Marvin Hamlisch Talks 'The Informant' and his Return to Film Scoring with Variety

Marvin Hamlisch, composer extraordinaire of A Chorus Line fame, first achieved success composing for the big screen, winning Oscars for his work in The Way We Were and The Sting back in the 1970's.  For the first time in over a decade, he has returned to cinematic roots, composing the score for Steven Soderbergh's The Informant, starring Matt Damon, in a big splashy way.

Variety reports:

"Most directors want movie music that subtly, quietly supports the images. Not this time. According to Hamlisch, director Steven Soderbergh asked him not just for energetic music, but also to audibly alert audiences that the movie was a comedy. "Make sure you underline funny," Hamlisch quoTed Soderbergh as saying.

That Hamlisch did. Practically every cue in the movie is a brash, lively reminder that something's terribly amiss in this story about a corporate whistle-blower (Matt Damon) who turns out to have more secrets than his bosses."

On his artistic vision for 'The Informant' Hamlisch reveals: "Then I had the concept: The music would be what's in his brain, the way he sees it, not the way you're seeing it onscreen. So, in a way, it became another character in the film."

To read the full feature on Hamlisch's and The Informant' click here.

As a composer, Hamlisch has won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards. His groundbreaking show, A Chorus Line, received the Pulitzer Prize.

He is the composer of more than forty motion picture scores including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of Scott Joplin's music for The Sting, for which he received a third Oscar. His prolific output of scores for films include original compositions and/or musical adaptations for Sophie's Choice, Ordinary People, The Swimmer, Three Men and a Baby, Ice Castles, Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Save the Tiger, and his latest effort The Informant.

On the theatre side, Hamlisch has been involved with Liza's at the Palace..., A Chorus Line, Imaginary Friends, Sweet Smell of Success, Minnelli on Minnelli, Street Corner Symphony, The Goodbye Girl, Blithe Spirit, Smile, Up in One, and They're Playing Our Song, among others.