Well, I can say that a composer can do well scoring for a certain type of genre. Perhaps if he (or she) is composing another type of genre which he is not well known for, the score may not sound that appealing.

Horner also, but I'd get him to do something low key, these types to me are his best (eg. Sneakers & Field of Dreams)

Choosing a composer will all depend on the type of film I make, some can do specific moods and so on, some are so versitile they can do bloody anything mind you...

Dan (UK)

np: The Mummy

Often when I am writing little stories and screenplays by myself, I like listening to music. Once I wrote a story about Atlantis and I had Arnolds score to Stargate running. Another time I wrote a little crime-novel while listening to Dolores Claiborne. Right now, I am planning a lttle comic sketch and Iīll probably end up listenig to The Trouble With Harry. It all depends on what kind of music I feel fits the story and the caracters best. I like to imagine what the story would be like as a movie also, and therefore the music is very helpfull to me. So naturally, if I am ever going to work on a movie as a director (wich I hope for some day) I am going to want a specific type of music for the film. Iīd like to do a Hitchcock-style thriller, with Danny Elfman as composer. Simply because I donīt think anyone can do it better. But if the horrible thing should happen, that he is not able to work with me, Howard Shore or Ennio Morricone would be my second choises. But to be completely honest, Iīd probably end up dropping the whole project if I couldīnt get Elfman

SFT

So, as a wannabe director I would want to choose some one that is on the same level as I am and that I could trust if I said "...do what you want." Plus, I would want to have someone who could compose any type of music for any type of film.... drama, suspence, action, comedy. Also, I would want to collborate with someone who is somewhat close to my age... so that he or she wouldn't die after my first collaboration with them. I think I'd be looking for a type of relationship like Zemekis/Silvestri, Spielberg/Williams, Burton/Elfman, Emmrich/ Arnold, etc. It's the type of relationship where if you know a director is coming out with a new movie, instantly you know who is composing the music.

The person that would fit all of those categories is JOHN DEBNEY. Ever since CUTTHROAT ISLAND there has been no other composers I would work with. Sure I would love to have Williams or Goldsmith compose but I would love to work with one composer and one composer only and I feel that is I ever did get into filmmmaking Debney would be around long enough to work with me on a dozen films at the minimum.

Anyway that's who I would choose.

Thanks,

I'm writing it at the moment -- it's called PERSISTENCE, a kind of modern day NORTH BY NORTHWEST with touches of MARATHON MAN.

I'm very confident we'll get a decent budget and my only two stipulations are:

1. It's shot in scope.
2. Michael Kamen scores it.

Action: Hans Zimmer/Mark Mancina
Drama: Alan Silvestri
Comedy: Howard Shore
Epic: John Williams
Adventure: John Williams
Romance: John Williams
Futuristic Science Fiction: Enigma/Orbital
Western: Hans Zimmer/John Barry
Mystery/Horror: Masami Ueda
Syusaku Uchiyama
Shun Nishigaki (All three responsible for the awesome Resident Evil Series)

And here are some of the more interesting categories:

Each script is different in what I listen to in getting it written and then who I think should write music for the film- the latter being presumptious until you see it visually crafted. I was listening to Air Force One, Independence Day, and The Peacemaker. What struck out in my mind is that the music was fueling the burn to write- but it was not music I think that will eventually be in it anyway.