It’s not breaking news or anything, but did you know that Beck’s former/sometime bassist and Ima Robot member Justin Meldal-Johnsen did the music supervision to the upcoming film, “The Informers”? (He’s worked with Gnarls Barkley, Garbage, Air, NIN, Tori Amos, etc.).
Based on a controversial Bret Easton Ellis novel (which one isn’t), the provocative movie is naturally set in the decadent and coke-saturated ’80s which makes for a synthy good time.
Trailers so far have featured Flock of Seagulls and New Order. Between Gary Numan’s “Cars,” “New Gold Dream” by Simple Minds, and the aforementioned trailer tracks you can piece together an idea of the ’80s music extravaganza. We’re working on getting the whole list of bands (hint to Senator).
In 2007 Meldal Johnson wrote on his site, “this is a big one and a first for me.” Clearly he was excited about his first music supe gig. He explained his involvement on the film as an “accident.” “I’m from L.A.,” he said in Nov, 2008. “It’s a town where you’re inevitably bound to make some connection with the movie business. You can’t help it. You’re always going to be privy to some sort of the movie business or whatever.”
Christopher Young (“Spider-Man 3”) composed the score and “The Informers” is currently screening at the Sundance Film Festival. The film opens April 10, in limited release according to the always fallible IMDB. The cast isn’t a small one. ‘Informers’ stars Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger, Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder, Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Isaak, Rhys Ifans, and the late Brad Renfro in his final screen appearance.
Some reviews of the film are not kind. Hollywood Elsewhere just said that the film is “as rancid and repellent as a movie of this sort gets. Set in 1983 Los Angeles, it makes you feel sorry the actors but mostly for yourself because you’re stuck watching it. I know that I will never ever watch another sleazy, poison-virus flick about a bunch of empty, drugged-up Hollywood zombies smoking too much, drinking too much, doing too much blow and boring the living shit out of the audience.” Update: /Film loathed the movie so much they wrote a pithy and dismissive 15 word review. “Spoiled Rich kids. Drugs. Sex. Amber Heard naked. Aids. Infidelity. Kidnapping. Unconnected. Boring. Uninteresting. Horrible.” We’ve got our own review coming later this week.