‘Blackhat’ Composer Slams Director Michael Mann: He “Sliced and Diced” Score

One of the credited composers of the Blackhat score has lashed out at director Michael Mann for how he handled his contributions. 

Harry Gregson-Williams explained in a recent Facebook post that he attended the film’s Jan. 8 premiere and was dismayed to discover that very little of the music he wrote ended up in the final version of the Chris Hemsworth thriller. 

“I would like it to be known for what it’s worth that the ‘score’ for Blackhat may be credited to me but contains almost none of my compositions,” Gregson-Williams wrote. 

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He explained that he had no idea who was responsible for writing a large portion of the music. “I knew of at least one other composer, a good one at that (!), that had put in months of work on this movie, just as I had, but this appeared to me to be in addition to both our contributions,” he continued. “I can say nothing for certain except that I was not the author of most of what is now in the movie.”

The only composers credited besides Gregson-Williams are Atticus Ross — who earned an Oscar for composing the Social Network score with partner Trent Reznor — and Atticus’ brother, Leo Ross. However, musician Haxan Cloak has said that he worked on the Blackhat score with Atticus. 

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Gregson-Williams, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his score to 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia, added in his Facebook post that he knows of composers who have felt similarly slighted by Mann on previous projects. “I therefore reluctantly join the long list of composers who have had their scores either sliced and diced mercilessly or ignored completely by Michael Mann,” he wrote. 

The Facebook post has since been deleted, and a rep for Gregson-Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Universal releases Blackhat on Jan. 16.

To read Gregson-Williams’ Facebook message, as posted by the International Business Times, click here.

Email: Ryan.Gajewski@pgmedia.org
Twitter: @_RyanGajewski