Hiddleston explores tragic life of country singer Williams – Giacchino wins Composer of the Year at World Soundtrack Awards

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NASHVILLE, Tenn, Oct 25, (RTRS): When British actor Tom Hiddleston was tasked with portraying country music legend Hank Williams, whose tragic, short life was marred by adultery, alcohol and drugs, he wanted to do it as objectively as possible. “It is the responsibility of the actor to tell the truth and to not judge a character,” Hiddleston, who plays Williams in the drama film “I Saw the Light,” told Reuters.

“Everybody has his bad days … I have something in me that makes sure I can control my impulses.” “I Saw the Light,” which premiered last week in Nashville, details the meteoric rise and fall of Williams, from his breakthrough in the 1940s to his death at age 29 from heart failure in the back seat of his powder-blue Cadillac on New Year’s Day in 1953.

It is the latest leading role for Hiddleston, who is best known as the villainous Loki in Marvel films, commands a loyal fanbase of ‘Hiddlestoners’ and can currently be seen as the seductive Thomas Sharpe in gothic romance “Crimson Peak.”

The 34-year-old Londoner said he mastered Williams’ southern Alabama drawl with help from Nashville singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, who schooled him in all things Hank Williams. “It was like climbing up a mountain,” Hiddleston said.

Williams’ story has been told before, but director Marc Abraham said he tried to understand the contradictions of a man who released God-reflecting tunes like “I Saw The Light,” while boozing, popping pills and womanizing his way through “Lovesick Blues” and “Honky-Tonkin’.”

Painful

“We knew he led a troubled, often painful, spontaneous life,” Abraham said. As his fame rose, Williams’ relationship with his wife Audrey became more tempestuous with his growing reliance on alcohol and painkiller drugs. “I felt sorry for her,” said Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Audrey.

Just as Williams lived and died after a fast-paced life, Abraham said he drew inspiration from gritty films like 1974’s “Lenny” and 1980’s “Raging Bull” to tell the story, based on Colin Escott’s “Hank Williams: The Biography.”

Hiddleston said the intense shoot, filming more than 150 scenes in 57 locations over 39 days, allowed him to take risks in capturing the “common humanity” of the man who lived with “joy, mischief, rebellion, loneliness, sadness and shame” – much of it self-inflicted. “I Saw the Light” is due for release next year.

Also:

LOS ANGELES: Ten years after he won Discovery of the Year at the World Soundtrack Awards, Michael Giacchino won the film music ceremony’s top prize — Composer of the Year — at the event’s 15th annual edition in Gent, Belgium on Saturday. Giacchino faced some stiff competition, including reigning Oscar winner Alexandre Desplat, who has been nominated in the category nine consecutive years dating back to 2007, having won five times. Giacchino was recognized for his scores for the Pixar hit “Inside Out,” as well as “Jurassic World” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”

Other winners at the concert/ceremony, which acted as the grand finale of the 42nd Film Fest Gent, included Antonio Sanchez, whose drum score for “Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” earned him both Score and Discovery of the Year honors, a decidedly unorthodox choice for the international body of film pros who decide on such matters.

The Best Original Song kudos went to “The Apology Song” from the animated feature “The Book of Life,” with music by Gustavo Santaolalla and lyrics by Paul Williams, while the Sabam Award for Best Young Composer was given to German maestro Peer Kleinschmidt, and the Public Choice Award went to John Paesano’s music for “The Maze Runner.”

As part of the festivities, the Brussels Philharmonic and the Flemish Radio Choir, conducted by Dirk Brosse, performed selections of film music by the event’s guest of honor Alan Silvestri, best known for his collaborations with Robert Zemeckis (the “Back to the Future” movies, “The Walk”), as well as the compositions of Lifetime Achievement Award winner Patrick Doyle (“Cinderella,” “Brave”) and last year’s Discovery of the Year, Daniel Pemberton (“The Counselor,” “Steve Jobs”).

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