Quotes from James Newton Howard

The colors of 'The Nutcracker' ballet score have become a part of the vocabulary of film music. It's where so much of the 19th-century romantic music that I call upon as a film composer is rooted.

There's a sadness about love, a melancholy and a sadness about beauty. It's just part of the human experience of living on this planet.

I never like to conduct, quite honestly, because you have to be a bit of a dictator and it's exhausting.

Well, the first two movies of any size that I did were a movie called 'Everybody's All American' that Taylor Hackford directed - I was pretty diva on that - and then 'Pretty Woman,' which is probably my first real breakthrough.

Any composer should be able to synthesize the primary feelings that the characters are going through in the movie.

I joined Elton John's band in '75. He not only allowed me to play the electronic keyboard on his albums, he also let me do the orchestrations. Then I left the band and started producing records. I was not really a popular kind of hit music guy. I was attracted to more esoteric things.

Music has been of central importance to Disney movies for as long as I can remember. To contribute to that legacy, is a great honor.

What happens with a good score is, somehow the composer manages to cast himself or herself in the role of the protagonist. And then you write from their perspective.

I just go from one movie to the next and try not to get fired.

I feel the first ten years of my career I really didn't care what the director said because I felt so arrogant. I was so certain about what should happen. But then I became a good listener.

Like most people, I hate public speaking.

I tend to avoid interviews, I don't have a publicist and fear of failure is still very much alive in my personal life.

I think every classically trained film composer feels to some extent, maybe on some level, that they took the low road, that they could have maybe pursued a career in the concert music world, and perhaps been involved in a higher quality of music.

I loved working with Chris Nolan. I love working with Lawrence Kasdan. Dan Gilroy. Francis Lawrence I love.

Music for cartoons is sillier, funnier.

I hate bad reviews, so yeah, every now and then I think, 'Boy I hope everybody really likes this and thinks this theme is good.' You can't help but do that. I think we all are, or at least I am, reduced to a schoolboy seeking approval.

I'm a melody guy. To me, that's a musical souvenir people take from a movie. They remember a theme or a feeling, and if they've had a good or bad experience it evokes that sensation whenever they hear it again.

I am delighted just to work on a good movie, no matter what the medium is.

The thing about 'Fantastic Beasts' is that it's in the wizarding world, in J.K. Rowling's world, but it's not a Harry Potter movie. It takes place 70 years before Harry comes into being, so while we tip our hat and acknowledge in a respectful and witty wink and a nod kind of way to 'Hedwig's Theme,' the score is composed of all new material.

For me, the biggest thing was writing memorable themes for the new characters so that ultimately people would have the same identification with 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' as they do with the Harry Potter films.

I would say, generally speaking, though it is not always the case, comedy is probably the least gratifying for most composers because it is more specific about what the music needs to do.

I know that the classical world has resisted film composers throwing their hat into the classical concert music ring. And you know I don't think that's totally without justification. I think sometimes it seems to me there is a built in automatic prejudice against the whole idea of it. And it's very difficult to overcome that stigma.

I have so much regard for the art of conducting. It's easy to look not so good up there.

I work independently of the director, and to some extent, that's actually a big relief to them. When I come to them in post-production, they're tired and over-budget. What can be better to them than presenting a full score totally gift-wrapped?