Its the kind of news that will make people roll their eyes.
Ah yes, theyll say after seeing the headlines.
Not even the musics original any more.
The source of dispute is the lack of payment to those who performed on the original recording.
So how and why is this happening in the first place?
The automatic presumption is laziness, but it is more complex that that.
A lot of this reuse takes the form of pop culture references, franchise continuity or intentional intertextual references.
InLittle Fockers, one of the listed clips, 18 seconds of theJawsscore were used.
A bit like a shark.
A shark shaped like Robert De Niro.
If thats a knowing joke between the filmmakers and the audience, though, others are diegetic.
InBridesmaids, Kristen Wiigs Annie watchesCast Away(Oh, Wilson!
), while inThe Officeseason nine, episode nine Dwight Christmas Pete and Erin watchDie Hard.
Of course he wouldnt know any better than to steal music.
There can be a range of reasons for this.
For example, a last-minute need for additional music in post-production.
Reusing
Some reusing is the composer intentionally recalling their own work.
Barbers Adagio For Strings, made famous among cinema audiences byPlatoon, has cropped up inAmelieandThe Elephant Man.
Its not just classical compositions, though: pop songs are re-appropriated too.
Recommending
And finally, the most obvious kind of music reuse: marketing.
Distributors all the time borrow soundtracks to help recommend their movie in trailers.
That music from the film you really liked?
If its in this trailer, then maybe youll like our film too!
Remember that action flick that sounded really cool?
This one sounds cool as well!
And there you have it: a handy guide to how Hollywood reuses music.
