogy.

Baz then made an epic tribute to his home country with Australia in 2008, followed by adapting F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby in another wildly lavish picture, which juxtaposed modern hip-hop and R'n'B with the music of the roaring 20s. We then waited nine years for his next movie on the big screen - the highly successful biopic of Elvis Presley's life, showing the highs and lows of the life of the King of Rock And Roll. Using his huge back catalogue combined with new covers recorded by a-list modern artists, the film stars Austin Butler in the title role alongside Tom Hanks as manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Baz Luhrmann discusses the music from his films with James King as Elvis hits cinemas.

Celebrating the directors, producers and stars of the movies and their soundtrack loves.

British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan has been making films since he was just seven years old, and is now one of the most distinctive and celebrated directors and writers in the world, with a following of dedicated fans as well as critical and commercial success. In 2005, he released his breakthrough twisty thriller Memento, and hasn't looked back since.

In subsequent years he redefined the superhero genre with his acclaimed trilogy of Batman films, starring Christian Bale and featuring Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight. He kept audiences on their toes with magic mystery thriller The Prestige, then in the 2010s moved to mind-bending sci-fi and bagged his two Oscar nominations with Inception. Later came Interstellar and Tenet, as well as his WWII epic Dunkirk, based on the 1940 evacuations of Dunkirk. In 2019, Nolan was awarded with a CBE for his contributions to film.

Now, Nolan is once again telling a historical story with his 12th film, Oppenheimer. Based on the book American Prometheus, the film tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helped develop the first first nuclear weapons on the Manhattan Project. An incredibly talent and revered scientist, he later opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb in the Cold War period and, combined with personal ill-feeling from others in power and a strong anti-communist sentiment in the USA at the time, was discredited publicly - a decision nullified by the US government in the years since his death in 1967. The film stars Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer, as well as Robert Downey Jr, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.

When it comes to music, Nolan has worked with several notable composers on the score of his films, particularly Hans Zimmer and, more recently, Ludwig G怀ransson. His innovative and perfectionist approach to film music has seen him crowdsourcing fans chanting for The Dark Knight Rises, extensively using the never-ending Shepard Tone illusion to create tension, and even recording the ticking of his own pocket watch. He discusses all this and more with James King.

Discover more episodes of My Soundtrack Stories on BBC Sounds.

Christopher Nolan takes Radio 2's movie critic James King through the music of his films.

Celebrating the directors, producers and stars of the movies and their soundtrack loves.

When it comes to music, Nolan has worked with several notable composers on the score of his films, particularly Hans Zimmer and, more recently, Ludwig Göransson. His innovative and perfectionist approach to film music has seen him crowdsourcing fans chanting for The Dark Knight Rises, extensively using the never-ending Shepard Tone illusion to create tension, and even recording the ticking of his own pocket watch. He discusses all this and more with James King.

A multi-talented actor, writer and director, Greta Gerwig is releasing one of the most eagerly anticipated comedies of 2023 - Barbie. Starring Margot Robbie in the title role and with Ryan Gosling as Ken, the movie has been making headlines ever since it was announced. Key to the film is the music, for which Gerwig has enlisted some of the biggest pop stars making music in the world right now, such as Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Charli XCX, Sam Smith, Haim, Tame Impala and Ava Max - to name just a few. Overseen by multi award-winning producer Mark Ronson, the singles have racked up millions of streams and views even before the film has hit cinemas.

Greta initially rose to fame acting in various indie films in the 2000s, before beginning to find mainstream success with films like Frances Ha. She always considered herself primarily a writer and filmmaker, having made her directorial debut in 2008 with Nights and Weekends. It took almost ten years for her to follow this up, but it was worth the wait.

For Lady Bird, released in 2017 and starring Saoirse Ronan, Gerwig was nominated in the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay categories at the Oscars. She was in the screenplay category again a few years later with her follow-up, an adaptation of the classic novel Little Women. After Barbie, she's due to make a live-action adaptation of Snow White.

Discover more episodes of My Soundtrack Stories on BBC Sounds.

Greta Gerwig takes Radio 2's movie critic James King through the music of her films.

Celebrating the directors, producers and stars of the movies and their soundtrack loves.

The director and co-writer of Barbie takes Radio 2's resident movie critic James King through the music used in that film as well as Little Women, Lady Bird and more.

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is the ninth film from the double Oscar-winning director and writer Quentin Tarantino. His filmography started with Reservoir Dogs in the early 90s, followed soon after by Pulp Fiction. Since then he's made Jackie Brown, the revenge-fuelled two-parter Kill Bill, Death Proof, WWII drama Inglorious Basterds and westerns Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight. His movies are consistently considered among the greatest of all time, proving popular with critics and fans alike. They are known for his distinctive style, often inspired by scenes from his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema. He chooses the music from the films from his own extensive record collection, hand-selecting each track very carefully.

In this special, Tarantino talks movie critic James King through some tracks from his films. From listening to hours of the 60s radio station 93KHJ for Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood and teaching Uma Thurman to do the twist for Pulp Fiction to convincing record label EMI to let him use Stealers Wheel for THAT scene in Reservoir Dogs.

Film director Quentin Tarantino takes James King through the music from his movies.

Celebrating the directors, producers and stars of the movies and their soundtrack loves.

Starting with how the music in his Oscar-winning debut American Beauty came about – including the iconic score for the plastic bag scene, how Sam dubbed in his own whistling and refusing to pay a six-figure sum to include a rock classic. Then James delves into the music of Empire of Light and the early 80s soundtrack that reflects Sam's own teenage music tastes.

Sam reveals how the poignant I Am a Poor Wayfaring Stranger wasn't in his initial plan for the WWI epic 1917. Finally, he discusses how working with Adele on the theme for Skyfall was a dream, and what really happened when his second Bond film, Spectre, ended up with two theme songs - from Radiohead and Sam Smith.

Sir Sam Mendes started his directorial career on the stage, with his future Skyfall star Judi Dench amongst the cast of his first West End show, and won an Olivier Award in 1996 for his work on Company and The Glass Menagerie. In 1999, he made his big-screen directorial debut with American Beauty, which was met with critical acclaim and five Academy Awards, including a Best Director gong for Mendes.

Since then he's played with a variety of genres and styles, including the lo-fi indie comedy-drama Away We Go, the noir thriller Road to Perdition and an adaptation of the modern classic novel Revolutionary Road. Then, in 2012, he directed the first of two James Bond films in the acclaimed Skyfall, which marked 50 years of the franchise and raked in over a billion dollars at the global box office. In 2019, he was back at the awards ceremonies once more, receiving Best Director and Best Film Baftas for the WWI epic 1917.

His latest film, Empire of Light, is set in the early 80s and is a very personal film for Mendes. It revolves around the employees of the Empire, a stunning but struggling independent cinema on the seafront, notably new arrival Stephen, played by Micheal Ward, and Hilary, played by Olivia Coleman.

This programme was recorded before the sad passing of Terry Hall of The Specials.

Sam Mendes takes Radio 2 movie critic James King through the music of his films.

Celebrating the directors, producers and stars of the movies and their soundtrack loves.

Starting with how the music in his Oscar-winning debut American Beauty came about - including the iconic score for the plastic bag scene, how Sam dubbed in his own whistling and refusing to pay a six-figure sum to include a rock classic. Then James delves into the music of Empire of Light and the early 80s soundtrack that reflects Sam's own teenage music tastes.

A writer and director who rarely gives interviews, in this exclusive and extended chat he takes James through the music he's used across his filmography to date. Anderson's career began with 1996's Bottle Rocket and his distinctive style has won him fans, rave reviews from critics and awards ever since - he's won four Oscars, five Baftas and two Golden Globes to date. Asteroid City will be the 11th feature film he's written and directed, taking a place in a catalogue of movies with comedic dramas like The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom, as well as stop-motion animations Fantastic Mr Fox and Isle Of Dogs.

Many A-list actors have worked with Anderson repeatedly over the years, including brothers Luke and Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton and Adrien Brody. Asteroid City has a phenomenal ensemble cast including Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Jeff Goldblum and Jarvis Cocker (to name just a few).

When it comes to music, Anderson has a very fine attention to detail. He's worked with music supervisor Randall Poster ever since his second film, Rushmore, and has often returned to his favourite artists for inspiration - for example describing The Rolling Stones as the 'house band'.

Wes Anderson takes Radio 2's movie critic James King through the music of his films.

Celebrating the directors, producers and stars of the movies and their soundtrack loves.