With mentors such as Italian master Luigi Nono and Academy Award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith, it's no surprise that Marco Beltrami has quickly become one of Hollywood's most sought-after composers. Beltrami's first big break came when he was chosen by Wes Craven to score 1996's surprise blockbuster "Scream." After the tremendous success of that film, Beltrami became hot property as a composer for horror films, signing on to score 1997's "Mimic," 1998's "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" and "The Faculty," as well as 1997's "Scream 2" and 2000's "Scream 3." But he has also steadily built a reputation for versatility -- having successfully scored indie fare such as 2002's "The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys" and tentpole features like last year's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines." Beltrami recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter's Ada Guerin about the progressive sounds behind the red-hot Dark Horse comic book adaptation "Hellboy" (Sony), his unique working relationship with director Guillermo del Toro and the price to be paid for loving Beethoven.

The Hollywood Reporter: The "Hellboy" score sounds very operatic. What inspired you to take that approach?
Marco Beltrami: On my first meeting with Guillermo (del Toro) when they were filming in Prague, he had told me how he wanted the score to feel. Then, when I saw the (footage), this approach seemed to fit very well because there are all these different strong characters who each warrant their own themes. For the most part, every scene in the film is based on some thematic element or combination of element.

THR: How many themes are there?
MB: There are about six.

THR: For a while you thought you might score in Prague. Why didn't you?
MB: There was some interest in scoring in Prague, but I think for a movie like this it would have been a mistake. It's not really a place suited to doing this kind of score. We relied a lot on incorporating electronic sounds, and the studios there are technically a bit behind. It might have been possible if we had a longer time to do it, but it would have been a real struggle.

THR: How much electronic music is used as opposed to orchestra music?
MB: The electronics are mainly there to supplement the orchestra. There are no purely electronic cues. We used about 60 tracks of different electronic sounds used in conjunction with the orchestra. For example, in the "Hellboy" theme, we use a baritone guitar, but one that has been heavily manipulated ... basically taking the physical sounds, manipulating them and using them in conjunction with the real sounds.

THR: How aware were you of other scores for movies based on comics? Were you consciously trying to steer away from a Danny Elfman or John Williams type score?
MB: Like Batman, Hellboy is kind of a dark character, but I didn't think that style was applicable to what I was doing. I was trying to do my own thing. Those comic book themes work great but "Hellboy" seemed like a very different thing. I figured I'd let the inspiration go where it went and not try to emulate something or consciously not (emulate).

THR: What were some highlights from the scoring sessions?
MB: Just hearing how well the orchestra played was a big highlight. Being able to finish on time and make everyone happy was important. Hearing your music come to life, not just seeing the notes on the pages is very exciting. Also hearing the theremin played was really cool.

THR: What happened to the Tibetan Monk throat singers?
MB: We had to drop them. It was mainly for budgetary reasons. There are some low male choir stuff that we used and supplemented with some electronic sounds. You can hear it on the cue called "Snowalkers."

THR: Was del Toro there for the entire scoring session? Did he have any suggestions or did you do anything different?
MB: No, he had no suggestions. That was another highlight, that everything went so smoothly. No last minute changes. In that sense, this was a rare experience.

THR: What is your working relationship with del Toro like?
MB: When we first started working together in '97 (on "Mimic"), we had our period of working on a vocabulary together. There was some complication in that he was in Toronto, and I was in L.A. I think through that and through (2002's) "Blade II," we came to understand each other. Now, Guillermo and I have our own sort of shorthand on some things that we discuss. On "Hellboy," I was amazed by how smooth everything went. Guillermo would come over, and he would listen to stuff. The notes he would give me back would be very few. I would say it's one of the smoothest going films I've worked on.

THR: What are some examples of your shorthand?
MB: For instance, he'll tell me: "Here Kroenen is (Hellboy's chief villain) laying on the ground in the scene where he stabs the bureau guy, so we need the 'butt willies' here." (laughs) Which translates into ... a very frenetic structure in the strings. Another thing he says is: "Here we need the heebie-jeebies," which is not to be confused with the "butt willies" (laughs). So that's something played similar to the "butt willies" but not on the strings -- something played a little bit more transparent. For (the cue titled) the rooftop tango, he was trying to describe what he was after, so he said, "Go back 10 years before you were married and pretend like you had passion" (laughs). But I think overall, the main thing was that I found it a lot more relaxing because he was able to joke around and have fun.

THR: You've done crime, thrillers and horror. Do you have any concerns about being stereotyped as a genre composer?
MB: I suppose it's kind of natural based on my film credits. I don't think it defines who I am or what I write, especially because I sometimes have a hard time watching horror movies. I think when people hear some of the music I write, they realize that it's thematically based and not just there to scare people.

THR: You've also done small indie films such as "Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" and (1999's) "The Minus Man." Which is more challenging to score -- an indie or a blockbuster?
MB: Well, they (present) different challenges. I wouldn't say that scoring an indie film is more challenging than scoring a blockbuster. Understanding the resources that you have to fulfill that vision is a particle thing you differ based on the size of the budget and all. But it doesn't mean that it is necessarily more difficult to work on a smaller project --in fact, sometimes it can be more challenging. It's a difference but not really greater or less than.

THR: How do you normally approach a scoring session?
MB: The way I start is usually with a cue that's kinda long. This way the engineer can get his sounds right and the orchestra. I like the first recording to be challenging enough to make everyone feel like they've started into the music. Based on how that goes, I will decide how the next cue will be. As we go, we figure out how fast we have to record to finish on time. There was a real sense of teamwork between the musicians and everyone else. Everyone was really on their toes. Working at a faster pace seems to make things go better. I like sessions to be like that. I like the time constraint. Everyone performs better when they have a little bit of extra pressure on them. This is true outside of scoring, too.

THR: Have you always wanted to be a film composer?
MB: Oddly enough no. The idea of film scoring is something that came to me after Yale. I knew that I didn't want to get into teaching the theory of music, and I had heard of this program at USC. Once I started scoring film, I realized that it was the one of the only ways to explore all the aspects of writing music.

THR: You were trained by composer Jerry Goldsmith?
MB: Yes. When I came out here, I studied with him at USC. One of the things he stressed was being able to write melodically. Coming into his class, he had everyone write melodies -- which at first, was a little difficult to change gears to think that way because at Yale, melodies are played down. But it was also very valuable.

THR: Who are some of the composers you admire?
MB: It's hard to single out one particular composer. By singling out certain individuals, it usually means that you're saying that person's work is better than someone your excluding, which might imply that their work is not good.

THR: How about when you were younger?
MB: When I was younger, for Christmas, I would get a Beethoven symphony each year. I remember getting beat up in junior high for wearing a Beethoven T-shirt. I think my glasses were pulled off my head and stomped on (laughs). Needless to say, I continued to listen to Beethoven, but I didn't wear the shirt again.