'The Incredibles' with Composer Michael Giacchino

By Lishann Johnson

The main reason I was excited to go to Alamo Drafthouse's recent screening of The Incredibles, aside for my love for the movie, was the chance to meet and participate in the Q&A with composer Michael Giacchino (jee-a-kee-no). It was a great experience to listen to Giacchino talk. The Q&A, moderated by Austin composer Brian Satterwhite, happened before the movie, which I really enjoyed. In my opinion, having to wait until the end of the film to talk to the guest is not necessary when the movie is as popular and memorable as The Incredibles.

This was Giacchino's first feature film, before he started composing for video games (the Call Of Duty and Medal of Honor series) and television (Alias and Lost). I would say he hit a home run on his first feature score.

Giacchino told the audience how he came to work on The Incredibles; his friend Teddy Newton introduced him to director Brad Bird. Like all stories in Hollywood, it had its ups and downs. The upside (besides getting the job) was when he was asked to take a couple of the scenes home to score them, the downside was having to wait a week to find out if he had gotten the job, and then being told by Bird that his music had the potential to ruin the movie if he got it wrong. Ultimately I think anyone who has seen The Incredibles would agree that the movie was only enhanced by his jazzy heroic themes.

Giacchino also talked about the "catch-22" in Hollywood that you can’t get work until you have experience, but you can't get experience until you work. He said that meeting Brad Bird was like finding a needle in a haystack, because he really cares about the work you do. He said J.J. Abrams is the same way and that Michael knows that he is lucky to have found a couple of LA's "needles in the haystack."

Giacchino also mentioned that going to film school gave him and Bird something more to talk about than just the film they were working on. Their mutual love for the process of filmmaking brought them closer together, and definitely factored in to their future collaborations.

This was by far the best movie experience I have had at the Alamo Drafthouse. I recommend going to their special events -- and Brian Satterwhite said he hopes to do a whole film composer series of screenings/Q&As. Be sure to buy your tickets ahead of time and get to the theater early as they are always in huge demand -- the screening of The Incredibles was nearly a full house.

[Photo credit: "Red Carpet Arrivals, 'Let Me In' US Premiere: Michael Giacchino" from Fantastic Fest 2010, by Larry Richman. Found on Flickr, used with permission. View all Richman's photos from the event. ]