Quotes from Michael Giacchino

I've always looked at guys who I've admired, like John Williams and Lalo Schifrin and Max Steiner, and looked at the choices they made and always try to take a cue from that.

The 'Jonny Quest' theme had a huge influence on me while I was growing up.

'Lost' is such a thematic show that I'm always afraid that if I know something's going to happen at the end, I'll subconsciously write something in where someone who's astute will go, 'Oh, he used so-and-so's theme: that must mean so-and-so is coming back!'

I grew up listening to 'Planet of the Apes' and other scores, and it was fun for me because you weren't just listening to those scores, but you were also questioning what you were listening to. What are those sounds?

I always thought of 'Lost' as a psychotic opera. Because there were so many characters, it was important for me to track them with themes.

In 'Ratatouille,' there are two different themes that express the two sides of Remy's personality: the creative side: the chef, and the 'thief' side: his nature as a mouse.

I always loved movies like 'King Kong' and 'Planet of the Apes,' monster movies, Ray Harryhausen films, all of that stuff. I always loved the music in them, too.

There was a paperwork mishap on 'War For The Planet Of The Apes,' in that the end credits was simply called 'End Credits.' And that's what appears on the album. Once we realised that was out there, we were so ashamed.

One of the things I was never thrilled about with 'Medal of Honor' was that it was non-stop music.

Nothing can grab you by the throat - or heart or soul - like an orchestra. It's undeniably the most engaging and exciting way to bring a score to life.

I was never one of those people that would just take jobs that were thrown at me.

The very first game I worked on was for DreamWorks Interactive's 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park.'

I think I learned everything about comedy and timing and drama from watching 'The Muppet Show,' which was one of the best shows ever produced.

I like to write a piece of music that reflects how I felt about a film as opposed to, here's this action scene; here's this set piece.

I try to keep a regular work schedule.

It wasn't until high school that I actually started writing. I was in a lot of the school plays and musicals, and there was a lot of down time during rehearsals. I would go into the orchestra pit and mess around on the grand piano.

I feel like I'll be writing World War 2 music the rest of my life.

I have an uncle who was heavily involved in World War 2, so over the years, I've talked to him many times.

I made tons of stop motion films with my friends in my neighborhood.

I have tons of drawings of 'Star Wars,' whether it be stormtroopers, Darth Vader, Star Destroyers, or the whole thing.

Music helps immensely with math skills, and math skills help immensely with music skills.

I think Mozart, with all his impatience in writing, would have loved it. It would have allowed him to write twice as much. He would have loved a Mac. If he'd had a laptop, he would have been unstoppable.

I think great filmmakers will always talk in terms of storytelling. These guys were always about the story. That is how I love to talk about a film.

I always feel like my writing is consistently influenced by everything I watched and listened to growing up, so it's just this crazy collage of everything, you know.