The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008 Film) - Music

Music

The Day the Earth Stood Still: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was orchestrated and conducted by Timothy Williams. Tyler Bates was brought in to compose the score for The Day the Earth Stood Still after Derrickson heard his work on The Devil's Rejects and Slither. Instead of imitating the original score by Bernard Herrmann, Bates decided to try to convey the updated message of the new film, and he assumed that most people would not even realize it was a remake. Bates said, "People revere an original property and feel that it's sacred, but frankly, there's a good story to be retold, as it applies to the climate of the world now. If that's something beyond the scope of a person's ability to take in, on a new level, without necessarily using the original as a criteria for whether or not they're going to enjoy it, then they probably shouldn't bother themselves with it." The origins for the sound on the new score came from Bates attending the filming of a few scenes with Reeves and Smith. When he got back to L.A., he created a sound loop on his GuitarViol to which Derrickson responded, "I think that's the score!", when it was played for him. Bates utilized the theremin, which Herrmann heavily used for the original film's score. Bates and the theremin player he hired used the instrument in a manner reminiscent of a sound effect, especially during Klaatu's surgery.