I've always been very left of center and the radio never had much diversity and film did.

I'm kind of an antisocial person. I realised when I was playing in bands that I wasn't that comfortable being on-stage, and I preferred to be behind-the-scenes. I like the seclusion of composing.

It's very important that you never depend on money to fulfill your creative vision. If you do that, you're doomed to fail.

If you want to survive in the film industry, it's not about fighting for your visions because that's a given. It's thinking about how much is your vision going to cost, and then, what are the consequences, because you may have $100 million, but the reality is that $100 million needs to make $500 million to be a success.

When you've finished the film and everybody's already made back all their money, everybody just leaves you alone and I'm very happy. That's what it has to be like.

Composing demands a degree of isolation.

For me, the work begins with a rough cut of the film. I can't do much with the script. I've tried to write music to a script prior to seeing the film, but I've found it turns out to be a waste of time.