Composer Michael Giacchino Is Working With Paul McCartney On An Animated Movie
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Film composerMichael GiacchinoandSir Paul McCartney, best known for an obscure rock group called The Beatles, have been working on an animated film together. Giacchino, who’s the Oscar-winning composer behindUpandStar Trek, is hopeful we’ll see the film one day. Unless we’re mistaken, the jovial composer is possibly alluding to a McCartney-Netflix projectcalledHigh in the Clouds.
We recently spoke to Giacchino about his debutsolo album,Travelogue Volume 1, which is a pure delight that tells the story of an alien visiting Earth. During the interview, he told us about his love for The Beatles and a bit about the McCartney project. “There’s an animated film he was putting together and wanted to do, so he called and asked if I’d want to work with him on that,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been working on in the last bunch of years. One day, one day it’ll come to fruition.”
Presumably, the animated movie he’s talking about is McCartney’s adaptation of his own children’s book,High in the Clouds, which he co-authored withPhilip Ardaghand was illustrated byGeoff Dunbar. Last year, Netflix acquired the film about a teenage squirrel “pulled into a ramshackle gang of teenage rebels who live high in the clouds after he accidentally antagonizes Gretsch the owl, the tyrannical leader (and fabulous singer!), who steals the voice of anyone who upstages her.” McCartney wrote seven or eight new original songs for the movie.
One of those unreleased songs involvesLady Gaga. Over five years ago, the pop star posted abehind-the-scenesimage of herself alongside a large band, including Giacchino, Pearl Jam guitaristMike McCready, McCartney, and McCartney’s thunderous drummer,Abraham “Abe” Laboriel Jr.Rolling Stone Magazine confirmed Gaga contributed to one of the film’s songs.
Netflix hasn’t shared a release date forHigh in the Cloudsyet. The adaptation is directed byTimothy Reckart(the Oscar-winningHead Over Heels) and hails from the mind ofJon Croker, who wrote the live-actionPaddingtonfilms. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Netflix,” McCartney said in the press release. “They complement what is already an amazing team with [the 125-year-old French studio] Gaumont and we can think of no-one better to be working with to bring our film to a global audience. I’ve always loved animated films and this is a hugely important passion project for me. I can’t wait for the world to see it.”
Giacchino didn’t confirm whetherHigh in the Cloudswas the McCartney project to which he’s been contributing, but the Gaga picture may have pointed us in the right direction. In another life, Giacchino told us, McCartney would’ve been an amazing film composer. “I’ve been very lucky to work with him on a couple of things,” he said. “Getting to know him over the past seven years or so has been such a treat, because you realize this is a man who just does this because he loves it. It’s as simple as that. He loves the challenge that music gives him. He loves sharing the result of that challenge with everyone in the world. You listen to the breadth of work he’s done and you say to yourself, ‘Is there anyone else on the planet who can say they’ve done what Paul McCartney has done in the music world?’ I’d say no.”
