Tastemaker: composer Danny Elfman likes it deliciously dark

South China Morning Post mewawancarai Danny Elfman, berikut kutipannya:

Today we are sitting in a cafe inside Hong Kong's Disneyland as the theme park launches its new Mystic Point section, which features a soundtrack Elfman has put together. The Los Angeles native proves an engaging interview, confident and calm but occasionally adding a flourish of emotion.
Before the interview draws to a close, Elfman wants us to know Hong Kong might figure in his future - if all goes to plan. "Some day I would love to work with [comedian, actor and director] Stephen Chow [Sing-chi]. To me Kung Fu Hustle is one of the best movies ever made. I've shown that to a million people," he says.

"I say 'Look what can be done with this much money and a ton of imagination, rather than a ton of money and not that much imagination'. It's the most original film that I have seen in the past 10 or 20 years. It's always been a dream to visit one of his sets. One of these days, if destiny decides, it just might happen."

Elfman takes a breath, a pause for dramatic effect. "Do you hear that, Mr Chow?"

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Mystic Point grand opening celebrated at Hong Kong Disneyland

Seperti pernah diberitakan di sini, Danny Elfman membuat musik untuk Mystic Manor, salah satu atraksi dari Disneyland, Hong Kong. Tanggal 17 Mei kemarin, atraksi tersebut diresmikan, termasuk mengundang Danny Elfman ke acara tersebut.

Berikut kutipan dari Richard Kraft, agen dari Danny Elfman:

In addition to scoring Mystic Manor, Elfman makes a few "cameos" throughout the attraction, including as a portrait in the queue area as "Maestro D. Elfman", as a name on a harpsichord in the Music Room, and amongst the singing voice as a suit-of-armor helmet, and a tiki god.

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Danny Elfman

Situs TimeOut Hong Kong merilis artikel mengenai pembuatan musik atraksi Mystic Manor (bukan Mystic Point) oleh Danny Elfman, berikut kutipannya:

Depending on your viewing habits, it’s quite possible that you’ve heard Danny Elfman’s work more often than any other composer. Not only has he scored more than 70 films (including all but two of Tim Burton’s and many of Sam Raimi’s), but he’s also the musical dynamo behind the iconic TV theme tunes of The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives. Away from the screen, Elfman created the music for Cirque du Soleil’s forthcoming LA show Iris and is developing a Broadway musical based on the life of escapologist supreme Harry Houdini with The Social Network uber-scribe Aaron Sorkin. We caught up with the amiable Californian on a recent flying visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, where Elfman is composing the score for one of the park’s new rides, the playfully spooky ‘Mystic Manor’, which is due to make its debut in early 2013.

This is the first time you’ve scored a theme park ride. What attracted you to the project?
Well, growing up as a young adult, going to Disneyland in LA, the Haunted Mansion was my favourite ride. So, being asked to participate in something like this, something that maybe our children, grandchildren might be part of – I love the idea of how long it could potentially be around. That even after I’m gone, there’ll still be generations enjoying this work. That to me is a great thing and an honour.

How do you keep your creativity?Well, [laughs] I don’t know. I hope that I do keep my creativity. I don’t have any magic formula. I was recently a juror at the Venice Film Festival. I’m having drinks with the president of the jury, who’s Quentin Tarantino, and we were discussing that problem, that dilemma of the terrifying feeling that every time you start a piece of work is like lowering a bucket into a well and you have no idea if you’re going to find water, because you don’t know if that well is ten feet deep or a mile. There’s no answer to that except keep lowering that bucket until you hear a splash.

Have you ever had a supernatural experience?I’ve tried and I’ve tried and I’ve tried. The director Guillermo Del Toro and myself, we even rented a haunted room in London that was sure to provide ghosts. And we took turns sitting in a room alone with the lights off as part of the dare, waiting for something to happen... and nothing did. I keep hoping though.

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Disney’s Buzz Lightyear Battles Sharks in Hong Kong Park Contest

Berita mengenai Hong Kong Disneyland, berikut kutipannya:

Walt Disney and state-owned Shanghai Shendi Group Co. plan to jointly open the first Disneyland Park in China in Shanghai. The Shanghai government is spending 40 billion yuan on infrastructure for the park, expected to open in 2015, in the city’s Pudong area, according to the Shanghai Daily.

“We’ll probably go to Shanghai Disneyland instead of coming to Hong Kong in the future because the commute from Beijing is shorter,” said Zhang Wensheng, 40, who went to the Hong Kong park for the first time last week with his six-year- old son. “I heard the park in Shanghai will be much bigger in size too.”

Hong Kong Disneyland, 47-percent owned by Burbank, California-based Walt Disney, will fight back later this year with the unveiling of “Toy Story Land,” based on the exploits of toy spaceman Buzz Lightyear and his cowboy friend Woody. The latest film in the series was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Disney is hiring musician Danny Elfman to compose music for another attraction “Mystic Point,” which along with “Grizzly Gulch” will be ready by 2014.

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