John Barry was the first film composer I was aware of. As a teenager I owned several of his Bond soundtracks.

Any film which views the darker side of life, which is death with a sense of humor, is very much to my taste.

I think I've only done one horror movie, Psycho III. That was a walk in the park compared to a romantic comedy.

Hopefully each film can be given a musical voice of its own, which is not to say that the instrumentation is always unique, but that the relationship between the sound and the image is unique.

I like the fact that New York looks a bit backwards, toward the Old World, rather than resolutely forwards.

If someone suddenly lost their director the day before shooting and wanted me to step in, I'd be willing to. But I'd do brain surgery the same way. I'm always up for something new.

I have always loved Scottish music - all sorts of Celtic, Gaelic music.