Mychael Danna Interview via Skype

Mychael Danna is an Academy Award-winning film composer recognized for his evocative blending of non-Western traditions with orchestral and electronic music. He composed the transculturally inspired 2013 Oscar and Golden Globe-winning score for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, as well as many award-winning scores for his longtime collaborator, Atom Egoyan. Danna has composed for all of Egoyan’s films since 1987’s Family Viewing, winning the Genie for their films Exotica, Felicia’s Journey, Ararat, and The Sweet Hereafter. Other noted credits include Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films such as Moneyball, Capote, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Monsoon Wedding, Shattered Glass, Little Miss Sunshine, (500) Days of Summer, Surf’s Up, Water, Antwone Fisher, Being Julia and Girl, Interrupted. “The most gratifying filmmaking experiences are ones that take effort to unpeel the layers surrounding the heart of the story and to find the best musical expression of that heart,” says Danna. “Those are always the film scores I am most proud of.”