Exclusive: Composer Ludwig Goransson Talks CreedPosted by Wilson Morales
November 25, 2015
Currently in theaters is award-winning director Ryan Coogler’s Rocky inspired film Creed. Opening nearly forty years after the original Rocky film debuted, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael Jordan, and Tessa Thompson, Creed focuses on the relationship between the late Apollo Creed’s son, Adonis Creed (Jordan), and the retired former boxing champion Rocky Balboa (Stallone). After meeting in Philadelphia, Rocky agrees to train Adonis, despite his own declining health.
While many will always remember the iconic score by Bill Conti that’s played in the previous Rocky films, the music of Creed was created by composer, songwriter, and producer Ludwig Goransson, who has worked with Coogler on all his film projects.
In addition to scoring Creed, the Swedish born composer wrote the film’s original songs in collaboration with Coogler, co-star Tessa Thompson, and hip-hop artists Sam Dew, Vince Staples, and Childish Gambino (Donald Glover). His television and film credits include We’re the Millers, and the current FOX series New Girl.
In speaking with Blackfilm.com, Goransson talked about his experience of creating the music for Creed, working with Coogler, and his favorite film scores.
How did you and Ryan meet?
Ludwig Göransson: I met Ryan Coogler the director at film school at USC about eight years ago. I was study music there and he was studying directing and we became really close friends and I scored his short film, “Locks.” Five years later, I score his first feature which was “Fruitvale Station” and after that he sent me the script for “Creed.” That was about 1 ½ years ago. That’s how I started writing music for him.
Unlike “Fruitvale,” which was an original film, with “Creed” you’re bringing your own original music to a franchise that most people remember Bill Conti’s score from. How challenging was that for you mentally?
LG: It was a huge challenge. I challenged myself to really put in a lot of thought and work into it. I don’t think it scared me, but used it to create something positive for the film.
How many attempts did it take before you realized you got the right one?
LG: I had the first draft one month into scoring the film. I had a first version which was slower and more emotional and it really didn’t have the energy of the boxer. Because of my relationship with Ryan and we have worked for so long together, I had the ability to be involved earlier as the composer. That gave me time to really develop your themes and time to really develop the music and I think we came up with something really special. I always wanted to created something that had the same impact the films had in the 70s from the first movie.
Did you go back and listen all the scores from the previous Rocky films before starting on this film?
LG: Yes, but we wanted to make sure that this is Creed’s story and especially with the music. Creed needed to have his own emotional theme of what he’s going through and that was the key essence for me and Ryan. Because it’s a part of the Rocky universe, it was always important for me to incorporate and have the same sentimental feel that the original Rocky movie had. It was always important to have something new for Creed’s theme.
Having worked with Ryan from his shorts to feature films, is there plenty of freedom for you to create the music without having him come back and forth to check in? Did he hear all of the drafts or just the final version?
LG: We work very closely. Everything I have music for a scene, I send it over to him and he reviews it and gives me feedback. I know how much he pushes me and how much he wants me to push myself. That’s always inspiring and I feel totally free and can do whatever I want.
What are some of your favorite film scores?
LG: Some of my favorite scores include Bernard Herrmann’s Hitchcock scores. Something I grew up with is John Williams of course with Indiana Jones and Star Wars. I was also very inspired at an early age to be a film composer by Danny Elfman’s music, especially with Edward Scissorhands. That was a big one for me.
Between Fruitvale Station and Creed, is there a theme in both scores?
LG: I would say that Creed has a lot more music in it. It’s 60 minutes of music while Fruitvale had about a fourth of that at best. There’s a bigger focus in Creed because I had to make music for training montages. There’s a six minute training montage with no dialogue and just music. That’s a cool thing to do for a composer. That’s something you’ve always dreamed of doing. There’s also a tradition of the Rocky theme. Rocky is still in the movie and I wanted to play with his theme as well. There’s a point in the movie when his theme comes in.
Can you talk about the song you co-wrote with Ryan, Vince Staples and Donald Glover?
LG: Yes. That’s the end credit song and it’s basically a four minute medley of all of themes that are in the score. There are about three or four emotional themes in the film and “Waiting for my moment” is the medley of all those four themes. Ryan wrote the lyrics and Donald is singing one of the melodies as well. It was basically music that I wrote and I called in some friends to come in and contribute.
How did Donald get involved?
LG: I’ve been working with Donald for about seven years. I’ve produced all of Childish Gambino’s music. He’s the person I like working with a lot and I was going to have him sing the chorus, but he added a little bit of his own touch to it.
