Interview: John Ottmann talks his career and a little film called Superman Returns

By Jeff Swindoll Jun 14, 2006, 13:56 GMT

Following a mysterious absence of several years, the Man of Steel comes back to Earth in the epic action-adventure Superman Returns, a soaring new chapter in the saga of one of the world’s most beloved superheroes. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on with her life. Or has she? ...more

Look!  Up in the sky!  It’s a bird!  It’s a plane!  No, it’s John Ottmann.  You were expecting someone else?  Seriously, John Ottmann is a cinematic jack of all trades (well, most trades). 

M&C was lucky enough to catch this Hollywood “everyman” and get him to share his thoughts on his career, association with Bryan Singer, and his latest project (which some of you might’ve heard of) Superman Returns.

M&C: Tell me about the influences upon your career? 

Ottmann: Captain Kirk!  Seriously, the first influence was the original Star Trek, believe it or not.  The music in that series, although often dated now, was done in such a filmic, strongly thematic and grand way, that it made me conscious of artful scoring.  They also could not afford to custom score every episode and had to re-use themes throughout the series.  This taught me the power of the recurring themes that gave the show such continuity.  Then, of course, came the ultimate - Star Wars.   Like for many of my generation, this really put orchestral film music on the map.  Soon, I was developing a greater passion for it and discovered my greatest influence: Jerry Goldsmith.  Alien was his Star Wars for me.  Then I went back through his career and began collecting all of his scores from the 60s (along with Williams too of course).  I was also a nerd (and still am), - What?  Loving film music and being a nerd??  Call me different.  So, yeah I grew up listening to only classical music and film scores.  I would go the symphony in my home town of San Jose, CA, and watch my favorite pieces (by Dvorak, Debussy, Holst, and so on) be performed.  By watching, I learned a lot about orchestration, etc.  Spielberg too has been a big influence in how he allows the score to speak in his films, and his filmic style and passion in general.  He’s the real deal a bonafide film-maker whose hand is evident throughout the films he makes.  He also started out making movies in his parents garage and played the clarinet badly same as me.

M&C: How did you get involved with Bryan Singer?  You two seem like Tim Burton and Danny Elfman/Hitchcock and Herrmann doing so many movies together.  I don’t think that Elfman or Herrmann were film editors though. 

Ottmann: We met on a student film at USC.  Bryan was a production assistant, and I was a friend of the directors with whom I had taken a directing course.  After the cut was assembled by another editor, the director asked if I would re-edit the entire film.  No one could follow the story. As the PA on the film from the very beginning, Bryan had a bird’s eye view watching me re-tell a new story from the editing room; seeing what I could do to save a film.  We became acquaintances and soon I edited and co-directed Bryan s first short, Lions Den.  On his first feature, Public Access, I was the editor, but in the 11th hour, the composer dropped out.  I had been dabbling in writing music as a hobby and told him I could write the score.  It worked out, and from then on, he has insisted I both edit and score his films. Its sort of like mutual blackmail.  I wont edit it unless I score, and he wont let me just score unless I edit.  So every couple years I go to Editing Jail when Bryan does a film. 

M&C: Looking at your listing on the Internet Movie Database, I have to ask is there something that you do NOT do?  Composer, editor, director.  Wow!

Ottmann: I don’t act.  That would be a disaster.  I tried a cameo in my own film, where I didn’t even have any lines, and every time the camera got to me, I busted up and ruined the entire long take.  I just can’t take myself seriously in that way.  I also don’t fix cars.

M&C: Did you plan on becoming all of those things in question two or did you fall into some of them?  Where you trained in a particular field and just happened into the others?

Ottmann: I was making films from the 4th grade   pretty extravagant ones, two were an hour long.  I turned my parent’s garage into multiple movie sets.  I wrote, directed and edited them even acted in a couple - eeh gads.  I also played clarinet in high school band.  My plan was to direct films and then hire my idol, Jerry Goldsmith to score them.  I never planned on becoming a film composer.  Film music was always the impetus and joy behind all my films.  I would often make a movie just to accommodate a favorite cue from a soundtrack album.  Later I just started dabbling in writing music as a hobby when I graduated from film school re-scoring my friends student films as training, using a Hammond keyboard and midi gear.  Soon, I was getting paid $100 to do training videos for Aampco Parking and Kwikset Lock company.  I was also editing small films on the side all while working at the Sheraton Universal Hotel.  Then Bryan did Public Access, which I edited and scored while I held down a full-time job.  When The Usual Suspects came along, I was able to make the break and finally sustain myself working in film - despite the pittance I was paid!

M&C: What do you consider your main job (or do you consider that you have a main job)?  Composer, editor, or director?

Ottmann: Because I fell into it, it took me awhile to say with confidence that I was a film composer. I was more comfortable just saying I was a filmmaker.  But as I got more experience behind me and began forming my own distinctive style, I felt quite justified declaring composing as my main job.  Its what I love the most.  However, when I’m the editor (or if I go back and direct again) I embrace those tasks, and at those moments those tasks are my main job.  So I dunno.  Part of me doesn’t like to be defined too much.  When I went off to direct, people began to think I had left scoring for good.  I may jump around, but I’m always a passionate composer and never want to leave that.  So I’m a Film Composer with the mind of a film-maker I guess.

M&C: I see that John Williams’s theme is used in the new Superman Returns. Did you get to work with him? (I’m hazarding a guess, but I bet he was an influence)

Ottmann: We invited him to the session, but thank goodness he was in Europe!  Actually I would have been honored for him to visit, and that’s why we invited him.  But I admit I was a little relieved when he couldn’t make it.  That would be like God Himself descending upon the sessions, and would have added to my anxiety!  His brother, Don, was there though he plays the timpani.  I’m sure he was John’s informant on how it was going!  The theme to Superman is one of the most iconic themes ever written.  Even coming out of the womb, we somehow already know it and its association with the Superman lore.  So to use any other music as the main theme would be sacrilegious.  It was always planned to use the theme.  But I also felt trying to make the rest of score be a Williams sound-alike would have been a disaster.  I just approached the film as I would any other with my own instincts largely borne out of the masters like Williams and Goldsmith and then incorporated his main theme when it made sense thematically in the film.  It was also fun to do my own orchestrational take on his theme and make it organic to my score.  There was about two hours of music for me to write, and it was great to be able to come up with new music as well that will become part of the Superman world.

Ottmann: I haven’t really thought about it, but if there’s an area to get typecast in, I don’t think that one is half bad.  I was typecast for so long as the sinister/dark guy that it’s funny to be re-defined again even though being defined at all is sometimes quite frustrating.  I hope I can continue to explore new genres as I have in the past.  I think my resume shows that I’ve been able to explore a wide gamut of styles.  Unfortunately many of those scores usually my favorite ones are not well know - like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or Incognito.

M&C: Guess you can’t reveal any secrets from Superman Returns? 

Ottmann: Um, Brandon Routh's eyes aren’t really blue. That was all CGI'd in. I guess that’s a safe secret. And he looks great in tights, which isn’t a secret at all.

M&C: Weren’t you asked to incorporate Love Child by the Supremes into any orchestrations?

Ottmann: Huh?!  Oh, I get it.  Well, no, but I have a theme that addresses this.

M&C: Do you have plans to direct again?

Ottmann: I’d love to find a gem of a script, wouldn’t everyone, and do it.  Only problem is it means leaving scoring for a while, which is a scary thing to leave your main line of work that pays the bills.  I would like to go out on limb and take on a project as director, and composer.  But I have to wait a little longer so I can afford to go do that.

M&C: What movies are you currently working on after Superman Returns?

Ottmann: One coming up right now is A Night at the Museum, a Jumangi-like comedy starring Ben Stiller.  This should allow me to get back into my crazy quirky side, like Eight Legged Freaks, which was a blast to score.  It’ll be fun to let my hair down again. 

I’d like to thank John Ottmann for his time and answering our questions.  From the sound of things it may take some kryptonite to slow him down in his career.  Let’s hope that he stays away from glowing green rocks. 

Superman Returns hits theaters on June 28th in the U.S. and on July 14th in the UK. Visit the movie database for more information.