Jay Wadley, Composer for “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”, Talks Music, Life, and Charlie Kaufman
“There is an internal logic of the music that echoes the internal logic of the film.”
The September 4th release of “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” marks Charlie Kaufman’s 3rd film and his first collaboration with film composer and all-around chill dude, Jay Wadley. The Brooklyn-based composer and musician, who has scored films such as “Indignation” and “Driveways”, was handed a monumental task when approached with Kaufman’s newest work: Create a richly thematic and complex score that acts as another character in the film. Simple, right? Through collaboration with Kaufman, and a deep understanding of his craft, the end result is a score that manages to be effortlessly euphoric, highly familiar, and filled with allure and intrigue.
Following in the harmonious footsteps of Kaufman frequenters like Jon Brion (“Synecdoche, New York”, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) and Carter Burwell (“Adaptation”, “Anomalisa”), Wadley’s involvement in “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” was “completely shocking and life-changing”; during his first call with the film’s producers, he went through “a whole range of emotions in five seconds”. With his musical tendencies grappling with a wide array of textures and tones, from punk to classical, Wadley’s ability to traverse genre was a perfect fit with Kaufman’s sensibilities. For him, the project was a dream opportunity and a rigorous undertaking.
During our interview, he spoke with an energetic passion, excited generosity, and a strange familiarity akin to catching up with an old friend who’s doing great things in the world. We touched upon his musical upbringing, his process when given a new project, and tips for those wanting to pursue music composition for film and television. Most of all, it was an amazing privilege to be able to sink deep into the music of “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”, from his collaboration with Charlie Kaufman to his biggest hurdles in producing the score, Wadley’s love and connection to his craft will certainly resonate within those who experience his work in “I’m Thinking of Ending Things”.
“[Kaufman] was super open. We got on the same page pretty quickly on our first call as far as how the music should function in the film; and how it should relate to the themes of the film; and how it should relate to the characters. He was very clear that he did not want a traditional horror score because the film is not really a horror film. There are elements of those things which [the music]references to a degree, but he wasn’t looking for something was try to just amp up the tension in that traditional horror score type of way.”
“There was a whole conceptual element that from the get go we had determined. It would be similar to the film itself in that it’s very self-referential. There are these cynical, thematic elements to it. After creating the ballet, I had all of that material so a lot o the score ends up being fragments of those elements. it plays with this sense of memory and degradation of memory over time and appropriates things from there artists and bringing them into the narrative while creating its own storyline within itself.”
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” premieres on Netflix Friday, September 4th. See the full interview in the video below.